Designing Operations Mid-Term
Cost minimization is an appropriate strategy in which stage of the product life cycle?
decline
The fundamental purpose of an organization's mission statement is to:
define the organization's purpose in society
An engineering drawing shows the:
dimensions, tolerances, materials, and finishes of a component.
What is a drawing of the movement of material, product, or people?
flowchart
Service blueprinting:
focuses on the provider's interaction with the customer
What identifies components by a coding scheme that specifies size, shape, and the type of processing (such as size)?
group technology
A product-focused process is commonly used to produce:
high-volume, low-variety products
Porter's Five Forces Model is used to evaluate competition based on which 5 aspects?
immediate rivals, potential entrants, customers, suppliers, and substitute products
Which of the following is NOT a service design technique used to increase service efficiency?
increase customer interaction
Current challenges in operations management include all of the following EXCEPT:
increased communication cost
Which of the following is NOT among the ethical and social challenges facing operations managers? a.efficiently developing and producing safe high-quality green products b.honoring stakeholder commitments c.training, retaining, and motivating employees d.providing a safe workplace e.increasing executive pay
increasing executive pay
Which of the following fosters specialization and worldwide supply chains?
instant communication
Which of the international operations strategies involves low cost reductions and low local responsiveness? a.multidomestic strategy b.global strategy c.worldwide strategy d.international strategy e.transnational strategy
international strategy
In which stage of the product life cycle should product strategy focus on process modifications as the product is being "fine-tuned" for the market?
introduction
A product's life cycle is divided into four stages, which are:
introduction growth maturity decline
Experience differentiation:
is an extension of product differentiation in the service sector
The Japanese concept of a company coalition of suppliers is:
keiretsu
Three commonly used productivity variables are:
labor, capital, management
All EXCEPT which of the following are "opportunities" in managing the integrated supply chain? blanket orders line balancing standardization postponement drop shipping
line balancing
Which of the following is NOT an opportunity for effective management in the supply chain?
local optimization
The factor responsible for the largest portion of productivity increase in the United States is:
management
The largest contributor to productivity increases is ________, estimated to be responsible for ________ of the annual increase.
management; over one-half
Reducing the complexity of a product and improving a product's maintainability are activities of:
manufacturability and value engineering
Which sourcing strategy is particularly common when the products being sourced are commodities? a.many suppliers b.few suppliers c.keiretsu d.virtual companies e.vertical integration
many suppliers
Which of the following are the primary functions of all organizations?
marketing, production/operations, and finance/accounting
The Institute for Supply Management:
publishes the principles and standards for ethical supply management conduct.
An assembly line is an example of a:
repetitive process
Which of the following industries is most likely to have low equipment utilization? a.auto manufacturing b.steel manufacturing c.commercial baking d.restaurants e.television manufacturing
restaurants
The three major elements of the product decision are:
selection, definition, design
In the consumer packaged goods industry, the benchmark firms tend to have ________.
short cash-to-cash cycle time
A result of concurrent engineering in product design is: a.less customer demand. b.all of these. Incorrect c.higher costs. d.lower quality. e.speedier product development.
speedier product development
Reasons to study operations management include:
studying how people organize themselves for productive enterprise and learning about a costly part of the enterprise
What is a global network of organizations and activities that supply a firm with goods and services?
supply chain
A project organization works best for an organization when the project resides in only one of its functional areas.
False
A reverse auction involves the processes for sending returned products back up the supply chain for resale, repair, reuse, remanufacture, recycling, or disposal.
False
An accounting firm that provides tax services for a company would not be considered to be part of that company's supply chain.
False
An effective operations management effort must have a strategy so it knows where it is going and a mission so it knows how to get there.
False
Apple generates almost 90% of its revenue from products launched in the past 4 years.
False
Because the supply chain has become so electronic and automated, opportunities for unethical behavior have been greatly reduced.
False
Core competencies are good candidates for outsourcing.
False
Firms using the global strategy can be thought of as "world companies."
False
A global strategy uses exports and licenses to penetrate the global arena.
False
A product will always be in the same stage of its product life cycle regardless of the country.
False
Which of the following workers is the most productive? a.$10 wages, 1 part produced b.$50 wages, 10 parts produced c.$30 wages, 5 parts produced d.$500 wages, 110 parts produced e.$100 wages, 21 parts produced
$500 wages, 110 parts produced
With cross-sourcing, how many suppliers provide each component on a regular basis (i.e., excluding backup suppliers)? a.equal to the total number of components b.equal to the number of countries to which the final product is sold c.2 d.3 e.1
1
An operations manager is performing a factor-rating analysis to help her choose an outsourcing provider. She is focusing on three factors: A, B, and C, with weights of .30, .20, and .50, respectively. She has scored one potential outsourcer, Ling Services, on each of the factors using a scale of 10-50. Ling Services received a score of 30 for factor A, 46 for factor B, and 22 for factor C. What is the factor-rating score for Ling Services?
29.2
What percentage of sales from new products is indicative of industry leaders?
50%
Which of the following is an example of competing on quick response?
A firm's products are introduced into the market faster than its competitors' products.
Which one of the following technologies is used ONLY for material handling, NOT actual production or assembly? a.FMS b.robots c.CAD d.CNC e.AGVs
AGVs
In supply chain management, ethical issues: a.may be guided by the principles and standards of the Institute for Supply Management. b.may be guided by company rules and codes of conduct. c.are particularly important because of the enormous opportunities for abuse. d.become more complex the more global is the supply chain. e.All of these are true.
All of these are true
Which of the following is TRUE regarding the significant events in operations management? a.Charles Sorensen was instrumental in the development of the moving assembly line. b.The Globalization Era will start approximately in 2025. c.Eli Whitney initiated the revolution of Industry 4.0. d.The Mass Customization Era focused on quality. e.The concept of linear programming first appeared in the Lead Production Era.
Charles Sorensen was instrumental in the development in the moving assembly line
Who was the person most responsible for popularizing interchangeable parts in manufacturing? a.Henry Ford b.Eli Whitney c.Whitney Houston d.Frederick W. Taylor e.Lillian Gilbreth
Eli Whitney
In the maturity stage of the product life cycle, operations managers will be particularly concerned with adding capacity or enhancing existing capacity to accommodate the increase in product demand.
False
In the product life cycle, the best stage to increase market share is maturity.
False
In this age of increasing specialization, low communication cost, and fast transportation, companies are making more and buying less.
False
Key success factors and core competencies are synonyms.
False
Key success factors are those activities that are key to achieving comparative advantage.
False
Long-term "partnering" relationships are one of the main goals of the "many suppliers" sourcing strategy.
False
Low-cost leadership is the ability to distinguish the offerings of the organization in a way that the customer perceives as adding value.
False
Modular design exists only in tangible products; it makes no sense in services.
False
Operations management is the set of activities that creates value in the form of tangible goods, not services, by transforming inputs into outputs.
False
Outsourcing refers to transferring a firm's activities that have traditionally been external to internal suppliers.
False
Professional services typically require low levels of labor intensity.
False
Quality function deployment is used mainly in the after-sales stage to build customer loyalty.
False
Shortening the project's duration by deleting unnecessary activities is called "project crashing."
False
Stakeholders are always stockholders.
False
Supply chain decisions are not generally strategic in nature, because purchasing is not a large expense for most firms.
False
The critical path can be determined by use of either the "forward pass" or the "backward pass."
False
The enhancement of existing products is an external product development strategy.
False
The four phases of the product life cycle are incubation, introduction, growth, and decline.
False
The multidomestic OM strategy maximizes local responsiveness while achieving a significant cost advantage.
False
The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path.
False
The theory of competitive advantage implies that you should allow another firm to perform work activities for your company if that company can do it more productively than you can.
False
Vertical integration, whether forward or backward, requires the firm to become more specialized.
False
Which of the following statements regarding Gantt charts is TRUE? a.Gantt charts are expensive. b.Gantt charts use the four standard spines of Methods, Materials, Manpower, and Machinery. c.All of these are true. d.Gantt charts are visual devices that show the duration of activities in a project. e.Gantt charts give a timeline and precedence relationships for each activity of a project.
Gantt charts are visual devices that show the duration of activities in a project
Which of the following is NOT an example of a multidomestic strategy? a.McDonald's stores in India do not sell sandwiches made of beef. b.IKEA sells standardized, Swedish designed, self-assembly furniture products. c.Heinz takes over Honig (Holland) that makes local traditional delicacies. d.The restaurants in Disneyland Paris feature recipes revised for local tastes and increased outdoor seating. e.Each Hard Rock Café restaurant is designed to reflect the culture and preferences of its location.
IKEA sells standardized, Swedish designed, self-assembly furniture products.
The main difference between PERT and CPM is that: a.CPM assumes activity durations can vary. b.PERT employs three time estimates for each activity. c.PERT is more accurate than CPM. d.PERT ignores activity costs. e.PERT assumes that activity durations are known.
PERT employs three time estimates for each activity.
Who introduced the concept of value-chain analysis? a.Gates b.Smith c.Toyota d.Porter e.Ford
Porter
Which of the following technologies could enable a cashier to scan the entire contents of a shopping cart in seconds? a.AGV b.ASRS c.RFID d.CAD/CAM e.FMS
RFID
Which of the following is NOT one of the five parts of the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model? a.Return b.Source c.Make d.Plan e.Sell
Sell
A multinational corporation is a firm with extensive international business involvement.
True
All organizations, including service firms such as banks and hospitals, have a production function.
True
Automated storage and retrieval systems are commonly used in distribution facilities of retailers.
True
Benchmark firms have driven down costs of supply-chain performance.
True
Channel assembly, which sends components and modules to be assembled by a distributor, treats these distributors as manufacturing partners.
True
Competition in the 21st century is no longer between companies; it is between supply chains.
True
Drop shipping results in time and shipping cost savings.
True
Experience differentiation is an extension of product differentiation, accomplished by using people's five senses to create an experience rather than simply providing a service.
True
Gantt charts give a timeline for each of a project's activities, but they do not adequately illustrate the interrelationships between the activities and the resources.
True
In project management, crashing an activity must consider the impact on all paths in the network.
True
NAFTA seeks to phase out all trade and tariff barriers among Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
True
Operations with low labor intensity present great opportunities for innovations in process technology and scheduling.
True
Outsourcing is the practice of transferring a firm's activities that have traditionally been internal to external suppliers.
True
Porter introduced the concept of value-chain analysis.
True
Productivity is generally more difficult to improve in the service sector than in the manufacturing sector.
True
Quality function deployment refers to both (1) determining what will satisfy the customer and (2) translating those customer desires into a target design.
True
Rapidly developing products and moving them to the market is part of time-based competition.
True
Robust design ensures that small variations in production or assembly do not adversely affect the product.
True
Stock portfolios and college curricula are examples of modularization in service design.
True
The "make-or-buy" decision distinguishes between what an organization chooses to produce and what it chooses to purchase from suppliers.
True
The customer may participate in the design of, and in the delivery of, services.
True
The objective of the make-or-buy decision is to help identify the products and services that can be obtained externally.
True
The operations manager performs the management activities of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling of the OM function.
True
The ratio of labor cost per day to productivity, in units per day, is the labor cost per unit.
True
The theory of comparative advantage implies that you should allow another firm to perform work activities for your company if that company can do it more productively than you can.
True
To attract and retain global talent, and to expand a product's life cycle, are both reasons to globalize.
True
Use of a diversified supply base represents one of the most common supply chain risk reduction tactics for several different supply chain risk categories.
True
Which of the following is TRUE regarding value engineering? a.Value engineering can save substantial amounts of product cost, but quality suffers. b.Value engineering creates fragile design. c.Value engineering occurs only after the product is selected and designed. d.Value engineering occurs during production when it is clear the product is a success. e.Value engineering is oriented toward improvement of design.
Value engineering is oriented toward improvement of design
Which of the following pioneers was NOT making a professional impact during the Scientific Management Era? a.Lillian Gilbreth Incorrect b.W. Edwards Deming c.Henry L. Gantt d.Frederick W. Taylor e.Frank Gilbreth
W. Edwards Deming
Who among the following is associated with contributions to quality control in operations management? a.Charles Babbage b.Frank Gilbreth c.Henry Ford d.W. Edwards Deming e.Henri Fayol
W. Edwards Deming
Which of the following statements best characterizes delivery reliability? a.a company that always delivers on the same day of the week b.a company that has a computerized delivery scheduling system c.a company that delivers more frequently than its competitors d.a company that delivers faster than its competitors e.a company that always delivers at the promised time
a company that always delivers at the promised time
Which of the following is NOT an example of competing on the basis of differentiation? a.A car manufacturer offers the best warranty in the automobile industry. b.A firm offers a much broader product line than its competitors do. c.A movie theater distinguishes itself by offering cinema suites and dine-in options. d.A firm designs its smart phone product with unique features. e.A firm advertises more than its competitors do.
a firm advertises more than its competitors do
Which of the following is the best example of competing on low-cost leadership? a.A firm advertises more than its competitors do. b.A firm produces its product with less raw material waste than its competitors do. c.A firm offers more reliable products than its competitors do. d.A firm's products are introduced into the market faster than its competitors' products are. e.A firm's research and development department generates many ideas for new products.
a firm produces its product with less raw material waste than its competitors do
Vertical integration appears particularly advantageous when the organization has:
a large market share
The Japanese method of organizing for product design features:
a single organization without subdivision or individual teams.
A strategy is a(n): a.plan for cost reduction. b.action plan to achieve the mission. Correct c.simulation used to test various product line options. d.set of opportunities in the marketplace. e.broad statement of purpose.
action plan to achieve the mission
Cost cutting in international operations can take place because of: a.lower taxes and tariffs. b.lower wage scales. c.lower indirect costs. d.less stringent regulations. e.All of these.
all of these
Intangible costs include which of the following? a.availability of public transportation b.quality of education c.all of these Correct d.none of these e.quality of prospective employees
all of these
Porter's Five Forces Model contains which of the following? a.immediate rivals b.potential entrants c.suppliers d.all of the these e.customers
all of these
Quality function deployment (QFD): a.determines what will satisfy the customer. b.is used to determine where to deploy quality efforts. c.all of these d.is used early in the design process. e.translates customer desires into the target design.
all of these
Reasons to study operations management include learning about: a.how goods and services are produced. b.all of these. c.what operations managers do. d.a costly part of the enterprise. e.how people organize themselves for productive enterprise.
all of these
Response-based competitive advantage can be: a.flexible response. b.none of the these. c.quick response. d.reliable response. e.all of these.
all of these
Which of the following best describes experience differentiation? a.consumers may become active participants in the product or service b.uses people's five senses to enhance the service c.immerses consumers in the delivery of a service d.All of the these are elements of experience differentiation. e.complements physical elements with visual and sound elements
all of these
Which of the following is among the eight determinants of revenue and volume for a service firm? a.all of these b.quality of management c.purchasing power of the customer-drawing area d.uniqueness of the firm's and the competitors' locations e.quality of the competition
all of these
Which of the following represents an opportunity for generating a new product? a.demographic change, such as decreasing family size b.understanding the customer c.All of these are such opportunities. d.economic change, such as rising household incomes e.changes in professional standards
all of these
The difference between AON and AOA networks is that: a.All of the these are true. b.nodes consume no resources or time in AOA networks. c.AOA networks sometimes require dummy activities. d.nodes designate activities in AON, while arrows designate activities in AOA. e.both are acceptable in practice; however, Microsoft Project uses AON.
all of these are true
Outsourcing: a.utilizes the efficiency that comes with specialization. b.None of these is true of outsourcing. c.transfers traditional internal activities to outside vendors. d.All of these are true of outsourcing. e.allows the outsourcing firm to focus on its key success factors.
all of these are true of outsourcing
The candlelit atmosphere of a fine-dining restaurant is an example of the ________ element of servicescape.
ambient conditions
Which of the following would NOT be an operations function in a commercial bank? a.maintenance b.check clearing c.auditing d.teller scheduling e.collection
auditing
A small metal shop operates 10 hours each day, producing 100 parts/hour. If productivity were increased 20%, how many hours would the plant have to work to produce 1000 parts? a.less than 2 hours b.between 6 and 8 hours c.between 8 and 9 hours d.between 9 and 10 hours e.between 2 and 6 hours
between 8-9 hours
The hierarchy of components, their description, and the quantity of each required to make one unit of a product are documented on:
bill of material
Which of the following is LEAST likely to be a low-cost leadership competitive advantage?
broad product line
What term describes a supply chain that is designed to optimize both forward and reverse flows?
closed-loop supply chain
The ability of an organization to produce goods or services that have some uniqueness in their characteristics is:
competing on differentiation
Given the position of the 3D printer in the growth stage of its life cycle, which of the following OM Strategy/Issues should the makers of 3D printers be least concerned with at the current time?
cost cutting
Which of the following is NOT performed by Microsoft Project? a.drawing the project AOA network b.drawing the project AON network c.creating the project Gantt chart d.identifying the critical path e.tracking the progress of the project`
drawing the project AOA network
A furniture maker has delivered a dining set directly to the end consumer rather than to the furniture store. The furniture maker is practicing which of the following? a.passing the buck b.drop shipping Correct c.float reduction d.channel assembly e.postponement
drop shipping
Which of the following would likely cause a change in market opportunities based upon levels of income and wealth? a.political change b.economic change c.legal change d.technological change e.sociological and demographic change
economic change
The dimensions, tolerances, materials, and finishes of a component are typically shown on a(n):
engineering drawing
Which of the following is NOT one of the 10 strategic operations management decisions? a.layout strategies b.process and capacity strategies c.maintenance d.supply chain management e.mass customization
mass customization
Which of the following is NOT one of the strategies for improving service productivity? a.automation b.scheduling c.separation d.self-service e.mass customization
mass customization
At which stage of the product life cycle is product strategy likely to focus on improved cost control?
maturity
Standardization is an appropriate strategy in which stage of the product life cycle?
maturity
If a business adopts a low-cost strategy, it should build a supply chain with ________.
minimized inventory
Which of the international operations strategies uses the existing domestic model globally? a.worldwide strategy b.transnational strategy c.global strategy d.multidomestic strategy e.international strategy
multidomestic strategy
The total of all outputs produced by the transformation process divided by the total of the inputs is:
multifactor productivity
Which of the following is TRUE of random stocking? a.Products have their own permanent storage spot. b.Its results always minimize handling costs. c.Each pick can be of only one product. d.None of these is true. e.Because items are stocked randomly, accurate inventory records are not necessary.
none of these is true
Which of the following statements regarding critical paths is TRUE? a.On a specific project, there can be multiple critical paths, all with exactly the same duration. b.The duration of the critical path is the average duration of all paths in the project network. c.The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path. d.Every network has only one critical path. e.Some activities on the critical path may have slack.
on a specific project, there can be multiple critical paths, all with exactly the same duration
The transfer of some of what are traditional internal activities and resources of a firm to outside vendors is:
outsourcing
What is the practice of transferring a firm's activities that have traditionally been internal to external suppliers?
outsourcing
The phases of project management are:
planning, scheduling, and controlling
Advantages of outsourcing do NOT include:
potential creation of future competition.
Which of the following is NOT a strategic operations management decision?
price
Which of the following is NOT an element of the management process? a.pricing b.planning c.staffing d.leading e.controlling
pricing
The use of information technology to monitor and control a physical process is known as:
process control
Goods made to order are typical of ________ and ________ approaches while goods made to forecast are typical of ________ and ________ approaches.
process, mass customization; repetitive, product
Which of the following best describes backward integration?
produce goods or services previously purchased
High fixed costs and low variable costs are typical of which approach?
product and mass customization
Which of the following is a primary supplier selection criterion for a firm pursuing a differentiation strategy? cost capacity flexibility product development skills speed
product development skills
Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the leverage of supply chain savings? a.Supply chain leverage is about the same for all industries. b.Supply chain savings exert more leverage as the firm's net profit margin decreases. c.Supply chain savings exert more leverage as the firm's purchases are a smaller percent of sales. d.None of these is true. e.Supply chain leverage depends only upon the percent of sales spent in the supply chain.
supply chain savings exert more leverage as the firm's net profit margin decreases
Which of the following statements about challenges in operations management is FALSE? a.Operations managers are outsourcing and building long-term partnerships with critical players in the supply chain. b.Local or national focus is being replaced by global focus. c.Rapid product development is partly the result of shorter product cycles. d.The goal of mass customization is to produce customized products, whenever and wherever needed. e.Sustainable production is being replaced by a low-cost focus
sustainable production is being replaced by a low-cost focus
Tangible costs include which of the following? a.availability of public transportation b.taxes c.climatic conditions d.quality and attitude of prospective employees e.zoning regulations
taxes
Which of the following is NOT one of McDonald's "seven major innovations"? a.the Happy Meal b.play areas c.self-service kiosks d.breakfast menus e.drive-through windows Clear my choice
the Happy Meal
Productivity measurement is complicated by:
the fact that precise units of measure are often unavailable.
Which of the international operations strategies involves high cost reductions and high local responsiveness? a.transnational strategy b.worldwide strategy c.global strategy d.international strategy e.multidomestic strategy Clear my choice
transnational strategy
WBS stands for which of the following project management tools?
work breakdown structure