Module 1: Introduction to Operations Management

Which of the following statements about variation is false?

Some random variation is an intrinsic feature of a production process and does not affect productivity.

The process of comparing outputs to previously established standards to determine if corrective action is needed is called

Controls are used to maintain performance.

A systems approach means that we concentrate on efficiency within a subsystem and thereby assure overall efficiency.

False. Subsystem efficiency doesn't necessarily translate into overall efficiency.

Which of the following does not relate to system design?

Inventory management is a system operation area, not system design.

Marketing depends on operations for information regarding

Marketing uses lead time information to make promises to customers.

Which of the following is a system in which low-skilled workers use specialized equipment to produce high volumes of standardized goods?

Mass production - which has played a prominent role in increasing standards of living.

Operations managers are responsible for assessing consumer wants and needs and selling and promoting the organization's goods or services.

Operations managers are not responsible for promoting goods/services. It is the marketing functional area that is responsible for assessing consumer wants and needs and selling and promoting the organization's goods or services.

Buying goods or services instead of producing or providing them in-house is called

Outsourcing is increasingly a part of operations management and is contributing to the increased attention on supply chain management.

The fact that a few improvements in a few key areas of operations will have more impact than many improvements in many other areas is consistent with the

Pareto phenomena direct our attention to the difference between the "important few" and the "trivial many."

Which of the following is not a characteristic of service operations?

The productivity of service operations is often hard to measure.

Product design and process selection are examples of _______ decisions.

These are strategic system design decisions that affect decisions made at lower levels.

Budgeting, analysis of investment proposals, and provision of funds are activities associated with the _______ function.

These are the primary tasks for the finance function.

A systems approach emphasizes interrelationships among subsystems, but its main theme is that the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

True. Optimizing the performance of individual subsystems does not guarantee optimal performance from the overall system.

Managing the supply chain has become more important as a result of firms increasing their levels of

By buying more goods and services rather than producing them themselves, firms are increasing their levels of outsourcing, thereby increasing the need to manage the supply chain.

Which of the following most involves coordinating the activities among all the elements of the business including its suppliers and distributors?

Supply Chain management involves coordinating the activities among all the elements of the business including its suppliers and distributors

Which of the following refers to service and production processes that use resources in ways that do not harm ecological systems?

Sustainability refers to service and production processes that use resources in ways that do not harm those ecological systems that support both current and future human existence.

Service typically involves a much higher degree of customer contact than manufacturing

True. Customer contact tends to be much higher in services.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, goods were produced primarily by craftsmen or their apprentices using custom-made parts.

True. It's only after the Industrial Revolution that standardized approaches became common.

Lean production systems incorporate the advantages of both mass production and craft production.

True. Lean production systems incorporate the advantages of both mass production and craft production.

Service often requires relatively greater labor content when compared to manufacturing.

True. Service operations tend to be more labor intensive than manufacturing