Operations Management - Exam 3, Operations Management - Exam 2, Operations Management - Exam 1
An organization's mission statement serves as the basis for:
E. organizational goals. Organizations' missions serve as the broad underpinning for their goals.
Value added can be calculated by:
E. outputs minus inputs. Value added represents the change in value of the original inputs.
Which of the following is not one of the phases of product design and development?
E. performance applied research Product design and development begins after applied research has been done.
Which term most closely relates to associative forecasting techniques?
E. predictor variables Associative techniques use predictor variables.
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) refers to the use of computers in: A. product design B. decision making C. data analysis D. quality control E. process control
E. process control CAM automates process control.
Which of the following is not a factor that affects productivity?
E. product price These don't lead to fundamental changes in operations.
For purposes of obtaining good time standards using a stopwatch time study, the analyst should try to avoid having the worker discover he or she is being observed.
FALSE
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) use the Center of Gravity method to establish starting grid co-ordinates.
FALSE
High Quality and low prices are both considered to be dimensions of quality.
FALSE
ISO standards apply only to manufacturing organizations.
FALSE
If the majority of service customers are satisfied, it is likely that all service customers will be satisfied.
FALSE
In market research, a group of consumers who express their opinions about a product or service is called a steering committee.
FALSE
Job design relates to people therefore technology has little impact.
FALSE
Job enrichment involves giving a worker a greater share of the total task which is why they feel enriched.
FALSE
Juran describes quality management as a trilogy that consists of quality planning, control of quality costs, and quality improvement.
FALSE
Labor laws are an important site-related factor.
FALSE
Location decisions are basically one-time decisions usually made by new organizations.
FALSE
Management compensation should be based primarily on organizational output.
FALSE
Measured day work refers to an output-based system.
FALSE
Methods analysis cannot be done for new jobs (ones that do not yet exist) since it requires observation of the process.
FALSE
Micro motion studies should be limited to periodic activities where breakthrough improvements are possible.
FALSE
A performance rating of less than 1.0 means that the observed worker was judged to be working at a faster than normal rate - doing the job quicker than normal.
FALSE
A quality circle is a cross-functional team focused on quality.
FALSE
A strategy that emphasizes convenience for the customers would probably select a single very large facility.
FALSE
A worker-machine chart can help identify non-productive parts of a process.
FALSE
An organization achieves quality by consistently meeting their competitor's standards.
FALSE
Because 'courtesy' is subjective, it can't be considered a factor in service quality.
FALSE
Broadly defined, quality refers to the ability of a product or service to occasionally meet or exceed customer expectations.
FALSE
Continuous improvement attempts to achieve major breakthroughs in product or service quality.
FALSE
Cost of inspectors, testing, test equipment, and labs are examples of prevention costs.
FALSE
Deming stresses that workers are primarily responsible for poor quality because very often they fail to follow instructions.
FALSE
Employment research in the 1970's revealed that workers were widely dissatisfied; they felt that their jobs were boring and their pay was too low.
FALSE
Ergonomics is an important part of job design to consider when we automate the system.
FALSE
Ergonomics is the use of computers and robots in the workplace.
FALSE
Factor rating is limited to quantitative information concerning location decisions.
FALSE
The tool that is useful in documenting the current process is: A. a control chart B. a Pareto chart C. a check sheet D. a flow chart E. a simo chart
D. a flow chart
The primary purpose of statistical process control is to detect a defective product before it is shipped to a customer.
FALSE The primary purpose of SPC is to detect nonrandomness.
An x-bar control chart can only be valid if the underlying population it measures is a normal distribution.
FALSE The sample average typically is normally distributed regardless of the underlying distribution of the process.
Low-cost, high-volume items often require more intensive inspection.
FALSE These are not good candidates for inspection.
Demand can be altered in aggregate planning by promotion and producing additional product using overtime.
FALSE These are supply options.
Type I and Type II errors refer to the magnitude of variation from the standard.
FALSE These refer to decisions regarding whether the process is in or out of control.
A time fence in the master schedule is used to prevent unauthorized people from making changes to the schedule.
FALSE Time fences are used to ensure that full consideration is given when schedule changes are being considered.
Continuous processing is the best way to produce customized output.
FALSE Continuous processing is best for standardized output.
The process of dismantling and inspecting a competitor's product to discover product improvement is called benchmarking.
FALSE Dismantling and inspecting a competitor's product to discover product improvement is called reverse engineering.
Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) bring the benefits of automation to continuous processes.
FALSE FMS can bring the benefits of flexibility to continuous processes.
The term failure as applied to reliability means that a part or item does not function at all.
FALSE Failure means that the part or item does not function as it should.
Heuristic approaches to line balancing are the only approach that will guarantee an optimal solution.
FALSE Heuristic approaches cannot guarantee an optimal solution.
In cellular manufacturing, machines and equipment are grouped by type (e.g., all grinders are grouped into a cell).
FALSE In cellular layouts, machines and equipment are grouped by the needs of the product family.
Process layouts tend to have low in-process inventories.
FALSE In-process inventories are relatively high in process layouts.
A disadvantage of a product layout can be high in-process inventory costs.
FALSE In-process inventory is low with a product layout.
Information technology refers to competitive data.
FALSE Information technology refers to both data and systems.
Standardization can at times lead to serious difficulties and competitive struggles, particularly when systems are running under different conditions.
FALSE It is the lack of standardization that can at times lead to serious difficulties and competitive struggles.
A Job-Shop processing system generally requires less skilled workers than a continuous processing system.
FALSE Job shops require greater skill on the part of their workers.
Life-cycle assessment involves incorporating where the product or service is in its life-cycle into system-design decision-making.
FALSE Life-cycle assessment involves assessing the environmental impact of a product or service as it goes through its useful life.
Measurement of productivity in service is more straightforward than in manufacturing since it is not necessary to take into account the cost of materials.
FALSE Materials cost must be considered in services as well.
The use of models will guarantee the best possible decisions.
FALSE Models are useful, but their use does not guarantee the best decisions.
Modular design increases costs of purchasing and controlling inventory compared to non-modular.
FALSE Modular designs make inventory management easier and cheaper.
Companies are either producing goods or delivering services. This means that only one of the two types of operations management strategies are used.
FALSE Most systems involve a blend of goods and services.
Goods producing organizations are not involved in service activities.
FALSE Most systems involve a blend of goods and services.
The design of service layouts, e.g., warehouse and supermarket layouts, focuses on cost minimization and product flow.
FALSE Often these are low-priority considerations.
According to the reading on restaurant sourcing practices, only fast food restaurants are able to 'bring' in outsourced foods. True or False?
False
According to Deming, it is the systems that management puts into place that are primarily responsible for poor quality, not employees.
TRUE
Advanced communications has aided globalization.
TRUE
An advantage of work sampling, compared to a stopwatch time study, is that observations are spread out over a period of time in work sampling.
TRUE
An example of a regional factor in location planning is the location of our markets (either existing or potential).
TRUE
As a result of the factor rating analysis, a manager may sometimes reject all of the alternatives under consideration when the composite scores are below the minimum threshold value.
TRUE
Business organizations achieving good quality benefit in a variety of ways, including a positive reputation for quality, increased customer loyalty, and lower production costs.
TRUE
Convenience, Reliability and Assurance are dimensions of service quality.
TRUE
Cost of inspectors, testing, test equipment, and labs are examples of appraisal costs.
TRUE
Crosby's concept of "quality is free" means that it is less expensive to do it right initially than to do it over.
TRUE
Customer expectations tend to change over time affecting their perception of service quality.
TRUE
Ergonomics is important for preventing common workplace injuries such as back injuries and repetitive-motion injuries.
TRUE
Firms that wish to do business with the European Community can benefit from having a quality management system that meets ISO 9000 standards.
TRUE
For service and retail stores, a prime factor in location analysis is customer access.
TRUE
For service organizations, the dominant factors in location analysis usually are market-related.
TRUE
ISO standards aid in transferring technology to developing countries.
TRUE
It would be acceptable to use a group incentive plan for an assembly line operation.
TRUE
Job enrichment involves an increase in the level of responsibility for planning and coordinating tasks.
TRUE
Juran describes quality management as a trilogy that consists of quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement.
TRUE
Location decisions are closely tied to an organization's strategies.
TRUE
Many lower level jobs are monotonous and boring.
TRUE
Many management compensation systems are being revised to reflect increased emphasis on quality and customer service.
TRUE
Medical malpractice claims are an example of how poor quality can affect an organization through liability.
TRUE
Methods analysis and motion study techniques do not directly consider behavioral aspects of jobs.
TRUE
No stopwatch is required in a work sampling study.
TRUE
One criticism of total quality management is that it may produce blind pursuit of quality to the neglect of other priority considerations.
TRUE
One disadvantage of specialization is worker dissatisfaction.
TRUE
One factor in determining how many cycles to time in a time study is the degree of variation that is present in the observed times.
TRUE
One important factor that influences productivity is trust between workers and managers.
TRUE
One of the potential benefits of "self-directed teams" is higher productivity and greater worker satisfaction.
TRUE
One of the potential benefits of "self-directed teams" is higher quality.
TRUE
One of the reasons for the importance of location decisions is its strategic importance to the supply chains.
TRUE
Predetermined time standards involve the use of published data regarding how long various activities are expected to take.
TRUE
Process mapping is part of process improvement.
TRUE
Quality of conformance refers to the degree to which goods and services conform to the intent of the designers as documented in the specifications.
TRUE
Recent changes to ISO guidelines stress continuous improvement regardless of how good you currently are.
TRUE
Reducing the variations in our product or service is an important key to perceived quality.
TRUE
Serviceability, Conformance and Reliability are dimensions of product quality.
TRUE
Six sigma programs have both management and technical components.
TRUE
Specialization is one of the sources of disagreement between the efficiency and behavioral approaches to job design.
TRUE
TQM expands the traditional view of quality beyond looking only at the quality of the final product or service to looking at the quality of every aspect of the process.
TRUE
TQM is not just a collection of techniques. It is rather a whole new attitude toward quality.
TRUE
The PDSA cycle forms the conceptual basis for continuous improvement.
TRUE
The center of gravity method is useful in location planning for the location of a distribution center.
TRUE
The customer is the focal point and customer satisfaction is the driving force in quality management.
TRUE
The degree to which a product or service satisfies its intended purpose is determined by service after delivery, ease of use, design, and conformance to design.
TRUE
The dimensions of product and service quality are too abstract to be applied operationally.
TRUE
The lower cost of foreign labor is often offset by lower levels of productivity.
TRUE
The normal time in time study is obtained by multiplying the observed time by the performance rating.
TRUE
The primary difference between internal failures and external failures is time and place of discovery of the failure.
TRUE
The purpose of benchmarking is to establish a standard against which the organization's performance can be judged, and to identify a model for possible improvement.
TRUE
The standard time for a job can be obtained by multiplying the normal time by an appropriate allowance factor.
TRUE
Therbligs are basic elemental motions.
TRUE
There is a positive link between quality and productivity.
TRUE
Three key philosophies in TQM are continuous improvement, involvement of everyone in the organization, and customer satisfaction.
TRUE
Total quality management attempts to involve everyone in an organization in the effort to achieve quality.
TRUE
Trust is a factor influencing productivity.
TRUE
User instructions and follow-up services after delivery are important elements of overall product or service quality.
TRUE
When considering service quality, convenience often is a major factor.
TRUE
Work measurement concentrates on how long the tasks take to accomplish.
TRUE
Work sampling can be used to estimate the proportion of time a machine is idle.
TRUE
Work sampling involves the use of some method of randomizing the observations.
TRUE
Removing the seasonal component from a data series (deseasonalizing) can be accomplished by dividing each data point by its appropriate seasonal relative.
TRUE Deseasonalized data points have been adjusted for seasonal influences.
Trend-adjusted exponential smoothing requires selection of two smoothing constants.
TRUE One is for the trend and one is for the random error.
The use of a control chart assumes that errors are normally distributed about a mean of zero.
TRUE Over time, a forecast model's tracking signal should fluctuate randomly about a mean of zero.
"Quality of conformance" is concerned with whether a product or service conforms to its specifications.
TRUE Specification conformance is quality of conformance.
An example of a tactical operations management decision is determining employment levels.
TRUE Staffing is an ongoing, tactical decision.
Subcontracting 'in' would apply to periods in which our organization has excess capacity.
TRUE Subcontracting in would be selling some available capacity.
A modern firm has two supply chain considerations - external links with suppliers and customers, and an internal network of flows to and between the operations function itself.
TRUE Supply chain considerations are at play both in and beyond the modern firm.
The goal of aggregate planning is to achieve a production plan that attempts to balance the organization's resources and meet expected demand.
TRUE This is the goal of aggregate planning.
The amount of inspection needed is governed by the costs of inspection and the expected costs of passing defective items.
TRUE These interact to set the optimum amount of inspection.
Disaggregating an aggregate plan leads to a master schedule.
TRUE This is an output of the aggregate planning process.
The sampling distribution can be assumed to be approximately normal even when the underlying process distribution is not normally distributed.
TRUE This is especially true as the sample size grows.
Available-to-promise in the first week is equal to beginning inventory plus MPS quantity, if any, less committed customer orders before the next MPS quantity.
TRUE This is the ATP calculation for the first week.
Aggregate planning is used to establish general levels of employment, output, and inventories over an intermediate-range of time.
TRUE This is the domain of aggregate planning.
Applied research has the objective of achieving commercial applications for new ideas.
TRUE Applied research is aimed at commercializing basic research.
Poor layouts are found in both manufacturing and service organizations.
TRUE Both manufacturers and service firms benefit from improved layouts.
Many US manufacturers are now shifting their focus from products to both product and process improvements.
TRUE Both product and process must be considered in the product/service design question.
Group technology is closely connected to cellular manufacturing.
TRUE Both require a systematic analysis of parts to identify the part families.
A major benefit of Computer Aided Design (CAD) is the increased productivity of designers.
TRUE CAD tends to greatly increase designers' productivity.
"Concurrent engineering" brings people concerned with manufacturing into the design phase earlier than in the "over-the-wall" approach.
TRUE Concurrent engineering people concerned with manufacturing are actively engaged in the design phase.
Increasing productivity and quality will result in increased capacity. True or False?
True
The break-even quantity can be determined by dividing the fixed costs by the difference between the revenue per unit and the variable cost per unit. True or False?
True
The term capacity refers to the maximum quantity an operating unit can process over a given period. True or False?
True
Modern quality management emphasizes finding and correcting mistakes before they reach the customer - catching the errors before they are shipped.
FALSE
Motivation influences quality and productivity, but not the work environment.
FALSE
One of the major obstacles to implementing TQM is the emphasis on long-term financial results.
FALSE
One potential disadvantage of "self-directed teams" is higher training costs.
FALSE
One therblig is the equivalent of one hour of sustained work by one average person.
FALSE
Poor quality has a positive effect on productivity because it usually takes longer to produce a good part.
FALSE
Predetermined time standards are usually based on observing one very efficient worker performing the task.
FALSE
Predetermined time standards use historical data from a company's own files.
FALSE
Product design choices are usually the result of inputs from accounting and human resources.
FALSE
Quality at the source means returning all defects to the source - our vendors.
FALSE
The degree to which a product or service satisfies its intended purpose is determined by design, conformance to design, cost, and reputation of the producer.
FALSE
The design of work systems, because objective standards are used, avoids most ethical issues.
FALSE
The purpose of statistical process control is to ensure that historical output is random.
FALSE It is to ensure that non-random variation is detected and corrected.
Managers should most often rely on quantitative techniques for important decisions since quantitative approaches result in more accurate decisions.
FALSE Just as other techniques do, quantitative techniques have limitations.
Larger samples will require wider x-bar control limits because there is more data.
FALSE Large samples will lead to narrower control limits.
The lean production philosophy has been slow to be adopted in service industries.
FALSE Lean concepts apply very well in service industries.
A level capacity strategy is also known as a chase demand strategy.
FALSE Level and chase strategies are opposite approaches.
MAD is equal to the square root of MSE, which is why we calculate the easier MSE and then calculate the more difficult MAD.
FALSE MAD is the mean absolute deviation.
Master schedulers are employed primarily by service organizations.
FALSE Master schedulers are primarily employed in manufacturing.
Statistical Process Control is the measurement of rejects in the final product.
FALSE SPC is the evaluation of the process.
The efficiency of a productive unit is 60%. The unit produces an average of 20 forklift trucks per day. Determine the effective capacity of the unit.
33.33
A SIMO chart includes: A. Delay B. Storage C. Transportation D. Left/Right hand movements E. Inspection
D. Left/Right hand movements
A control chart is a visual representation of the various states in a process.
FALSE
A flow process chart is helpful for visualizing the portions of a work cycle during which the operator and equipment are busy or idle.
FALSE
Design capacity refers to the maximum output that can possibly be attained. True or False?
True
The utilization of a machine is 50%. The machine has a design capacity of 70 units per hour and an effective capacity of 60 units per hour. Find the efficiency of the machine.
58.33
Given the following information, what would utilization be? Effective capacity = 20 units per day Design capacity = 60 units per day Actual output = 15 units per day A. 1/4 B. 1/3 C. 1/2 D. 3/4 E. none of these
A. 1/4
The manager of a carpet store is trying to determine the best installation crew size. He has tried various crew sizes with the results shown below. Based on productivity, what crew size do you recommend?
A. 2 Crews of two workers are most productive.
An investment proposal will have annual fixed costs of $60,000, variable costs of $35 per unit of output, and revenue of $55 per unit of output. (A) Determine the break-even quantity (B) What volume of output will be necessary for an annual profit of $60,000?
A. 3,000 B. 6,000
A firm is considering three capacity alternatives: A, B, and C. Alternative A would have an annual fixed cost of $100,000 and variable costs of $22 per unit. Alternative B would have annual fixed costs of $120,000 and variable costs of $20 per unit. Alternative C would have fixed costs of $80,000 and variable costs of $30 per unit. Revenue is expected to be $50 per unit. (A) Which alternative has the lowest break-even quantity? (B) Which alternative will produce the highest profits for an annual output of 10,000 units? (C) Which alternative would require the lowest volume of output to generate an annual profit of $50,000?
A. 3,572 4,000 4,000 B. 180,000 180,000 120,000 C. 5,358 5,667 6,500
A job had an observed cycle time of four minutes, a performance rating of 80 percent, and an allowance factor that was 20 percent of job time. Normal time for the job in minutes is: A. 3.20 B. 3.84 C. 4.00 D. 4.80 E. 5.00
A. 3.20
A manager uses the following equation to predict monthly receipts: Yt = 40,000 + 150t. What is the forecast for July if t = 0 in April of this year?
A. 40,450 July would be period 3, so the forecast would be 40,000 + 150(3).
A small business owner is contemplating the addition of another product line. Capacity increases and equipment will result in an increase in annual fixed costs of $50,000. Variable costs will be $25 per unit. A) What unit-selling price must the owner obtain to break-even on a volume of 2,500 units a year? B) Because of market conditions, the owner feels a revenue of $47 is preferred to the value determined in part A. What volume of output will be required to achieve a profit of $16,000 using this revenue?
A. 45 B. 3,000
Gourmet Pretzels bakes soft pretzels on an assembly line. It currently bakes 800 pretzels each eight-hour shift. If the production is increased to 1,200 pretzels each shift, then productivity will have increased by:
A. 50 percent. Divide the difference in productivity by the original productivity.
Suppose a country's productivity last year was 84. If this country's productivity growth rate of 5% is to be maintained, this means that this year's productivity will have to be _______.
A. 88.2 Multiply 84 by 1.05 and then subtract 84 from this product
Which closeness rating reflects the highest importance for two departments being close to each other? A. A B. E C. I D. U E. X Closeness ratings denoted "A" should be encouraged.
A. A (absolutely necessary) Closeness ratings denoted "A" should be encouraged.
A tool used to organize data into logical categories is called a(n) ___. A. Affinity diagram B. Check list C. Control Chart D. Flow Chart E. Relationship diagram
A. Affinity diagram
_______ variation is a variation whose cause can be identified. A. Assignable B. Controllable C. Random D. Statistical E. Theoretical
A. Assignable Assignable variation has a special cause.
Uncommitted inventory is called ______. A. Available-to-promise inventory B. Free inventory C. Safety stock D. Lead time inventory E. Obsolete inventory
A. Available to promise inventory Uncommitted inventory is available-to-promise.
Which one of these is a tool used to tell a machine the details of the operations to be performed? A. CNC B. CIM C. CAD D. CAM E. automation
A. CNC CNC stores and transmits instructions on operations that are to be performed.
One step that isn't part of service blueprinting is:
A. Eliminate boundaries for the service and decide on the level of interaction needed Defining boundaries is a critical part of service blueprinting.
The symbols for operation, storage, transportation, inspection, and delay would usually be found on which type of chart? A. Flow process B. Gantt C. Simultaneous motion D. Worker-machine E. Delay analysis
A. Flow process
Accuracy in forecasting can be measured by:
A. MSE MSE is mean squared error.
Which of the following statements should not characterize an operations strategy toward the design of work systems? A. Manufacturing technology is the heart of a business. B. Workers can make or break a business. C. Workers can be a valuable source of insights. D. A spirit of cooperation can contribute to success. E. Workers can be proud and respected.
A. Manufacturing technology is the heart of a business.
A chart showing the number of occurrences by category would be used in: A. Pareto analysis B. interviewing C. cause-and-effect diagrams D. benchmarking E. none of the above
A. Pareto analysis
The Baldrige award is based on seven categories. Which is not one of those? A. Relative profitability B. Strategic planning C. Human resource focus D. Information and Analysis E. Leadership
A. Relative profitability
Determining the number of cycles to observe is an element of _________. A. Stop watch time study. B. Standard elemental times. C. Predetermined time standards. D. Work sampling. E. MTM tables.
A. Stop watch time study.
The chart used to focus on busy and idle portions of a work cycle is a: A. Worker-machine chart B. Gantt chart C. SIMO-chart D. Idle chart E. Flow process chart
A. Worker-machine chart
Which of these items would be most likely to be made with a fixed position layout? A. a Boeing 777 jet aircraft B. applesauce C. a computer chip D. toothpaste E. all of these
A. a Boeing 777 jet aircraft A fixed position layout brings the process to the product.
Which of the following is least important as a consideration for a firm at the beginning of a supply chain? A. access to end consumers B. access to resources C. proximity to customers D. access to transportation infrastructure E. access to productive labor
A. access to end consumers Firms at the beginning of the supply chain are far-removed from final consumers.
Efficiency is defined as the ratio of: A. actual output to effective capacity B. actual output to design capacity C. design capacity to effective capacity D. effective capacity to actual output E. design capacity to actual output
A. actual output to effective capacity
In trend-adjusted exponential smoothing, the trend-adjusted forecast consists of:
A. an exponentially smoothed forecast and a smoothed trend factor. Both random variation and the trend are smoothed in TAF models.
The substitution of machinery that has sensing and control devices for human labor is best described by the term: A. automation B. feedback control C. computer-aided manufacturing D. computer-integrated manufacturing E. flexible manufacturing system
A. automation Automation involves the substitution of machinery that has sensing and control devices for human labor.
One reason for using the Delphi method in forecasting is to:
A. avoid premature consensus (bandwagon effect). A bandwagon can lead to popular but potentially inaccurate viewpoints to drown out other important considerations.
One option for altering the pattern of demand is: A. backorders B. overtime C. part-time workers D. inventories E. subcontracting
A. backorders Backordering shifts demand to later time periods.
A persistent tendency for forecasts to be greater than or less than the actual values is called:
A. bias. Bias is a tendency for a forecast to be above (or below) the actual value.
A product focused, single piece flow, pull production system would be called a: A. cellular layout B. job shop C. assembly line D. non-repetitive process E. continuous flow
A. cellular layout These are characteristics of cellular layouts.
Retail businesses often engage in ____________, the tendency to locate in close proximity to one another. A. clustering B. strategizing C. localcasting D. centering
A. clustering
Which of the following process types would be more likely to be used in the maturity phase of a product's life-cycle? A. continuous B. intermittent C. project D. batch E. job shop
A. continuous Continuous processes are more appropriate for highly standardized products in their maturity phase.
The type of processing system which is used for highly standardized products is: A. continuous B. intermittent C. project D. batch E. unit
A. continuous Continuous processing is for highly standardized products.
Which of the following would be least important in the pursuit of a time-based strategy?
A. cost minimization Many means for minimizing cost would have the effect of making a time-based strategy less feasible.
Which one of the following is not considered an important factor in service layout design? A. cost minimization and product flow B. frequency of orders C. customer attitude and image D. all are important E. none are important
A. cost minimization and product flow Service layout design is generally not all that focused on cost minimization.
Which is not a significant difference between manufacturing and service operations?
A. cost per unit Manufacturing operations aren't necessarily more or less efficient than service operations.
The method for evaluating location alternatives which uses their total cost curves is: A. cost-volume analysis B. transportation model analysis C. factor rating analysis D. linear regression analysis E. MODI analysis
A. cost-volume analysis
The maximum allowable cycle time is computed as: A. daily operating time divided by the desired output B. desired output divided by the daily operating time C. daily operating time divided by the product of the desired output and the sum of job times D. the product of desired output and the sum of job times divided by daily operating time E. 1.00 minus station time
A. daily operating time divided by the desired output If this is smaller than the minimum cycle time, extra workstations will be necessary.
In order to increase the responsiveness of a forecast made using the moving average technique, the number of data points in the average should be:
A. decreased Fewer data points result in more responsive moving averages.
Which of the following is not a criterion for developing capacity alternatives? A. design structured, rigid systems B. take a big-picture approach to capacity changes C. prepare to deal with capacity in "chunks" D. attempt to smooth out capacity requirements E. identify the optimal operating level
A. design structured, rigid systems
What is it about repetitive processes that make them appropriate for products in the maturity phase of their life cycle? A. efficiency B. general-purpose technology C. possible variety D. low risk E. flexibility
A. efficiency
What is it about continuous processes that make them appropriate for products in the maturity phase of their life-cycle? A. efficiency B. general-purpose technology C. possible variety D. low risk E. flexibility
A. efficiency Continuous processes are more appropriate for mature products, when efficiency is of paramount importance.
For fixed costs of $2,000, revenue per unit of $2, and variable cost per unit of $1.60, the break-even quantity is: A. 1,000 B. 1,250 C. 2,250 D. 5,000 E. none of these
D. 5,000
The methods analysis chart which describes the overall sequence of operations, transportation, storage, delays, and inspection is a: A. flow process chart B. worker-machine chart C. gang process chart D. simultaneous-motion (SIMO) chart E. time/efficiency chart
A. flow process chart
Which of the following most closely describes job enlargement? A. horizontal loading B. increasing the level of responsibility associated with a job C. transferring workers through a series of jobs to increase their scope of experience D. increasing the amount of workspace assigned to a worker E. assigning two jobs to the same worker
A. horizontal loading
One way to increase reliability is to:
A. improve component design Another way is to add backup components.
What is the effect of an increase in the desired confidence level on the number of observations necessary in a time study? A. increases B. decreases C. unaffected D. may increase or decrease, depending on the sample standard deviation E. impossible to say without additional information
A. increases
Lost production time, scrap, and rework are examples of ___. A. internal failure costs B. external failure costs C. appraisal costs D. prevention costs E. replacement costs
A. internal failure costs
In doing "aggregate planning" for a firm producing paint, the aggregate planners would most likely deal with: A. just gallons of paint, without concern for the different colors and sizes B. gallons of paint, but be concerned with the different colors to be produced C. gallons, quarts, pints, and all the different sizes to be produced D. all the different sizes and all the different colors by size E. none of the above
A. just gallons of paint, without concern for the different colors and sizes The principle of aggregation is reflected in this answer.
The minimum possible cycle time in a product layout is determined by the: A. longest task time B. shortest task time C. average task time D. total task time E. none of the above
A. longest task time The longest task time represents the minimum cycle time.
A one-hour photo processing machine in a Wal-Mart store is an example of a ___. A. micro-factory B. downsize strategy C. diversified strategy D. lean production system E. falling price strategy
A. micro-factory
In a stopwatch time study, the average time it takes a given worker to perform a task a certain number of times is the: A. observed time B. normal time C. standard time D. allowance time E. performance rating time
A. observed time
An example of automated services is A. on-line banking B. build your own pizza C. haircuts D. massage parlors E. all are examples of automated services
A. on-line banking On-line banking has almost no human to human interaction.
With regard to operations strategy, organization strategy should, ideally, take into account:
A. operations' strengths and weaknesses. Formulation of organization strategy should take into account the realities of operations' strengths and weaknesses, capitalizing on strengths and dealing with weaknesses.
Modern firms increasingly rely on other firms to supply goods and services instead of doing these tasks themselves. This increased level of _____________ is leading to increased emphasis on ____________ management.
A. outsourcing; supply chain Supply chain management takes a more systemic view of the firm, its operations, and its suppliers.
A control chart used to monitor the fraction of defectives generated by a process is the: A. p-chart B. R-chart C. x-bar chart D. c-chart E. Gantt chart
A. p-chart The p-chart monitors the fraction defective.
Which term is most closely associated with cellular manufacturing? A. part families B. assembly line C. robotics D. CAD E. CAM
A. part families Part families are central to cellular manufacturing.
The method of financial analysis which focuses on the length of time it takes to recover the initial cost of an investment is: A. payback B. net present value C. internal rate of return D. queuing E. cost-volume
A. payback
Which of the following is least likely to affect the cost an organization incurs in producing its products or services?
A. price Relative to the other choices, price is least likely to affect cost.
The type of layout which features departments or other functional groupings in which similar activities are performed is: A. process B. product C. fixed-position D. mass E. unit
A. process Process layouts group similar activities.
In the additive model for seasonality, seasonality is expressed as a ______________ adjustment to the average; in the multiplicative model, seasonality is expressed as a __________ adjustment to the average.
A. quantity; percentage The additive model simply adds a seasonal adjustment to the deseasonalized forecast. The multiplicative model adjusts the deseasonalized forecast by multiplying it by a season relative or index.
In location planning, the location of raw materials, the location of markets, and labor factors are: A. regional factors B. community factors C. site-related factors D. national factors E. minor considerations
A. regional factors
Product design and choice of location are examples of _______ decisions.
A. strategic These decisions are made high in the hierarchy.
The more novel a new product or service design is, the more forecasters have to rely on:
A. subjective estimates. New products and services lack historical data, so forecasts for them must be based on subjective estimates.
The impact that a significant change in capacity will have on a key vendor is a: A. supply chain factor B. process limiting factor C. internal factor D. human resource factor E. operational process factor
A. supply chain factor
Business organizations consist of three major functions which, ideally:
A. support one another Finance, Marketing and Operations are these major functions.
Asking questions about the current process in the hope that it will lead to important insights about why the current process isn't working as well as it could is called: A. the "5W2H approach" B. using quality circles C. benchmarking D. PDCA cycle E. none of the above
A. the "5W2H approach"
The primary difference between seasonality and cycles is:
A. the duration of the repeating patterns. Seasons happen within time periods; cycles happen across multiple time periods.
One option for altering the availability of capacity is: A. use of overtime or slack time B. pricing C. promotion D. backorders E. none of the above
A. use of overtime or slack time Overtime or slack time alters the availability of capacity.
A firm pursuing a strategy based on customization and variety will tend to structure and manage its supply chain to accommodate more _____________ than a firm pursuing a strategy based on low cost and high volume.
A. variation Customization and variety lead to variation that must be accommodated.
Linear programming to produce an aggregate plan: A. will produce the best plan if accurate inputs are used B. is the most widely used technique C. (a) and (b) D. will produce a plan that may not be the best plan E. requires an excel spread sheet
A. will produce the best plan if accurate inputs are used If inputs are valid and accurate, linear programming will give an optimal solution.
A productivity increase in one operation that does not improve overall productivity of the business is not
A. worthwhile. Only system-wide productivity improvement makes the organization more productive.
Studies on a machine that molds plastic water pipe indicate that when it is injecting 1-inch diameter pipe, the process standard deviation is 0.05 inches. The one-inch pipe has a specification of 1-inch plus or minus 0.10 inch. What is the process capability index (Cpk) if the long-run process mean is 1 inch? A. 0.50 B. 0.67 C. 1.00 D. 2.00 E. none of the above
B. 0.67 Use the Cpk formula to assess this process' capability.
The weekly output of a fabrication process is shown below, together with data for labor and material inputs. Standard selling price is $125 per unit. Overhead is charged weekly at the rate of $1,500 plus .5 times direct labor cost. Assume a 40-hour week and an hourly wage of $16. Material cost is $10 per foot. What is the average multifactor productivity?
B. 1.457 Calculate multifactor productivity for each week, then average the two.
The specifications for a product are 6 mm ± 0.1 mm. The process is known to operate at a mean of 6.05 with a standard deviation of 0.01 mm. What is the Cpk for this process? A. 3.33 B. 1.67 C. 5.00 D. 2.50 E. none of the above
B. 1.67 Cpk is used here since the process mean isn't centered in the specification interval.
A job had an observed time of 10 minutes, a performance rating of .90, and an allowance factor of 20 percent of job time. Twenty-five cycles were timed. Standard time for the job in minutes is: A. 10.0 B. 10.8 C. 12.5 D. 15.0 E. depends on the number of cycles observed
B. 10.8
Given forecast errors of 5, 0, -4, and 3, what is the mean absolute deviation?
B. 3 Convert each error into an absolute value and then average.
Suppose a four-period weighted average is being used to forecast demand. Weights for the periods are as follows: wt-4 = 0.1, wt-3 = 0.2, wt-2 = 0.3 and wt-1 = 0.4. Demand observed in the previous four periods was as follows: At-4 = 380, At-3 = 410, At-2 = 390, At-1 = 400. What will be the demand forecast for period t?
B. 397 The forecast will be (.1 * 380) + (.2 * 410) + (.3 * 390) + (.4 * 400) = 397.
Given forecast errors of 5, 0, -4, and 3, what is the bias?
B. 4 Sum the forecast errors.
Some communities offer financial and other incentives to ______ new businesses. A. Tax B. Attract C. Marginalize D. Incorporate E. Zone
B. Attract
Designing for recycling helps facilitate ______.
B. Compliance with regulatory environments Regulatory environments are increasingly focused on encouraging recycling.
The Balanced Scorecard is a useful tool for helping managers translate their strategy into action in the following areas:
B. Customers; Financial; Internal Business Processes; Learning and Growth These are the four core areas addressed by the Balanced Scorecard.
Which of the following is not a step in the forecasting process?
B. Eliminate all assumptions. We cannot eliminate all assumptions.
Capacity planning decisions have both long-term and short-term considerations. Which of the following statements are true? (I) Long-term considerations relate to the overall level of capacity. (II) Short-term considerations relate to the probable variations in capacity requirements. (III) Short-term considerations determine the "effective capacity." A. Only one of the three statements is true. B. I and II C. II and III D. I and III E. All three statements are correct.
B. I and II
Management behaviors supporting an organizational culture that encourages continuous improvement include which of the following? (I) develop a vision statement for the organization (II) develop a reward system that promotes the philosophy (III) institute continuous training programs (IV) make decisions that adhere to the philosophy A. I, II, and IV B. I, II, III, and IV C. I and III D. II, III, and IV E. II and IV
B. I, II, III, and IV
The Deming Prize was established by the ___. A. American Statistical Association B. Japanese C. North American Free Trade Association D. American Quality Society E. World Trade Organization
B. Japanese
Which type of processing system tends to produce the most product variety? A. Assembly B. Job-Shop C. Batch D. Continuous E. Project
B. Job-Shop A Job-Shop provides low volume of high-variety goods.
"Must have", "expected" and "excitement" characteristics are categories in the ____ model.
B. Kano The Kano model is an alternative to "more is better" design approaches
Putting forecast errors into perspective is best done using
B. MAPE. MAPE depicts the forecast error relative to what was being forecast.
Which of the following is not typically considered a cure for poor competitiveness?
B. Minimize attention to the operations function. Operations is a prime area for improving competitiveness.
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:
B. Pareto phenomenon Pareto phenomena direct our attention to the difference between the "important few" and the "trivial many."
Service design generally differs from product design in which of the following ways?
B. There is less latitude in detecting and correcting errors prior to delivery. Often service design flaws are not discovered until some customers have been served.
Location options don't usually include: A. expansion B. a contract C. adding new facilities D. moving E. doing nothing
B. a contract
Which phrase most closely describes flexible manufacturing systems? A. a variation of CAD B. a more fully automated version of cellular manufacturing C. manufacturing resource planning D. a process layout with a manufacturing overlay E. an approach that allows workers to begin work at a time of their choosing
B. a more fully automated version of cellular manufacturing Flexible automation allows for greater variety within or across product families.
Using the latest observation in a sequence of data to forecast the next period is:
B. a naive forecast. Only one piece of information is needed for a naive forecast.
Utilization is defined as the ratio of: A. actual output to effective capacity B. actual output to design capacity C. design capacity to effective capacity D. effective capacity to actual output E. design capacity to actual output
B. actual output to design capacity
Production units have an optimal rate of output where: A. total costs are minimum B. average unit costs are minimum C. marginal costs are minimum D. rate of output is maximum E. total revenue is maximum
B. average unit costs are minimum
Which of the following is not a strategy to manage service capacity? A. hiring extra workers B. backordering C. pricing and promotion D. part time workers E. subcontracting
B. backordering
A process results in a few defects occurring in each unit of output. Long-run, these defects should be monitored with ___________. A. p-charts B. c-charts C. x-bar charts D. r-charts E. o-charts
B. c-charts C-charts are used to monitor the number of defects per unit.
The grouping of equipment by the operations needed to perform similar work for part families is: A. product layout B. cellular manufacturing layout C. functional layout D. fixed-position layout E. process layout
B. cellular manufacturing layout Cellular layouts are organized around part families.
Focusing a supply chain on _________ is a modern way of ensuring high quality inputs and a ready supply of process-improvement ideas. A. lowest cost-per unit sourced B. close, collaborative ties with suppliers C. suppliers that emphasized continuous-flow production D. ISO 14000 customers E. partners pursuing similar strategies
B. close, collaborative ties with suppliers
In the area of product and service design, the acronym CAD refers to:
B. computer aided design CAD can increase the productivity of product designers.
Forecasting techniques generally assume:
B. continuity of some underlying causal system. Forecasting techniques generally assume that the same underlying causal system that existed in the past will continue to exist in the future.
Mobile phones have evolved from devices intended to place and receive phone calls into handheld multimedia communications devices, but in the eyes of some customers these new features make the phones less desirable. This is an example of _________.
B. creeping featurism Customer satisfaction isn't strictly dependent on the number of features a product offers.
What will be the effect on sample size in work sampling of increasing the permissible maximum error? A. increase the number of observations needed B. decrease the number of observations needed C. no effect on sample size D. sometimes increase and sometimes decrease the sample size, depending on the analyst E. impossible to say without additional information
B. decrease the number of observations needed
Moving from the aggregate plan to a master production schedule requires: A. rough cut capacity planning B. disaggregation C. sub-optimization D. strategy formulation E. chase strategies
B. disaggregation The aggregate plan is disaggregated into the master schedule.
Methods analysis and motion study techniques develop which aspect of jobs? A. behavioral aspects B. efficiency aspects C. pay levels D. all of the above E. none of the above
B. efficiency aspects
Which of the following is not among the chief reasons organizations fail?
B. emphasizing labor productivity in labor-intensive environments In labor-intensive environments, emphasizing labor productivity is a good idea.
For firms competing in worldwide markets, conducting ______________ is more complex, since what works in one country or region might not work in another.
B. environmental analysis Environmental analysis takes into account the relevant factors in the environment; there are more of these if there are more markets to consider.
When determining the timing and degree of capacity change, one can use the approach of: A. lead time flexibility strategy B. expand early strategy C. wait-and-see strategy D. backordering E. delayed differentiation
B. expand early strategy
Warranty service, processing of complaints, and costs of litigation are examples of ___. A. internal failure costs B. external failure costs C. appraisal costs D. prevention costs E. replacement costs
B. external failure costs
An approach to location analysis that can include both qualitative and quantitative considerations is: A. location cost-volume B. factor rating C. transportation model D. expected value (net present value) E. financial analysis
B. factor rating
Cause-and-effect diagrams are sometimes called: A. Pareto diagrams B. fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams C. run charts D. control charts E. none of the above
B. fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams
Although they do not guarantee optimal solutions, ______________ are useful in finding reasonable solutions when the number of possible options is overwhelming. A. cellular layouts B. heuristics C. logistics D. CAM E. CAD
B. heuristics Heuristics often provide workable solutions to complex problems.
In services, flowcharts are useful for ____________.
B. identifying and determining the sequence of customer and service actions and interactions The customer-service interaction is depicted using flowcharts.
One way to increase reliability is to:
B. improve preventive maintenance procedures Preventative maintenance leads to longer intervals between breakdowns.
In practice, the more commonly used techniques for aggregate planning are: A. mathematical techniques B. informal trial-and-error techniques C. (a) and (b) about equally D. simulation models E. linear programming optimization
B. informal trial-and-error techniques Trial-and-error techniques are more commonly used.
The more effective and all-encompassing a firm's quality control and continuous improvement efforts, the less that company will need to rely on: A. insourcing. B. inspection. C. outsourcing. D. acceptance sampling. E. capability assessment.
B. inspection.
Marketing depends on operations for information regarding ___________.
B. lead time Marketing uses lead time information to make promises to customers.
The degree of management involvement in short-range forecasts is:
B. low. Short-range forecasting tends to be fairly routine.
Which term is most closely associated with the term disaggregation? A. subcontracting B. master schedule C. diversity D. varying inventory levels E. firing and laying off
B. master schedule The aggregate plan is disaggregated into the master schedule.
Which of the following is used for constructing a control chart?
B. mean squared error The mean squared error leads to an estimate for the sample forecast standard deviation.
Two widely used metrics of variation are the __________ and the _________.
B. mean; standard deviation The mean and standard deviation summarize important facets regarding the variation in a process.
Which is not a requirement for an effective team? A. talent and skills to meet goals B. one or more members representing supervision C. a system of reinforcement and celebration D. clearly stated and commonly held vision and goals E. effective and skilled interpersonal relations.
B. one or more members representing supervision
Daily capacity of a product layout is determined by: A. cycle time divided by operating time B. operating time divided by cycle time C. operating time divided by total task time D. total task time divided by cycle time E. cycle time divided by total task time
B. operating time divided by cycle time This represents how many units are possible per day.
Scheduling personnel is an example of an operations management:
B. operational decision. Staffing-level decisions are made low in the hierarchy.
Manufacturing work sent to other countries is called:
B. outsourced Outsourcing is increasingly a part of operations management.
Cellular layout is a term associated with: A. wireless telecommunication B. part families C. functional (or process) layouts D. assembly lines E. job shops
B. part families Part families are produced on cells.
The four dimensions of quality that are sometimes used to determine fitness for use of a product are ___. A. performance, special features, durability, and service after sale B. performance, special features, conformance, and reliability C. special features, conformance, reliability, and durability D. performance, conformance, reliability, and durability E. special features, conformance, durability, and service after sale
B. performance, special features, conformance, and reliability
The responsibilities of the operations manager are:
B. planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling The scope of operations management ranges across the organization.
A managerial approach toward forecasting which seeks to actively influence demand is:
B. proactive. Simply responding to demand is a reactive approach.
A service organization (for example, a hospital) is likely to use a ________ layout because of variability in customer processing requirements. A. project B. process C. flow D. assembly E. non-repetitive
B. process A process layout is capable of providing more variety.
The ratio of good output to quantity of raw material input is called
B. process yield. This is sometimes a useful productivity measure in service industries.
Essentially, the output of aggregate planning is the: A. marketing plan B. production plan C. rough-cut capacity plan D. assignment plan E. material requirements plan
B. production plan The production plan largely results from the aggregate planning effort.
The two general approaches to forecasting are:
B. qualitative and quantitative. Forecast approaches are either quantitative or qualitative.
A formal way to document customer requirements is:
B. quality function deployment (QFD) QFD brings the voice of the customer into the design process.
The primary method for associative forecasting is:
B. regression analysis. Regression analysis is an associative forecasting technique.
The basis for a statistical process control chart is a(the) __________. A. process capability B. sampling distribution C. control limit D. sample range E. sample mean
B. sampling distribution Control charts reflect the sampling distribution of an in control process.
Averaging techniques are useful for:
B. smoothing out fluctuations in time series. Smoothing helps forecasters see past random error.
In a service setting, the aggregate plan results in a time-phased projection of __________ requirements. A. customer B. staff C. inventory D. subcontracting E. outsourcing
B. staff Staff requirements are the focus of aggregate planning in services.
Aggregate planning is capacity planning for: A. the long range B. the intermediate range C. the short range D. typically one to three months E. typically one or more years
B. the intermediate range The intermediate range typically runs from two to 12 months.
The main disadvantage(s) of informal techniques used for aggregate planning is (are): A. they are expensive to do B. they may not result in the best plan C. they take a long time to do D. they require use of a computer E. lack of formal education of the planners
B. they may not result in the best plan Informal solutions may not be costly or difficult, but they may be less likely to offer up the best plan.
Which of the following is not a reason for redesigning a product or service?
B. to increase the level of employee satisfaction A product or service redesign does not necessarily involve improving employee satisfaction.
At the break-even point: A. output equals capacity B. total cost equals total revenue C. total cost equals profit D. variable cost equals fixed cost E. variable cost equals total revenue
B. total cost equals total revenue
The method for evaluating location alternatives which minimizes shipping costs between multiple sending and receiving locations is: A. cost-volume analysis B. transportation model analysis C. factor rating analysis D. linear regression analysis E. MODI analysis
B. transportation model analysis
In using the "chase strategy" variations in demand could be met by: A. varying output during regular time without changing employment levels B. varying output during regular time by changing employment levels C. (a) and (b) D. varying inventory levels E. price increases
B. varying output during regular time by changing employment levels Changing employment levels to vary output is representative of a chase strategy.
Asking a group of employees at a particular level to take on more responsibility is a form of ___________ loading, also known as job __________. A. horizontal; enlargement B. vertical; enrichment C. horizontal; enrichment D. horizontal; rotation E. vertical; rotation
B. vertical; enrichment
Which is not a characteristic of exponential smoothing?
B. weights each historical value equally The most recent period of demand is given the most weight in exponential smoothing.
The technique which can be used to estimate the percentage of time a worker or piece of equipment is idle is known as: A. MTM B. work sampling C. methods analysis D. micro motion study E. none of these
B. work sampling
The methods analysis chart which describes the portions of a work cycle during which an operator and equipment are busy or idle is a: A. flow process chart B. worker-machine chart C. gang process chart D. simultaneous-motion (SIMO) chart E. time/efficiency chart
B. worker-machine chart
A shift in the process mean for a measured characteristic would most likely be detected by a: A. p-chart B. x-bar chart C. c-chart D. R-chart E. s-chart
B. x-bar chart X-bar charts monitor the process mean.
Simple exponential smoothing is being used to forecast demand. The previous forecast of 66 turned out to be four units less than actual demand. The next forecast is 66.6, implying a smoothing constant, alpha, equal to:
C .15 A previous period's forecast error of 4 units would lead to a change in the forecast of 0.6 if alpha equals 0.15.
Aggregate planners seek to match supply and demand: A. at minimum overall cost B. by staying within company policy C. (a) and (b) D. keeping inventories at a minimum E. all of the above
C. (a) and (b) Aggregate plans minimize costs but conform to company policies.
Which sample proportion will require the largest number of work sampling observations? A. .05 B. .25 C. .50 D. .75 E. .95
C. .50
The specification limit for a product is 8 cm and 10 cm. A process that produces the product has a mean of 9.5 cm and a standard deviation of 0.2 cm. What is the process capability, Cpk? A. 3.33 B. 1.67 C. 0.83 D. 2.50 E. none of the above
C. 0.83 Cpk is used here since the process mean isn't centered in the specification interval.
A production line is to be designed for a job with three tasks. The task times are 0.3 minutes, 1.4 minutes, and 0.7 minutes. What is the minimum cycle time for this line? A. 0.3 minutes. B. 0.7 minutes. C. 1.4 minutes. D. 2.4 minutes. E. None of the above.
C. 1.4 minutes. The longest task time equals the minimum cycle time.
Given an actual demand of 105, a forecasted value of 97, and an alpha of .4, the simple exponential smoothing forecast for the next period would be:
C. 100.2. Multiply the previous period's forecast error (8) by alpha and then add to the previous period's forecast.
A job has a normal time of 12 minutes, a performance rating of .80, and an allowance factor of 20 percent of job time. The standard time for this job in minutes is: A. 11.52 B. 12 C. 14.4 D. 15 E. depends on the number of cycles observed
C. 14.4
In an assembly operation at a furniture factory, six employees assembled an average of 450 standard dining chairs per five-day week. What is the labor productivity of this operation?
C. 15 chairs/worker/day Divide the output of 450 chairs by the inputs of 30 worker-days.
A company needs to locate three departments (X, Y, and Z) in the three areas (I, II, and III) of a new facility. They want to minimize interdepartmental transportation costs, which are expected to be $.50 per load per meter moved. An analyst has prepared the following distances and flow matrices: Distances (meters): From/TO I II III I - 10 20 II - 10 III - Flows (loads per week: From/TO I II III X - 60 90 Y 40 - 160 Z 110 140 - What is the distance (in meters) from area III to area I in this new facility? A. 0 B. 10 C. 20 D. 30 E. 40
C. 20
A master production schedule quantity of 300 units will arrive in week 6. Weekly demand over weeks 3 through 10 is forecasted at 50 units. At present, orders have been booked in various quantities in weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4. What is the available to promise for week 6? A. 50 B. 6 C. 300 D. 100 E. Cannot be determined without projected on-hand information
C. 300 No orders are booked after week 4, so all 300 units arriving in week 6 are available-to-promise in week 6.
Given forecast errors of 4, 8, and -3, what is the mean absolute deviation?
C. 5 Convert each error into an absolute value and then average.
An alternative will have fixed costs of $10,000 per month, variable costs of $50 per unit, and revenue of $70 per unit. The break-even point volume is: A. 100 B. 2,000 C. 500 D. 1,000 E. none of these
C. 500
Given the following information, what would efficiency be? Effective capacity = 50 units per day Design capacity = 100 units per day Actual output = 30 units per day A. 40% B. 50% C. 60% D. 80% E. 90%
C. 60%
Which of the following is not true about systems approach?
C. A systems approach concentrates on efficiency within subsystems. Subsystem efficiency doesn't necessarily translate into overall system efficiency.
Unbalanced systems are evidenced by A. Top heavy operations B. Labor unrest C. Bottleneck operations D. Increasing capacities E. Assembly lines
C. Bottleneck operations
A time-ordered plot of sample statistics is called a(n) ______ chart. A. Statistical B. Inspection C. Control D. SIMO E. Limit
C. Control A control chart is a time-ordered plot of sample statistics.
A time-ordered plot of representative sample statistics is called a: A. Gantt chart B. SIMO-chart C. Control Chart D. Up-Down Matrix E. Standard deviation table
C. Control Chart Control charts are time-ordered plots of sample statistics.
One of these is not a characteristic of a well-designed service system:
C. Distributed computer networks Well-designed service systems tend to be user friendly, robust, cost-effective and easy to sustain.
When the opportunity cost of lost revenue is relatively high, _________ become(s) relatively more attractive. A. Layoffs B. Backorders C. Excess capacity D. Disaggregation E. Both B and C
C. Excess capacity The excess capacity costs diminish in relation to the potential lost revenue.
Which isn't a cost of quality? A. Prevention cost B. External failure C. Extended Service Contracts D. Internal failure E. Appraisal costs
C. Extended Service Contracts
When a location evaluation includes both quantitative and qualitative inputs, a technique that can be used is ___. A. Linear programming B. Consumer surveys C. Factor rating D. Transportation models E. Center of gravity methods
C. Factor rating
Which of the following is true?
C. Functional strategies are shaped by corporate strategy. Corporate strategy shapes strategies at lower levels.
Which of the following features would not generally be considered common to all forecasts?
C. Historical data is available on which to base the forecast. In some forecasting situations historical data are not available.
If a process is performing as it should, it is still possible to obtain observations which are outside of which limits? (I) tolerances (II) control limits (III) process variability A. I B. II C. I and II D. II and III E. I, II, and III
C. I and II Even capable, in control processes can have observations outside of control limits or tolerances.
The advantages of automation include: (I) Reduced output variability. (II) Reduced variable costs. (III) Machines don't strike or file grievances. (IV) Machines are always less expensive than human labor. A. I and IV B. II and III C. I, II, and III D. I and III E. II and IV
C. I, II, and III Machines can be more expensive than human labor.
A plot below the lower control limit on the range chart: (I) should be ignored since lower variation is desirable (II) may be an indication that process variation has decreased (III) should be investigated for assignable cause A. I and II B. I and III C. II and III D. II only E. I, II, and III
C. II and III Plots outside of control limits should be investigated.
Behavioral approaches to job design include: A. Specialization B. Ergonomics C. Job Rotation D. Flow Process Charts E. SIMO Charts
C. Job Rotation
The quality control improvement tool which distinguishes between the "important few" and the "trivial many" is ___. A. brainstorming. B. check sheets. C. Pareto analysis. D. cause-and-effect diagrams. E. fail-safe methods.
C. Pareto analysis.
Loss of business, liability, productivity and costs are consequences of ___. A. Labor Unions B. Globalization C. Poor Quality D. Robotics E. Micro-factories
C. Poor Quality
Laser technology used in surgical procedures is an example of technological advances in: A. Product B. Service C. Process D. Information E. Reverse Engineering
C. Process Laser technology represents a change in the fundamental surgical process.
Incorporating design for disassembly (DFD) principles in product design helps firms with ___________ design issues.
C. Re-use Refurbished products must first be disassembled.
One form of long term team that is increasingly being used, especially in lean production settings, is: A. Quality circle B. Product Design C. Self-directed D. Self-improvement E. Mandatory
C. Self-directed
Moving average forecasting techniques do the following:
C. Smooth variations in the data. Variation is smooth out in moving average forecasts.
Which of the following would be an advantage of using a sales force composite to develop a demand forecast?
C. The sales staff is often aware of customers' future plans. Members of the sales force should be the organization's tightest link with its customers.
Which of the following relationships must always be incorrect? A. Tolerances > process variability > control limits B. Process variability > tolerances > control limits C. Tolerances > control limits > process variability D. Process variability > control limits > tolerances E. Process variability <Tolerances<control limits
C. Tolerances > control limits > process variability Process variability will always be greater than control limits.
The tool that is useful in the collection and organization of data is: A. a control chart B. a Pareto chart C. a check sheet D. a flow chart E. none of the above
C. a check sheet
A 'product package' consists of:
C. a combination of goods and services Most firms are not pure service or manufacturing firms; they produce combinations of goods and services.
Which of the following is not a determinant of effective capacity? A. facilities B. product mix C. actual output D. human factors E. external factors
C. actual output
Costs of inspectors, testing, test equipment, and labs are examples of ___. A. internal failure costs B. external failure costs C. appraisal costs D. prevention costs E. replacement costs
C. appraisal costs
In work sampling, observations should be taken: A. at the same time each day B. within a short period of time C. at randomly determined times D. once every hour E. once every day
C. at randomly determined times
That portion of projected inventory which enables marketing to make realistic commitments about delivery dates for new orders is: A. beginning inventory B. safety stock inventory C. available-to-promise inventory D. high margin inventory E. none of the above
C. available-to-promise inventory Available-to-promise values are calculated to help marketing make realistic commitments.
Elements of the service process in which there is little to no contact with the customer are referred to as ____________.
C. back-of-the-house Those elements involving substantial contact with the customer are referred to as "front-of-the-house" operations.
A quality improvement technique that involves the sharing of thoughts and ideas in a way that encourages unrestrained collective thinking is: A. Pareto analysis B. benchmarking C. brainstorming D. a control chart E. a check sheet
C. brainstorming
Capacity in excess of expected demand that is intended to offset uncertainty is a: A. margin protect B. line balance C. capacity cushion D. timing bubble E. none of the above
C. capacity cushion
Knowledge skills usually don't include:
C. communication skills Communication skills generally are considered to be people skills.
The process of identifying other organizations that are best at some facet of your operations, and then modeling your organization after them is known as: A. continuous improvement B. employee empowerment C. competitive benchmarking D. copycatting E. industrial espionage
C. competitive benchmarking
Detecting nonrandomness in errors can be done using:
C. control charts. Control charts graphically depict the statistical behavior of forecast errors.
The process of comparing outputs to previously established standards to determine if corrective action is needed is called:
C. controlling Controls are used to maintain performance.
The two most important factors in choosing a forecasting technique are:
C. cost and accuracy. More accurate forecasts cost more but may not be worth the additional cost.
The main issue in the design of process layouts for service operations concerns the relative positioning of: A. workstations. B. processing components. C. departments. D. entrances, loading docks, etc. E. manufacturing cells.
C. departments. In process layouts, departments and their relative locations are of primary concern.
The research and development activity which starts after positive research results are available and attempts to turn these results into useful commercial applications is:
C. development Development is the conversion of applied research into useful commercial applications.
If the output rate is increased but the average unit costs also increase we are experiencing: A. market share erosion. B. economies of scale. C. diseconomies of scale. D. value added accounting. E. step-function scale up.
C. diseconomies of scale.
Fixing a problem will often cost money; to minimize these costs it is best to find and fix the problem ___. A. just before shipping our product to the customer B. immediately after we complete the last operation C. during the design phase D. just before we begin the first production operation E. regardless of when you fix the problem, costs are about the same
C. during the design phase
In a product layout, the task of deciding how to assign work to specific stations is referred to as: A. process balancing B. task allocation C. line balancing D. work allocation E. station balancing
C. line balancing Line balancing allocates work to work stations.
Which of the following is not a step in the quality control process? A. define what is to be controlled B. compare measurements to a standard C. eliminate each of the defects as they are identified D. take corrective action if necessary E. evaluate corrective action
C. eliminate each of the defects as they are identified Eliminating defects is not part of quality control.
A behavioral approach to job design which increases responsibility for planning and coordinating tasks is job: A. enlargement B. rotation C. enrichment D. involvement E. enhancement
C. enrichment
For an organization to grow its market share, it must:
C. exceed minimum standards of acceptability for its products or services. Only by exceeding standards can an organization grow its market share.
The method for evaluating location alternatives which uses their composite (weighted-average) scores is: A. cost-volume analysis B. transportation model analysis C. factor rating analysis D. linear regression analysis E. MODI analysis
C. factor rating analysis
The key to successfully competing is understanding what customers want and then __________ satisfy those wants.
C. finding the best way to To successfully compete, two basic issues must be addressed: What do the customers want? What is the best way to satisfy those wants?
The type of layout in which workers, materials, and equipment are moved to the product as needed is: A. process B. product C. fixed-position D. batch E. mass
C. fixed-position The fixed position layout brings the processes to the product.
What is it about job shops that make them appropriate for products in the introductory phase of their life-cycle? A. efficiency B. technology C. flexibility D. high volume capacity E. rigidity
C. flexibility Job shop processes are more appropriate for relatively new products.
Facilities, personnel and operations that are located around the world are called: A. non-domestic B. diversified operations C. globalization D. worldwide presence E. virtual organization
C. globalization
Which of the following circumstances would be least likely to lead to a need for a new location? A. shifting of markets B. depletion of basic inputs C. growth in demand that is leading to greater utilization of existing capacity D. the need to expand into new markets E. the opportunity to take advantage of globalization trends
C. growth in demand that is leading to greater utilization of existing capacity
When the output is less than the optimal rate of output, the average unit cost will be: A. lower B. the same C. higher D. could be either higher or lower E. could be either higher, lower or the same
C. higher
Which of the following corresponds to the predictor variable in simple linear regression?
C. independent variable Demand is the typical dependent variable when forecasting with simple linear regression.
Operations management involves continuous decision-making; hopefully most decisions made will be:
C. informed Informed decisions incorporate all relevant issues.
When buying component parts, risk does not include: A. loss of control B. vendor viability C. interest rate fluctuations D. need to disclose proprietary information E. all are risk factors
C. interest rate fluctuations
The method of financial analysis which results in an equivalent interest rate is: A. payback B. net present value C. internal rate of return D. queuing E. cost-volume
C. internal rate of return
One area to which aggregate planning decisions relate is: A. job sequencing B. customer order quantities C. inventory levels D. location E. layout
C. inventory levels Different aggregate planning strategies affect inventory levels differently.
Which of the following does not relate to system design?
C. inventory management Inventory management is a system operation decision area.
The process of assigning tasks to workstations in such a way that the workstations have approximately equal time requirements is called: A. fair employment practices B. idle time analysis C. line balancing D. cycle time optimization E. none of the above
C. line balancing The goal is to reasonably balance work across the workstations.
Among the disadvantages of having global operations is/are: A. proximity to global markets B. favorable liability laws C. low labor productivity D. lower wage costs E. less restrictive environmental regulation
C. low labor productivity
Nearness to raw materials would be most important to a ... A. grocery store B. tax preparation service C. manufacturing company D. post office E. hospital
C. manufacturing company
In the 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, organizations concentrated on:
C. marketing and financial strategies. This led to U.S. firms being not very competitive with regard to their operations.
The mean absolute deviation is used to:
C. measure forecast accuracy. MAD is one way of evaluating forecast performance.
A common goal in designing process layouts is: A. minimizing the number of workers B. minimizing idle time C. minimizing transportation costs D. maximizing work-station productive time E. maximizing transportation distances
C. minimizing transportation costs An efficient process layout minimizes transportation costs.
Which of the following factors would tend to reduce productivity?
C. more inexperienced workers More inexperienced workers tend to be less productive.
Farming is an example of:
C. non-manufactured goods Farm operations are not manufacturing operations.
One possible disadvantage of modular design is that:
C. number of configurations of modules decreases Modular designs do have the effect of reducing variety.
The external elements of SWOT analysis are:
C. opportunities and threats. Opportunities and threats relate to the organization and its external environment.
Years ago in the overnight delivery business, providing package tracking capability gave some firms a competitive advantage. Now, all firms must offer this capability simply to be in this line of business. This is an example of ______________ becoming ____________ over time.
C. order winners; order qualifiers What is an order qualifier and what is an order winner changes over time.
Allowance percentages normally would not include: A. noise levels B. monotony C. personal phone calls D. weight lifted E. rest room allowances
C. personal phone calls
Seasonal variations are often easier to deal with in capacity planning than random variations because seasonal variations tend to be: A. smaller B. larger C. predictable D. controllable E. less frequent
C. predictable
Competitiveness doesn't include:
C. profitability. A company can be competitive relative to similar companies and still be unprofitable if the competitive environment is inherently unprofitable.
The structural approach for integrating customer requirements into every aspect of product development is known as:
C. quality function deployment Quality Function Deployment brings the voice of the customer into the product development process.
Dealing with the fact that certain aspects of any management situation are more important than others is called:
C. recognition of priorities Solutions tend to be targeted toward higher priority aspects of a situation.
In addition to correcting substandard work, employees have an ethical obligation to __________ whatever led to the quality problem as well. A. prevent B. offset C. report D. standardize E. redesign
C. report
The process of dismantling and inspecting a competitor's new or revised product for the purpose of gleaning design ideas is called:
C. reverse engineering Reverse engineering can be a good source of ideas for product design.
Short-term considerations in determining capacity requirements include: A. demand trend B. cyclical demand variations C. seasonal demand variations D. mission statements E. new product development plans
C. seasonal demand variations
Forecasts based on judgment and opinion do not include:
C. second opinions. Second opinions generally refer to medical diagnoses, not demand forecasting.
Which phrase most closely describes the Delphi technique?
C. series of questionnaires The questionnaires are a way of fostering a consensus among divergent perspectives.
Customer service levels can be improved by better:
C. short-term forecast accuracy. More accurate short-term forecasts enable organizations to better accommodate customer requests.
A point which is outside of the lower control limit on an R-chart: A. is an indication that no cause of variation is present B. should be ignored because it signifies better than average quality C. should be investigated because an assignable cause of variation might be present D. should be ignored unless another point is outside that limit E. is impossible since the lower limit is always zero
C. should be investigated because an assignable cause of variation might be present Points outside of the control limits should be investigated as signals of non-random variation being present.
Job shops tend to be __________ while continuous processes tend to be __________. A. in services; in manufacturing B. short-term and capital intensive; long-term and labor intensive C. small scale and flexible; large-scale and inflexible D. standardized; customized E. low cost-per-unit; high cost-per-unit
C. small scale and flexible; large-scale and inflexible
Which one of the following would not generally be classified under the heading of transformation?
C. staffing Staffing doesn't involve transforming resources so much as it involves acquiring them.
In stopwatch time study, adjusting the normal time by an allowance factor for normal delays and interruptions results in the: A. observed time B. normal time C. standard time D. allowance time E. performance rating time
C. standard time
Which of the following is a recent trend in business?
C. supply chain management Supply chain management involves a broader systemic view of operations.
Taking a systems viewpoint with regard to operations in today's environment increasingly leads decision-makers to consider ______________ in response to the ___________.
C. sustainability; threat of global warming Sustainability is a relatively recent operations management consideration.
Product design and process selection are examples of _______ decisions.
C. system design These major decisions affect decisions made at lower levels.
The forecasting method which uses anonymous questionnaires to achieve a consensus forecast is:
C. the Delphi method. Anonymity is important in Delphi efforts.
A p-chart would be used to monitor _______. A. average shrinkage B. dispersion in sample data C. the fraction defective D. the number of defects per unit E. the range of values
C. the fraction defective The p-chart monitors the fraction defective.
Which of the following differs between aggregate planning in services and aggregate planning in manufacturing? A. uncertainty in demand B. costs of storing inventory C. the perishability of capacity D. cost of overtime E. cost of hiring
C. the perishability of capacity Capacity is inherently perishable in services.
Technology choices seldom affect:
C. union activity. Union activity can affect a firm's technology choices, but not the other way around.
Layout design has many objectives, one of which is ______. A. reduce bottlenecks B. move materials and workers simultaneously C. use workers and space efficiently D. hold material handling costs to 27% or less E. install computer terminals every 500 feet
C. use workers and space efficiently Layout design is focused on the efficient placement of human and other assets.
A software company is weighing whether to release a new version of its software. The company can go ahead and release the version now and correct flaws with subsequent patches or upgrades, or it can wait until the new version is reasonably bug-free. This is an example of _____.
C. vaporware Vaporware is attractive from some perspectives but not from others
A control chart used to monitor the process mean is the: A. p-chart B. R-chart C. x-bar chart D. c-chart E. Gantt chart
C. x-bar chart The x-bar chart monitors the process mean.
In the use of closeness ratings for process layouts, the code "U" means the closeness between two departments is: A. (U)nknown B. (U)nusually important C. of (U)sual importance D. (U)nimportant E. (U)ndesirable
D. (U)nimportant Close department pairings denoted "U" should be avoided.
When a process is in control, it results in there being, on average, 16 defects per unit of output. C-chart limits of 4 and 28 would lead to a _______ chance of a Type I error. A. 67% B. 92% C. 33% D. 0.3% E. 5%
D. 0.3% These would be three-sigma limits.
Studies on a bottle-filling machine indicates it fills bottles to a mean of 16 ounces with a standard deviation of 0.10 ounces. What is the process specification, assuming the Cpk index of 1? A. 0.10 ounces B. 0.20 ounces C. 0.30 ounces D. 16.0 ounces plus or minus 0.30 ounces E. none of the above
D. 16.0 ounces plus or minus 0.30 ounces Use the Cpk formula to solve for the specification interval.
A production line is to be designed for a job with three tasks. The task times are 0.4 minutes, 1.2 minutes, and 0.5 minutes. The maximum cycle time in minutes is: A. 0.3 B. 0.7 C. 1.4 D. 2.1 E. 0.8
D. 2.1 Add all task times
Suppose a three-period weighted average is being used to forecast demand. Weights for the periods are as follows: wt-3 = 0.2, wt-2 = 0.3 and wt-1 = 0.5. Demand observed in the previous three periods was as follows: At-3 = 2,200, At-2 = 1,950, At-1 = 2,050. What will be the demand forecast for period t?
D. 2050 The forecast for will be (.2 * 2,200) + (.3 * 1,950) + (.5 * 2,050) = 2,050.
Given the following information, what would efficiency be? Effective capacity = 80 units per day Design capacity = 100 units per day Utilization = 48% A. 20% B. 35% C. 48% D. 60% E. 80%
D. 60%
For the data given below, what would the naive forecast be for period 5?
D. 61 Period 5's forecast would be period 4's demand.
Given an actual demand of 59, a previous forecast of 64, and an alpha of .3, what would the forecast for the next period be using simple exponential smoothing?
D. 62.5 Multiply the previous period's forecast error (-5) by alpha and then add to the previous period's forecast.
Given the following historical data, what is the simple three-period moving average forecast for period 6?
D. 68 Average demand from periods 3 through 5.
A company needs to locate three departments (X, Y, and Z) in the three areas (I, II, and III) of a new facility. They want to minimize interdepartmental transportation costs, which are expected to be $.50 per load per meter moved. An analyst has prepared the following distances and flow matrices: Distances (meters): From/TO I II III I - 10 20 II - 10 III - Flows (loads per week: From/TO I II III X - 60 90 Y 40 - 160 Z 110 140 - If departments X, Y, and Z were to be located in areas I, II, and III, respectively, what would be the total distance (in meters) loads would be moved each week? A. 4,000 B. 4,500 C. 7,000 D. 8,000 E. 9,000
D. 8,000
Which of the following is not a benefit of using models in decision making?
D. All of the above are benefits Models are useful tools for making decisions without confronting the actual situation with all of its complexity.
Which of the following statements about variation is FALSE?
D. Any variation makes a production process less productive. The choice to offer customers greater variety might increase variation but increase productivity even more.
In which type of processing system would gasoline be produced from crude oil? A. Job Shop B. Batch C. Assembly D. Continuous E. Project
D. Continuous Oil refining is an example of a continuous process.
A disadvantage of global teams for product design is that:
D. Ease of face to face meetings is absent since members are located everywhere If face to face interaction is required, global design teams might not be a viable option.
The chart used to review the overall sequence of an operation by focusing on either the movements of the operator or materials is called a __________. A. SIMO-chart B. Gantt chart C. Worker-materials chart D. Flow process chart E. Multi-activity chart
D. Flow process chart
Heuristic rules are used primarily in which of these types of layouts? (I) Product (II) Process (III) Fixed-position A. I B. II C. I and III D. I and II E. II and III
D. I and II Heuristics help in formulating reasonably good product and process layouts.
The probability of concluding that assignable variation exists when only random variation is present is: (I) the probability of a Type I error (II) known as the alpha risk (III) highly unlikely (IV) the sum of probabilities in the two tails of the normal distribution A. I and II B. I and IV C. II and III D. I, II, and IV E. I, III, and IV
D. I, II, and IV Incorrect signals can be on either side of the distribution.
The advantages of standardization include which of the following? (I.) The opportunity to freeze design at a very early stage (II.) Fewer parts to deal with in inventory (III.) Reduced training cost and time (IV.) Purchasing is more routine
D. II, III, IV Standardization doesn't necessarily help in freezing designs early.
Layout planning is required because of: (I) Efficient operations (II) Accidents or safety hazards (III) New products or services (IV) Morale problems A. I and II B. II and IV C. I and III D. II, III, and IV E. I, II, III, and IV
D. II, III, and IV A number of factors affect layout planning.
Which of the following is not true about re-manufacturing?
D. It produces high quality products easily. Re-manufacturing can be a very difficult and costly process.
Which of the following is a potential shortcoming of using sales force opinions in demand forecasting?
D. Members of the sales force can have difficulty distinguishing between what customers would like to do and what they actually will do. Customers themselves may be unclear regarding what they'd like to do versus what they'll actually do.
The center of gravity method is used to _______ travel time, distance and costs. A. Normalize B. Eliminate C. Average D. Minimize E. Document
D. Minimize
Outsourcing some production is a means of _________ a capacity constraint. A. Identifying B. Modifying C. Supporting D. Overcoming E. Repeating
D. Overcoming
Focusing attention on the most important problem areas is referred to as: A. quality circles B. quality assurance C. brainstorming D. Pareto analysis E. cause-and-effect analysis
D. Pareto analysis
A tool that is not used for quality is ___. A. Flowchart B. Histogram C. Parato Analysis D. Redesign E. Check sheets
D. Redesign
Process chart symbols don't include _________. A. Delay B. Inspection C. Operation D. Rejection E. Storage
D. Rejection
Deciding how much to invest in the prevention of defects can be analyzed using ___. A. EVPI B. Net Present Value C. Weighted Factor Analysis D. Return on Quality E. Breakeven Analysis
D. Return on Quality
Some companies attempt to maximize the revenue they receive from fixed operating capacity by influencing demands through price manipulation. This is an example of __________________:
D. Revenue management Revenue management is used to ensure that as much perishable capacity as possible is sold.
TQM stands for: A. Taguchie Quality Methods B. Tactical Quality Measurements C. The Quality Matrix D. Total Quality Management E. Total Quantity Measurement
D. Total Quality Management
Which closeness rating reflects indifference on the nearness or lack of nearness of two departments? A. A B. E C. I D. U E. X
D. U Closeness ratings denoted "U" are neither desirable nor undesirable.
The center of gravity method of location planning is accurate only when the quantities to be shipped to each location are equal.
FALSE
Heuristic rules are usually applied when: A. an optimum is necessary B. a computer program isn't available C. a problem has a small number of alternatives D. a problem has a large number of alternatives E. other approaches have failed
D. a problem has a large number of alternatives As the number of alternatives grows, the use of heuristics becomes more attractive.
A quality circle is ___. A. responsible for quality B. total quality control C. an inspection stamp found on meat D. a voluntary group of employees E. none of the above
D. a voluntary group of employees
Which one of the following is not common to product layouts? A. a high rate of output B. specialization of labor C. low unit costs D. ability to adjust to changes in demand E. all are common
D. ability to adjust to changes in demand Product layouts are not flexible with respect to volume.
A basic question in capacity planning is: A. what kind is needed B. how much is needed C. when is it needed D. all of the above E. none of the above
D. all of the above
In a stopwatch time study, the number of cycles that must be timed is a function of: A. the variability of observed times B. the desired accuracy for the estimated job time C. the desired confidence for the estimated job time D. all of the above E. none of the above
D. all of the above
The design of work systems involves: A. work measurement B. job design C. compensation D. all of the above E. use of outside human resource consultants
D. all of the above
The purpose of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is to ___. A. stimulate efforts to improve quality B. recognize quality achievements of U.S. companies C. publicize successful quality programs D. all of the above E. distribute the grant money available for improved quality
D. all of the above
Which of the following is the case where capacity is measured in terms of inputs? A. hospital B. theater C. restaurant D. all of the above E. none of the above
D. all of the above
Which of the following is an input to aggregate planning? A. beginning inventory B. forecasts for each period of the schedule C. customer orders D. all of the above E. quantity discounts
D. all of the above All except quantity discounts are aggregate planning inputs.
Which of the following is a primary concern for process selection? A. variety in products/services B. flexibility of equipment C. volume of output D. all of the above E. none of the above
D. all of the above All of these enter into the process selection decision.
Which of the following best describes aggregate planning? A. the link between intermediate term planning and short term operating decisions B. a collection of objective planning tools C. make or buy decisions D. an attempt to respond to predicted demand within the constraints set by product, process and location decisions E. manpower planning
D. an attempt to respond to predicted demand within the constraints set by product, process and location decisions A workable balance between demand and these constraints is sought.
A forecast based on the previous forecast plus a percentage of the forecast error is:
D. an exponentially smoothed forecast. Exponential smoothing uses the previous forecast error to shape the next forecast.
What is credited with gains in industrial productivity, increased standards of living and affordable products?
D. assembly lines Mass production has played a prominent role in increasing standards of living.
In methods analysis, a "therblig" is a: A. charting method of analysis B. job enrichment technique C. dummy task D. basic elemental motion E. fraction (.0006) of a minute
D. basic elemental motion
A control chart used to monitor the number of defects per unit is the: A. p-chart B. R-chart C. x-bar chart D. c-chart E. Gantt chart
D. c-chart C-charts monitor the number of defects per unit.
The quality control improvement tool that resembles a "fishbone" is ___. A. brainstorming B. check sheets C. Pareto analysis D. cause-and-effect diagrams E. fail-safe methods
D. cause-and-effect diagrams
Which technique is used in computing seasonal relatives?
D. centered moving average The centered moving average serves as the basis point for computing seasonal relatives.
Unique attributes of firms that give them a competitive edge are called:
D. core competencies. Core competencies can be translated into competitive advantage.
The term 'degrees of newness' is associated with:
D. degree of design change Superficial design changes are low in 'degrees of newness.
The purpose of control charts is to: A. estimate the proportion of output that is acceptable B. weed out defective items C. determine if the output is within tolerances/specifications D. distinguish between random variation and assignable variation in the process E. provide meaningful work for quality inspectors
D. distinguish between random variation and assignable variation in the process Control charts are used to signal assignable variation.
Which of the following is not a characteristic of service operations?
D. easy measurement of productivity The productivity of service operations is often hard to measure.
The maximum possible output given a product mix, scheduling difficulties, quality factors, and so on, is: A. utilization B. design capacity C. efficiency D. effective capacity E. available capacity
D. effective capacity
The ratio of actual output to effective capacity is: A. design capacity B. effective capacity C. actual capacity D. efficiency E. utilization
D. efficiency
Giving workers responsibility for quality improvements and authority to make changes is known as: A. continuous improvement B. passing the buck C. benchmarking D. employee empowerment E. employee involvement
D. employee empowerment
Which of the following is the last step in the procedure for making location decisions? A. determine the evaluation criteria B. identify important factors C. develop location alternatives D. evaluate alternatives and make a selection E. request input regarding alternatives
D. evaluate alternatives and make a selection
Measurements taken at various points in the transformation process for control purposes are called:
D. feedback Feedback is used to monitor and improve processes.
Budgeting, analysis of investment proposals, and provision of funds are activities associated with the _______ function.
D. finance These are the primary tasks for the finance function.
An operations strategy for process selection should recognize that: A. process selection seldom requires technical expertise B. engineering "white elephants" are uncommon C. there is little need to manage technology D. flexibility is not always the best choice E. most technical skills can be contracted out to consultants
D. flexibility is not always the best choice Flexibility isn't so valuable if efficiency is at a premium.
Which of the following is not a potential benefit of the use of self-directed teams? A. higher quality B. higher productivity C. greater worker satisfaction D. greater satisfaction for middle managers E. lower turnover
D. greater satisfaction for middle managers
Which of the following is not a goal of process improvement? A. increasing customer satisfaction B. reducing waste C. achieving higher quality D. identifying the cause of a problem E. All are the goals.
D. identifying the cause of a problem
One option for altering the availability of manufacturing capacity is: A. pricing B. promotion C. backorders D. inventories E. none of the above apply to manufacturing capacity
D. inventories Inventory involves using capacity from earlier periods to satisfy demand in later periods.
Which of the following is not a basic option for altering the availability of capacity in a service environment? A. overtime B. hiring/layoff C. part time D. inventory E. All of these are basic capacity options.
D. inventory Inventory is typically not an option in services.
ISO certification differs substantially from the Baldrige Award in that it: A. is national rather than international B. emphasizes self-appraisal C. is customer-driven D. is an ongoing process E. focuses primarily on quality teams
D. is an ongoing process ISO certification is ongoing and the Baldrige Award is a self appraisal.
One thing that makes aggregate planning in services easier than aggregate planning in manufacturing is: A. inventory is cheaper to hold B. labor availability is more predictable C. inventory is less perishable D. labor is more flexible E. demand is less variable.
D. labor is more flexible
Minimizing the sum of the squared deviations around the line is called:
D. least squares estimation. Least squares estimations minimize the sum of squared deviations around the estimated regression function.
Which of the following is not necessarily an element of a good forecast?
D. low cost A good forecast can be quite costly if necessary.
Which of the following is not generally considered an advantage of specialization? A. high productivity B. low wage costs C. ease of training employees D. low equipment costs E. all are advantages
D. low equipment costs
Which of the following is not an ongoing trend in manufacturing?
D. mass production for greater economies of scale Manufacturers are moving away from mass production for economies of scale.
Which of the following is not an input to the aggregate planning process? A. resources available B. demand forecast C. policies on work force changes D. master production schedules E. cost information
D. master production schedules The master production schedule is an output of the aggregate planning process.
The direct result of disaggregating the aggregate plan is the: A. marketing plan B. production plan C. rough-cut capacity plan D. master schedule E. material requirements plan
D. master schedule The aggregate plan is disaggregated into the master schedule.
The fundamental purpose for the existence of any organization is described by its:
D. mission statement. A mission statement is the organization's attempt to justify its existence.
Productivity is expressed as:
D. output divided by input. Productivity is the ratio of outputs to inputs.
When performing a time study, the analyst converts the observed time into the time an "average" worker would require working at an acceptable pace by using which of the following? A. allowance factors B. MTM C. methods analysis D. performance rating E. analysis of therbligs
D. performance rating
Quality planning and administration, quality training, and quality control procedures are examples of ___. A. internal failure costs B. external failure costs C. appraisal costs D. prevention costs E. replacement costs
D. prevention costs
Increasing the service offered to the customer makes it more difficult to compete on the basis of:
D. price. More extensive service can be more costly, and more costly outputs make price-based strategies more difficult.
Products or services with a high degree of similarity of features and components are called:
D. product family's Delineating product families helps lead to component commonality.
Which one of the following would not be considered a decision option for purposes of aggregate planning? A. inventory levels B. manpower levels C. pricing D. production costs E. promotion
D. production costs Production costs would be a critical variable, but they would not be a decision variable.
A major advantage of job specialization in business is increased __________. A. motivation B. opportunity for advancement C. opportunity for self-fulfillment D. productivity E. job enrichment
D. productivity
Maximum capacity refers to the upper limit of: A. inventories B. demand C. supplies D. rate of output E. finances
D. rate of output
A location analysis has been narrowed down to two locations, Akron and Boston. The main factors in the decision will be the supply of raw materials, which has a weight of .50, transportation cost, which has a weight of .40, and labor cost, which has a weight of .10. The scores for raw materials, transportation, and labor are for Akron 60, 80, and 70, respectively; for Boston 70, 50, and 90, respectively. Given this information and a minimum acceptable composite score of 75, we can say that the manager should: A. be indifferent between these locations B. choose Akron C. choose Boston D. reject both locations E. build a plant in both cities
D. reject both locations
Which is not a characteristic of simple moving averages applied to time series data?
D. requires only last period's forecast and actual data Simple moving averages can require several periods of data.
The benefits of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) include: A. reduced labor costs B. higher flexibility than automation C. quick changeover from part to part D. significantly lower unit costs E. all of the above
D. significantly lower unit costs Reduced labor costs and consistent quality and quick changeover time provide lower unit costs.
The methods analysis chart which describes the movements of both hands at the same time is a: A. flow process chart B. worker-machine chart C. gang process chart D. simultaneous-motion (SIMO) chart E. time/efficiency chart
D. simultaneous-motion (SIMO) chart
Where a firm locates would typically not affect that firm's:
D. strategy. Typically, strategy dictates where firms will locate, rather than location dictating strategy.
Which one of the following is not a basic option for altering demand? A. promotion B. backordering C. pricing D. subcontracting E. All are demand options.
D. subcontracting Subcontracting is an option for altering capacity.
Which of the following is not a reason for poor performance of our organization in the marketplace?
D. taking advantage of strengths/opportunities, and recognizing competitive threats Taking advantage of strengths/opportunities and recognizing competitive threats would enable good performance.
A disadvantage of teams is: A. higher quality B. higher productivity C. greater worker satisfaction D. team member conflict E. lower turnover
D. team member conflict
The typical difference between "quality circles" and "continuous improvement teams" is ______. A. Quality circles work on product design only. B. Continuous improvement teams work on product and process design. C. Continuous improvement teams use only engineers while quality circles use just the workers doing the work. D. the amount of employee empowerment E. There is no difference-they are just the same.
D. the amount of employee empowerment
The optimum level of inspection is where the: A. cost of inspection is minimum B. cost of passing defectives is minimum C. total cost of inspection and defectives is maximum D. total cost of inspection and defectives is minimum E. difference between inspection and defectives costs is minimum
D. total cost of inspection and defectives is minimum At the optimum level these costs are, in total, minimized.
ISO 9000 standards do not have a requirement for ___. A. resource B. remedial C. systems D. training E. management
D. training
Gradual, long-term movement in time series data is called:
D. trend Trends move the time series in a long-term direction.
Organizations should work to improve process capability so that quality control efforts can become more ________. A. effective B. efficient C. necessary D. unnecessary E. widespread
D. unnecessary Increasing process capability reduces the necessity for quality control.
Which one of the following is not a factor of successful product and service design?
D. use computerized design techniques Computerized design techniques don't necessarily lead to successful product and service design.
In order to use the "level capacity strategy," variations in demand are met by: A. varying output during regular time without changing employment levels B. varying output during regular time by changing employment levels C. (a) and (b) D. using combination of inventories, overtime, part time, and back orders E. price adjustments
D. using combination of inventories, overtime, part time, and back orders A combination of inventories, overtime, part time, and back orders is the level strategy.
Which of the following is not a characteristic of layout decisions in system design? A. substantial investment of both money and effort B. long-term commitment C. significant impact on short-term efficiency D. usually well-received by operative personnel E. all of the above
D. usually well-received by operative personnel Layout decisions can lead to conflict from those who are affected by them.
The range chart (R-chart) is most likely to detect a change in: A. proportion B. mean C. number defective D. variability E. sample size
D. variability The range chart monitors variability.
Which of the following concerns is not one that job designers focus on? A. what will be done in a job B. who will do the job C. how the job will be done D. when should the job be completed E. where the job will be done
D. when should the job be completed
Processes that are in control eliminate variations.
FALSE In control, processes are free of non-random variation.
Simulation to produce an aggregate plan: A. will produce the best plan B. is the most widely used technique C. both (a) and (b) D. will produce a plan that may not be the best plan E. requires a minimum of 4 iterations to be accurate
D. will produce a plan that may not be the best plan Simulation is not guaranteed to produce an optimal plan.
Location choice I has monthly fixed costs of $100,000 and per-unit variable costs of $10. What would its total cost be at a monthly volume of 250 units? A. $105,500 B. $105,200 C. $100,520 D. $100,250 E. $102,500
E. $102,500
Location choice I has monthly fixed costs of $100,000 and per-unit variable costs of $10. What would its total cost be at a monthly volume of 550 units? A. $100,520 B. $102,500 C. $105,200 D. $100,250 E. $105,500
E. $105,500
Which of the following possible values of alpha would cause exponential smoothing to respond the most quickly to forecast errors?
E. .15 Larger values for alpha correspond with greater responsiveness.
If a line is balanced with 90 percent efficiency, the "balance delay" will be: A. 20 percent B. depends on the next operation C. 80 percent D. unknown, since balance delay is not related to efficiency E. 10 percent
E. 10 percent
The president of State University wants to forecast student enrollments for this academic year based on the following historical data. What is the forecast for this year using the least squares trend line for these data?
E. 22,800 Treat 5 years ago as period 0.
A company needs to locate three departments (X, Y, and Z) in the three areas (I, II, and III) of a new facility. They want to minimize interdepartmental transportation costs, which are expected to be $.50 per load per meter moved. An analyst has prepared the following distances and flow matrices: Distances (meters): From/TO I II III I - 10 20 II - 10 III - Flows (loads per week: From/TO I II III X - 60 90 Y 40 - 160 Z 110 140 - What is the total flow (loads per week) between department Y and department Z? A. 140 B. 160 C. 200 D. 250 E. 300
E. 300
What is the break-even quantity for the following situation? FC = $1,200 per week VC = $2 per unit Rev = $6 per unit A. 100 B. 200 C. 600 D. 1,200 E. 300
E. 300
When a process is in control, it results in there being, on average, 16 defects per unit of output. C-chart limits of 8 and 24 would lead to a _______ chance of a Type I error. A. 67% B. 92% C. 33% D. .03% E. 5%
E. 5% These would be two-sigma limits
At XYZ Corp., the aggregate planning unit reflects the fact that 50% of its output is product version A, 30% is version B, and 20% is version C. Suppose that over the coming year forecasted total demand (in planning units) is for 10,400 units. Once the production plan is disaggregated, what will the weekly forecast for version A be (assume 52 weeks per year)? A. 1000 B. 200 C. 400 D. 100 E. 50
E. 50 Divide 5,200 (annual demand) by 52 weeks.
Before a dimension of quality can be made operationally useful, it must be restated in some ___________ form. A. certifiable B. manipulative C. marketable D. qualitative E. measurable
E. measurable
The quality certification that deals primarily with conformance to customer requirements is ISO __________; ISO __________ is concerned primarily with the organization's effect on the environment. A. 14000; 24700 B. 9000; 24700 C. 24700; 9000 D. 14000; 9000 E. 9000; 14000
E. 9000; 14000
Which of the following is not a location option that management can consider in location planning? A. expand an existing facility B. add a new location C. relocate from one location to another D. do nothing E. All are possible options.
E. All are possible options.
The more __________ demand is, the more the aggregate plan will tend to reflect the ____________ strategy. A. Stable; Level B. Aggregated; Outsourcing C. Variable; Chase D. Complex; Uncommitted E. Both A and C
E. Both A and C These pure strategies reflect particular underlying demand patterns.
The goal of value analysis is to find ways of _______. A. I. Reducing the cost of parts and materials B. II. Improving the performance of the product or service C. III. Incorporating multiple cultural values in global system design D. Both I and III E. Both I and II
E. Both I and II In value analysis an attempt is made to reduce the cost and/or improve the performance of the product.
Which of the following is not an approach that companies use to achieve a smooth flow of production? A. line balancing heuristics B. parallel workstations C. dynamic line balancing (Cross train workers) D. mixed model line E. Companies use all of these.
E. Companies use all of these. Any of these is a means to achieve smooth flow.
ISO 9000 currently requires _____ of a certified organization. A. Quarterly reporting B. Product diversity C. Annual audits D. A minimum of four supervisory levels E. Continuous improvement
E. Continuous improvement
Proactive and Reactive aggregate planning strategies are best associated with: A. Input and Output B. Make and Buy C. Quantitative and Qualitative D. Exact and Approximate E. Demand and Capacity options
E. Demand and Capacity options Demand and capacity are the targets of proactive and reactive aggregate planning strategies.
Accommodating peak demands and effectively using labor resources during periods of low demand would be the goal of aggregate planners in _________. A. Manufacturing B. Military C. Archeology D. Libraries E. Financial Services
E. Financial Services These are the considerations in aggregate planning for service firms.
Cultural differences, Customer preferences, Labor and Resources are factors relating to: A. Regional choices B. Site selection C. Zoning D. Product design E. Foreign locations
E. Foreign locations
Software systems known as GIS help in location analysis. The initials GIS stand for __. A. Graphic Interface Systems B. Global Integrated Software C. Graded Information Systems D. Geo Intensive Software E. Geographical Information System
E. Geographical Information System
Managers have obligations to a wide variety of stakeholders such as shareholders, employees and customers. When considering outsourcing production to offshore suppliers, managers have to weigh _____. I) Cost benefits that might make shareholders wealthier II) Quality issues that might make firms less productive and/or products riskier III) The investments already tied up in relationships with existing suppliers A. I B. II C. III D. I and II only E. I, II and III
E. I, II and III
Which of the following are assumptions of the break-even model? I. Only one product is involved. II. Everything that is produced can be sold. III. The revenue per unit will be the same regardless of volume. A. I only B. I and II only C. II only D. II and III only E. I, II and III
E. I, II and III
The process capability index (Cpk) may mislead if: (I) the process is not stable. (II) the process output is not normally distributed. (III) the process is not centered. A. I and II B. I and III C. II and III D. II only E. I, II and III
E. I, II and III When using Cpk these concerns should be addressed.
Which of the following is not an advantage of work sampling compared to stopwatch time study? A. There is little or no disruption of work. B. It is less susceptible to short-term fluctuations. C. Workers are less resentful. D. It is less costly and less time-consuming. E. It is better suited for short, repetitive tasks.
E. It is better suited for short, repetitive tasks.
Which of the following statements about CAD is not true?
E. It is used successfully by all manufacturing companies. Not all manufacturers use CAD.
When considering re-use issues for a given product, an important factor to take into account is that product's _______.
E. None of the above Remanufacturing refers to refurbishing used products.
Product profiling links key product or service requirements to: A. Market conditions B. Order sizes C. Pricing strategies D. Schedule changes E. Process capabilities
E. Process capabilities Product profiling allows firms to match what they should (or must) do with respect to product or service requirements.
__________ is generally used to facilitate an organization strategy that emphasizes low cost.
E. Standardization Standardization is a powerful means of achieving low-cost production.
Which closeness rating reflects the undesirability of having two departments located near each other? A. A B. E C. I D. U E. X
E. X Undesirable
A group of machines including supervisory computer control, automatic material handling, and possibly robots is called: A. computer aided design B. a manufacturing cell C. computer-aided manufacturing D. computer-integrated manufacturing E. a flexible manufacturing system
E. a flexible manufacturing system FMS involve all these things.
Which of the following is not an information requirement for the design of a process layout? A. a list of departments or work centers B. a projection of work flows between the work centers C. the distance between locations D. the cost per unit of distance to move loads E. a list of product cycle times for every product manufactured
E. a list of product cycle times for every product manufactured Cycle times do not enter into the design of process layouts.
When service firms such as retailers or banks make growth-spurred location decisions, typically these involve: A. expanding existing locations rather than adding new ones. B. finding new sources of resources to replace exhausted ones. C. closing down existing locations and opening new ones elsewhere. D. downsizing existing locations and opening new ones elsewhere. E. adding new locations rather than expanding existing ones.
E. adding new locations rather than expanding existing ones.
Which of these factors would be least likely to affect productivity?
E. advertising Advertising could increase the value of the outputs, but it is less likely to affect productivity than these other factors.
A reason for the importance of capacity decisions is that capacity: A. limits the rate of output possible B. affects operating costs C. is a major determinant of initial costs D. is a long-term commitment of resources E. all of the above
E. all of the above
Which of the following is a factor that affects service capacity planning? A. the need to be near customers B. the inability to store services C. the degree of volatility of demand D. the customer's willingness to wait E. all of the above
E. all of the above
Which of the following is a tactic that helps service capacity management? A. pricing B. promotions C. discounts D. advertising E. all of the above
E. all of the above
Which of the following is an element of TQM? A. continual improvement B. competitive benchmarking C. operations Manager empowerment D. team approach E. all of the above
E. all of the above
Which of the following is essential to consider with respect to managing a process to meet demand?
E. all of the above All of these play a role in determining whether a process can meet demand. (strategy, demand forecasts, capacity, random variability)
An advantage of a U-shaped production line is that it: A. is more compact. B. permits better communication among employees. C. facilitates teamwork among workers. D. increases flexibility of work assignments. E. all of the above
E. all of the above All of these are advantages of U-shaped lines.
Aggregate planning requires which of the following information? A. a forecast of expected demand B. current levels of inventory C. (a) and (b) D. policies regarding employment levels E. all of the above
E. all of the above All of these are inputs into the aggregate planning process.
Ideas for new or improved designs can come from:
E. all of the above Companies look to many sources for ideas for new or improved designs.
Which of the following is an issue that designers must take into account in product and service design?
E. all of the above Designs must reflect a large number of factors.
Which of these factors would not be subtracted from design capacity when calculating effective capacity? A. personal time B. maintenance C. scrap D. operating hours per day E. all of the above would be subtracted in the calculation
E. all of the above would be subtracted in the calculation
Which of the following is not a type of operations?
E. all the above involve operations All of these involve taking inputs and transforming them.
Inspection is a(n): A. prevention. B. control. C. monitoring. D. corrective. E. appraisal.
E. appraisal.
The "5W2H approach" involves: A. measuring width and height B. using 7 people C. using 2 people D. using 9 people E. asking questions
E. asking questions
Aggregate planners attempt to balance: A. demand and inventories B. demand and costs C. capacity and inventories D. capacity and costs E. capacity and demand
E. capacity and demand Capacity and demand are roughly balanced in aggregate planning.
A c-chart is used for: A. means B. ranges C. percent defective D. fraction defective per unit E. number of defects per unit
E. number of defects per unit C-charts monitor the number of defects per unit.
In which type of operations are you likely to see, at most, only minor variations in the product or service being produced using the same process and the same equipment? A. a project B. a job shop C. repetitive production D. batch processing E. continuous production
E. continuous production In continuous production there is no variation in the product or service being produced.
Which of the following is not a key step toward improving productivity?
E. converting bond debt to stock ownership A firm's productivity is independent of its capital structure.
When choosing a forecasting technique, a critical trade-off that must be considered is that between:
E. cost and accuracy. The trade-off between cost and accuracy is the critical consideration when choosing a forecasting technique.
Which of the following is/are a primary input into capacity, sales, and production planning?
E. demand forecasts Demand forecasts are direct inputs into capacity, sales, and production plans.
Quality control, in contrast to quality assurance, is implemented: A. after production. B. before inspection. C. by self-directed teams. D. by top management. E. during production.
E. during production.
Which statement best characterizes a typical search for location alternatives? A. identify the best location choice B. minimize cost consequences C. maximize associated profits D. locate near markets E. identify acceptable locations
E. identify acceptable locations
In order for TQM to be successful, it is essential that most of the organization be _________. A. members of quality circles B. under contract C. ISO certified D. trained in error detection techniques E. in agreement with the philosophy and its goals
E. in agreement with the philosophy and its goals TQM won't work without substantial buy-in.
The term 'standardization' is closely associated with:
E. interchangeability Modular designs depend on standardized parts that are interchangeable.
Time-based approaches of business organizations focus on reducing the time to accomplish certain necessary activities. Time reductions seldom apply to:
E. internal audits. Internal audits have little to do with core value-adding efforts.
Which of the following process types would be more likely to be used in the introductory phase of a product's life-cycle? A. continuous B. intermittent C. project D. batch E. job shop
E. job shop Job shop processes are more appropriate for relatively new products.
Operations and sales are the two ________ functions in businesses.
E. line Others are support functions.
Which of the following is not characteristic of time-based compensation plans? A. stable labor costs B. easier to administer than output-based plans C. stable pay for workers D. simpler wage computations than output-based plans E. lower cost per unit than output-based plans
E. lower cost per unit than output-based plans
Which of the following is not true about process layouts when they are compared to product layouts? A. higher in-process inventories B. lower span of supervision C. lower rates of output D. more involved cost accounting E. lower unit costs
E. lower unit costs Process layouts are not inherently more efficient that product layouts.
Which of the following quality control sample statistics indicates a quality characteristic that is an attribute? A. mean B. variance C. standard deviation D. range E. proportion
E. proportion Proportions would be control with attribute control charts.
If there is a good chance that one or a few employees could wind up in monotonous jobs, job __________ can be a good idea. A. alteration B. expansion C. enrichment D. enlargement E. rotation
E. rotation
Which of the following steps is necessary to ensure that a master schedule is valid? A. worker scheduling B. order promising C. inventory counting D. order booking E. rough-cut capacity planning
E. rough-cut capacity planning Rough-cut capacity planning insures that the master schedule is reasonably feasible.
Core competencies in organizations generally do not relate to:
E. sales price. What a firm charges for its outputs is not a core competency. What it can charge, however, is potentially related to a core competency.
Which of the following is not a key factor of competitiveness?
E. size of organization Competitiveness often has nothing to do with organization size.
Production systems with customized outputs typically have relatively:
E. skilled workers Skilled workers are necessary to accommodate the variation inherent in customized outputs.
Standard times derived from a firm's historical data are known as: A. predetermined times B. MTM C. work sampling times D. judgmental times E. standard elemental times
E. standard elemental times
Which of the following is not a process commonly considered in making products or delivering services? A. continuous B. batch C. repetitive D. job shop E. subcontracting
E. subcontracting Subcontracting isn't a process type.
Which of the following is not a type of judgmental forecasting?
E. time series analysis Time series analysis is a quantitative approach.
Which of the following would not be a strategy associated with adjusting aggregate capacity to meet expected demand? A. subcontract B. vary the size of the workforce C. vary the intensity of workforce utilization D. allow inventory levels to vary E. use backorders
E. use backorders Backorders do not involve adjusting capacity.
The ratio of actual output to design capacity is: A. design capacity B. effective capacity C. actual capacity D. efficiency E. utilization
E. utilization
A technique for estimating the proportion of time a worker spends on various activities is: A. stopwatch time study B. standard elemental (historical) times C. simultaneous motion study D. predetermined (published) time standards E. work sampling
E. work sampling
"Knowledge-based pay systems" pay higher wages or salaries to workers who have completed college than to those who just finished high school.
FALSE
"Self-directed teams" help other work groups make changes to their processes.
FALSE
"Time-based systems" compensate employees according to the time the employee has worked and the amount of output they produce.
FALSE
Quality certification refers to a process of 100 percent inspection to catch all defective products before they leave the company; this allows every item to certified defect free.
FALSE
Quality of design refers to the degree to which goods and services achieve the intent of the designers.
FALSE
Regardless of superior quality, consumers won't pay premium prices.
FALSE
Retail businesses generally prefer locations that are not near other retailers, as this reduces their competition.
FALSE
So long as quality input resources are used to make a product, we can expect quality output from the process.
FALSE
Studies on worker efficiency and time of day suggest the greatest efficiency is at the end of the day when workers are 'warmed up'.
FALSE
Suppliers are not included in quality assurance and quality improvement efforts in TQM; they should worry about their own problems.
FALSE
Technology has made communication with global operations as easy as local communication.
FALSE
The Baldrige award can only be won by manufacturing organizations.
FALSE
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is a regulatory burden that has been proven to have little impact on the safety and welfare of workers.
FALSE
The PDSA cycles is also referred to as the Baldrige Wheel.
FALSE
The benchmark organization must be chosen from the same industry in order for its methods to be applicable.
FALSE
The causes of variation in any process can be identified through the general categories of people, procedures, education and age.
FALSE
The center of gravity method is a location planning technique that determines a composite score from weighted factor evaluation.
FALSE
The fact that most types of firms are located in every section of the country suggests that in many cases, location decisions are not overly important; one location typically is as good as another.
FALSE
The first step in developing location alternatives is identifying important factors.
FALSE
The most widely used method of work measurement is work sampling.
FALSE
The normal time for a job is multiplied by the performance rating to obtain the standard time for the job.
FALSE
The quickest, most effective way to improve an employee's job satisfaction is increase his or her compensation.
FALSE
The seven dimensions of quality are important for products but are not applicable in service organizations.
FALSE
The term "quality at the source" refers primarily to the practice of requiring each of our vendors to provide quality parts and materials.
FALSE
Total quality management is a collection of techniques, such as quality control charts, ISO 9000, and quality function deployment.
FALSE
We incorporate the average seriousness of accidents by measuring the number of lost-time accidents per million labor-hours worked.
FALSE
Web-based, retail businesses should be located near the customer to reduce their long distance phone charges.
FALSE
When problems arise in a total quality managed organization, it is important to assign blame and punish the worker responsible for causing the problem.
FALSE
Work sampling provides a detailed elemental breakdown of a task for purposes of establishing reliable time standards.
FALSE
Work sampling provides both quick and accurate estimates of activity times.
FALSE
You can't make a mistake by locating where labor costs are low.
FALSE
Zero defects requires 100% inspection of the final product.
FALSE
A c-chart is used to monitor the total number of defectives in the output of a process.
FALSE A c-chart is used to monitor the number of defects per unit, not defective units.
Approving the effort that occurs during the production process is known as acceptance sampling.
FALSE Acceptance sampling occurs before or after the production process.
Aggregate planners are concerned with the quality and quantity of expected demand.
FALSE Aggregate planners are concerned with the quantity and timing of expected demand.
Organizations facing seasonal changes in demand are prevented from using aggregate planning techniques.
FALSE Aggregate planning can accommodate seasonal changes in demand.
Aggregate planning is intermediate-range capacity planning that typically covers a time horizon of one to three months.
FALSE Aggregate planning covers the mid-term, typically two to 12 months.
A process that exhibits random variability would be judged to be out of control.
FALSE All processes exhibit random variability.
An "up and down" run test uses the median as a reference point and measures the percentage above and below the median.
FALSE An up-and-down runs test looks only at runs of increasing or decreasing values.
Approximately 99.7% of sample means will fall within ± two standard deviations of the process mean if the process is under control.
FALSE Approximately 99.7% of sample means will fall within ± three standard deviations of the process mean.
The assignment of work to specific machines and people are examples of aggregate planning.
FALSE Assigning work to specific machines or people is an example of detailed scheduling.
Time-series techniques involve the identification of explanatory variables that can be used to predict future demand.
FALSE Associative forecasts involve identifying explanatory variables.
Attributes need to be measured, variable data can be counted.
FALSE Attributes need to be counted, variable data is measured.
When new products or services are introduced, focus forecasting models are an attractive option.
FALSE Because focus forecasting models depend on historical data, they're not so attractive for newly introduced products or services.
Aggregate planners typically use mathematical techniques such as linear programming and linear decision rules for planning.
FALSE Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are used in aggregate planning.
A control chart involves setting action limits for cumulative forecast error.
FALSE Control charts set action limits for the tracking signal.
Control limits are based on multiples of the process standard deviation.
FALSE Control limits are based on multiples of the standard deviation of the sample statistic.
Control limits used on process control charts are specifications established by design or customers.
FALSE Control limits are independent of specifications.
The process capability index (indicated by Cpk) can be used only when the process is centered.
FALSE Cpk can be used whether or not the process is centered.
Operations managers, who usually use quantitative approaches, are not really concerned with ethical decision-making.
FALSE Ethics issues are touching on all areas of management, including operations.
Exponential smoothing adds a percentage (called alpha) of the last period's forecast to estimate the next period's demand.
FALSE Exponential smoothing adds a percentage to the last period's forecast error.
Once accepted by managers, forecasts should be held firm regardless of new input since many plans have been made using the original forecast.
FALSE Flexibility to accommodate major changes is important to good forecasting.
A forecast method is generally deemed to perform adequately when the errors exhibit an identifiable pattern.
FALSE Forecast methods are generally considered to be performing adequately when the errors appear to be randomly distributed.
Forecasts for groups of items tend to be less accurate than forecasts for individual items because forecasts for individual items don't include as many influencing factors.
FALSE Forecasting for an individual item is more difficult than forecasting for a number of items.
Forecasts based on time-series (historical) data are referred to as associative forecasts.
FALSE Forecasts based on time-series data are referred to as time-series forecasts.
The greater the capability ratio, the higher the rejects.
FALSE Greater capability reduces rejects.
The larger the process variation, the tighter the specifications should be.
FALSE Greater variation would lead to wider specifications.
Non-random variation is likely whenever all observations are between the LCL and UCL.
FALSE If all observations are between the LCL and UCL, then the process would be considered in control.
For new products in a strong growth mode, a low alpha will minimize forecast errors when using exponential smoothing techniques.
FALSE If growth is strong, alpha should be large so that the model will catch up more quickly.
Even if the process is not centered, the process capability index (indicated by Cpk) is very useful.
FALSE If the process is not centered, Cpk is not useful.
An R value of zero (on a range chart) means that the process must be in control since all sample values are equal.
FALSE If the sample size is sufficiently large, an R of zero could indicate an out of control process.
A moving average forecast tends to be more responsive to changes in the data series when more data points are included in the average.
FALSE More data points reduce a moving average forecast's responsiveness.
A consumer survey is an easy and sure way to obtain accurate input from future customers since most people enjoy participating in surveys.
FALSE Most people do not enjoy participating in surveys.
National productivity is determined by averaging the productivity measures of various companies or industries.
FALSE National productivity is determined by dividing inputs by outputs across a national economy; averaging industry measures would lead to a distorted estimate.
Operations management and marketing are the two functional areas that exist to support activities in other functions such as accounting, finance, IT and human resources.
FALSE Operations management and marketing are supported by these functions.
Operations Management activities will be less important in the future because many firms are becoming service-oriented operations rather than goods producing operations.
FALSE Operations management is just as important for service firms.
Range charts and p-charts are both used for variable data.
FALSE P-charts are used with attribute data.
In the master production schedule, production is planned for the next period whenever the available-to-promise quantity becomes negative.
FALSE Production is planned to be complete in the period in which the projected on-hand becomes negative.
Capacity can be modified in aggregate planning by promotion and producing additional product using overtime.
FALSE Promotions do not modify capacity.
Range charts are used mainly with attribute data.
FALSE Range charts are used with variable data.
Range control charts are used to monitor process central tendency.
FALSE Ranger charts monitor variability.
Run tests give managers an alternative to control charts; they are quicker and cost less.
FALSE Runs tests are not alternatives to control charts.
Seasonality in demand has the advantage of leveling out requirements for our product or service.
FALSE Seasonality increases variation in requirements.
A smoothing constant of .1 will cause an exponential smoothing forecast to react more quickly to a sudden change than a smoothing constant value of .3.
FALSE Smaller smoothing constants result in less reactive forecast models.
Statistical process control focuses on the acceptability of process output.
FALSE Statistical process control focuses on the variability of processes.
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.
The use of tables and charts in aggregate planning usually enables planners to arrive at an optimal plan.
FALSE Such solutions may be good solutions, but they're usually not optimal.
The T in the model TAF = S + T represents the time dimension (which is usually expressed in weeks or months).
FALSE The T represents the trend dimension.
The Taguchi Cost Function suggests that the capability ratio can be improved by extending the spread between LCL and UCL.
FALSE The Taguchi cost function suggests that reducing variation is key.
The best way to assure quality is to use extensive inspection and control charts.
FALSE The best way to assure quality is to make sure processes are highly capable.
The naive approach to forecasting requires a linear trend line.
FALSE The naive approach is useful in a wider variety of settings.
The number of defective parts in a sample is an example of variable data because it will "vary" from one sample to another.
FALSE The number of defective parts in a sample is an example of attribute data.
The optimum level of inspection occurs when we catch at least 98.6 percent of the defects.
FALSE The optimum level of inspection is when the sum of inspection costs and the cost of passing defectives are equal.
The output from aggregate planning is a detailed business plan covering the next 2 to 12 months.
FALSE The output is an aggregate production plan.
Forecasting techniques that are based on time-series data assume that future values of the series will duplicate past values.
FALSE Time-series forecasts assume that future patterns in the series will mimic past patterns in the series.
Tolerances represent the control limits we use on the charts.
FALSE Tolerances are specification limits, not control limits.
Trend-adjusted exponential smoothing uses double smoothing to add twice the forecast error to last period's actual demand.
FALSE Trend-adjusted smoothing smoothes both random and trend-related variation.
The naive forecast is limited in its application to series that reflect no trend or seasonality.
FALSE When a trend or seasonality is present, the naive forecast is more limited in its application.
If people would only work harder, productivity would increase.
FALSE Working harder can actually reduce productivity in some cases.
Productivity tends to be only a very minor factor in an organization's ability to compete.
FALSE An organization's ability to compete is directly affected by its productivity.
Competitiveness relates to the profitability of an organization in the marketplace.
FALSE Competitiveness relates to how effectively an organization meets the wants and needs of customers relative to other organizations that offer similar goods or services.
Global competition really only applies to multinational organizations.
FALSE Domestic-only organizations experience competition from organizations in other countries.
Improving efficiency will guarantee a similar improvement in productivity.
FALSE Efficiency is narrower than productivity.
Organizational strategy should be determined without considering the realities of functional area strengths and weaknesses since they can be changed to meet our strategy.
FALSE Functional strengths and weaknesses serve as the building blocks of organizational strategy.
Mission statements should be as specific as possible regarding exactly how they will be accomplished.
FALSE Mission statements are very long-term and should provide enough room to accommodate major changes in direction.
Outsourcing tends to improve quality but at the cost of lowered productivity.
FALSE Outsourcing can lead to both quality and productivity improvements.
An organization that is twice as productive as its competitor will be twice as profitable.
FALSE Productivity advantages don't necessarily translate into profitability advantages.
Productivity is defined as the ratio of input to output.
FALSE Productivity is the ratio of outputs to inputs.
As long as we match a competitor on quality and price we will gain market share.
FALSE We usually have to better a competitor to win market share.
A manufacturing cell allows the production of a wide-range of very different products.
FALSE A cell is for a modest variety of output within a product family.
A process layout is more susceptible to shutdowns caused by equipment breakdowns than a product layout.
FALSE A product layout is more susceptible to these.
Avoiding bottlenecks is the primary goal of product design.
FALSE Avoiding bottlenecks is a primary consideration in facilities layout.
"Balance delay" is another name for the percentage of idle time in a process layout.
FALSE Balance delay is applicable in product layouts.
Basic research is done with the expectation that discoveries will have near-term commercial application
FALSE Basic research is done with no clear expectations regarding commercial application.
The term computer aided manufacturing (CAM) refers primarily to the use of robotics in process control.
FALSE CAM involves using computer technology to control various facets of the manufacturing process.
Concurrent Engineering is another term for sequential development.
FALSE Concurrent engineering involves simultaneous product and production development.
"Concurrent engineering" means that at least two engineers are involved in product design at the same time.
FALSE Concurrent engineering means that engineers, marketing, manufacturing and purchasing personnel often are jointly involved in the product design.
Consumers tend to resist purchasing products containing recycled materials.
FALSE Consumers are beginning to respond positively when informed that their purchases contain recycled materials.
Operations managers are responsible for assessing consumer wants and needs and selling and promoting the organization's goods or services.
FALSE Operation managers are not responsible for promoting goods/services.
Most people encounter operations only in profit-making organizations.
FALSE Operations are also relevant to not-for-profit organizations such as the Red Cross.
Operations, marketing, and finance function independently of each other in most organizations.
FALSE Operations, marketing and finance are naturally dependent upon one another.
Product layouts can more easily adapt to variations in product requirements than process layouts can.
FALSE Process layouts are more adaptable.
Assembly lines achieved productivity but at the expense of standard of living.
FALSE Productivity and standard of living go hand in hand.
The quality function deployment (QFD) matrices are often referred to as the "House of Quality" because, when completed, they "house" all of the customer's quality requirements.
FALSE QFD matrices link customer requirements with other product/process design elements.
Quality function deployment (QFD) is based on a set of standards which relate customer requirements to company capabilities.
FALSE QFD relates customer requirements to product designs and the capabilities necessary to carry these designs out.
"Quality Function Deployment" is a structured approach that guarantees that the highest quality product or service will be designed.
FALSE Quality Function Deployment ensures that the voice of the customer is integrated into the product or service design question.
Repetitive processing systems usually produce goods specifically for customer orders rather than for inventory.
FALSE Repetitive processing systems usually produce goods for inventory.
Right-sized equipment tends to be larger than equipment used in traditional process layout.
FALSE Right-sizing can lead to smaller equipment.
Robust design describes a product that will perform satisfactorily so long as it is used in a very narrow range of conditions.
FALSE Robust designs perform satisfactorily across a wide range of conditions.
To save money, it is essential that designers revise the production capabilities to meet the requirements of the new products.
FALSE Saving money requires designers to ensure that new products can be produced using existing production capabilities.
Service operations require additional inventory because of the unpredictability of consumer demand.
FALSE Service operations cannot use inventory as a hedge against unpredictable demand.
Commonality of components is beneficial for manufacturing but not for services.
FALSE Services can benefit from commonality in service elements.
The three R's - Reduce, Re-use and Recycle - are more applicable in service design than in product design.
FALSE Services cannot be re-used or recycled.
'Value added' by definition is always a positive number since 'added' implies increases.
FALSE Some transformations result in the output being worth less than the inputs.
Special-purpose technology is a common way of offering increased customization in manufacturing or services without taking on additional labor costs.
FALSE Special-purpose technology typically reduces costs through standardization.
In general, Job-Shop systems have a lower unit cost than continuous systems do because continuous systems use costly specialized equipment.
FALSE Specialized equipment can lead to lower unit cost.
One of the main advantages of standardization is that it increases the potential variety of products
FALSE Standardization reduces the variety of products.
Taguchi design methods involve identifying the optimal operating or environmental conditions for a given product.
FALSE Taguchi design methods involve designing products that are relatively insensitive to environmental factors.
The word "technology" is used only to refer to "information technology."
FALSE Technology also refers to the technology involved in resource transformations.
The goal in line balancing is to obtain a reasonable allocation of work to each station.
FALSE The goal in line balancing is to arrive at a reasonable balance of work across the stations.
A 'House of Quality' is achieved when no department in a single location has more than 15% rejects.
FALSE The house of quality is a means of integrating the voice of the customer into the product or service development process.
The operations manager has primary responsibility for making operations system design decisions, such as system capacity and location of facilities.
FALSE The operations manager plays a role in these decisions but is not primarily responsible for them.
There are three basic process types - Input, Processing and Output.
FALSE There are five basic process types: job shop, batch, repetitive, continuous and project.
Accounting, purchasing, and inventory control are fairly routine with process layouts.
FALSE They are more routine in product layouts.
The percentage of idle time in an assembly line is called cycle time.
FALSE This is called balance delay.
A cafeteria line would be an example of a process focused layout.
FALSE This would be an example of a product focused layout.
Global teams provide diversity while eliminating conflicts and miscommunication.
FALSE Using globally diverse design teams increases the risks of conflicts and miscommunication.
Capacity decisions are usually one-time decisions; once they have been made, we know the limits of our operations. True or False?
False
Cost and competitive priorities reduce effective capacities. True or False?
False
If the unit cost to buy something is less than the variable cost to make it, the decision to make or buy is based solely on the fixed costs. True or False?
False
In cost-volume analysis, costs that vary directly with volume of output are referred to as fixed costs because they are a fixed percentage of output levels. True or False?
False
Increasing capacity just before a bottleneck operation will improve the output of the process. True or False?
False
Outsourcing some production is a means of supporting a constraint. True or False?
False
Stating capacity in dollar amounts generally results in a consistent measure of capacity regardless of the actual units of measure. True or False?
False
The current trend toward global operations has made capacity decisions much easier since we have the whole world in which to consider operations. True or False?
False
The greater the gap between current and desired capacity, the greater the opportunity for profit. True or False?
False
Utilization is defined as the ratio of effective capacity to design capacity. True or False?
False
Government statistics are a good source of data about productivity trends in the service sector.
False The service sector is often omitted in government statistics.
"Output-based systems" compensate employees according to the amount of output they produce, thereby tying pay directly to performance.
TRUE
"Self-directed teams" are allowed to make changes in the work processes under their control.
TRUE
A "micro-factory" is a small, automated facility with a narrow product focus located near major markets.
TRUE
A pay system that rewards workers who undergo training that increases their skills is called a "knowledge-based pay system."
TRUE
A worker-machine chart can be used to determine how many machines an operator can manage.
TRUE
Concluding a process is out of control when it is not is known as a Type I error.
TRUE A Type I error involves erroneously concluding that a process is out of control.
A c-chart is used to monitor the number of defects per unit for process output.
TRUE A c-chart monitors the number of defects per unit for process output.
The Delphi approach involves the use of a series of questionnaires to achieve a consensus forecast.
TRUE A consensus among divergent perspectives is developed using questionnaires.
An advantage of trend-adjusted exponential smoothing over the linear trend equation is its ability to adjust over time to changes in the trend.
TRUE A linear trend equation assumes a constant trend; trend-adjusted smoothing allows for changes in the underlying trend.
Productivity is directly related to the ability of an organization to compete.
TRUE A more productive organization is a more competitive organization.
If a point on a control chart falls outside one of the control limits, this suggests that the process output is non-random and should be investigated.
TRUE A point outside the control limits suggests non-random variation.
The output of a process may not conform to specifications even though the process may be statistically "in control."
TRUE A process can be free of non-random variation and still not meet specifications.
Bias exists when forecasts tend to be greater or less than the actual values of time series.
TRUE A tendency in one direction is defined as bias.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, goods were produced primarily by craftsmen or their apprentices using custom made parts.
TRUE After the Industrial Revolution, more standardized approaches became common.
After the first period of the planning horizon, available-to-promise is computed only for those periods in which there is an MPS quantity.
TRUE After the first week, ATP values will only occur in periods in which there are MPS quantities.
The purpose of the forecast should be established first so that the level of detail, amount of resources, and accuracy level can be understood.
TRUE All of these considerations are shaped by what the forecast will be used for.
"Assignable variation" is variation due to a specific cause, such as tool wear.
TRUE Assignable variation is specific cause variation.
Forecasts based on an average tend to exhibit less variability than the original data.
TRUE Averaging is a way of smoothing out random variability.
Bias is measured by the cumulative sum of forecast errors.
TRUE Bias would result in the cumulative sum of forecast errors being large in absolute value.
Forecasts help managers both to plan the system itself and to provide valuable information for using the system.
TRUE Both planning and use are shaped by forecasts.
Forecasts of future demand are used by operations people to plan capacity.
TRUE Capacity decisions are made for the future and therefore depend on forecasts.
In order to compute seasonal relatives, the trend of past data must be computed or known, which means that for brand-new products this approach cannot be used.
TRUE Computing seasonal relatives depends on past data being available.
Quality control is assuring that processes are performing in an acceptable manner.
TRUE Control is used to monitor the performance of processes.
When a process is not centered, its capability is measured in a slightly different way. The symbol for this case is Cpk.
TRUE Cpk is used when the process is not centered.
Productivity is defined as the ratio of output to input.
TRUE Divide outputs by inputs to get productivity.
Among Ford's many contributions was the introduction of mass production, using the concept of interchangeable parts and division of labor.
TRUE Ford made mass production a practical success.
Forecasting techniques generally assume an existing causal system that will continue to exist in the future.
TRUE Forecasts depend on the rules of the game remaining reasonably constant.
Patterns of data on a control chart suggest that the process may have non-random variation.
TRUE Ideally, the data on a control chart will have no pattern.
Organizations that are capable of responding quickly to changing requirements can use a shorter forecast horizon and therefore benefit from more accurate forecasts.
TRUE If an organization can react more quickly, its forecasts need not be so long term.
A tracking signal focuses on the ratio of cumulative forecast error to the corresponding value of MAD.
TRUE Large absolute values of the tracking signal suggest a fundamental change in the forecast model's performance.
Lean production systems use a highly skilled work force and flexible equipment.
TRUE Lean depends on a skilled workforce.
Lean production systems incorporate the advantages of both mass production and craft production.
TRUE Lean production blends the best of both worlds.
Linear programming models yield the optimal solution.
TRUE Linear programming models can find an optimal solution if one exists.
The shorter the forecast period, the more accurately the forecasts tend to track what actually happens.
TRUE Long-term forecasting is much more difficult to do accurately.
Many operations management decisions can be described as tradeoffs.
TRUE Managing tradeoffs is the essence of operations management.
As an abstraction of reality, a model is a simplified version of a real phenomenon.
TRUE Models are valuable abstractions and simplifications of real, complex phenomena.
The best forecast is not necessarily the most accurate.
TRUE More accuracy often comes at too high a cost to be worthwhile.
The naive forecast can serve as a quick and easy standard of comparison against which to judge the cost and accuracy of other techniques.
TRUE Often the naive forecast performs reasonably well when compared to more complex techniques.
Attribute data are counted, variable data are measured.
TRUE These distinguish attribute from variable data.
A p-chart is used to monitor the fraction of defectives in the output of a process.
TRUE P-charts involve the fraction of defectives.
If a pattern appears when a dependent variable is plotted against time, one should use time series analysis instead of regression analysis.
TRUE Patterns reflect influences such as trends or seasonality that go against regression analysis assumptions.
"Process capability" compares "process variability" to the "tolerances."
TRUE Process variability influences how much output falls outside of tolerances.
Control limits tend to be wider for more variable processes.
TRUE Process with inherently more variability will naturally have wider control limits.
Tracking productivity measures over time enables managers to judge organizational performance and decide where improvements are needed.
TRUE Productivity trends direct attention toward problems and opportunities.
The optimal solutions produced by quantitative techniques should always be evaluated in terms of the larger framework.
TRUE Quantitative techniques have limitations that must be considered.
Curvilinear and multiple regression procedures permit us to extend associative models to relationships that are nonlinear or involve more than one predictor variable.
TRUE Regression analysis can be used in a variety of settings.
The master schedule indicates the quantity and timing for delivery of a product, but not the dates production will need to start.
TRUE Required start dates depend on products' lead times.
Run tests are useful in helping to identify nonrandom variations in a process.
TRUE Runs tests are useful to identify non-randomness in patterns.
A run test checks a sequence of observations for randomness.
TRUE Runs tests can be used to detect nonrandomness in sequences of observations.
Seasonal relatives can be used to deseasonalize data or incorporate seasonality in a forecast.
TRUE Seasonal relatives are used to deseasonalize data to forecast future values of the underlying trend, and they are also used to reseasonalize deseasonalized forecasts.
A seasonal relative (or seasonal indexes) is expressed as a percentage of average or trend.
TRUE Seasonal relatives are used when the seasonal effect is multiplicative rather than additive.
Elton Mayo's "Hawthorne Experiment" was the focal point of the Human Relations Movement, which emphasized the importance of the human element in job design.
TRUE The Hawthorne Experiments were the beginning of the Human Relations Movement.
The sample standard deviation of forecast error is equal to the square root of MSE.
TRUE The MSE is equal to the sample variance of the forecast error.
Correlation measures the strength and direction of a relationship between variables.
TRUE The association between two variations is summarized in the correlation coefficient.
Departmental budgeting is an example of aggregate planning.
TRUE The challenge is to get requirements into balance with resources.
An advantage of a "chase" strategy for aggregate planning is that inventories can be kept relatively low.
TRUE The chase strategy keeps inventories low.
The minimum number of workstations for a production line is determined in part by the desired output rate.
TRUE The desired output rate is used to find the required cycle time.
A lower control limit must by definition be a value less than an upper control limit.
TRUE The lower limit must be smaller than the upper limit.
Exponential smoothing is a form of weighted averaging.
TRUE The most recent period is given the most weight, but prior periods also factor in.
In order to update a moving average forecast, the values of each data point in the average must be known.
TRUE The moving average cannot be updated until the most recent value is known.
The variation of a sampling distribution is tighter than the variation of the underlying process distribution.
TRUE The sampling distribution exhibits less variation than the underlying process.
Ultimately the overriding factor in choosing a strategy in aggregate planning is overall cost.
TRUE The task of aggregate planning is to strike a balance between demand and capacity at minimum cost.
High-cost, low-volume items often require careful inspection since we make them so infrequently.
TRUE These are good candidates for inspection.
The amount of inspection we choose can range from no inspection at all to inspecting each item numerous times.
TRUE These are the extremes of inspection.
The optimum level of inspection minimizes the sum of inspection costs and the cost of passing defectives.
TRUE This represents the optimum balance between inspection and failure costs.
Variation in a sample statistic collected from a process may be either random variation or assignable variation - or both.
TRUE Total variation can consist of both random and assignable variation.
Aggregate planners commonly use trial-and-error methods in developing aggregate plans.
TRUE Trial-and-error approaches can lead to good solutions.
An advantage of a weighted moving average is that recent actual results can be given more importance than what occurred a while ago.
TRUE Weighted moving averages can be adjusted to make more recent data more important in setting the forecast.
In exponential smoothing, an alpha of 1.0 will generate the same forecast that a naive forecast would yield.
TRUE With alpha equal to 1 we are using a naive forecasting method.
Services often don't fit simple yield measurements.
TRUE Comparing one service output to another is difficult to do accurately.
The hierarchy and sequence of planning and decision making is: mission, organizational strategy, tactics, and operational decisions.
TRUE Mission is at the highest level of the hierarchy, while operational decisions are at the lowest.
A characteristic that was once an order winner may become an order qualifier, and vice versa.
TRUE Order qualifiers and order winners are shaped by the environment.
Strategy includes both organizational and functional strategies.
TRUE Organizational strategies shape functional strategies.
A business that is rated highly by its customers for service quality will tend to be more profitable than a business that is rated poorly.
TRUE Service quality is a powerful tool for improving profitability.
Standardization has the advantage of reducing variability.
TRUE Standardization leads to reduced variability.
A mission statement should provide a guide for the formulation of strategies for the organization.
TRUE Strategy-making is constrained by the mission statement.
Environmental scanning is a search for events or trends that present either threats or opportunities to the organization.
TRUE These events or trends should be taken into account when strategy is being formulated.
The majority of our textbook deals with tactical operations that support established functional strategies.
TRUE This represents the majority of ongoing decision making in operations.
Traditional strategies of business organizations have tended to emphasize cost minimization or product differentiation.
TRUE Time- and quality-based strategies are more recent developments.
Wage and salary increases that are not accompanied by productivity increases tend to exert inflationary pressures on a nation's economy.
TRUE True increases in standards of living come about through productivity improvements.
Intermittent processing can take the form of batch processing or a job shop.
TRUE A job shop is a batch processor with a standard batch size of one.
Morale problems can be a reason for redesign of a facility layout.
TRUE A layout redesign can lead to improved morale.
Often, the collective success or failure of companies' operations functions will impact the ability of a nation to compete with other nations.
TRUE A nation is often only as competitive as its companies.
A service blueprint is quite similar to an architectural drawing.
TRUE A service blueprint shows the basic customer and service actions involved in a service operation.
Reliability can be improved by the use of backup components.
TRUE Adding a backup component is often cheaper than increasing the reliability of a given component.
An idle percentage of zero means a line is perfectly balanced.
TRUE All workstations would be occupied 100% of the time.
One approach to extending a product's life cycle is to promote alternate uses of the product.
TRUE Alternate uses extend product life cycles.
As a general rule, continuous processing systems produce products for inventory rather than for customer order.
TRUE Continuous processing systems tend to be used in make-to-stock scenarios.
Continuous production has been a significant factor underpinning the U.S. standard of living over the last century.
TRUE Continuous production has led to substantial productivity gains.
Service design often must take into account the degree of customer contact required.
TRUE Customer contact is a critical service design issue.
Service involves a much higher degree of customer contact than manufacturing.
TRUE Customer contact tends to be much higher in services.
The value of outputs is measured by the prices customers are willing to pay for goods or services.
TRUE Customers' willingness to pay for goods or services sets the value of these outputs.
Cycle time is the maximum time allowed for each workstation to complete its work on each unit.
TRUE Cycle time paces the production line.
Process layouts feature departments or other functional groupings of personnel or equipment.
TRUE Departmental or functional grouping is an example of process layout.
"Design for production" takes into account the capabilities of the organization to produce or deliver a given product or service.
TRUE Design for production is important to ensure that product or service design decisions are feasible.
The main issue in the design of process layouts concerns the relative positioning of the departments involved.
TRUE Designing process layouts involves the relative positioning of the departments involved.
Reducing consumer choices makes service more efficient.
TRUE Efficiency comes from the standardization that results from reduced consumer choices.
Flexibility can be used as a competitive strategy.
TRUE Flexibility is a key competitive dimension.
The greater the degree of customer involvement, the more challenging the design and management of operations.
TRUE Greater customer involvement leads to more complexity in the design and management of operations.
Reliability refers to the ability of a product to perform its intended function under normal conditions.
TRUE Greater reliability translates into a greater likelihood of the product working in normal conditions.
"Balance delay" is another name for the percentage of idle time in a product layout.
TRUE Greater utilization implies a smaller balance delay.
The demand for a product and the rate of technological change have significant impact on the length of a given phase of the product life cycle.
TRUE How long a product stays in a particular phase of its life cycle depends greatly on the rate of technological change.
One concern in the design of production systems is the degree of standardization.
TRUE How standardized outputs will be is a critical consideration in the system design question.
The goal of life-cycle assessment is to incorporate the environmental impact of products or services into product-design or service-design decision-making.
TRUE Life-cycle assessment involves assessing the environmental impact of a product or service as it goes through its useful life.
Product failures can be easier to remedy with modular design.
TRUE Modular designs make it easy to change only portions of the design.
Applied research is the major R & D effort of business organizations because of the desire for commercial applications.
TRUE Most business organizations focus on applied rather than basic research.
Numerically controlled (N/C) machine and some robots are applications of programmable automation.
TRUE N/C machines and robots can be used in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS).
People who work in the field of operations should have skills that include both knowledge and people skills.
TRUE Operations management requires a blend of knowledge and people skills.
None of the approaches to line balancing, manual or computerized, guarantees an optimal solution.
TRUE Optimal solutions cannot be guaranteed through the use of heuristics.
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.
The Pareto phenomenon is one of the most important and pervasive concepts that can be applied at all levels of management.
TRUE Pareto phenomena can be observed in a wide variety of organization situations.
Process layouts allow greater flexibility in processing than product layouts.
TRUE Process layouts are more flexible.
A possible disadvantage of a product layout is an inflexible system.
TRUE Product layouts are inherently inflexible.
Product liability means that a manufacturer is liable for any injuries and damages caused by a faulty product because of poor workmanship or design.
TRUE Product liability is a serious issue for manufacturers.
Research and development (R&D) refers to organized efforts that are directed toward increasing scientific knowledge and product (or process) innovation.
TRUE Product or process innovations often result from deliberate R&D programs.
Re-manufacturing refers to removing some of the components of old products and reusing them in new products.
TRUE Re-manufacturing is a way of increasing sustainability.
Reliability can be defined in terms of a particular point in time or in terms of length of service.
TRUE Reliable designs can be counted on to work over time.
The process of dismantling and inspecting a competitor's product to discover improvement is called reverse engineering.
TRUE Reverse engineering is a legitimate means of evaluating the competitive landscape.
A robot consists of three parts: a power supply, a controller, and a mechanical arm.
TRUE Robots consist of a few broad components.
Service often requires greater labor content, whereas manufacturing is more capital intensive.
TRUE Service operations tend to be more labor-intensive than manufacturing.
A disadvantage of standardization is the possibility of standardizing designs too early, which may make it difficult to modify in the future.
TRUE Standardization locks firms into designs that aren't easily changed.
Standardization refers to the extent to which there is absence of variety in a product, service, or process.
TRUE Standardization reduces variety and leads to greater efficiency.
For a production line, daily capacity can be determined by dividing the daily operating time by the line's cycle time.
TRUE The line's cycle time represents the time between units. Thus, dividing the time available by the cycle time gives the daily capacity.
Service layouts must be visually pleasing as well as functional.
TRUE The service layout is often perceived by the customer.
One motivation for an organization to redesign its product or service is to avoid the alternative of downsizing the organization.
TRUE The threat of downsizing often spurs product or service redesign.
Delayed differentiation and modular design are tactics for mass customization.
TRUE These allow variety without giving up too much in the way of standardization.
An advantage of a U-shaped production line is that it facilitates teamwork and flexibility in work assignments.
TRUE These are key factors in favor of U-shaped layouts.
Among the benefits claimed for cellular manufacturing are less material handling and reduced setup time.
TRUE These are lower in cellular manufacturing.
Mismatches between operational capabilities and market demand can have a negative impact on an organization
TRUE These can lead to changes in processes.
Product layouts involve high utilization of labor and equipment.
TRUE They're used in high volume, standardized operations.
The goal of line balancing is to assign tasks to workstations in such a way that the workstations have approximately equal time requirements.
TRUE This is why it is called line balancing.
Most of the time what is called product or service design is actually a redesign of an existing product or service.
TRUE Usually the core product or service remains relatively unchanged even though other features are modified or enhanced.
An example of an external factor that influences effective capacity is government safety regulations. True or False?
True
Capacity decisions often involve a long-term commitment of resources which, when implemented, are difficult or impossible to modify without major added costs. True or False?
True
Capacity increases are usually acquired in moderately large "chunks" rather than in smooth increments. True or False?
True
Capacity planning requires an analysis of needs; what kind, how much and when. True or False?
True
Waiting line analysis can be useful for capacity design, especially for service systems. True or False?
True
An example of an operational operations management decision is inventory level management.
True Inventory management is an operational decision.
An example of a strategic operations management decision is the choice of where to locate.
True Location decisions are strategic in nature.