smart book questions exam 1

Which measurement of error is calculated by dividing the sum of the absolute forecast errors by the number of periods?

MAD

Which measurement of error measures the dispersion of some observed value from some expected value?

MAD

Which measurement of error represent the average error measured as a percentage of average demand

MAPE

The _____ is the focal point of all decisions and actions of the service organization

customer

the term that refers to the physical presence of the customer in the system is known as

customer contact

The higher the variable cost, the ____ the break-even volume

higher

When choosing weights for a weighted moving average, the general rule states that the most recent periods should get the _____ weighting.

highest

Which of the following should be considered when choosing a forecasting model?

- Consequence of a bad forecast - Firm's degree of flexibility

Which of the following should be considered when choosing a forecasting model? Check all that apply.

- Consequence of a bad forecast - The number of users of a forecast does not impact the model selected - Firm's degree of flexibility

With exponential smoothing, the value for the constant is determined both by what?

- Manager's sense of what constitutes a good response rate - The nature of the product

One standard deviation is approximately how many MADs?

1.25

There are _____ dimensions depicted on a product-process matrix

2

In the exponential smoothing method, how many pieces of information are needed to forecast the future?

3

If a car has four engine choices, three transmission choices, and five entertainment choices, there are ____ total number of combinations

60

In the formula for exponential smoothing, α(At-1-Ft-1) represents

A portion of the error

Workcenter

A process structure suited for low-volume production of a great variety of nonstandard products

What is the relationship between response to customer demand and inventory investment?

A quicker response comes at the expense of greater inventory investment

Assembly line

A setup in which an item is produced through a fixed sequence of workstations, designed to achieve a specific production rate

Project layout

A setup in which the product remains at one location, and equipment is moved to the product

The main disadvantage of the moving average is that

All individual data elements must be calculated as data

Which measure of error calculates the average absolute value of the actual forecast error?

MAD

Manufacturing cell

Dedicated area where a group of similar products are produced

(select all that apply): The role of operations in the service triangle is a major one, Which of the following are part of the operations responsibility? Equipment, the price for the service, facilities, service systems, managing the workforce, procedures

Equipment, facilities, service systems, managing the workforce, procedures

With weighted moving averages, how are the weights selected

Experience & trial and error

________ ________ is the most used of all forecasting techniques

Exponential Smoothing

Operationally, which of the following distinguishes one system from another?

Extent of customer contact

Place the following production methods in order starting with the one having the highest level of inventory investment and moving down to the one with the lowest inventory investment

Make to stock Assemble to order Make to order Engineer to order

Place the following production methods in order starting with the one having inventory closest to the customer and then moving back to the one with inventory closest to the source

Make-to-stock Assemble to order Make to order Engineer to order

Which type of firm invests in lean manufacturing programs in order to improve customer service levels for a given inventory investment

Make-to-stock (Reason: Many make to stock firms invest in lean manufacturing programs in order to achieve higher service levels for a given inventory investment

The single exponential smoothing equation states that the ___ forecast is equal to the ___ forecast plus a portion of the ______.

New; old ; error

Identify the basic classifications of forecasting.

Qualitative, times series analysis, casual relationships, and simulation

Tactical forecasts are ___ term, while strategic forecasts are ______ term.

Short ; medium and long

s the moving average period becomes ____ and _____ periods are used, there is more oscillation and there is a closer following of the trend.

Shorter ; fewer

All of the following are reasons why exponential has become well accepted EXCEPT:

Tests for accuracy are difficult

Exponential smoothing forecasting models are suprisingly ______

accurate

With exponential smoothing, which smoothing constant controls the speed of reaction to differences between forecasts and actual demand?

alpha

With a simple moving average, the idea is to simply calculate the ______ demand over the most recent periods

average

A standard approach to choosing among alternative processes or equipment that uses fixed cost, variable costs, and revenue is known as,

break even analysis

What term refers to repetitive activity that happens in other than annual recurrent periods?

cyclical

What term describes when you identify and separate time series data into components?

decomposition

_____ of a time series means identifying and separating the time series data into various components

decomposition

Which of the following is not a step required to make a good?; decoupling, sourcing, delivering, making

decoupling

A simple moving average gives ______ weight to each component of the forecast; whereas a weighted moving average gives ____ weight to each element

equal; varying

All forecasts certainly contain some ____

error

In regards to the service package, the benefits that are readily observable by the senses and that consist of the essential or intrinsic features of service

explicit services

When the most recent occurrences are more indicative of the future than those in the distant past, one should use which time series model?

exponential

When the most recent occurrences are most indicative of the future than those in the distant past, one should use which time series model?

exponential

Single exponential smoothing has the shortcoming of _____ changes in demand

lagging

The time needed to respond to a customer order is called the ____

lead time

____ time is the time needed to respond to a customer order

lead time

Many make-to-stock firms invest in _____ manufacturing programs in order to achieve higher service levels for a given inventory investment.

lean manufacturing

Which of the following is not an element of the service triangle (options; maintenance, service strategy, employees, customers)

maintenance

The issue of balancing the level of finished inventory against the level of service to the customer occurs in which type of firm?

make-to-stock

In business forecasting, what time frame usually refers to three months to two years?

medium

In regards to the service package, the physical resources that must be in place before a service can be offered.

supporting facility

With single exponential smoothing forecasting, the forecast ___ when a change in direction occurs

overshoots

In time series analysis, _______ demand is used to predict ______ demand.

past; future

Long-term forecasting models detect general trends and are especially useful in identifying major ______ _______ .

turning points

_______ variations are caused by chance events

random

A moving average can be useful in removing what for forecasting

random fluctuations

In statistics, the difference between what actually occurred and what was forecast is referred to as what?

residuals

Usually, which word is associated with a period of the year characterized by some activity.

seasonal

Usually, which word is associated with a period of the year characterized by some activity?

seasonal

Which is the larger measure, the standard deviation or MAD?

standard deviation

What types of forecast should be used for strategy, sourcing and location decisions?

strategic

In the make-to-order and engineer-to-order environments, the customer order decoupling point could be in either raw materials at the manufacturing site or possibly even with the ____ inventory

supplier

You generally us short-term forecasts for _______ decisions such as replenishing inventory or scheduling employees in the near term

tactical

In general, the longer the averaging period

the smoother the plot

T/F: A service organization exists to serve the customer

true

True/False: Carrying finished goods inventory is more expensive than carrying raw material inventory

true

When deciding which forecasting model to use, a firm should consider all of the following except:

weather

In a service organization, how management treats the ____ is how they will treat the public

worker

In a service organization, how management treats ___ is how they will treat the public

workers

When calculating a multiplicative seasonal index, what mathematical operator is used to relate the trend and seasonal factor?

x