Test
An assembly line is an example of a:
repetitive process
What is a data pattern that repeats itself after a period of days, weeks, months, or quarters?
seasonality
In most banks, customers need to go to different service areas for opening accounts, applying for loans, and making deposits. This service strategy is an example of:
separation.
Which of the quadrants in the service process matrix has low labor intensity and low customization?
service factory
Traffic counts and demographic analysis of drawing area are associated with:
service location decisions.
Which of the following is NOT among the eight determinants of revenue and volume for a service firm?
shipment cost of finished goods
"Today's forecast equals yesterday's actual demand" is referred as
the naive approach.
Which of the following is NOT one of the predictive variables chosen by the profitability regression model used by La Quinta Inns?
the number of inns in a region
One fundamental difference between a process chart and a flowchart is that:
the process chart is more like a table, while the flowchart is more like a schematic diagram.
The crossover point is that production quantity where:
total costs for one process equal total costs for another process.
Break-even is the number of units at which:
total revenue equals total cost
Production and transportation costs are always considered in which of the following location decision methods?
transportation model
Three broad categories of definitions of quality are:
user based, manufacturing based, and product based.
La Quinta Inns has a competitive edge over its rivals because it:
uses regression analysis to determine which variables most influence profitability.
Which of the following is most likely to affect the location strategy of a manufacturing firm?
utility costs
Basic break-even analysis typically assumes that:
variable costs and revenues increase in direct proportion to the volume of production.
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of exponential smoothing?
weights each historical value equally
A consistent tendency for forecasts to be greater or less than the actual values is called ________ error.
a bias
Gradual upward or downward movement of data over time is called:
a trend.
Location decisions are often being based on which of the following?
airports
Intangible costs include which of the following?
all of the above
Process redesign:
all of the above
A forecast that addresses the business cycle by predicting planning indicators is
an economic forecast.
Which of the following techniques uses variables such as price and promotional expenditures, which are related to product demand, to predict demand?
associative models
"Making it right the first time" is:
a manufacturing-based definition of quality.
"Quality lies in the eyes of the beholder" is:
a user-based definition of quality.
Among the following choices, an operations manager might best evaluate political risk of a country by looking at which type of country ranking?
based on corruption
Short-range forecasts tends to ________ longer-range forecasts.
be more accurate than
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:
benchmarking.
The last four weekly values of sales were 80, 100, 105, and 90 units. The last four forecasts were 60, 80, 95, and 75 units. These forecasts illustrate:
bias
Quality can improve profitability by reducing costs. Which of the following is not an aspect of reduced costs by quality improvements?
flexible pricing
Service blueprinting:
focuses on the provider's interaction with the customer.
Poka-yoke is the Japanese term for:
foolproof
In mass service and professional service, the operations manager should focus extensively on:
human resources.
Which of the following is not a type of qualitative forecasting?
moving average
Which of the following is usually NOT one of the top considerations in choosing a country for a facility location?
zoning regulations
Which of these factors would be considered when making a location decision at the site level?
zoning regulations
Before creating a workforce schedule, an operations manager should create what future time-horizon forecast?
Short-range
A jewelry store is more likely than a jewelry manufacturer to consider ________ in making a location decision.
appearance/image of the location
If a sample of parts is measured and the mean of the measurements is outside the control limits, the process is:
out of control and the process should be investigated for assignable variation.
Governmental attitudes toward issues such as private property, intellectual property, zoning, pollution, and employment stability may change over time. What is the term associated with this phenomenon?
political risk
High-volume, low-variety production is best suited for which of the following process strategies?
product focus
One use of short-range forecasts is to determine:
production levels.
Which of these factors would be considered when making a location decision at the region/community level?
proximity to raw materials and customers
The two general approaches to forecasting are:
qualitative and quantitative
According to the manufacturing-based definition of quality:
quality is the degree to which a specific product conforms to standards.
In time series, which of the following cannot be predicted?
random variations
Which of the following values of alpha would cause exponential smoothing to respond the QUICKEST to changes in demand data?
0.90
Which of the following smoothing constants would make an exponential smoothing forecast equivalent to a naive forecast?
1.0
A Six Sigma program has how many defects per million?
3.4
The Theory of Constraints (TOC) strives to reduce the effect of constraints by:
A and B
Which of the following is the FINAL step in a forecasting system?
Validate and implement the results.
Currency risk is based on what assumption?
Values of foreign currencies continually rise and fall in most countries.
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
Adding flexibility to the production process can be a major competitive advantage. Building flexibility into a production process is usually inexpensive, but difficult.
Which of the following is a qualitative forecasting method?
Delphi method
Which of the following uses three types of participants: decision makers, staff personnel, and respondents?
Delphi method
Operations managers most commonly deal with which type of forecast?
Demand
Which of the following is NOT a step in the forecasting process?
Eliminate any assumptions.
Which of the following statements regarding FedEx is TRUE?
FedEx believes the hub system helps reduce mishandling and delays due to better controls.
Which of the following is the best example of the proximity rule that, for service firms, proximity to market is the most important location factor?
Few people will travel out-of state for a routine haircut.
Which of the following statements about time-series forecasting is true?
It is based on the assumption that the analysis of past demand helps predict future demand.
Which of the following statements regarding the center-of-gravity method is FALSE?
It is designed to minimize the maximum possible travel distance to any of the locations.
________ and currency risks are to key country success factors as land costs and ________ are to key region success factors.
Location of markets; climate
________ expresses the error as a percent of the actual values.
MAPE
Which of the following is NOT one of the major categories of costs associated with quality?
None of the above; they are all major categories of costs associated with quality.
Which of the following process analysis tools is especially useful in processes with a high service component?
Service blueprinting
Which of the following statements regarding "proximity" in the location decision is FALSE?
Service organizations find that proximity to suppliers is the most critical primary location factor.
Time-series data may exhibit which of the following behaviors?
They may exhibit all of the above.
When using exponential smoothing, the smoothing constant
can be determined using MAD.
Effective capacity is the:
capacity a firm expects to achieve given current operating constraints
The degree or strength of a relationship between two variables is shown by the:
coefficient of correlation.
PDCA is most often applied with regard to which aspect of TQM?
continuous improvement
When making a location decision at the region/community level, which of these would be considered?
cost and availability of utilities
The location analysis technique typically NOT employed by service organizations is:
crossover charts.
A forecast that projects a company's sales is
demand forecast
The goal of inspection is to:
detect a bad process immediately
The fundamental difference between cycles and seasonality is the:
duration of the repeating patterns.
Building high-morale organizations and building communication networks that include employees are both elements of:
employee empowerment.
Which of the following is a quantitative forecasting method?
exponential smoothing
Which time-series model uses BOTH past forecasts and past demand data to generate a new forecast?
exponential smoothing
A forecast based on the previous forecast plus a percentage of the forecast error is a(n):
exponential smoothing forecast.
A fundamental distinction between trend projection and linear regression is that:
in trend projection the independent variable is time; in linear regression the independent variable need not be time, but can be any variable with explanatory power.
A six-month moving average forecast is generally better than a three-month moving average forecast if demand:
is rather stable.
The forecasting technique that pools the opinions of a group of experts or managers is known as:
jury of executive opinion.
When making a location decision at the country level, which of these would be considered?
location of markets
The primary purpose of the mean absolute deviation (MAD) in forecasting is to:
measure forecast accuracy.
A customer service manager at a retail clothing store has collected numerous customer complaints from the forms they fill out on merchandise returns. To analyze trends or patterns in these returns, she has organized these complaints into a small number of sources or factors. This is most closely related to the ________ tool of TQM.
cause-and-effect diagram
A regional bookstore chain wants to build a distribution center that is centrally located for its eight retail outlets. It will most likely employ which of the following tools of analysis?
center-of-gravity method
The three major types of forecasts used by organizations in planning future operations are:
economic, technological, and demand.
Community attitudes, zoning restrictions, and quality of labor force are likely to be considered in which of the following location decision methods?
factor-rating method
Which of the following is an approach to location analysis that includes both qualitative and quantitative considerations?
factor-rating method
Which of the following methods best considers intangible costs related to a location decision?
factor-rating method
A product-focused process is commonly used to produce:
high-volume, low-variety products.
Forecasts used for new product planning, capital expenditures, facility location or expansion, and R&D typically utilize a:
long-range time horizon.
The "four Ms" of cause-and-effect diagrams are:
material, machinery/equipment, manpower, and methods.
A forecast with a time horizon of about 3 months to 3 years is typically called a:
medium-range forecast.
Which time-series model below assumes that demand in the next period will be equal to the most recent period's demand?
naïve approach
Frito-Lay is to ________ focus as Dell Computer is to ________ focus.
product, mass customization
In location planning, environmental regulations, cost and availability of utilities, and taxes are:
regional/community factors.
Forecasts are usually classified by time horizon into which three categories?
short-range, medium-range, and long-range
