Deck 1: Introduction to Operations Management

Question 1

Service operations require additional inventory because of the unpredictability of consumer demand.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Goods-producing organizations are not involved in service activities.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

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

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Assembly lines improved productivity by using interchangeable parts and craft production.

Question 5

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

Question 6

Measurement of productivity in service is more straightforward than in manufacturing since it is not necessary to take into account the cost of materials.

Question 7

The operations manager has primary responsibility for making operations system design decisions, such as system capacity and location of facilities.

Question 8

Often, the collective success or failure of companies' operations functions will impact the ability of a nation to compete with other nations.

Question 9

Specialized machinery or equipment is a common way of offering increased customization in manufacturing or services without taking on additional labor costs.

Question 10

The word "technology" is used only to refer to "information technology."

Question 11

Value added by definition is always a positive number since "added" implies increases.

Question 12

Operations, marketing, and finance function independently of each other in most organizations.

Question 13

Most people encounter operations only in profit-making organizations.

Question 14

The greater the degree of customer involvement, the more challenging the design and management of operations.

Question 15

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

Question 16

In for-profit organizations, the value of outputs is measured by the prices customers are willing to pay for goods or services.

Question 17

One concern in the design of production systems is the degree of standardization.

Question 18

The use of models will guarantee the best possible decisions.

Question 19

People who work in the field of operations should have skills that include both knowledge and people skills.

Question 20

Companies are either producing goods or delivering services. This means that only one of the two types of operations management strategies are used.

Question 21

Business organizations consist of three major functional areas which, ideally:

A) support one another.
B) are mutually exclusive.
C) exist independently of each other.
D) function independently of each other.
E) do not interface with each other.

Question 22

The Pareto phenomenon is one of the most important and pervasive concepts that can be applied at all levels of management.

Question 23

Which of the following would tend to increase the importance of supply chain management?

A) increased supply chain stability
B) lower levels of outsourcing
C) reduced competitive pressures
D) increased globalization
E) greater emphasis on local markets

Question 24

Operations managers, who usually use quantitative approaches, are not really concerned with ethical decision making.

Question 25

In their chief role of _________, operations managers exert considerable influence over the degree to which the goals and objectives of the organization are realized.

A) promoter/salesman
B) designer/builder
C) planner/decision maker
D) recruiter/trainer
E) troubleshooter/problem-solver

Question 26

Managers should most often rely on quantitative techniques for important decisions since quantitative approaches result in more accurate decisions.

Question 27

Operations and sales are the two functional areas that exist to support activities in other functions such as accounting, finance, IT, and human resources.

Question 28

Marketing personnel and product designers must work closely with operations to successfully develop and produce new products because operations personnel can best judge how _____________ new product designs will be.

A) marketable
B) segmentable
C) manufacturable
D) profitable
E) nameable

Question 29

The optimal solutions produced by quantitative techniques should always be evaluated in terms of the larger framework.

Question 30

Many operations management decisions can be described as trade-offs.

Question 31

In addition to operations, which of the following is considered a "line" function?

A) accounting
B) finance
C) IT
D) procurement
E) sales

Question 32

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

Question 33

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

Question 34

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

Question 35

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

A) overtime.
B) outsourcing.
C) marketing.
D) promotions.
E) shipping.

Question 36

Among Ford's many contributions was the introduction of mass production, using the concepts of interchangeable parts and division of labor.

Question 37

As an abstraction of reality, a model is a simplified version of a real phenomenon.

Question 38

Elton Mayo's Hawthorne experiments were significant contributions to the human relations movement, which emphasized the importance of the human element in job design.

Question 39

A "product package" consists of:

A) the exterior wrapping.
B) the shipping container.
C) a combination of goods and services.
D) goods if a manufacturing organization.
E) customer relations if a service organization.

Question 40

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

Question 41

Which of the following does not relate to system design?

A) altering the system capacity
B) location of facilities
C) inventory management
D) selection and acquisition of equipment
E) physical arrangement of departments

Question 42

Technology choices can have a major impact on:

A) costs.
B) productivity.
C) customer satisfaction.
D) quality.
E) all of the above.

Question 43

Which of the following is not true about the systems approach?

A) A systems viewpoint is almost always beneficial in decision making.
B) A systems approach emphasizes interrelationships among subsystems.
C) A systems approach concentrates on efficiency within subsystems.
D) A systems approach is essential whenever something is being redesigned or improved.
E) All of the choices are true.

Question 44

Farming is an example of:

A) an obsolete activity.
B) a virtual organization.
C) nonmanufactured goods production.
D) a growth industry.
E) customized manufacturing.

Question 45

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

A) operation
B) marketing
C) purchasing
D) finance
E) internal audit

Question 46

Which of the following is a type of transformation process used by operations to convert inputs into outputs?

A) cutting
B) storing
C) entertaining
D) analyzing
E) all of the above are transformation processes

Question 47

Measurements taken at various points in the transformation process for control purposes are called:

A) plans.
B) directions.
C) controls.
D) feedback.
E) budgets.

Question 48

Which is not an area of significant difference between manufacturing and service operations?

A) forecasting demand
B) uniformity of input
C) labor content of jobs
D) customer contact
E) measurement of productivity

Question 49

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:

A) Irwin phenomenon.
B) Pareto phenomenon.
C) Stevenson phenomenon.
D) Tellier phenomenon.
E) Adam Smith phenomenon.

Question 50

Knowledge skills usually don't include:

A) process knowledge.
B) accounting skills.
C) communication skills.
D) global knowledge.
E) financial skills.

Question 51

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

A) intangible output
B) high customer contact
C) high labor content
D) easy measurement of productivity
E) low uniformity of input

Question 52

Dealing with the fact that certain aspects of any management situation are more important than others is called:

A) analysis of trade-offs.
B) sensitivity analysis.
C) recognition of priorities.
D) analysis of variance.
E) decision table analysis.

Question 53

Production systems with customized outputs typically have relatively:

A) high volumes of output.
B) low unit costs.
C) high amounts of specialized equipment.
D) fast work movement.
E) skilled workers.

Question 54

Which one of the following would not generally be classified under the heading of transformation?

A) assembling
B) teaching
C) staffing
D) farming
E) consulting

Question 55

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

A) pollution control
B) quality management
C) supply chain management
D) competition from foreign manufacturers
E) technological change

Question 56

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

A) supply chain
B) the Internet
C) craft production
D) mass production
E) lean systems

Question 57

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

A) planning.
B) directing.
C) controlling.
D) budgeting.
E) disciplining.

Question 58

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

A) downsizing.
B) outsourcing.
C) internationalization.
D) vertical integration.
E) entrepreneurship.

Question 59

Product design and process selection are examples of _______ decisions.

A) financial
B) tactical
C) system design
D) system operation
E) forecasting

Question 60

The responsibilities of the operations manager include:

A) allocating financial resources throughout the organization.
B) the creation of goods or provision of services.
C) promoting the organization's goods or services.
D) assessing consumer wants and needs.
E) analyzing investment proposals.

Question 61

Which of the following is not a benefit of using models in decision making?

A) They provide a standardized format for analyzing a problem.
B) They serve as a consistent tool for evaluation.
C) They are easy to use and less expensive than dealing with the actual situation.
D) They force the decision maker to take into account qualitative issues such as personalities and emotions.
E) They offer insights into fundamental issues at play in a decision-making setting.

Question 62

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
B) offshoring; lean
C) downsizing; total quality
D) optimizing; inventory
E) internationalization; intercultural

Question 63

If one organization is better able than most to respond to changes in demands or opportunities, we say that organization exhibits higher:

A) sustainability.
B) efficiency.
C) productivity.
D) agility.
E) marketability.

Question 64

Which of the following principles emphasizes that actions should make the community as a whole better off?

A) The Rights Principle
B) The Fairness Principle
C) The Virtue Principle
D) The Common Good Principle
E) The Utilitarian Principle

Question 65

Operations and sales are the two ________ functions in businesses.

A) strategic
B) tactical
C) support
D) value-adding
E) line

Question 66

Which of the following is not an ongoing trend in manufacturing?

A) globalization
B) quality improvement
C) flexibility and agility
D) mass production for greater economies of scale
E) technological advances

Question 67

Which of the following is essential to consider with respect to managing a process to meet demand?

A) advertising
B) trends in fashion
C) global economic trends
D) financial reporting standards
E) capacity

Question 68

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

A) sustainability
B) supportability
C) marketability
D) perishability
E) transportability

Question 69

Some companies attempt to maximize the revenue they receive from fixed operating capacity by influencing demands through price manipulation. This is an example of:

A) illegal price discrimination.
B) collusion.
C) volume analysis.
D) revenue management.
E) outsourcing.

Question 70

Which of the following statements about variation is false?

A)  Variation prevents a production process from being as efficient as it can be.
B) Some variation can be prevented.
C) Variation can either be assignable or random.
D) Any variation makes a production process less productive
E) Random variation generally cannot be influenced by managers.

Question 71

Supplying operations with parts and materials, performing work on products, and/or performing services are part of the firm's:

A) division of labor.
B) market development.
C) outsourcing.
D) external process orientation.
E) internal supply chain.

Question 72

Marketing depends on operations for information regarding:

A) productivity.
B) lead time.
C) cash flow.
D) budgeting.
E) corporate intelligence.

Question 73

Taking a systems viewpoint with regard to operations in today's environment increasingly leads decision makers to consider ______________ in response to the ___________.

A) flexibility; pressure to be more efficient
B) offshoring; need to promote domestic production
C) sustainability; threat of global warming
D) technology; impact of random variation
E) forecasting; stabilization of demand

Question 74

Two widely used metrics of variation are the __________ and the _________.

A) mean; standard deviation
B) productivity ratio; correlation
C) standardized mean; assignable deviation
D) randomized mean; standardized deviation
E) normal distribution; random variation