Deck 7: Process Selection, Design, and Analysis

Question 1

Service encounter repeatability provides a measure analogous to product volume for goods-producing firms.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In the introduction phase of the product life cycle, operations managers need to quickly standardize their processes.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In service operations, significant volume increases can and frequently are made without changes in the service process, as would be expected in manufacturing.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In service applications, flowcharts generally highlight the points of contact with the customer.

Question 5

Configurations of standard parts, subassemblies, or services that can be selected by customers from a limited set are called "make to order" goods and services.

Question 6

A custom good or service is produced in anticipation of demand.

Question 7

Once a firm decides on the most appropriate process, they can then determine the type of goods they need to create.

Question 8

A bottleneck is the work activity that effectively limits throughput of a process.

Question 9

The service-positioning matrix suggests that services should try to position themselves off the diagonal in order to achieve superior performance.

Question 10

The customer has no options from which to choose regarding make to stock goods and services.

Question 11

A company can differentiate itself from its competitors by positioning itself along the diagonal of the Product-Process matrix.

Question 12

The service-positioning matrix focuses on the service encounter level rather than the overall design of the service system.

Question 13

Job shop processes use flexible, general purpose equipment that is capable of customizing work for individual customers.

Question 14

Flow shop processes are more rigid and specialized than continuous flow processes.

Question 15

A legal defense preparation is an example of a project.

Question 16

In a customer-routed service, customers follow a very small number of possible and predetermined pathways through the service system.

Question 17

A pathway is a route that a product takes in a job shop.

Question 18

The Product-Process Matrix works well for both goods and services.

Question 19

In using the Product-Process Matrix, the most appropriate match between products and processes occurs along the diagonal of the matrix.

Question 20

Because services cannot inventory their output, they must forecast demand more accurately and better manage the resources needed to provide the service.

Question 21

Ships, weddings and estate planning are examples of ____ goods and services.

A)Make-to-order
B)Assemble-to-order
C)Make-to-stock
D)Continuous flow

Question 22

The terms, "general purpose equipment," "flexible and capable of customizing work" and "wide variety of goods or services" best relate to

A)Projects
B)Job shops
C)Flow shop processes
D)Continuous flow processes

Question 23

In designing processes, one often starts at the detail level and moves progressively toward the aggregate.

Question 24

Improving process designs nearly always focuses on decreasing costs.

Question 25

Appliances and iPods are examples of ____ goods.

A)Custom
B)Option
C)Standard
D)Assemble to order

Question 26

Little's Law states that Throughput = Flow Time * Work-In-Process.

Question 27

Service facilities have a greater range of resource utilization than manufacturing.

Question 28

Marketing Product Characteristics/Decisions for the Product-Process Matrix include all the following except

A)Demand volume
B)Degree of customization
C)Pathways
D)Type of good

Question 29

A bottleneck is the work activity that effectively limits throughput of a process.

Question 30

As one moves up the hierarchy of work, the total number of tasks that must be coordinated becomes larger.

Question 31

Process mapping can be characterized as the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes.

Question 32

A manufacturing firm that produces a standardized product, not made of discrete parts, with little-to-no customization, with high demand, is most likely to use this type of process.

A)project
B)job shop
C)flow shop
D)continuous flow

Question 33

Automobile factories and hospital laboratory work are examples of

A)Projects
B)Job shop
C)Flow shop processes
D)Continuous flow processes

Question 34

The "line of customer visibility" shows the separation between the back office and front office activities in a service flowchart.

Question 35

What type of process would a paper mill most likely use?

A)Project
B)Job shop
C)Flow shop process
D)Continuous flow process

Question 36

Using the Service Positioning Matrix, a limited number of customer pathways and highly repeatable service encounter activity sequences would best relate to

A)Being below the diagonal
B)Continuous flow
C)Customer routed
D)Provider routed

Question 37

A process map and a value stream map are two terms for the same thing.

Question 38

Dell computers and Subway sandwiches are examples of ____ goods.

A)Custom
B)Option
C)Standard
D)Job shop

Question 39

____ offer customers broad freedom to select the pathways that are best suited for their immediate needs and wants from many possible pathways through the service delivery system.

A)Provider-routed pathways
B)Customer-routed pathways
C)Highly repeatable service encounter activity sequences
D)ATMs

Question 40

A group of tasks needed to create and deliver an intermediate or final output is called a process.

Question 41

Which one of the following major activities is not one of the six major activities to design a goods-producing or service-providing process?

A)Define the purpose and objectives of the process.
B)Create a detailed process or value stream map that baselines current performance.
C)Use the product life cycle for each good or service to create a future state process map.
D)Select the appropriate equipment and technology.

Question 42

Explain how a product's life cycle has important implications in terms of process design and choice.

Question 43

Explain and differentiate the characteristics of a project, job shop, flow shop and continuous flow process.

Question 44

Explain each axis of the product-process matrix. Where is the most appropriate match? Also, discuss the importance of the matrix to a company's life cycle.

Question 45

Which of the following is least related to Value Stream Mapping?

A)Non-value activity
B)Time
C)Cost
D)Reengineering

Question 46

During which phase of a product's life cycle does low unit cost become a top competitive priority?

A)Introduction
B)Growth
C)Maturity
D)Decline

Question 47

Give three examples of goods or services associated with each of the process types: project, job shop, flow shop and continuous flow.

Question 48

The lowest resource utilization is usually found in

A)A job shop
B)A flow shop
C)A continuous flow
D)An assembly line

Question 49

Which of the following is not a major activity in designing a goods-producing or service-providing process?

A)Utilize reengineering
B)Flowchart the current process
C)Flowchart future state
D)Define appropriate performance measures

Question 50

Which one of the following best describes reengineering?

A)Radical redesign
B)Incremental, continuous improvement
C)Engineering-based value analysis
D)Repeatability

Question 51

Explain the relationship between custom, option and standard goods and services as they relate to project, job shop, flow shop and continuous flow processes.

Question 52

The average number of entities completed per unit time-the output rate-from a process is called ____.

A)Utilization
B)Throughput
C)Service rate
D)Work-in-process

Question 53

A(n) ____ is a group of ____ needed to create and deliver an intermediate or final output.

A)Process; value chains
B)Activity; tasks
C)Task; activities
D)Activity; processes

Question 54

Which is the correct order of hierarchy?

A)Activity, task, process, value chain
B)Value chain, process, task, activity
C)Process, value chain, activity, task
D)Value chain, process, activity, task

Question 55

A process map (flowchart)

A)Is boundary-less
B)Does not include information flow
C)Is often used as a baseline to describe how a process is performed
D)Must include a line of customer visibility

Question 56

Little's Law

A)Removes process bottlenecks
B)Is a form of simulation
C)Focuses on finished goods inventory
D)Evaluates average process performance

Question 57

The work activity that effectively limits throughput of a process is called a ____.

A)Process boundary
B)Make-to-order
C)Bottleneck
D)Throughput

Question 58

Which of the following is not a common process design improvement strategy?

A)Increasing revenue
B)Decreasing agility
C)Decreasing cost
D)Decreasing flow time

Question 59

Transferring material between two non-adjacent workstations, waiting for service and requiring multiple approvals are examples of

A)A value stream
B)A process map
C)Non-value-added activities
D)Little's Law

Question 60

Differentiate among custom, option and standard goods and services. Also give a goods and a service example of each.

Question 61

An accounting firm is capable of processing 20 EZ tax forms per day and the average number of forms on-hand in the office is 64 forms. What is the average processing time per EZ tax form?

Question 62

A custom machine shop is able to process 25 orders per day. The average processing time is 4 days. What is the average number of orders that are in process at any time?

Question 63

Define reengineering. How does it differ from other approaches to process improvement?

Question 64

What are some management strategies to improve process designs?

Question 65

Differentiate between a customer-routed service and a provider-routed service. Include examples of each.

Question 66

Explain Little's Law and how it can be used.

Question 67

An automobile emissions testing center has six (6) inspectors and tests 50 autos per hour. Each inspector can inspect twelve (12) autos per hour. If the center wants a utilization of 90%, how many inspectors are required?

Question 68

Define a value stream map. How does this differ from a regular process map?

Question 69

Compare and contrast a product-process matrix with a service-positioning matrix.

Question 70

Some argue that modern technology invalidates the application of the product-process matrix. Explain their logic.

Question 71

A company is able to process 100 customer statements (bills) per day per processing clerk. It has 250 customer statements to process per day. How many full-time processing clerks are needed if the company wants a processing-clerk utilization rate as close to .80 as possible?

Question 72

Explain why the product-process matrix does not transfer well to services.

Question 73

A company is able to process 300 customer statements (bills) per day. The average processing time is six (6) days. What is the average number of statements (bills) the company has in process at any time?

Question 74

Explain the concept of hierarchy of work. Why is it useful in process design activities?

Question 75

What is the implied service rate per service-counter employee at an airport automobile rental counter if customer demand is 36 customers per hour, two service counter employees are on duty, and their labor utilization is 75%?

Question 76

How many computer repair troubleshooters should be on duty from 8:00 p.m. to midnight if total demand during that period is 60 calls? The service rate is five (5) calls per hour and the target utilization is 90%.

Question 77

An automobile emissions testing center has six (6) inspectors and tests 50 autos per hour. Each inspector can inspect twelve (12) autos per hour. What is the center's utilization?

Question 78

An automobile emissions testing center has six (6) inspectors and tests 50 autos per hour. Each inspector can inspect twelve (12) autos per hour. What would the service rate need to be in order to achieve 90% utilization?

Question 79

What are the major activities in designing a goods-producing or service-providing process?

Question 80

What is the implied service rate at a bank teller's window if demand is 26 customers per hour and the bank staffs 3 tellers with an average utilization of 80%?