Quiz 1: Introduction to Operations Management

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

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

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

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

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

Goods-producing organizations are not involved in service activities.

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

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

The use of models will guarantee the best possible decisions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Most people encounter operations only in profit-making organizations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Services can be stored and are not provided "on demand."

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Which of the following is a type of transformation process used by operations to convert inputs into outputs? A)cutting B)storing C)transporting D)analyzing E)all of these choices are transformation processes

Technology choices can have a major impact on A)costs. B)productivity. C)customer satisfaction. D)quality. E)all of these choices are correct.

Measurements taken at various points in the transformation process for control purposes are called A)plans. B)directions. C)controls. D)feedback. E)budgets.

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

Which of the following would not generally be classified under the heading of transformation? A)assembling B)teaching C)staffing D)farming E)consulting

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.

Product design and process selection are examples of _______ decisions. A)financial B)tactical C)system design D)system operation E)forecasting

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.

Knowledge skills usually don't include A)process knowledge. B)accounting skills. C)communication skills. D)global knowledge. E)financial skills.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Operations and sales are the two ________ functions in businesses. A)strategic B)tactical C)support D)value-adding E)line

Marketing depends on operations for information regarding A)productivity. B)lead time. C)cash flow. D)budgeting. E)corporate intelligence.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

The essence of the operations function is to _____ during the transformation process. A)measure feedback B)produce goods C)add labor D)add value E)gather information

Which of the following is not an element of supply chain management? A)logistics B)operations C)customers D)location E)processing

_____ is considered to be more challenging for _____ due to the higher variation in input. A)Labor content of jobs; operations B)Uniformity of input; inventory management C)Measurement of productivity; managers D)Wages; manufacturing E)Quality assurance; services

Which of the following is a common complaint that employers have when hiring recent college graduates? A)lack of general knowledge of how businesses operate B)not understanding the functions of accounting, finance, and marketing C)lack of knowledge about global dependencies of companies D)not understanding the importance of customer service E)lack of knowledge of economic analysis and forecasting

Which of the following is an example of a supporting process? A)marketing B)purchasing C)strategy D)sales E)information technology