Question 1

Brad is an appliance repair technician. He usually fixes between 5 and 10 appliances per day, so he interacts with a lot of customers with a variety of appliance issues. Brad's job is

Accepted Answer

Brad's job is labor-intensive because he has a high level of customer contact, his output is perishable (must be consumed immediately), and he has a high degree of variation of inputs and outputs (customization).

Question 2

Service providers are often more limited than manufacturers in selecting work methods, assigning jobs, scheduling work, and exercising control over operations because

Accepted Answer

Manufacturers and service providers differ in the nature and consumption of their output. Service providers, because of their need for customer contact, are often more limited than manufacturers in selecting work methods, assigning jobs, scheduling work, and exercising control over operations.

Question 3

Which description is most accurate regarding the differences between manufacturers and service providers?

Accepted Answer

Manufacturers can separate the production of a product from its actual use, but the service dimension requires closer contact with the consumer. The actual performance of a service typically occurs at the point of consumption.

Question 4

Which scenario reflects the capital-intensive nature of a manufacturer?

Accepted Answer

A manufacturer is likely to be more capital-intensive because of the machinery and technology used in the mass production of highly similar goods. The scenario in which Brew Master mass produces coffee makers with multiple settings illustrates the capital-intensive nature of manufacturers. The mass production of such a good requires using expensive machinery and technology.

Question 5

Motorworks is a reputable automobile manufacturing company, and Sunny Days is an established chain of travel agencies. How do the two businesses differ from each other?

Accepted Answer

Measuring productivity will be fairly straightforward for Motorworks when compared to Sunny Days. For manufacturers, measuring productivity is fairly straightforward because of the tangibility of the output and its high degree of uniformity. For the service provider, variations in demand, variations in service requirements from job to job, and the intangibility of the product make productivity measurement more difficult.

Question 6

A company is determining the demand for a new product and how much consumers are willing to pay for it. In order to do this, the company should use

Accepted Answer

Marketing research can help gauge the demand for a product and how much consumers are willing to pay for it. Most companies use marketing research to determine the kinds of goods and services to provide and the features they must possess.

Question 7

Regardless of who is responsible for product design, ________ does not stop with a blueprint for a product or a description of the service; it must also work out efficient production of the product to ensure that enough is available to satisfy customer demand.

Accepted Answer

Within a company, the engineering or research and development department is charged with turning a product idea into a workable design that can be produced economically. In smaller companies, a single individual (perhaps the owner) may be solely responsible for this crucial activity. Regardless of who is responsible for product design, planning does not stop with a blueprint for a product or a description of a service; it must also work out efficient production of the product to ensure that enough is available to satisfy consumer demand.

Question 8

Armor Solutions Inc. is a manufacturer of external hard drives. All hard drives sold under the brand name Armor are identical to each other and are of the same quality. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of standardization. Standardization is making identical, interchangeable components or even complete products. With standardization, a customer may not get exactly what he or she wants, but the product generally costs less than a custom-designed product.

Question 9

Zach is a mechanic who fixes Toyota cars. He orders parts directly from Toyota because its parts are created specifically to fit and function properly in its vehicles. Which advantage of standardization does this scenario illustrate?

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates that standardization provides consistency so that customers who need certain products to function uniformly all the time will get the product that meets their expectations.

Question 10

Tracy and Jim want to buy their first home. Since they travel a lot, they are looking for a mobile tiny home. In their search, they find a manufacturer who builds tiny homes using modular design. All of the following are benefits of building their home this way EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Modular design involves building an item in self-contained units, or modules that can be combined or interchanged to create different products. The benefits of building a mobile tiny home this way is that Tracy and Jim can mix and match components for customized design. They can also add new modules in the future, if they so choose. Additionally, module design allows products to be repaired quickly, reducing the cost of labor. Further, manufactured homes built on a modular design often cost about one-fourth the cost of a conventionally built house.

Question 11

Luxe Designs Inc. is a premium jeweler. It has a team of jewelry experts who design jewelry for each client from scratch. Everything is made to meet the specific requirements of the clients, and no two jewelry pieces produced by this company are ever identical. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of customization. Customization is making products to meet a particular customer's needs or wants. Products produced in this way are generally unique.

Question 12

Marissa has just joined a gym. As part of her membership, she gets a free personal training session to determine her current fitness level, and the results are used to develop a fitness plan that will help her meet her goals. Marissa can choose between several personal training programs, small group programs, and fitness classes. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of mass customization. Marissa's fitness program can be custom designed by choosing between several options that have been established for a large number of individual customers. She can choose the programs that work best for her to determine the final product.

Question 13

A secure, public ledger that records all transactions and is spread across multiple computers is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Blockchain information technology could alter processes throughout virtually every industry. The blockchain is a secure, public data-base (or ledger) that records all transactions and is spread across multiple computers. The global blockchain is difficult to tamper with and growing rapidly.

Question 14

The emergency department at Seaside hospital can effectively handle a maximum number of 20 patients at any one particular time. This is referred to as its

Accepted Answer

The emergency department's capacity is 20 patients. Capacity basically refers to the maximum load that an organizational unit can carry or operate. The unit of measurement may be a worker or machine, a department, a branch, or even an entire plant.

Question 15

Ivan is an operations manager of a chain of amusement parks. Before she determines a new location for a park, she must forecast what the customer demand will be, so she can determine the appropriate capacity. Why is it important for Ivan to efficiently plan the park's capacity needs?

Accepted Answer

Efficiently planning the organization's capacity needs is an important process for the operations manager. Capacity levels that fall short can result in unmet demand and lost customers, while having more capacity than needed drives operating costs up due to unused and expensive resources. Once a capacity decision has been implemented, it is very difficult to change the decision without incurring substantial costs. Although change is expensive, it is more expensive in the long run not to adjust to future demand and stakeholder desires.

Question 16

What factor should an organization take into consideration when planning the location of its manufacturing facility?

Accepted Answer

Where to locate a firm's facilities is a significant question because, once the decision has been made and implemented, the firm must live with it due to the high costs involved. The facility-location decision is complex because it involves the evaluation of many factors, some of which cannot be measured with precision. Because of the long-term impact of the decision, however, it is one that cannot be taken lightly

Question 17

Valerie owns a chain of pet stores and wants to open a new location. All of the following are factors she should consider EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

When selecting a new location, Valerie should consider proximity to market, availability of raw materials, availability of transportation, availability of power, climatic influences, availability of labor, community characteristics (quality of life), and taxes and inducements. The facility location decision is complex because it involves the evaluation of many factors, some of which cannot be measured with precision.

Question 18

Affordable Apartments, a manufacturer that builds large apartment complexes, brings all the construction resources to a central location during production. This type of a facility layout is called a(n) ________ layout.

Accepted Answer

Affordable Apartments uses a fixed-position layout, bringing all the resources required to create the product to a central location. This is necessary because the product, an apartment complex, does not move.

Question 19

Black Gold, an oil drilling plant, uses a fixed-position layout because it is involved in large, complex projects, exploring the ground for oil deposits. As a result, this company may be called a(n) ________ organization.

Accepted Answer

Black Gold may be called a project organization because it is involved in large, complex projects, exploring the ground for oil deposits.

Question 20

A furniture manufacturer makes dining tables and chairs. The plant has a wood cutting department, an assembly department, and a staining department. This plant is using a ________ layout to organize its facility.

Accepted Answer

Firms that use a process layout organize the transformation process into departments that group related processes. A metal fabrication plant, for example, may have a cutting department, a drilling department, and a polishing department.

Quiz 8: Managing Operations and Supply Chains