Question 1

Attributes of an organization's outputs-their quality,cost,and features-are determined by the organization's production system.

Accepted Answer

Because satisfying customers is so important, managers try to design production systems that can produce the outputs that have the attributes a customer desires. The attributes of an organization's outputs-their quality, cost, and features-are determined by the organization's production system.

Question 2

Higher quality translates into higher employee productivity,which means lower costs for the organization.

Accepted Answer

Achieving high product quality lowers operating costs because of the effect of quality on employee productivity: Higher product quality means less employee time is wasted in making defective products that must be discarded or in providing substandard services, and thus less time has to be spent fixing mistakes. This translates into higher employee productivity, which means lower costs.

Question 3

Improving product quality increases the operating costs of the organization.

Accepted Answer

Achieving high product quality lowers operating costs because of the effect of quality on employee productivity. Higher product quality means less employee time is wasted in making defective products that must be discarded or in providing substandard services, and thus less time has to be spent fixing mistakes.

Question 4

To increase quality,managers should embrace the philosophy that mistakes,defects,and poor-quality materials should be limited to 0.5 percent of total production.

Accepted Answer

To increase quality, managers need to develop strategic plans that state goals exactly and spell out how they will be achieved. Managers should embrace the philosophy that mistakes, defects, and poor-quality materials are not acceptable and should be eliminated.

Question 5

Customer relationship management (CRM)is a technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with customers to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time.

Accepted Answer

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with customers to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time. CRM IT monitors, controls, and links each of the functional activities involved in marketing, selling, and delivering products to customers.

Question 6

Customers prefer products that are,as far as possible,customized to their unique needs.

Accepted Answer

Customers prefer products that are, as far as possible, customized or tailored to their unique needs. Customers also prefer low prices, products of high quality and quick services.

Question 7

Responsiveness to customers refers to actions taken to meet the demands and needs of customers.

Accepted Answer

Responsiveness to customers refers to actions taken to meet the demands and needs of customers.

Question 8

An organization's employees can be a major source of information about the sources of poor quality products produced by the organization.

Accepted Answer

First-line managers should spend more time working with nonmanagerial employees and providing them with the tools they need to do the job. Managers should create an environment in which subordinates will not be afraid to report problems or recommend improvements.

Question 9

Operations managers are managers who are responsible for managing an organization's production system.

Accepted Answer

Operations managers are managers who are responsible for managing an organization's production system. They do whatever it takes to transform inputs into outputs.

Question 10

A production system is the system that an organization uses to acquire inputs,convert inputs into outputs,and dispose of the outputs.

Accepted Answer

A production system is the system that an organization uses to acquire inputs, convert inputs into outputs, and dispose of the outputs.

Question 11

Management experts recommend that an organization should define its business in terms of the products it is producing,and not in terms of the customer needs that it is attempting to satisfy.

Accepted Answer

Management writers recommend that organizations define their business in terms of which customer wants or needs they are satisfying, not the type of products they are producing.

Question 12

Profit-seeking organizations have customers,but not-for-profit organizations do not have customers.

Accepted Answer

All organizations, profit seeking or not-for-profit, have customers. Without customers, most organizations would cease to exist.

Question 13

A CRM system can be used as a comprehensive method of gathering crucial information about the way customers respond to a company's products.

Accepted Answer

A CRM system can be used as a comprehensive method of gathering crucial information about the way customers respond to a company's products.

Question 14

Most organizations focus on partial productivity to measure the efficiency of an individual unit.

Accepted Answer

Though sometimes a useful measure of efficiency overall, total factor productivity obscures the exact contribution of an individual input to the production of a given output. Consequently, most organizations focus on specific measures of efficiency, known as partial productivity, that measure the efficiency of an individual unit.

Question 15

Quality refers to the amount of inputs that are required to produce a given output.

Accepted Answer

Quality refers to goods and services that are reliable, dependable, or psychologically satisfying: They do the job they were designed for and do it well, or they possess some attribute that gives their users something they value.

Question 16

The major advantage of total factor productivity is that each input is typically measured in the same units.

Accepted Answer

The problem with total factor productivity is that each input is typically measured in different units: Labor's contribution, the contribution of materials, the contribution of energy, and so on. To compute total factor productivity, managers must convert all the inputs to a common unit before they can work the equation.

Question 17

CRM systems have two interconnected components,sales and selling and after-sales service and support.

Accepted Answer

CRM systems have three interconnected components, sales and selling, after-sales service and support, and marketing. CRM IT monitors, controls, and links each of the functional activities involved in marketing, selling, and delivering products to customers.

Question 18

Total factor productivity isolates the exact contribution of an input to the production of a given output.

Accepted Answer

Sometimes a useful measure of efficiency overall, total factor productivity obscures the exact contribution of an individual input-such as labor-to the production of a given output.

Question 19

Efficiency refers to goods and services that are reliable,dependable,and satisfying,and that do the job they were designed for.

Accepted Answer

Efficiency refers to the amount of inputs required to produce a given output.

Question 20

The concept of "quality" can be applied only to manufacturing organizations,but not to service organizations.

Accepted Answer

Quality is a concept that can be applied to the products of both manufacturing and service organizations-goods such as a Toyota car or services such as Southwest Airlines flight service or customer service in a Citibank branch.

Quiz 14: Operations Management: Managing Vital Operations and Processes

Attributes of an organization's outputs-their quality,cost,and features-are determined by the organization's production system.

Higher quality translates into higher employee productivity,which means lower costs for the organization.

Improving product quality increases the operating costs of the organization.

To increase quality,managers should embrace the philosophy that mistakes,defects,and poor-quality materials should be limited to 0.5 percent of total production.

Customer relationship management (CRM)is a technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with customers to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time.

Customers prefer products that are,as far as possible,customized to their unique needs.

Responsiveness to customers refers to actions taken to meet the demands and needs of customers.

An organization's employees can be a major source of information about the sources of poor quality products produced by the organization.

Operations managers are managers who are responsible for managing an organization's production system.

A production system is the system that an organization uses to acquire inputs,convert inputs into outputs,and dispose of the outputs.

Management experts recommend that an organization should define its business in terms of the products it is producing,and not in terms of the customer needs that it is attempting to satisfy.

Profit-seeking organizations have customers,but not-for-profit organizations do not have customers.

A CRM system can be used as a comprehensive method of gathering crucial information about the way customers respond to a company's products.

Most organizations focus on partial productivity to measure the efficiency of an individual unit.

Quality refers to the amount of inputs that are required to produce a given output.

The major advantage of total factor productivity is that each input is typically measured in the same units.

CRM systems have two interconnected components,sales and selling and after-sales service and support.

Total factor productivity isolates the exact contribution of an input to the production of a given output.

Efficiency refers to goods and services that are reliable,dependable,and satisfying,and that do the job they were designed for.

The concept of "quality" can be applied only to manufacturing organizations,but not to service organizations.