Deck 2: Strategy and Sustainability

Question 1

The process when a company seeks to match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining its existing position by adding new features, services, and technologies into its current portfolio is called flexibility.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

An order qualifier is a screening criterion that permits a firm's products to even be considered as possible candidates for purchase.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Infrastructure decisions within operations strategy include the selection of the logic associated with the planning and control systems.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Productivity is a relative measure.

Question 5

One of the competitive dimensions that form the competitive position of a company when planning their strategies is cost.

Question 6

Operations and supply strategy can be viewed as part of a planning process that coordinates operational goals with those of the larger organization.

Question 7

Activity-system maps show how a company's strategy is delivered through a set of tailored activities.

Question 8

Infrastructure decisions within operations strategy include the selection of the appropriate technology, the role of inventory, and the location of facilities.

Question 9

An operations strategy must resist change because of the long term nature of equipment and personnel investments.

Question 10

By following a straddling strategy, firms can broaden their capabilities and effectively compete with more focused firms in markets requiring low cost for success.

Question 11

Once an operations strategy is adopted and articulated, the primary emphasis becomes perfecting the system of activities that make up the strategy through detailed refinements over a long period of time.

Question 12

An operations and supply chain strategy must be integrated with the organization's corporate strategy.

Question 13

One of the competitive dimensions that form the competitive position of a company when planning their strategies is making the best trade-off.

Question 14

An order winner is a set of criterion that differentiates the products or services of one firm from another.

Question 15

An order winner is a set of screening criteria that permits a firm's products to be considered as possible candidates for purchase.

Question 16

Activity-system maps depict the geographic reach of a company's business strategies.

Question 17

One of the competitive dimensions that form the competitive position of a company when planning their strategies is delivery speed.

Question 18

The process when a company seeks to match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining its existing position by adding new features, services, and technologies into its current portfolio it is called straddling.

Question 19

Activity-system maps are useful in understanding how well a system of activities fits the overall company's strategy.

Question 20

The job of operations and supply chain strategy is to deliver the most feature-rich, highest quality product at the lowest price within specified parameters of delivery time and customization.

Question 21

A firm's business practices toward its labor force pertain mainly to the economic aspect of the triple bottom line concept.

Question 22

An activity-system map is which of the following?

A) A network guide to route airlines
B) A listing of activities that make up a project
C) A diagram that shows how a company's strategy is delivered to customers
D) A facility layout schematic noting what is done where
E) A timeline displaying major planned events

Question 23

Which of the following is a total measure of productivity?
A. Output / Materials
B. Output / (Labor + Capital + Energy)
C. Output / Labor
D. Output / Inputs

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice D
E) All of these

Question 24

If all you knew about a production system was that total daily output was 400 units and the total labor necessary to produce the 400 units was 350 hours, and the total materials used were 425 units, what kind of productivity measure could you use to compute productivity?
A. Partial measure
B. Multifactor measure
C. Total measure

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice A and B above
E) Choice B and C above

Question 25

According to the economic aspect of the triple bottom line concept, the firm is required to compensate shareholders by paying dividends and growing the value of their common stock faster than their competitors.

Question 26

Which of the following is a partial measure of productivity?
A. Output / Materials
B. Output / (Labor + Capital + Energy)
C. Output / All resources used
D. Output / Inputs

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice D
E) All of these

Question 27

In a partial measure of productivity the denominator of the ratio would include all resources used or all inputs.

Question 28

Which of the following is not a major strategic operational competitive dimension that forms a company's competitive position?

A) Cost or price
B) Delivery speed
C) Delivery reliability
D) Management acumen
E) Coping with changes in demand

Question 29

Sustainability means meeting a firm's current needs without excessively compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Question 30

A major competitive dimension that forms a company's strategic operational competitive position in their strategic planning is which of the following?

A) Cost or price
B) Focus
C) Automation
D) Straddling
E) Activity-system mapping

Question 31

In a multifactor measure of productivity the numerator of the ratio would include all resources used or all inputs.

Question 32

If all you knew about a production system was that total daily output was 400 units and the total labor necessary to produce the 400 units was 350 hours, what kind of productivity measure could you use to compute productivity?
A. Partial measure
B. Multifactor measure
C. Total measure
D. Global measure

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice D
E) All of these

Question 33

Within a sustainability framework, the environmental dimension of the triple bottom line concept has to do with labor, the community, and the region in which a firm conducts its business.

Question 34

Within a sustainability framework, the economic dimension of the triple bottom line concept goes beyond just profit for the firm but also provides lasting economic benefit to society.

Question 35

The social impact of the triple bottom line concept pertains to fair and beneficial business practices toward labor, the community, and the region in which a firm conducts its business.

Question 36

In development of an operations and supply chain strategy, which of the following may be an important product-specific criteria to consider?

A) Focus
B) Production lot-size
C) Supplier after-sale support
D) Learning curve
E) Total quality management

Question 37

The triple bottom line considers evaluating the firm against social, economic, and environmental criteria.

Question 38

When a company seeks to match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining its existing position in offering customers a variety of differing services, what is this process called?

A) Operations capability analysis
B) Straddling
C) Order qualifying
D) Order winning
E) Inter-functional analysis

Question 39

Which of the following is a multifactor measure of productivity?
A. Output / (Materials)
B. Output / (Labor + Capital + Energy)
C. Output / All resources used
D. Output / Inputs

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice D
E) All of these

Question 40

When developing an operations and supply chain strategy, which of the following is an important product-specific criterion to consider?

A) Technical liaison
B) Learning curve
C) Competitor's product performance
D) Production lot-size
E) Total quality management

Question 41

Choose the most accurate description in the context of operations and supply chain from the following list.
A. Order winners and order qualifiers are two ways of describing market oriented dimensions of a product.
B. Order winners differentiates a product or service from another while order qualifiers are built in features.
C. Order winners are built in features and order qualifiers are necessary features.
D. Order qualifier is a screening criteria while order winner is a differentiating criteria.
E. Order winners may have been order qualifiers before.

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice D
E) Choice E

Question 42

The total output from a production system in one day is 900 units and the total labor necessary to produce the 900 units is 900 hours. Using the appropriate productivity measure, what is the resulting productivity ratio?

A) 1.000
B) 1.428
C) 0.700
D) 0.411
E) None of these

Question 43

Decisions that relate to the design of the processes and the infrastructure needed to support these processes relate to which OSCM concept?

A) Sustainability
B) Competitive dimensions of OSCM
C) Making trade-offs
D) integrating operations and supply chain strategy with a firm's operational capabilities
E) Supply chain risk

Question 44

Triple bottom line is a phrase that captures
A. The concept that shareholders like economic, environmental and societal stewardship affecting shareholders and stake holders.
B. The concept that firms should consider economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and social responsibility affecting shareholders and stake holders.
C. The concept that sustainability, social awareness and profitability are three important measures for a firm affecting shareholders and stake holders.
D. The concept that firms should consider economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and social responsibility affecting only shareholders.

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice D
E) None of the above

Question 45

In a firm, all other things remaining the same, if the material usage per unit of final product decreases to half of the current usage, then the firm will

A) double the material productivity
B) increase the multifactor productivity
C) double the material productivity and increase the multifactor productivity
D) decrease capital productivity
E) have no effect on productivity.

Question 46

Which of the following list contains only competitive dimensions of a firm discussed in the text?
A. Cost or price, Triple bottom line, order winners
B. Delivery speed, delivery reliability, order qualifiers
C. Cost or price, delivery speed, delivery reliability, new product design
D. Cost or price, delivery speed, delivery reliability, flexibility and new product introduction speed
E. Triple bottom line, delivery speed, deliver reliability, supplier after sale support

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice D
E) Choice E

Question 47

In a firm, if the employees attend a training program, then the time to assemble one unit reduces by 10%. Training program will
A. increase the labor productivity only
B. increase the multifactor productivity only
C. increase both labor and multifactor productivity
D. decrease capital productivity
E. have no effect on productivity.

A) Choice A
B) Choice B
C) Choice C
D) Choice D
E) Choice E

Question 48

The total output from a production system in one day is 500 units and the total labor necessary to produce the 500 units is 350 hours. Using the appropriate productivity measure, which of the following numbers represents the resulting productivity ratio?

A) 1.000
B) 1.428
C) 0.700
D) 0.411
E) None of these

Question 49

What is meant by the term "operations effectiveness?"

A) Products produced in sufficient volume to meet demand
B) Products produced at the lowest price in the industry
C) Operations that run without error and with no surprises for top management
D) Operations that can adapt quickly and efficiently to new and evolving conditions
E) Performing activities in a manner that best implements strategic priorities at minimum cost