Deck 2: Competitiveness, Strategic Planning, and Productivity

Question 1

Dependability means different things to different operations. Please match the most appropriate organisation to this standard: Delivering vehicles to dealers on time.

A) Supermarket
B) Bus company
C) Automobile Plant
D) Hospital

Answer 1

Automobile Plant

Question 2

Whether for a hospital, automobile plant, bus company or supermarket, speed could mean
keeping to a minimum the time between customers requesting a service or product and their
receiving it.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

An operation that relies on repeat business will seek to primarily focus on which of the performance objectives?

A) Quality
B) Dependability
C) Speed
D) Flexibility

Answer 3

Dependability

Question 4

Which stakeholder group is likely to best match this broad strategic objective: Continue business and provide transparent information.

A) Shareholders
B) Employees
C) Customers
D) Society
E) Suppliers

Question 5

Which operation least needs staff who are courteous, friendly and helpful?

A) Supermarket
B) Hospital
C) Automobile plant
D) Bus company

Question 6

A company which specialises in high variety and the frequent introduction of new products/services would seek to primarily focus on which of the performance objectives?

A) Quality
B) Cost
C) Speed
D) Flexibility

Question 7

Which stakeholder group is likely to best match this broad strategic objective: Consistent quality and flexibility.

A) Suppliers
B) Shareholders
C) Employees
D) Society
E) Customers

Question 8

Quality means different things to different operations. Please match the most appropriate organisation to this standard: The timetable is accurate.

A) Supermarket
B) Automobile plant
C) Hospital
D) Bus company

Question 9

All operations aim to be completely flexible in responding to customer demand.

Question 10

Dependability means different things to different operations. Please match the most appropriate organisation to this standard: Test results returned on schedule.

A) Automobile Plant
B) Supermarket
C) Hospital
D) Bus company

Question 11

One of the five basic performance objectives is speed. Speed has a number of effects on the internal operation. It:

A) Increases inventories and reduces risk
B) Increases inventories and increases risk
C) Reduces inventories and increases risk
D) Reduces inventories and reduces risk

Question 12

Slack defines the Five Performance Objectives for Operations as:

A) Quality / speed / dependability / flexibility / cost
B) Improvement / quality / flexibility / reliability / cost
C) Quality / speed / dependability / accessibility / cost
D) Cost / throughput / flexibility / cost / speed
E) Transformation / quality / speed / dependability / flexibility

Question 13

Which stakeholder group is likely to best match this broad strategic objective: Increase employment, produce sustainable products and ensure clean environment.

A) Shareholders
B) Suppliers
C) Employees
D) Society
E) Customers

Question 14

The major stakeholders of the organisation, who must be satisfied by the operations function are:

A) Customers and suppliers
B) The company's employees
C) Shareholders and society at large
D) All of the above

Question 15

Which stakeholder group is likely to best match this broad strategic objective: Economic value from investment and ethical value from investment.

A) Employees
B) Customers
C) Suppliers
D) Society
E) Shareholders

Question 16

Quality means different things to different operations. Please match the most appropriate organisation to this standard: The product is reliable.

A) Supermarket
B) Automobile plant
C) Bus company
D) Hospital

Question 17

Dependability means different things to different operations. Please match the most appropriate organisation to this standard: Predictability of opening hours.

A) Automobile Plant
B) Bus company
C) Supermarket
D) Hospital

Question 18

Which stakeholder group is likely to best match this broad strategic objective: Good working conditions and personal development.

A) Customers
B) Shareholders
C) Suppliers
D) Society
E) Employees

Question 19

Dependability means different things to different operations. Please match the most appropriate organisation to this standard: Keeping to the published timetable.

A) Bus company
B) Hospital
C) Automobile Plant
D) Supermarket

Question 20

Quality means different things to different operations. Please match the most appropriate organisation to this standard: Customers are consulted and kept informed.

A) Bus company
B) Automobile plant
C) Hospital
D) Supermarket

Question 21

Which of the following is seen as an internal benefit of emphasis on the speed objective?

A) The reduction of complexity
B) The reduction in inventory
C) The increase in quality
D) The increase in product flexibility

Question 22

In some cases a 'shareholder' may also be the main customer.

Question 23

The idea that improvement in one aspect of operations performance comes at the expense of deterioration in another aspect of performance is called:

A) Theory of constraints
B) Trade-off theory
C) Limited resource theory
D) Theory of the firm

Question 24

Which of the following is least likely to be an issue for employee stakeholders?

A) Economic value from investment
B) Fair pay
C) Good working conditions
D) All of the above

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT an example of an internal stakeholder?

A) Suppliers to the organisation
B) Managers
C) Employees
D) Directors

Question 26

For a supermarket, which of the following does NOT relate to the quality objective?

A) Shelves are never empty of stock.
B) Staff are friendly and helpful.
C) Store is clean and tidy.
D) All of the above relate to the quality objective.

Question 27

For a bus company, quality operations do not include:

A) Higher prices than rival transport services
B) Accurate and user-friendly timetable
C) Clean and tidy buses
D) Quiet and fume-free buses

Question 28

Speed reduces risks.

Question 29

What is the name of a type of relationship in supply chains that encourage relatively enduring cooperative agreements for joint accomplishment of business goals?

A) Focused supply
B) Partnerships
C) Goal oriented agreements
D) Market-driven supply

Question 30

Which of the following relies most on the speed objective?

A) An ambulance
B) A doctor on call
C) An Accident & Emergency Unit
D) An operating theatre

Question 31

The operations ability to change its level of output or activity to produce different quantities or volumes of product and service over time is called:

A) Product/Service flexibility
B) Delivery flexibility
C) Volume flexibility
D) Mix flexibility

Question 32

Which of the following is a result of increasing dependability?

A) It gives stability
B) It saves time
C) It save money
D) All of the above

Question 33

The effect of dependability inside an operation is quite different from the effect it has on the end
customer.

Question 34

For a hospital, which of the following does NOT relate to the quality objective?

A) Treatment being carried out in the correct manner.
B) Patients being consulted and kept informed.
C) Staff being courteous and friendly.
D) Patients being dealt with in less than two hours in A&E.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT true of the speed objective?

A) It can lower working capital.
B) It can help reduce inventory.
C) It can increase risk.

Question 36

From focused to general, which of the following strategy orders is correct?

A) Business, functional, corporate
B) Operational, business, global
C) Functional, business, corporate
D) Business, corporate, global

Question 37

For a bus company, which of the following relates to the quality objective?

A) The company gets you from A to B more quickly than its rivals.
B) Buses arrive on time.
C) The timetable is accurate and user friendly.
D) The fares are reasonable.

Question 38

What name is given to factors such as delivery time, product or service specification, and price, which define customers' requirements?

A) Direct factors
B) Competitive factors
C) Demand factors
D) Customer factors

Question 39

What name is given to the people and groups of people who have an interest in the operation and who may influence its activities?

A) Partners
B) Key account
C) Stakeholders
D) Key customers

Question 40

Doing things in time for customers to receive their goods and services exactly when they are needed, or at least when they are promised, is a measure of:

A) Quality
B) Flexibility
C) Speed
D) Dependability

Question 41

The operations ability to introduce new or modified products is called:

A) Product/Service flexibility
B) Volume flexibility
C) Delivery flexibility
D) Mix flexibility

Question 42

The operations ability to produce a wide range of products and services is called:

A) Mix flexibility
B) Product/Service flexibility
C) Volume flexibility
D) Delivery flexibility

Question 43

When applied to operations performance, what term can be used interchangeably with 'dependability'?

A) Speed
B) Assurance
C) Reliability
D) Quality

Question 44

The operations ability to change timing of the delivery of its services or products is called:

A) Mix flexibility
B) Volume flexibility
C) Delivery flexibility
D) Product/Service flexibility