Deck 9: Planning and Decision Aids

Question 1

SchlumbergerSema's InTouch decision system features a centralized help desk in Houston.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A simulation is a representation of a real system.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Spreadsheet simulations are useful for estimating the most critical aspect of venture planning which is profit and loss.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Scenarios are quite useful in forcing those involved in planning to evaluate preliminary plans against past history.

Question 5

In the planning and administrative competency in Chapter 9, the Society of Safety Engineers used computer simulations to predict the future needs of clients.

Question 6

"Conceptual thinking" is the ability to visualize, generate, and implement new ideas.

Question 7

The creative process includes five interconnected stages: preparation, concentration, incubation, illumination, and verification.

Question 8

The Osborn creativity model is intended to stimulate competition, as various groups strive to convince others that their idea is superior.

Question 9

The most common definition of quality is the extent to which a good or service conforms to specifications or standards.

Question 10

SchlumbergerSema's InTouch service is built on all of the following elements except __________.

A) a standard computer platform for all engineers
B) global network infrastructure
C) satellite communication
D) centralized document authoring and publishing

Question 11

SchlumbergerSema's InTouch system is just one example of how companies are starting to use __________.

A) collaborative teams
B) online decision aids
C) knowledge management drivers
D) expert systems

Question 12

__________ involves projecting or estimating future events or conditions in an organization's environment.

A) Extrapolation
B) Scenarios
C) Decision aids
D) Forecasting

Question 13

Rachel Cline needs to make a decision on whether to expand her business to a second location. She assembles a panel of experts including a member of her chamber of commerce, her accountant, and a professor of strategic management at a local university. The group refined their opinions, step by step, until they reached a consensus that Rachel should expand to the second location. This decision is an example of __________.

A) the Delphi technique
B) groupthink
C) extrapolation
D) scenarios

Question 14

The American Society of Engineers used a __________ to anticipate changes in OSHA's operations.

A) Delphi study
B) benchmarking model
C) creativity model
D) simulation

Question 15

The American Society of Engineers assembled a panel of __________ to evaluate predictions in their Delphi study.

A) OSHA administrators
B) professional engineers
C) industry executives
D) chapter presidents

Question 16

Electric utility managers took part in a __________ to develop understanding of the new deregulated business environment they were entering.

A) Delphi study
B) simulation
C) scenario study
D) fact finding phase

Question 17

Taking part in an electric utilities industry restructuring simulation helped senior managers learn to do all of the following except __________.

A) forecast competitive strategies
B) forecast competitors' prices
C) discover that incremental cost was the main factor in determining how competitive they could be
D) discover that marginal cost was the main factor in determining how competitive they could be

Question 18

Pedro Rodriquez is a vice president with Wal-Mart. Rodriquez is interested in improving the performance of the "pet supplies" departments in all stores. He identified some of the country's best pet stores and in the process of gathering financial data from these stores so that he can understand how to improve performance Wal-Mart. Rodriquez is using a process known as __________.

A) Deming cycle
B) benchmarking
C) total quality management (TQM)
D) reengineering

Question 19

Which of the following statements regarding benchmarking is not true?

A) Over time, the things that are benchmarked should remain the same.
B) Benchmarking needs to be linked to other sources of information, such as changing customer expectations and preferences.
C) Benchmarking typically looks at the present in terms of how some process or quality dimension is being achieved by others.
D) Benchmarking is often used to help an organization adapt, but less commonly to innovate.

Question 20

In the textbook example, the owner of the Deluxe diner applied __________ to solve the problem of customers having to wait too long to be seated.

A) benchmarking
B) reengineering
C) total quality management (TQM)
D) the Deming cycle

Question 21

Which of the following was not one of the problems identified by Billie Boyd, the owner of Deluxe Diner, as she used her communication competency to solve the problem of long lines at lunchtime?

A) Customers were waiting in line for as long as 15 minutes.
B) Usually, tables were available.
C) Many of the customers were regulars.
D) All of the above were problems that Billie Boyd identified.

Question 22

Which of the following was not one of the changes developed by Billie Boyd, the owner of Deluxe Diner, to solve the problem of long lines at lunchtime?

A) Allow customers to fax their orders in ahead of time.
B) Encourage customers to open corporate charge accounts.
C) Install a preparation table for fax orders in the kitchen.
D) Devote one of the two cash registers to handling fax orders.

Question 23

Describe how SchlumbergerSema applied knowledge management to improve organizational effectiveness under challenging operating conditions.

Question 24

Describe how Billie Boyd, the owner of Deluxe Diner, applied the Deming cycle to solve the problem of customers having to wait too long to be seated during lunchtime at the diner.