Deck 2: Operations and Supply Chain Strategies

Question 1

As long as each functional area in a company operates efficiently,their strategies can be very different.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

If a logistics firm consistently makes deliveries within the agreed upon delivery window,they are exhibiting delivery reliability.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Conformance quality addresses whether the product was made or the service performed to specifications.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Darrell and Dave were fierce competitors,which drove both of them to overpay for many of their inputs,resulting in increased prices at their own stores.Dave realized this,and pondered how he could be recognized as a cost leader by his customers and maintain his reputation for quality merchandise.Sacrificing one element of his strategy at the expense of another is recognized as a trade-off in operations management.

Question 5

The externally supportive stage of alignment is more desirable than the externally neutral stage of alignment.

Question 6

The firm's targeted customers,time frames,and performance objectives are identified by their:

A)mission statement.
B)core competencies.
C)business strategy.
D)functional strategy.

Question 7

The operations and supply chain strategy is a functional strategy that is,by definition,an infrastructural strategy.

Question 8

Structural elements of a business include:

A)policies.
B)people.
C)decision rules.
D)computer systems.

Question 9

In general,core competencies make excellent strategies.

Question 10

"I've never seen flavored marshmallows this size before!" Alice squealed as she emptied the shelves at the local grocery store.The rest of the shoppers would have to make do with the other seventy bags of miniature and standard-size marshmallows during this winter's hot chocolate festival.For Alice,the jumbo size feature is an order winner.

Question 11

A mechanism that identifies a firm's targeted customers and sets time frames and performance objectives for the business is called a mission statement.

Question 12

Your employer prepares a request for proposal that describes in vivid detail all of the capabilities that a new computer system should possess.Software vendors with products that meet this request for proposal can be described as order qualifiers.

Question 13

A business is defined by its structural and infrastructural elements.

Question 14

________ is an example of an infrastructural element.

A)A building
B)An organizational structure
C)Office equipment
D)A fleet of delivery trucks

Question 15

Changeover flexibility refers to the ability of a company to change production quickly from one product to another,thereby producing a wide range of products.

Question 16

The phrase "closing the loop" means that strengths and weaknesses,as well as core competencies,are fed back into the mission statement.

Question 17

In the internally supportive stage of business strategy alignment,management merely attempts to minimize negative potential in the operations and supply chain area.

Question 18

You decide to open a bookstore with a wide selection,comfortable seating,and internal coffee shop because it has worked very well for other bookstores you have visited.Your strategy could be described as externally neutral.

Question 19

Volume flexibility is the term used to describe the ability of a producer to produce a dazzling array of products or services.

Question 20

The vision statement addresses a company's reason for existence,core values,and domain.

Question 21

Damron Inc. ,wants to purchase a shear for their sheet metal shop and chooses dimensions of cost,reliability,and flexibility as critical to their long-term success.They evaluate three different shears and rate their performance on each criterion on a scale from 1 (poor)to 5 (excellent).What is the value index for the shear made by Belsky Manufacturing?

A)9
B)18
C)23
D)81

Question 22

Whether the product was made or service performed to specifications is a question of:

A)conformance quality.
B)performance quality.
C)reliability quality.
D)value indices.

Question 23

Which of these is NOT one of the primary objectives of an operations and supply chain strategy?

A)to help management choose the right mix of structural and infrastructural elements,based on a clear understanding of the performance dimensions valued by customers and the trade-offs involved
B)to ensure that the firm's structural and infrastructural choices are strategically aligned with the firm's business strategy
C)to support the development of core competencies in the firm's operations and supply chains
D)to align structural and infrastructural elements to convert order winners into order qualifiers as determined by the mission statement

Question 24

Organizational strengths or abilities,developed over a long period of time,that customers find valuable and competitors find difficult or impossible to copy are ________.

Question 25

Mutt's Amazing Dogs offers a hot dog with mustard and a hot dog with relish and mustard.The difference between the two (the relish)is achieved by flipping a single lever,which changes the dispenser from mustard,to a perfectly proportioned mix of relish and mustard.This lever responds instantly to the feathery touch of Mutt,who has achieved a high level of:

A)mix flexibility.
B)volume flexibility.
C)delivery flexibility.
D)changeover flexibility.

Question 26

No one could turn around a failing restaurant as expertly as Gordon,whose experience and cadre of trained professionals was available at a moment's notice should his services be needed.This ability,some might call it a gift,was developed to such a level that other restaurant consultants were unable to match his results.This ability is best described as his:

A)business strategy.
B)core competency.
C)mission statement.
D)operations and supply chain strategy.

Question 27

Damron Inc. ,wants to purchase a shear for their sheet metal shop and chooses dimensions of cost,reliability,and flexibility as critical to their long-term success.They evaluate four different shears and rate their performance on each criterion on a scale from 1 (poor)to 5 (excellent).Which shear should be purchased?

A)Belsky
B)Reber
C)Estelle
D)Floyd

Question 28

The translation of an overall business strategy into a level of detail suitable for the marketing area is a(n)________.

Question 29

The ability to produce a wide range of products or service is:

A)mix flexibility.
B)changeover flexibility.
C)volume flexibility.
D)run flexibility.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a generic performance dimension of operations and supply chain activities?

A)quality
B)time
C)flexibility
D)social responsibility

Question 31

The ________ explains why an organization exists.

Question 32

________ are the people,policies,and organizational structure choices made by a firm.

Question 33

Which of the following statements about functional strategy is BEST?

A)Functional strategies are not impacted by the mission statement;instead they are impacted by the overall business strategy.
B)Functional strategies determine the overall business strategy.
C)Many functional-level strategies could readily be described as cross-functional.
D)A firm's operations and supply chain strategy is more important than their marketing,finance and engineering strategies.

Question 34

Performance dimensions on which customers expect a minimum level of performance are called:

A)order winners.
B)minimum performers.
C)recommended daily allowances.
D)order qualifiers.

Question 35

Before firms can progress to the fourth stage of alignment,they must:

A)develop core competencies.
B)develop a new mission statement.
C)develop order winners.
D)abandon order qualifiers.

Question 36

Which of these statements about time performance is BEST?

A)A supplier with high delivery speed must have high delivery reliability.
B)A customer with a narrow delivery window should have a supplier with high delivery reliability.
C)A supplier with low delivery reliability must have low delivery speed.
D)A customer with a wide delivery window should have a supplier with low delivery reliability.

Question 37

The latex division of Vandelay Industries provided support after the sale that could not be matched by any of the other players in the latex industry.This unique attribute was responsible for perhaps 60% of their sales volume and could be described as:

A)a trade-off.
B)a core competency.
C)an order winner.
D)externally neutral.

Question 38

________ are tangible resources such as buildings,equipment,and computer systems.

Question 39

Closing the loop in the area of business strategy means that:

A)core competencies at the functional level feed back into the business strategy.
B)the mission statement is used to develop the business strategy.
C)the business strategy is translated into operations and supply chain actions.
D)other functional strategies,such as those of the marketing and finance functions are aligned with the operations and supply chain strategy.

Question 40

When the operations and supply chain areas are not linked with the overall business strategy,but instead follow industry practices,the firm is in this stage of alignment.

A)internally neutral
B)externally neutral
C)internally supportive
D)externally supportive

Question 41

At the ________ stage of alignment,the business strategy seeks to exploit core competencies found within the operations and supply areas.

Question 42

A major retailer wants to sell items as cheaply as possible while maintaining an attractive and enjoyable shopping atmosphere.Spending too much on ambience will raise prices and drive away shoppers but spending too little will drive shoppers away also.Clearly,the retailer is faced with a(n)________.

Question 43

Describe the four generic performance dimensions of operations and supply chain activities.

Question 44

The operations and supply chain strategy wasn't aligned with the business strategy nor the mission,so management could only hope to minimize the damage the operations function caused.This ________ stage was targeted for improvement next year.

Question 45

One way to quantify the overall value of an item or service to a customer is by using a(n)________.

Question 46

What are the differences between performance,conformance,and reliability dimensions of quality?

Question 47

Saba listened in disbelief as the customer service representative droned on,concluding with,"Your cable installer will perform the installation between 8 a.m.and 4 p.m.on the day you have requested." He knew he would have to take the day off to accommodate the service provider's ridiculously wide ________,so he began to think of undetectable diseases he might come down with that day.

Question 48

Modelo,S.A. ,is considering three providers of automated visual inspection systems for their packaging needs.A team of manufacturing engineers,production managers,and process engineers has developed the following list of criteria and assigned them ratings on a scale of 1 (completely unimportant)to 5 (critical).This team has also rated the candidate products on each of these dimensions using a scale of 1 (poor)to 5 (excellent).Which provider should they choose,and what caveats,if any,should go with their recommendation?

Question 49

Superior performance on a(n)________ will not,by itself,give a company a competitive advantage.

Question 50

Discuss the different types of flexibility that a producer can exhibit.Use any company mentioned in the chapter and provide an example of each.

Question 51

The ability to produce a wide range of products or services is referred to as ________.

Question 52

Define and describe the differences between structural and infrastructural elements of a business.

Question 53

The American-made car I purchased as a starving graduate student was not the sleek,high-performance machine that full professors park in faculty parking,but it performed admirably.For the next twenty years I could count on one thing;every morning it would start when I turned the key.This vehicle had outstanding ________ quality.

Question 54

A university is evaluating options for an enterprise information system to replace their antiquated systems.The CIO has developed the following criteria:
At a minimum,the system (or system provider)must be capable of:
Technical support available 24/7
Have successfully installed and maintained systems in universities of similar size.
Beyond this,systems will be evaluated according to initial cost,annual maintenance and support costs,and ease of use.
The three companies that are vying for the university's business supplied the following information about their performance on these criteria.
Create and analyze a graph showing each competitor's performance with regards to order winners and order qualifiers.Which firm should get the business and why? If you were consulting with the three potential system providers,what advice would you give each one?

Question 55

What are the three primary objectives of an operations and supply chain strategy?

Question 56

Define mission statement and business strategy and describe the relationship between the two.

Question 57

Describe the four stages of operations and supply chain alignment with business strategy.