Deck 19: Change Management With Faster Project Completions

Question 1

Long cycle times are chosen to increase throughput rates.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The measure of "inventory turns per year" is increasingly used by retailers in preference to direct measures of profit.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Government regulations apply to design for manufacturability and design for assembly.Both are subject to the conditions of design for safe use by competitors.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Industries that have used downsizing extensively have done so because they have never observed signs of dissatisfaction on the part of their stakeholders and employees.

Question 5

If (D × V × P) < C,then change is likely,assuming that no other factors negatively impact the change.

Question 6

Benchmarking is useful and effective even when there is no clear correspondence between processes and their purposes.

Question 7

Start-up companies are disadvantaged when compared to established companies because they start with old designs and obsolete equipment

Question 8

Benchmarking can trigger dissatisfaction with the status quo.Conversely,benchmarks have the power to influence behavior in unexpected ways,even counter-productive ways.

Question 9

Companies that would like to benchmark themselves against the competition can only use measures that are available through information in the public domain.

Question 10

Change management decreases the capabilities and competencies of the firm.

Question 11

Inventory turns per year equals net annual sales divided by the total inventory level.

Question 12

Two major approaches that are used to accomplish planned change are continuous improvement and sudden new product development.

Question 13

The "old" barriers to entry still apply in the automobile industry.

Question 14

Capabilities-based strategies reflect smart management of business processes.

Question 15

Downsizing obscures vision unless it is clearly identified as part of a plan to achieve the vision.

Question 16

Benchmarking plays the guiding role in reengineering business processes.It provides the basis for course corrections on the road to excellence.

Question 17

Many "old" barriers to entry have fallen by the wayside.For example,large investments that use to keep competitors out of the market no longer act as deterrents because there is ample capital on a global scale that is constantly searching for good investments.

Question 18

Cycle time,net margins,and return on equity are considered to be target variables in a list of smart benchmarks.

Question 19

The Gleicher model has been used in change management.

Question 20

The factors of the conditions for change equation (D × V × P) > C stand for: D = dissatisfaction with the current situation,V = visions of what the future can become,P = practical first steps to achieve the vision,and C = change flexibility.

Question 21

Time-based management is responsible for fast delivery of goods and services to customers and rapid development of new products.

Question 22

The need for speed in project completion has decreased as global competitors are empowered by technology.

Question 23

Successful reengineering emphasizes maximizing production flow rates,not balancing process flows.

Question 24

Identifying all core processes is the first step in the general principles of REE.

Question 25

With instantaneous global communication,transitions slow down.

Question 26

Methods for shortening project life-cycle time include the use of PERT analysis with particular emphasis on cutting out slack without jeopardizing quality.

Question 27

Using quadrant differentiation,processes in quadrant I are the most important processes for delivering special competitively beneficial capabilities.They also have the greatest potential for improvement.

Question 28

Business process redesign seeks radical improvement over a reasonable period of time.

Question 29

Breakpoint business process redesign is an important variant of REE that focuses on creating strategic-level competitive advantages through breakthroughs in the core business processes that most affect customers and shareholders.

Question 30

Raising standards of quality is part of a continuing dynamic that new competitors turn to their advantage.

Question 31

Bureaucracies tend to develop strategies dedicated to changing the status quo.

Question 32

The prescription for achieving successful continuous improvement changes includes total management involvement for implementation.

Question 33

Pilot studies are scaled-down models of the factory or service system.

Question 34

Change is met by counterchange,and stimulus by response.

Question 35

A well-managed project wheel is constantly turning.The number of turns of this wheel measures the revenue-generating energy of the system.The wheel is an analog model of the behavior of a Ferris Wheel in an amusement park.Although the model is an imperfect analog of a continuous project development system,it is powerful conceptually.

Question 36

Reengineering is the same as continuous improvement.

Question 37

Concurrent engineering is a time-based management approach that employs more resources earlier in a team-oriented framework than the sequential,compartmentalized project engineering method.

Question 38

A multifunctional project team can facilitate the coordination of finding,designing,making,and shipping the product.

Question 39

Successful companies are becoming global in activities and mind-set.

Question 40

Continuous improvement and reengineering should be used simultaneously.

Question 41

Practical first steps include which of the following?

A)design studies aimed at using fewer parts and allowing quicker assembly
B)process improvement studies to replace workers with faster machines for tedious and repetitive work
C)work simplification studies to redesign workstations so that teamwork can make the job more productive and less arduous
D)all of the above

Question 42

The product of three factors,D,V,and P,must be greater than C,which refers to

A)cycle time.
B)costs of continuous improvement.
C)cost of change.
D)carrying cost.

Question 43

_____ reflect integrity to protect employees from noxious fumes,toxic substances,unsafe machines,nonsanitary facilities,jumbled storage,and combustible materials.

A)Union complaints about safety measures
B)Safety laws of the federal government
C)Ethics of the workplace
D)Safety records on the wall

Question 44

The advantages of dealing with established suppliers-certified by P/OM for their current capabilities-must be _____

A)weighed against the advantages of using start-up suppliers with new ideas.
B)weighed against the problems of switching suppliers because their prices are lower.
C)weighed against the strategy of switching purchasing agents to reduce the bonds of friendship between buyer and supplier.
D)weighed against the community's expectations that local suppliers will be used.

Question 45

People seldom resist change.

Question 46

If D × V × P > C,then change is

A)likely,assuming that no other factors negatively impact the change.
B)unlikely,assuming there are no possible improvements to this decision.
C)not possible.
D)definite.

Question 47

Self-benchmarking over time provides few insights concerning self-improvement.

Question 48

The American Assembly met to discuss how to get declining U.S.productivity back on track.At this conference,major discussions centered around

A)David B.Gleicher's model for change.
B)ways to block imports entering the U.S.
C)how to register complaints.
D)none of the above

Question 49

Which of the following are the factors for David B.Gleicher's model?

A)dissatisfaction with the current situation,vision of what the future can become,and probabilities of achieving the vision
B)dissatisfaction with the past situation,vision of what the present can become,and practical first steps to achieve the vision
C)dissatisfaction with the planned future,vision of what tomorrow can be like,and probable pitfalls in trying to change
D)none of the above

Question 50

The need for behavioral change arises because of marketplace dynamics.

Question 51

_____ is the term that best describes the means by which managers will reach strategic decisions leading to actions that will help their organizations adapt to significant changes in the competitive realm.

A)The Gleicher model
B)Company alteration
C)Change management
D)Management adaptation

Question 52

The need to change is always sufficient to bring about change.

Question 53

The "old" barriers to entry that kept competitors out of a market included

A)large investments to play in the same league with existing suppliers.
B)great difficulty in taking customers away from existing suppliers.
C)lack of experience with the technology and a steep learning curve to become as good as the existing suppliers.
D)all of the above

Question 54

P/OM brings special knowledge to the change management team.Which choice(s) below would best signify this special knowledge?

A)familiarity with technology
B)understanding responsibility for ethical production practices
C)understanding the interaction between technology and environmental protection
D)all of the above

Question 55

Design studies to replace workers with faster machines for tedious and repetitive work are part of an organization's _____.

A)vision
B)dissatisfaction
C)practical first steps
D)P/OM's benchmarking

Question 56

Vision is supported by

A)adaptability.
B)experience.
C)benchmarking.
D)none of the above

Question 57

A continuing dynamic that new competitors turn to their advantage is

A)raising standards of quality.
B)raising expenditures on quality.
C)increasing core capabilities.
D)better use of old technology.

Question 58

Habits can actually change physical brain patterns.

Question 59

Wind turbines produce emission-free electricity and free power as their upkeep costs little.

Question 60

Benchmarking may be used in many ways.For example,it is helpful to comparing your own personal ability,say in lifting weights,with a friend's ability.You can chart your progress and compare it with your colleague's progress.You can compare your department's performance,with Best Practices in other firms and/or other departments in your own firm.

Question 61

Which of the following is one of the four principles of capabilities-based management?

A)Competitive success depends on transforming a company's key processes into strategic capabilities that consistently provide superior value to the customer.
B)Because capabilities necessarily cross functions,the champion of a capabilities-based strategy is the middle management.
C)Companies create these capabilities by making strategic investments in a support infrastructure that separates traditional SBUs and functions.
D)The building blocks of corporate strategy are not business processes but products and markets.
E)all of the above

Question 62

_____ seeks radical improvements over a reasonable period of time.It starts with a blank slate meaning all old assumptions are discarded.

A)Continuous improvement
B)REE
C)Planning transition
D)Business redesign

Question 63

Time (as the fundamental variable of time-based management) is considered a surrogate for which of the following?

A)market share
B)customers' satisfaction
C)profitability
D)all of the above

Question 64

_____ describes how project teams function that complete one project before beginning another.

A)Never-completing
B)Continuity
C)Group studying
D)Cycle managing

Question 65

The management of many resource systems to achieve start-up-spending benefits of early project completion is called

A)high-velocity project completion.
B)concurrent engineering.
C)time-based management.
D)none of the above

Question 66

Which of the following is considered to be one of the most useful insight-building benchmarks for group motivation?

A)product life-cycle mapping
B)team accomplishments
C)best-practice measures
D)use of the company gym

Question 67

Benchmarking can only be as good as the relevance of the measures that are used.Which of the following is a determinant of the measures that should be used?

A)Measures must be done quickly and accurately.
B)Measure only what it is convenient to measure.
C)What are being compared must be comparable in some useful sense.
D)The entities being measured must be compared to those of competitors.

Question 68

Which of the following is measured by net annual sales divided by average inventory level?

A)cycle time
B)inventory turns per year
C)days of inventory
D)optimal inventory order quantities

Question 69

_____ is parallel and simultaneous work along many project paths.

A)Concurrent engineering
B)Smart use of pilot study
C)Duplicate experimentation
D)none of the above

Question 70

Which quadrant,using the quadrant differentiation chart,is low in delivering the selected capabilities but high in improvement potential.

A)Quadrant I
B)Quadrant II
C)Quadrant III
D)Quadrant IV

Question 71

The procedure for making comparative measurements is

A)practical first steps toward the vision.
B)the list of P/OM factors.
C)hit-and-miss,inexpensive benchmarking.
D)smart benchmarking.

Question 72

_____ are small-scale models of the factory or service system.

A)REEs
B)Pilot studies
C)Micro studies
D)Continuous benchmarking

Question 73

_____ uses constant effort to find better ways to produce the products and deliver services.

A)Simultaneous engineering of projects
B)Concurrent project management
C)Continuous improvement
D)REE

Question 74

_____ elevates time to a position that is equal in importance to cost,quality,and productivity.

A)PERT
B)TBM
C)Concurrent engineering
D)Productivity management

Question 75

_____ plays a guiding role in continuous improvement.

A)Reengineering
B)Planning
C)Benchmarking
D)Ethics

Question 76

_____ are based on those dimensions that are most valuable for steering tactics and for redirecting strategies.

A)Project life cycle intervals
B)Smart benchmarks
C)Traditional benchmarks
D)Old benchmarks

Question 77

Which of the following is a teamwork concept as long as it is used to encourage cooperative improvement and not as a basis for penalizing lower-grade departments?

A)benchmarking old technology departments against new-technology departments
B)benchmarking similar departments
C)benchmarking dissimilar departments
D)benchmarking competitor's departments

Question 78

Concurrent engineering,which is widely used for project management,requires

A)multifunctional teamwork.
B)multitasking or parallel capabilities.
C)team-oriented approach.
D)all of the above

Question 79

_____ separate(s) regions using boundaries that reflect combined power to deliver improvements.The more the power the greater the circumference.

A)Process improvements
B)Breakpoint business process redesign
C)Efficiency frontiers
D)Reengineering

Question 80

Which of the following should we focus on for successful reengineering?

A)task execution
B)task design
C)task equation
D)task approach