Deck 2: Competitiveness, Strategy, and Productivity

Question 1

Wage and salary increases that are not accompanied by productivity increases tend to exert inflationary pressures on a nation's economy.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Productivity is defined as the ratio of input to output.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A mission statement should provide a guide for the formulation of strategies for the organization.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

If people would only work harder, productivity would increase.

Question 5

Productivity is defined as the ratio of output to input.

Question 6

Government statistics are a good source of data about productivity trends in the service sector.

Question 7

A characteristic that was once an order winner may become an order qualifier, and vice versa.

Question 8

Services often don't fit simple yield measurements.

Question 9

An organization that is twice as productive as its competitor will be twice as profitable.

Question 10

Tracking productivity measures over time enables managers to judge organizational performance and decide where improvements are needed.

Question 11

An example of a strategic operations management decision is the choice of where to locate.

Question 12

National productivity is determined by averaging the productivity measures of various companies or industries.

Question 13

An example of an operational operations management decision is inventory level management.

Question 14

A business that is rated highly by its customers for service quality will tend to be more profitable than a business that is rated poorly.

Question 15

Productivity tends to be only a very minor factor in an organization's ability to compete.

Question 16

Outsourcing tends to improve quality but at the cost of lowered productivity.

Question 17

An example of a tactical operations management decision is determining employment levels.

Question 18

Productivity is directly related to the ability of an organization to compete.

Question 19

Competitiveness relates to the profitability of an organization in the marketplace.

Question 20

Global competition really only applies to multi-national organizations.

Question 21

Scheduling personnel is an example of an operations management:

A)mission implementation
B)operational decision
C)organizational strategy
D)functional strategy
E)tactical decision

Question 22

Time-based strategies focus on reducing the time required to accomplish certain activities, such as new product development or delivery to the customer.

Question 23

Traditional strategies of business organizations have tended to emphasize cost minimization or product differentiation.

Question 24

Companies are required to use environmental scanning because of both federal and state regulations regarding environmental pollution control.

Question 25

Environmental scanning is a search for events or trends that present either threats or opportunities to the organization.

Question 26

Competitiveness doesn't include:

A)Productivity
B)Effectiveness
C)Profitability
D)Operations Strategy
E)Operations Management

Question 27

Quality-based strategies focus on customer satisfaction by ensuring that each product is carefully and thoroughly inspected prior to delivery to prevent sending out bad product.

Question 28

One major shortcoming of the Balanced Scorecard is that it doesn't tend to take into account sustainability issues.

Question 29

Improving efficiency will guarantee a similar improvement in productivity.

Question 30

Strategy includes both organizational and functional strategies.

Question 31

As long as we match a competitor on quality and price we will gain market share.

Question 32

The majority of our textbook deals with tactical operations that support established functional strategies.

Question 33

The Balanced Scorecard is an attractive tool to use in the formation of strategy.

Question 34

Product design and choice of location are examples of _______ decisions.

A)strategic
B)tactical
C)operational
D)customer focused
E)design

Question 35

Functional strategies should be designed to directly support a firm's mission.

Question 36

Organizational strategy should be determined without considering the realities of functional area strengths and weaknesses since they can be changed to meet our strategy.

Question 37

The hierarchy and sequence of planning and decision-making is: mission, organizational strategy, tactics, and operational decisions.

Question 38

Mission statements should be as specific as possible regarding exactly how they will be accomplished.

Question 39

Productivity is expressed as:

A)output plus input
B)output minus input
C)output times input
D)output divided by input
E)input divided by output

Question 40

Standardization has the advantage of reducing variability.

Question 41

Core competencies in organizations generally relate to:

A)cost
B)quality
C)time
D)flexibility
E)all of the above

Question 42

Which of the following is considered to be a cause of poor U.S.global competitiveness?

A)the tendency to view labor as a cost factor to be minimized
B)decision-making based on short-term horizons
C)weaknesses in technological practice
D)powerful trading partners
E)all of the above

Question 43

Which of the following is not a reason for poor performance of our organization in the marketplace?

A)placing too much emphasis on product/service design and too little on process design
B)failing to take into account customer wants and needs
C)putting too much emphasis on short-term financial performance
D)taking advantage of strengths/opportunities, and recognizing competitive threats
E)none of the above

Question 44

Which of the following is not a key factor of competitiveness?

A)price
B)product differentiation
C)flexibility
D)after-sale service
E)size of organization

Question 45

The fundamental purpose for the existence of any organization is described by its:

A)policies
B)procedures
C)corporate charter
D)mission statement
E)bylaws

Question 46

Which of the following is true?

A)Corporate strategy is shaped by functional strategies.
B)Corporate mission is shaped by corporate strategy.
C)Functional strategies are shaped by corporate strategy.
D)External conditions are shaped by corporate mission.
E)Corporate mission is shaped by functional strategies.

Question 47

The external elements of SWOT analysis are:

A)strengths and weaknesses
B)strengths and threats
C)opportunities and threats
D)weaknesses and opportunities
E)strengths and opportunities

Question 48

Value added can be calculated by:

A)average productivity gains over time
B)inputs divided by the outputs
C)outputs divided by the inputs
D)input plus output divided by two
E)outputs minus inputs

Question 49

In the 1970's and 1980's in the USA, organizations concentrated on:

A)operations strategies
B)improving quality
C)marketing and financial strategies
D)revising mission statements
E)environmental issues

Question 50

Which of these factors affects productivity?

A)methods and technology
B)workers
C)management
D)a and b only
E)all of the above

Question 51

Which of the following is not a factor that affects productivity?

A)computer viruses
B)design of the workspace
C)use of the Internet
D)standardizing processes
E)wireless cellular phones

Question 52

A productivity increase in one operation that doesn't improve overall productivity of the business isn't

A)worthwhile
B)trivial
C)competence-destroying
D)an order winner
E)an order qualifier

Question 53

Which of the following is not typically considered a cure for poor competitiveness?

A)remove communications barriers within organizations
B)minimize attention to the operations function
C)put less emphasis on short-term financial results
D)recognize labor as a valuable asset and act to develop it
E)improve quality

Question 54

For an organization to grow its market share, it must:

A)advertise using multimedia
B)lower prices
C)exceed minimum standards of acceptability for its products or services
D)establish an internet website
E)broaden its mission statement

Question 55

In the past, a significant reason why U.S.productivity was the highest in the world was high:

A)agricultural productivity
B)manufacturing productivity
C)labor productivity
D)savings productivity
E)governmental productivity

Question 56

The manager of a carpet store is trying to determine the best installation crew size.He has tried various crew sizes with the results shown below.Based on productivity, what crew size do you recommend?

A)2
B)3
C)4

Question 57

Which of the following is not a key step toward improving productivity?

A)developing productivity measures for all operations
B)improving the bottleneck operations
C)establishing reasonable goals for improvement
D)considering incentives to reward workers
E)converting bond debt to stock ownership

Question 58

Time-based approaches of business organizations focus on reducing the time to accomplish certain necessary activities.Time reductions seldom apply to:

A)product/service design time
B)processing time
C)delivery time
D)response time for complaints
E)internal audits

Question 59

The ratio of good output to quantity of raw material input is called

A)non-defective productivity
B)process yield
C)worker quality measurement
D)total quality productivity
E)quantity/quality ratio

Question 60

In an assembly operation at a furniture factory, six employees assembled an average of 450 standard dining chairs per 5-day week.What is the labor productivity of this operation?

A)90 chairs/worker/day
B)20 chairs/worker/day
C)15 chairs/worker/day
D)75 chairs/worker/day
E)none of the above

Question 61

The Balanced Scorecard is a useful tool for helping managers translate their strategy into action in the following areas:

A)Sustainability; Flexibility; Efficiency; Technology
B)Customers; Financial; Internal Business Processes; Learning and Growth
C)Customization; Standardization; Efficiency; Effectiveness
D)The Environment; The Community; Suppliers; Other Stakeholders
E)Strategy; Tactics; Productivity; Profitability

Question 62

Gourmet Pretzels bakes soft pretzels on an assembly line.It currently bakes 800 pretzels each 8-hour shift.If the production is increased to 1,200 pretzels each shift, then productivity will have increased by:

A)50%
B)33%
C)25%
D)67%

Question 63

The weekly output of a production process is shown below, together with data for labor and material inputs.The standard inventory value of the output is $125 per unit.Overhead is charged weekly at the rate of $1500 plus .5 times direct labor cost.Assume a 40-hour week and an hourly wage of $16.Material cost is $10 per running foot.What is the average multi-factor productivity for this process?

Question 64

Which of the following factors would tend to reduce productivity?

A)improvements in workplace safety
B)reductions in labor turnover
C)more inexperienced workers
D)reductions in the scrap rate
E)none of the above

Question 65

Years ago in the overnight delivery business, providing package tracking capability gave some firms a competitive advantage.Now, all firms must offer this capability simply to be in this line of business.This is an example of ______________ becoming ____________ over time.

A)Tactical implications; strategic
B)Strategic implications; tactical
C)Order winners; order qualifiers
D)Profitability factors; productivity factors
E)Order qualifiers; order winners

Question 66

For firms competing in worldwide markets, conducting __________________ is more complex, since what works in one country or region might not work in another.

A)Productivity analysis
B)Environmental analysis
C)Strategy implementation
D)Sustainability analysis
E)Growth forecasting

Question 67

Unique attributes of firms that give them a competitive edge are called ______________.

A)Functional strategies
B)Balanced scorecards
C)Supply chains
D)Core competencies
E)Sustainable initiatives

Question 68

Increasing the service offered to the customer makes it more difficult to compete on the basis of ______.

A)order qualifiers
B)customization
C)quality
D)price
E)flexibility

Question 69

___________ is generally used to facilitate an organization strategy that emphasizes low cost.

A)Speed to market
B)Flexibility
C)Customization
D)Sustainability
E)None of the above

Question 70

The weekly output of a fabrication process is shown below together with data for labor and material inputs.Standard selling price is $125 per unit.Overhead is charged weekly at the rate of $1,500 plus .5 times direct labor cost.Assume a 40-hour week and an hourly wage of $16.Material cost is $10 per foot.What is the average multifactor productivity?

A)1.463
B)1.457
C)1.431

Question 71

A firm pursuing a strategy based on customization and variety will tend to structure and manage its supply chain to accommodate more _____________ than a firm pursuing a strategy based on low-cost and high-volume.

A)Variation
B)Streamlined flow
C)Quality
D)Capacity
E)Productivity

Question 72

Suppose a country's productivity last year was 84.If this country's productivity growth rate of 5% is to be maintained, this means that this year's productivity will have to be _______.

A)88.2
B)79.8
C)82.8
D)78.9
E)4.2

Question 73

A company has introduced a process improvement that reduces processing time for each unit, so that output is increased by 25% with less material, but one additional worker required.Under the old process, five workers could produce 60 units per hour.Labor costs are $12/hour, and material input was previously $16/unit.For the new process, material is now $10/unit.Overhead is charged at 1.6 times direct labor cost.Finished units sell for $31 each.What increase in productivity is associated with the process improvement?