Deck 2: Operations and Supply Chain Strategy

Question 1

In the product imitator strategy,the order winner is _____ for the customer,whereas in the product innovator strategy,the order winner is ______.

A) flexibility, price
B) flexibility, quality
C) quality, price
D) price, flexibility

Answer 1

price, flexibility

Question 2

Which of the following statements about operations objectives is NOT true?

A) Focusing attention on improving quality frequently results in lower costs.
B) Reducing costs often causes improvement in quality.
C) Each of the operations objectives can be improved nearly simultaneously.
D) Reducing the time necessary to produce and deliver a product will result in greater flexibility.

Answer 2

Reducing costs often causes improvement in quality.

Question 3

Next year's goal is to fill 99% of all orders from stock.This is an example of which of the following?

A) Objective
B) Mission
C) Distinctive competence
D) Strategic decision

Answer 3

Objective

Question 4

Which of the following statements concerning distinctive competence is NOT correct?

A) Distinctive competence should match the mission of operations.
B) Another name for distinctive competence is operations capability.
C) Distinctive competence must be supported across the entire business as a basis for competitive advantage.
D) The business strategy of a firm always emanates from the market and cannot be built over the firm's distinctive competence.

Question 5

A decision has been made that suppliers will be chosen based on quality rather than cost.This is an example of which of the following?

A) Objective
B) Mission
C) Distinctive competence
D) Strategic decision

Question 6

The four elements that form the heart of operations strategy include

A) mission, distinctive competence, objectives, and internal analysis.
B) mission, distinctive competence, internal analysis, and external analysis.
C) mission, objectives, internal analysis, and external analysis.
D) mission, distinctive competence, objectives, and strategic decisions.

Question 7

Strategic decisions are to be made for which of the following decision areas?

A) Quality, process, capacity, and inventory
B) Cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility
C) Mission, distinctive competence, objectives, and tactics
D) All of the above

Question 8

An example under the capacity area of strategic decisions in operations would be

A) centralized or decentralized warehouse.
B) one large or several small facilities.
C) handmade or machine-made.
D) high levels or low levels of inventory.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a global corporation?

A) Facilities and plants are located on a country-by-country basis.
B) Global product design and process technology are used.
C) Logistics and inventory control systems are global.
D) Divisions are organized to have global responsibility for the marketing, R&D, and operations functions.

Question 10

Which of the following statements concerning the relationship among corporate,business,and functional strategies is correct?

A) Functional strategies guide the development of corporate strategies, which guide the development of business strategies.
B) Business strategies guide the development of corporate strategies, which guide the development of functional strategies.
C) Corporate strategies guide the development of business strategies, which guide the development of functional strategies.
D) Corporate strategies guide the development of functional strategies, which guide the development of business strategies.

Question 11

Which operations objective does the author suggest as the basis for improvement in the other operations objectives?

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

Question 12

According to Michael Porter,the generic types of business strategies include

A) differentiation, low cost, focus.
B) high price, high quality, fast delivery.
C) focus, quality, imitation.
D) all of the above.

Question 13

At Disney,"Making People Happy" is an example of

A) operations mission.
B) corporate strategy.
C) business strategy.
D) operations strategy.

Question 14

Supply chain strategy focuses,in part,on

A) sourcing and logistics.
B) customers.
C) information flow.
D) all of the above.

Question 15

The operation objectives of quality,cost,delivery,and flexibility are

A) mutually exclusive.
B) independent of each other.
C) connected.
D) unique.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a distinctive competence?

A) It could be based on human resources that are difficult to imitate.
B) It could be based on proprietary technology.
C) It cannot be copied easily.
D) All of the above are characteristics of a distinctive competence.

Question 17

Which of the following statements concerning a firm's operations strategic decisions is NOT correct?

A) Strategic decisions should be established in a distinctly separate manner without regard to other functional disciplines within an organization.
B) Strategic decisions should be developed for each of the decision responsibilities of process, quality, capacity, and inventory.
C) Strategic decisions should indicate how operations objectives would be achieved.
D) Strategic decisions may call for difficult trade-offs or choices.

Question 18

A global corporation has which of the following characteristics?

A) A separate subsidiary or division for each country where it does business
B) Demand based on a worldwide versus a local basis
C) Products designed for each individual marketplace
D) Both a and c

Question 19

Another term used for operations objectives is

A) order winners.
B) order qualifiers.
C) competitive priorities.
D) distinctive competence.

Question 20

Make or buy is an example of what type of strategic decision?

A) Inventory
B) Process
C) Quality
D) Capacity

Question 21

Which of these statements concerning distinctive competence is true?

A) If a distinctive competence does not meet a customer need, it is worthless.
B) Learning and culture are not considered good opportunities for establishing distinctive competence.
C) If the firm selects the right operations objectives, there is no need to develop or maintain a distinctive competence.
D) The concept of distinctive competence is unique to operations strategy.

Question 22

Which of the following market conditions is best suited by a product innovator strategy?

A) Price sensitivity
B) Mature market
C) Product features sensitivity
D) High demand

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT an example of an operations distinctive competence?

A) The ability to make pints of ice cream with a solid chocolate core
B) The ability to make airplane wings out of composite materials
C) The ability of a chiropractic clinic to achieve a 99.5% customer approval rating
D) The ability to meet with doctors individually to introduce them to new products

Question 24

Which of the following would NOT be appropriate for the supply chain strategy of a manufacturer of a generic chicken soup?

A) Suppliers chosen for their ability to reliably deliver
B) Suppliers chosen for the excess capacity they maintain
C) Suppliers chosen on the basis of low cost
D) All of the above would be appropriate.

Question 25

The outcome of appropriately developing the operations strategy is

A) a business strategy that supports the operations strategy.
B) a set of decisions in synch with those of other functions.
C) a comprehensive internal and external analysis.
D) a clear distinctive competence.

Question 26

Which of the following operations strategic decisions does NOT support a product imitator strategy?

A) Develop world-class processes.
B) Invest in specialized automation.
C) Purposefully react slowly to changes.
D) Use economies of scope.

Question 27

Which of the following statements concerning supply chain strategy is NOT correct?

A) Supply chains are too complex to achieve sustainable competitive advantage for the entire supply chain.
B) Supply chain strategy applies from the ultimate customer back to the suppliers to your suppliers.
C) The capabilities of customers also factor into supply chain strategy.
D) All supply chain partners should be working toward the same mission and objectives.

Question 28

A decision to maintain higher inventory levels represents a focus on which operations objective?

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

Question 29

Which of the following statements about the development of operations function mission,objectives,and strategies is FALSE?

A) Operations objectives and strategies provide both short-term and long-term decision making focus and direction.
B) In the development of an operations strategy, it is essential that operations objectives of cost, quality, delivery dependability, and flexibility be all equally weighted due to their equal importance.
C) Examples of internal factors, which should be examined in the development of operations strategies, include product line considerations, the condition of existing equipment, and current facility capacities.
D) An organization's mission, distinctive competence, objectives, and strategic decisions compose the organization's strategy.

Question 30

Firms competing in an emerging market prioritize which of these supply chain characteristics?

A) Efficiency
B) High inventory turnover
C) Lower capacity utilization
D) Low-cost production

Question 31

An ice cream manufacturer's use of energy-efficient and natural hydrocarbon (HC)freezers instead of commonly used hydroflurocarbon (HFC)freezers is an example of

A) corporate strategy.
B) business strategy.
C) operations strategy.
D) distinctive competence.

Question 32

Which of the following statements concerning the development of operations functional mission,objectives,and strategies is correct?

A) Strategic operational choices such as make versus buy or handcrafted versus machine-made specify how operations objectives will be achieved.
B) Functional-level operations and strategies are determined prior to corporate objectives and strategies.
C) It is common for many different types of operations to use a common or similar set of business strategies.
D) Operations objectives represent a plan for achieving operations strategies.

Question 33

The two fundamental supply chain strategies are

A) low cost or high quality.
B) innovative or imitative.
C) economies of scale or economies of scope.
D) none of the above.

Question 34

A retailer that invests extensively in customer service training is most likely pursuing which operations objective?

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

Question 35

Operations strategy is a

A) functional strategy.
B) business strategy.
C) divisional strategy.
D) corporate strategy.

Question 36

Which of the following should be the first step as operations embark on a sustainability initiative?

A) Work with suppliers to reduce input waste.
B) Focus on reducing energy consumption.
C) Measure the environmental impact of current operations.
D) None of the above.

Question 37

Which of these statements concerning business strategy is true?

A) Business strategy success relies on the creation of all-purpose operations that are best for all circumstances.
B) Not all functional strategies must support the business strategy, only marketing and finance.
C) Strong business strategies call for excellence across all four operations objectives.
D) Drastically different types of operations are needed to support different business strategies.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT an example of an organization's distinctive competence?

A) Organizational knowledge that has been developed internally over time
B) Patented proprietary equipment and processes
C) The ERP (enterprise resource planning) software purchased from SAP
D) Human resource skills that cannot be easily learned

Question 39

Global corporations are likely to

A) design products and services to fit global tastes.
B) develop a global distinctive competence for operations.
C) standardize logistics and inventory control.
D) perform all of the above.

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT a tactic for competing through flexible operations?

A) Reduce production time.
B) Select overseas suppliers.
C) Increase the variety of product/service options or features.
D) Add operations capacity.

Question 41

Business strategy can be derived from a firm's distinctive competence that is difficult for competitors to copy or imitate.

Question 42

A corporate strategy drives the business strategy,which in turn drives the operations strategy in an organization.

Question 43

Which of the following would NOT be examined in a sustainable operations initiative?

A) New product development
B) Packaging
C) Services
D) All of these would be examined.

Question 44

What are five focused initiatives with which a company should start its sustainability journey?

Question 45

Think of an example of any manufacturing (e.g.,3M)or service (e.g.,Southwest Airlines)firm.Briefly discuss in your own words the operations mission,order winner,order qualifiers,and distinctive competence of the chosen firm(s).

Question 46

McDonald's distinctive competence has changed over time from continuous improvement of the transformation system and brand to the unique service and supply chain transformation system.

Question 47

Imitative products have low profit margins and predictable demand.

Question 48

How do operations strategic decisions differ for a product imitator strategy versus a product innovator strategy?