Deck 1: Introduction to Operations Management

Question 1

The operations function exists only in firms that are goods-oriented.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Scheduling jobs is a system design decision and not a planning decision.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Operations management pertains almost exclusively to the management of manufacturing operations.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Service involves a much higher degree of customer contact than the production of goods.

Question 5

Management information systems (MIS)are concerned with providing management with the information it needs to effectively manage.

Question 6

Design decisions are usually strategic and long term,while planning decisions are tactical and medium term.

Question 7

As a service business,the operations management activities of an airline company have nothing in common with the operations management activities within a bicycle manufacturing company.

Question 8

An example of an operations control decision is the choice of location.

Question 9

As long as a product is ready in advance of when customers demand it,the timing of when a product is manufactured does not influence the value-added.

Question 10

System design decisions have very little impact on planning/control decisions.

Question 11

Managing inventory levels is considered a planning/control operations decision area.

Question 12

Service often requires a higher labour content,whereas the production of goods is more capital intensive.

Question 13

Operations,marketing,and finance function independently of each other in most organizations.

Question 14

Value-added refers to the cost of the inputs required to produce goods and services.

Question 15

Operations management involves both system design and planning/control decisions.

Question 16

Effectiveness refers to achieving intended goals whereas efficiency refers to minimizing cost and time.

Question 17

Measurement of productivity in service is more straightforward than in goods production due to the high degree of uniformity of inputs.

Question 18

A basic difference between manufacturing and service organizations is that services are action-oriented and manufacturing is goods-oriented.

Question 19

Storing an item earlier than the scheduled delivery date is an example of a value adding activity.

Question 20

Operations managers are responsible for managing activities and resources that produce goods and/or provide services.

Question 21

It is essential to use the systems approach when something is being designed,redesigned,implemented,improved,or otherwise changed.

Question 22

The operations manager has the ultimate responsibility for the creation of goods or performance of services.

Question 23

Operations managers,who usually use quantitative approaches,have no responsibility to make ethical decisions.

Question 24

One important piece of information sales needs from operations is the manufacturing lead time in order to give customers realistic estimates of how long it will take to fill their orders.

Question 25

The Human Relations Movement,which emphasized the importance of the human element in job design,was replaced by the more technical aspects of Scientific Management.

Question 26

A systems approach is to concentrate on efficiency within a subsystem and thereby achieve overall efficiency.

Question 27

Queuing techniques are useful for analyzing situations in which waiting lines form.

Question 28

Many operations management decisions can be described as trade-offs.

Question 29

A systems approach emphasizes interrelationships among subsystems,but its main theme is that the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

Question 30

Prior to the Industrial Revolution,goods were produced primarily by craftsmen or their apprentices using custom made parts.

Question 31

Business analytics uses software to build models which in turn support decision making.

Question 32

One responsibility of marketing is to identify customer wants and needs and communication them to operations.

Question 33

Quantitative techniques are often quick and practical techniques for many decisions.

Question 34

Frederick Taylor spearheaded the scientific management movement in America.

Question 35

The moving assembly line introduced by Henry Ford is an example of the development of mass production based on large volumes of standardized goods produced using low or semi-skilled workers and highly specialized equipment.

Question 36

Quality assurance is less challenging in services,as services primarily produce intangibles.

Question 37

Models are simplified representations of something and thus ignore important aspects of a situation.

Question 38

The Pareto phenomenon is one of the most important and pervasive concepts that can be applied at all levels of management.

Question 39

The transformation process and feedback is useful in the control of manufacturing operations but does not apply to service operations.

Question 40

The impact of globalization for manufacturing companies has seen reduced reliance on long international supply chains because of the increasing cost to ship components and finished goods to foreign markets.

Question 41

Value-added refers to:

A)the cost of inputs.
B)the price of outputs.
C)the difference between cost of inputs and the value or price of outputs.
D)the extra profit obtained from increased productivity.
E)the ratio of outputs compared to inputs.

Question 42

Measurements taken at various points in the transformation process for control purposes are called:

A)plans.
B)directions.
C)controls.
D)feedback.
E)proposals.

Question 43

Lean production systems operate with lower amounts of inventory,so emphasis is placed on anticipating when problems might occur before they arise.

Question 44

Major trends that affect operations are only taken into account once strategies and tactics are in place.

Question 45

System capacity and location of facilities are examples of:

A)financial decisions.
B)tactical decisions.
C)systems design decisions.
D)operational planning decisions.
E)forecasting decisions.

Question 46

All of the following are reasons for studying operations management EXCEPT:

A)A large percentage of a company's expenses occur in the operations management activities that are at the core of all business organizations.
B)Activities in all of the other areas of business organizations,such as accounting and marketing are interrelated with operations management activities.
C)Many management jobs are in operations management-related areas,such as production planning,inventory management,and more.
D)The study of operations management applies to manufacturing,however,it is of little use in service organizations.
E)Operations innovations lead to marketplace and strategic benefits.

Question 47

Operations management encompasses all of the following EXCEPT:

A)buying materials.
B)capacity planning.
C)scheduling.
D)motivating employees and training.
E)preparing financial statements.

Question 48

The three primary functions that exist in most business organizations are:

A)manufacturing,production,and operations.
B)operations,marketing,and finance.
C)operations,accounting,and marketing.
D)operations,production,and finance.
E)operations,sales and accounting

Question 49

Which of the following does not relate to system design?

A)Long term capacity
B)Location of facilities
C)Inventory management
D)Process design
E)Departmental layout

Question 50

Planning decisions are usually __________ and __________ term.

A)strategic; long
B)tactical; medium
C)forecasting; short
D)strategic; short
E)tactical; long

Question 51

The marketing function's main concern is with:

A)producing goods or providing services.
B)assessing customer wants and needs.
C)procuring materials,supplies,and equipment.
D)performing economic analysis of investment proposals.
E)securing monetary resources.

Question 52

Economic analysis of investment proposals,and provision of funds are activities associated with the:

A)operation function.
B)marketing function.
C)purchasing function.
D)finance function.
E)industrial engineering function.

Question 53

Concerns about global warming and pollution have caused governments to impose stricter environmental regulations on businesses.

Question 54

The difference between goods and services is that goods are mostly intangible and services are mostly tangible.

Question 55

Measuring process outputs at various points in order to compare outputs to previously established standards to determine if corrective action is needed is called:

A)planning and directing.
B)directing and conversion.
C)feedback and control.
D)controlling and leading.
E)leading and transformation.

Question 56

North American management practices have had a significant impact on Japanese manufacturers.

Question 57

The three major functions of business organizations:

A)perform different but related activities.
B)are related indirectly only.
C)must work together,but not very closely.
D)function independently of each other.
E)perform similar and related activities.

Question 58

Which of the following is not a type of service operations?

A)Retail trade
B)Transportation and warehousing
C)Fabrication of metals
D)Banking
E)Hotels and restaurants

Question 59

Tactical planning and control activities involve making decisions about all of the following EXCEPT:

A)location of facilities.
B)scheduling.
C)material requirements planning.
D)project management.
E)inventory management.

Question 60

The responsibilities of operations managers classified as planning activities include:

A)inventory,production pace,quality,and costs.
B)organizing departments,subcontracting,supplier contracts,and staffing.
C)forecasting,planning,organizing,and directing.
D)scheduling,job assignments,purchasing,and logistics.
E)capacity,location,layout,and mix of products.

Question 61

Which of the following is not a characteristic of service operations?

A)Intangible output.
B)High customer contact.
C)High labour content.
D)Easy measurement of productivity.
E)Low uniformity of output.

Question 62

Which of the following is not properly matched?

A)Mathematical model for inventory management-Elton Mayo
B)Division of labour-Adam Smith
C)Scientific Management-F.W.Taylor
D)Motion study-Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
E)Moving assembly line-Henry Ford

Question 63

Which is not a quantitative technique to problem solving?

A)Linear programming
B)Queuing techniques
C)Statistical techniques
D)Heuristic approach
E)Forecasting techniques

Question 64

Of the following,which aspect of the evolution of operations management is affiliated with Japanese manufacturing companies?

A)total quality management
B)scientific management
C)the human relations movement.
D)the industrial revolution.
E)craft production

Question 65

Which of the following functions is mostly service based,as identified in the "goods-service" continuum?

A)Automotive assembly
B)Automotive repair
C)Restaurant meal
D)Software development
E)Teaching

Question 66

A balance achieved between two incompatible features is referred to as (a)___________.

A)Break even
B)Quantitative technique
C)Heuristic
D)Trade-off
E)Systems approach

Question 67

Which of the following developments related to the historical evolution of operations management is the oldest?

A)The human relations movement advocated by Mayo,Maslow,and Hertzberg.
B)The introduction of the moving assembly line by Henry Ford.
C)Scientific management principles espoused by Frederick Taylor.
D)The principle of division of labour documented in Adam Smith's book The Wealth of Nations.
E)The influence of Japanese management practices.

Question 68

Dealing with the fact that certain aspects of any management situation are more important than others is called:

A)analysis of trade-offs.
B)sensitivity analysis.
C)establishing priorities.
D)analysis of variance.
E)decision analysis.

Question 69

In the Historical Evolution of Operations Management.Which of the following was emphasized during the Human Relations Movement era?

A)Division of labour
B)The importance of workers in work design.
C)The use of economic incentives
D)The transfer of control from workers to management
E)The development of time and motion studies.

Question 70

Many major trends affect operations.Disaster preparation and response falls under which major trend?

A)Technology
B)Globalization
C)Supply chains
D)Internet and ecommerce
E)Sustainability

Question 71

Which of the following responsibilities of operations managers is considered a directing activity rather than a planning or control activity?

A)selecting production equipment
B)product mix decisions
C)scheduling workers
D)inventory management
E)layout of production facilities

Question 72

Which of the following is not a characteristic of models used to support decision making?

A)They provide a simplified representation of a design problem.
B)They ignore unimportant details,concentrating on the most important aspects of a situation.
C)They may be based on mathematical representations or graphical schematics.
D)They provide abstract representations of a design problem.
E)They are limited to representations of objective quantitative factors.

Question 73

Which is not a significant difference between manufacturing and service operations?

A)Cost per unit
B)Uniformity of output.
C)Labour content of jobs.
D)Amount of customer contact.
E)Measurement of productivity.

Question 74

Which of the following is not true about the systems approach?

A)It recognizes the importance of taking into account the impact on all parts of the system.
B)It emphasizes interrelationships among subsystems.
C)It concentrates on efficiency within subsystems.
D)It becomes essential whenever something is being redesigned or improved.
E)The objectives of the whole take precedence over those of any one part.

Question 75

Which of the following is not a major trend influencing the strategies of manufacturing organizations?

A)Globalization
B)The Internet and e-commerce
C)Introduction of mass production
D)Supply chain management
E)Technological advances

Question 76

Operating at minimum cost and time is referred to as ___________.

A)Value added
B)Efficiency
C)Effectiveness
D)Trade-offs
E)Economies of scale

Question 77

Which of the following is not a general approach to decision-making?

A)Establishing priorities
B)Subjective approach
C)Analysis of trade-offs
D)Systems approach
E)Quantitative approaches

Question 78

The responsibilities of operations managers classified as controlling activities are:

A)inventory,production pace,quality,and costs.
B)organizing departments,subcontracting,supplier contracts,and staffing.
C)forecasting,planning,organizing,and directing.
D)scheduling,job assignments,purchasing,and logistics.
E)capacity,location,layout,and mix of products.

Question 79

The service industry in Canada has been growing.According to Statistics Canada,what percent of jobs are in services?

A)More than 29%
B)More than 48%
C)More than 58%
D)More than 79%
E)More than 84%

Question 80

The fact that improvements in a few key areas of operations will have more impact than many improvements in less significant areas is referred to as the ___________.

A)forecasting approach
B)Pareto phenomenon
C)productivity challenge
D)analysis of trade-offs
E)ethical dilemma