Deck 1: Using Operations to Create Value

Question 1

Every process has a customer.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Quality is more easily measured in a service process than in a manufacturing process.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Which of these Great Moments in Operations and Supply Chain Management did not occur in the 20th century?

A)invention of the assembly line
B)publication of the Toyota Production Systems book
C)establishment of railroads
D)strategic planning for achieving product variety

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A process involves transforming inputs into outputs.

Question 5

The three main line functions of any business include Operations,Finance and Marketing.

Question 6

At the level of the firm,service providers offer just services and manufacturers offer just products.

Question 7

Contact with the customer is usually higher in a manufacturing process than in a service process.

Question 8

A nested process refers to a process within a process.

Question 9

Support functions in an organization include Accounting,Human Resources and Engineering.

Question 10

Operations management refers to the direction and control of inputs that transform processes into products and services.

Question 11

What are the three key functions of a firm and what is each responsible for?

Question 12

As a functional area of a business,Operations translates materials and services into outputs.

Question 13

The foundations of modern manufacturing and technological breakthroughs were inspired by the creation of the mechanical computer by:

A)Charles Babbage.
B)James Watt.
C)Eli Whitney.
D)Frederick Taylor.

Question 14

At the process level,it is much easier to distinguish whether the process is providing a service or manufacturing a product.

Question 15

The three mainline functions of any business are ________,________,and ________.

Question 16

Regardless of how departments like Accounting,Engineering,Finance,and Marketing function in an organization,they are all linked together through:

A)management.
B)processes.
C)customers.
D)stakeholders.

Question 17

Which of these statements about processes is NOT true?

A)A process can have its own set of objectives.
B)A process can involve work flow that cuts across departmental boundaries.
C)A process can require resources from several departments.
D)A process can exist without customers.

Question 18

At the level of the firm,service providers do no just offer services and manufacturers do not just offer products.

Question 19

Manufacturing processes tend to be capital intensive,while service processes tend to be more labor intensive.

Question 20

Operations management refers to the systematic design,direction,and control of ________ that transform ________ into products and services.

Question 21

Manufacturing processes usually have:

A)physical,durable output.
B)high levels of customer contact.
C)output that cannot be inventoried.
D)low levels of capital intensity.

Question 22

Which of the following is an example of a nested process?

A)At the start of the new semester,a student first pays tuition and then goes to the bookstore.
B)A customer service representative verifies a caller's account information.
C)A candidate's intent to graduate is checked for financial holds by the Bursar and for degree requirements by Advising before the diploma mill prints their sheepskin.
D)A stockbroker calls a client and advises her to sell silver short.

Question 23

Budgeting,recruiting,and scheduling are examples of a(n):

A)development.
B)core process.
C)support process.
D)system.

Question 24

The process that facilitates the placement of orders and identifies,attracts,and builds relationships with external customers is called the:

A)customer relationship process.
B)new service development process.
C)order fulfillment process.
D)supplier relationship process.

Question 25

Table 1.1
You are the Production Manager for the toy manufacturing process at the ABC Company.
Use the information provided in Table 1.1.An example of an internal customer is:

A)the lumber company.
B)the Receiving Department at ABC.
C)the Shipping Department at ABC.
D)the toy store at the mall.

Question 26

A set of activities that delivers value to external customers is a:

A)supply chain.
B)core process.
C)support process.
D)system.

Question 27

A(n)________ is any activity or group of activities that takes one or more inputs,transforms and adds value to them,and provides one or more outputs for its customers.

Question 28

Table 1.1
You are the Production Manager for the toy manufacturing process at the ABC Company.
Use the information provided in Table 1.1.An example of an external supplier is:

A)the lumber company.
B)the Receiving Department at ABC.
C)the Shipping Department at ABC.
D)the toy store at the mall.

Question 29

Table 1.1
You are the Production Manager for the toy manufacturing process at the ABC Company.
Use the information provided in Table 1.1.An example of an external customer is:

A)the lumber company.
B)the Receiving Department at ABC.
C)the Shipping Department at ABC.
D)the toy store at the mall.

Question 30

One distinction between core processes and support processes is that core process can cut across the organization while support processes do not.

Question 31

Table 1.1
You are the Production Manager for the toy manufacturing process at the ABC Company.
Use the information provided in Table 1.1.An example of an internal supplier is:

A)the lumber company.
B)the Receiving Department at ABC.
C)the Shipping Department at ABC.
D)the toy store at the mall.

Question 32

The supplier relationship process selects the suppliers of services,materials and information,while the order fulfillment process facilitates the timely and efficient flow of these items into the firm.

Question 33

Which one of the following statements is more of a general characteristic of a service organization,as compared to a manufacturing organization?

A)Output can be inventoried.
B)The response time is longer.
C)There is less customer contact.
D)The facilities tend to be smaller.

Question 34

The process that includes the activities required to produce and deliver the service or product to the external customer is called the:

A)customer relationship process.
B)new service development process.
C)order fulfillment process.
D)supplier relationship process.

Question 35

A core process is a set of activities that delivers value to external customers.

Question 36

List and briefly describe five differences between services and manufacturing.Provide examples to illustrate your arguments.

Question 37

Operations management is part of a production system that can be described in the following manner: Organization: inputs→processes→outputs.
Which one of the following correctly describes a production system?

A)airline: pilots→planes→transportation
B)bank: tellers→computer equipment→deposits
C)furniture manufacturer: wood→sanding→chair
D)telephone company: satellites→cables→communication

Question 38

Which of the following statements is more of a general characteristic of a manufacturing organization,as compared to a service organization?

A)Short-term demand tends to be highly variable.
B)Operations are more capital intensive.
C)Outputs are more intangible.
D)Quality is more difficult to measure.

Question 39

Service processes usually have:

A)physical,durable output.
B)low levels of customer contact.
C)output that can be inventoried.
D)low levels of capital intensity.

Question 40

Identify a large employer in your hometown.Describe this organization's inputs,processes,and outputs.

Question 41

In response to social and political moves to discourage cigarette smoking,major cigarette manufacturers have had to diversify into other products.Identifying the pressures against smoking is an example of:

A)environmental scanning.
B)market segmentation.
C)flow strategy.
D)mission statement development.

Question 42

The first three cars I bought all fell apart around 50,000 miles.It was called planned obsolescence and no one seemed to care until companies entered the market that promised 70,000,then 80,000,and finally 100,000 warranties.What sets a great car apart from a good one now is not the quality,which is assumed,but performance,safety and fuel economy.A car that can achieve all three is highly sought after.In the automotive market,performance,safety and fuel economy are sterling examples of:

A)order winners.
B)a needs assessment.
C)order qualifiers.
D)a mission statement.

Question 43

Admission to the prestigious school had become so competitive that a high GPA is no longer enough to separate one fresh-faced high school student from another.Today's outstanding candidate must also demonstrate their involvement in a myriad of extracurricular activities in order to be admitted.It seems that good grades are now:

A)a needs assessment.
B)order qualifiers.
C)order winners.
D)a mission statement.

Question 44

Core competencies are:

A)product or service attributes that represent the needs of a particular market segment.
B)another name for competitive priorities.
C)various flow strategies.
D)the unique resources and strengths that management considers when formulating strategy.

Question 45

A firm once made purchasing decisions based on which supplier had the lowest cost.But once cash flow was healthy,purchasing decisions were made based on the fastest delivery of goods and services by firms.In this case,delivery speed is clearly the order qualifier.

Question 46

The framework for carrying out all of an organization's functions is:

A)the competitive priority.
B)the corporate strategy.
C)the market analysis.
D)the organizational design.

Question 47

The cumulative work of the processes of a firm is a(n)________.

Question 48

One form of strategic alliance is the ________,in which two firms agree to cooperate to produce a product or service together.

Question 49

Which of these business processes typically lies within the realm of operations?

A)complaint handling
B)customer relationship
C)help desks
D)waste management

Question 50

A firm's core competencies should determine its core processes.

Question 51

________ provide vital resources and inputs to core processes.

Question 52

You are interested in buying a laptop computer.Your list of considerations include the computer's speed in processing data,its weight,screen size,and price.You consider a number of different models,and narrow your list based on speed and monitor screen size,then finally select a model to buy based on its weight and price.In this decision,weight and price are examples of:

A)order qualifiers.
B)a needs assessment.
C)order winners.
D)a mission statement.

Question 53

Price,quality,and the degree of customization are all examples of:

A)volume needs.
B)other needs.
C)product needs.
D)delivery system needs.

Question 54

Which of the following is an example of a core competency?

A)facilities
B)top quality
C)low-cost operations
D)on-time delivery

Question 55

The Gap,Inc.has targeted teenagers and young adults in need of casual clothes,and through its GapKids stores,the parents or guardians of infants through 12-year-olds.This is an example of:

A)market segmentation.
B)a collaborative effort between the company and its customers.
C)a needs assessment.
D)a mission statement.

Question 56

What are four core processes in a firm and how are they related?

Question 57

A company realizes that recent layoffs at its primary customers reflect potential falling demands for its customers' products,and hence for its own products.The company has engaged in:

A)flow strategy.
B)market segmentation.
C)mission statement redefinition.
D)environmental scanning.

Question 58

Competitive priorities are the means by which operations implements the firm's corporate strategies.

Question 59

Flexibility is a possible competitive priority.

Question 60

Firm A wants to enter a foreign market and has a skill that is difficult to duplicate.Firm B desires this skill,so Firm A works with Firm B in an arrangement known as a joint venture.

Question 61

A company's ability to quickly introduce a new service or product would be best described as:

A)volume flexibility.
B)variety.
C)consistent quality.
D)development speed.

Question 62

You are interested in buying a laptop computer.Your list of considerations include the computer's speed in processing data,its weight,screen size and price.You consider a number of different models,and narrow your list based on its speed and monitor screen size,then finally select a model to buy based on its weight and price.In this decision,speed and monitor screen size are examples of:

A)order winners.
B)a mission statement.
C)a needs assessment.
D)order qualifiers.

Question 63

Every sub-contractor knew that their quality had to be excellent to be considered for the project;it was their ability to deliver on time that would secure the lucrative contract.Quality was recognized as being an ________,but on-time delivery was the ________.

Question 64

The increased global presence of many firms has lessened the burden to behave ethically.

Question 65

Name the three competitive priorities for time and give an example of each.

Question 66

________ measures the frequency with which delivery-time promises are met.

Question 67

A firm gains competitive advantage by outperforming competitors in terms of competitive priorities,which fall into four major groups: ________,________,________,and ________.

Question 68

A popular haberdashery could take a customer's measurements in the afternoon and produce a dandy suit ready for customer pickup by next morning.Their competitive priority was:

A)variety.
B)top quality.
C)delivery speed.
D)on-time delivery.

Question 69

________ is the elapsed time between receiving a customer's order and filling it.

Question 70

Competitive priorities:

A)may change over time.
B)are the cost,quality,time and flexibility dimensions that a process or supply chain actually possesses and is able to deliver.
C)are used to distinguish between a service that is considered and one that is actually purchased.
D)are developed by a review of internal operations capabilities.

Question 71

For students not wanting a traditional major in marketing or accounting,for example,the college decided to create a general business major,which allowed any combination of the easiest business courses to comprise the program.The competitive priority achieved in this example is:

A)customization.
B)delivery speed.
C)consistent quality.
D)low-cost.

Question 72

While other suppliers bidding for the contract brought bids with lower per unit costs,Orchard wanted to take delivery based on the fact that the components they were using were machined to their exacting specifications 99.99999% of the time.Orchard's competitive priority was:

A)top quality.
B)consistent quality.
C)on-time delivery.
D)delivery speed.

Question 73

Name the two competitive priorities for quality and give an example of each.

Question 74

Using an airline example for competitive priorities,the process capability of handling service needs of all market segments and promotional programs would be best described by:

A)top quality.
B)variety.
C)consistent quality.
D)delivery speed.

Question 75

________ is the ability to accelerate or decelerate the rate of production quickly to handle large fluctuations in demand.

Question 76

Most products today are composites of global materials and services from throughout the world.

Question 77

Strategic plans are developed farther into the future than tactical plans.

Question 78

Explain what an operations strategy is and the importance of competitive priorities.Give an example from an organization (public or private,manufacturing or service).

Question 79

A company's ability to support varying rates of production is BEST described as:

A)volume flexibility.
B)variety.
C)consistent quality.
D)development speed.

Question 80

A business focusing on increasing the efficiency of its operations is more directly addressing:

A)volume flexibility.
B)variety.
C)consistent quality.
D)low-cost.