Question 1

Aggregate planning in manufacturing ties organizational strategic goals to a production plan.

Accepted Answer

Aggregate planning involves developing a high-level production plan that aligns with an organization's overall strategic goals and objectives. This plan takes into account factors such as demand forecasts, capacity constraints, and inventory levels to determine the optimal level of production for a given time period. By tying the production plan to strategic goals, manufacturers can ensure that they are effectively utilizing their resources to meet customer needs while also achieving long-term business objectives.

Question 2

The use of part-time workers as an aggregate planning option may be less costly than using full-time workers, but may also reduce quality levels.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Part-time workers may be less costly than full-time workers, but they may have less experience or training, leading to a potential decrease in quality levels.

Question 3

Because service firms do not inventory their output, pure chase strategy is not appropriate.

Accepted Answer

Service firms can use a pure chase strategy by adjusting their workforce size or work hours to match demand, even though they don't inventory physical products. This strategy involves aligning service capacity closely with customer demand.

Question 4

In aggregate planning, one of the adjustable elements of capacity is the extent of subcontracting.

Accepted Answer

Subcontracting is a viable option for businesses to adjust their capacity levels during the aggregate planning phase. With subcontracting, a business works with another company to produce some or all of its products, thus increasing its overall production capacity without necessarily increasing its fixed costs. As such, subcontracting is an adjustable element of capacity during aggregate planning.

Question 5

One motive for using demand-influencing aggregate planning options is to create uses for excess capacity within an organization.

Accepted Answer

Demand-influencing aggregate planning options involve strategies to stimulate demand or shift demand to periods of excess capacity within an organization. This helps to maximize the utilization of available resources and minimize costs associated with underutilized capacity. Therefore, one motive for using these options is indeed to create uses for excess capacity.

Question 6

One of the four things needed for aggregate planning is a logical overall unit for measuring sales and output.

Accepted Answer

A logical overall unit for measuring sales and output is necessary for developing an aggregate plan. This unit can be in the form of physical units (such as number of products) or in monetary terms (such as revenue). It allows for forecasting and planning of demand, production, and inventory levels.

Question 7

Mixed strategies in aggregate planning utilize inventory, work force, and production rate changes over the planning horizon.

Accepted Answer

Mixed strategies in aggregate planning involve using a combination of inventory holding, workforce adjustments, and production rate changes to meet demand over the planning horizon. This allows for flexibility in responding to changing market conditions and demand patterns.

Question 8

Plans for new product development generally fall within the scope of aggregate planning.

Accepted Answer

Aggregate planning focuses on mid-term strategic decisions related to overall output, inventory levels, and workforce size, rather than specific details about new product development.

Question 9

The aggregate planning process usually includes expediting and dispatching of individual products.

Accepted Answer

The aggregate planning process involves determining overall production levels, workforce size, and inventory levels for a period of time. Expediting and dispatching of individual products are activities that occur during production scheduling, which is a separate process from aggregate planning.

Question 10

One of the demand options of aggregate planning is to vary the workforce by hiring or layoffs.

Accepted Answer

The answer of One of the demand options of aggregate...

Question 11

Advertising and promotion are methods of manipulating product or service supply in aggregate planning.

Accepted Answer

Advertising and promotion are methods of influencing demand, not manipulating supply, in aggregate planning. They aim to increase consumer awareness and interest, thereby potentially increasing sales.

Question 12

Graphical techniques are easy to understand and use, but are not well-suited for generating optimal strategies.

Accepted Answer

Graphical techniques are useful for providing insights and understanding patterns in data, but may not be able to provide the best solution for complex problems. Optimal strategies often require more advanced analytical methods.

Question 13

In aggregate planning, the amount of overtime and the size of the work force are both adjustable elements of capacity.

Accepted Answer

Both overtime and work force size can be adjusted in aggregate planning in order to increase or decrease capacity as needed.

Question 14

Finding an ideal mixed strategy is complicated by the huge number of possible strategies.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true because there are many possible strategies that can be used in a mixed strategy game, which can make it difficult to determine the best strategy for a player.

Question 15

The strategies of aggregate planning are broadly divided into demand options and capacity options.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Aggregate planning strategies involve either manipulating demand (demand options) or adjusting capacity (capacity options) to achieve a balance between production and customer demand.

Question 16

Disaggregation is the process of breaking the aggregate plan into greater detail; one example of this detail is the Master Production Schedule.

Accepted Answer

Disaggregation involves breaking down the aggregate plan into more specific plans, such as the Master Production Schedule.

Question 17

The level scheduling strategy allows lower inventories than the pure chase strategy.

Accepted Answer

The level scheduling strategy maintains a constant output rate while varying inventory levels to meet demand, whereas the pure chase strategy adjusts production to match demand exactly, typically resulting in lower inventories since it aims to produce only what is needed.

Question 18

Aggregate planning occurs over the medium or intermediate future of 3 to 18 months.

Accepted Answer

Aggregate planning is a process that takes place over the medium term, typically covering a period of 3 to 18 months. It involves determining the overall production levels, labor and resource requirements, and inventory levels needed to meet anticipated demand in a cost-effective manner.

Question 19

One question that operations managers must ask when generating an aggregate plan is what factors are likely to influence demand and by how much.

Accepted Answer

This is a true statement. One of the key steps in generating an aggregate plan is to analyze past demand patterns and identify factors that are likely to influence future demand. The operations manager must then estimate the expected impact of these factors on demand in order to develop an effective plan for allocating resources and meeting customer demand.

Question 20

The only objective of aggregate planning is to minimize the cost of matching capacity to demand over the planning period.

Accepted Answer

While cost minimization is certainly a key objective of aggregate planning, it is not the only one. Other important objectives may include meeting customer demand, maintaining desired levels of inventory, and maximizing resource utilization.

Quiz 16: Aggregate Planning