Question 1

One of the major benefits of technology has been its impact on sustainability.

Accepted Answer

Technology has enabled us to develop and adopt more sustainable practices in areas such as energy production, transportation, and waste management. It has also helped us monitor and mitigate the negative impact we have on the environment by providing us with tools to collect data, track progress, and develop solutions.

Question 2

Scalability is a phenomenon by which the same or an increased quality and quantity of goods and/or services are created using fewer natural resources.

Accepted Answer

Scalability refers to the ability of a system, network, or process to handle a growing amount of work, or its potential to be enlarged to accommodate that growth. It does not specifically relate to the use of fewer natural resources to create goods or services.

Question 3

Return facilitators specialize to getting reusable packaging/shipping material (containers, crates, and pallets) back to manufacturers.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Return facilitators specialize to getting reusable packaging/shipping...

Question 4

An intermediary specializes in handling all aspects of customers returning a manufactured good or invoking service guarantees.

Accepted Answer

The answer of An intermediary specializes in handling all aspects...

Question 5

Because of the Internet and e-commerce, all parts of the value chain can immediately know and react to changes in demand and supply. Thus, tight integration of the components of the value chain is no longer required.

Accepted Answer

The statement is false. While the Internet and e-commerce have allowed for increased communication and information sharing within the value chain, tight integration among components remains important for ensuring efficient and effective operations.

Question 6

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems aids in tracking sales trends and advertising effectiveness by customer and market segment.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. CRM systems are designed to help businesses track and manage interactions with customers, which includes tracking sales trends and advertising effectiveness by customer and market segment.

Question 7

FedEx is an example of a customer-to-customer value chain.

Accepted Answer

FedEx is a company that provides logistics and transportation services to businesses and individuals, making it an example of a business-to-customer value chain.

Question 8

The prominent vendors of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software are SAP and Oracle.

Accepted Answer

SAP and Oracle are both prominent vendors of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

Question 9

Enterprise resource planning systems are designed to build customer relationships and loyalty.

Accepted Answer

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are primarily designed to integrate and automate core business processes such as finance, HR, manufacturing, and supply chain management, rather than focusing directly on building customer relationships and loyalty, which is more the domain of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.

Question 10

Technology provides the capability of eliminating many of the traditional components of value chains.

Accepted Answer

Technology has enabled the elimination of traditional components of value chains such as intermediaries, wholesalers, and physical retail stores. This can lead to more efficient and cost-effective value chains.

Question 11

Which one of the following statements concerning the Bracket International-The RFID Decision case study is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

The case study states that bar coding took 10 seconds to scan per item, while RFID took zero seconds to scan per item. Therefore, option D is the correct statement. Option A is incorrect because the case study does not mention anything about Bracket International winning back the Wolf Furniture work using RFID systems. Option B is incorrect because even though misreads may be lower for RFID compared to bar coding, it is not zero. Option C is incorrect because the maturity phase is where a firm or technology is well established and has a stable market, not where a "fast follower" adopts technology.

Question 12

Which of the following statements regarding Bracket International (BI) case study is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

RFID technology is known for being significantly faster than bar coding, which aligns with the statement that RFID scan times are at least ten times faster than bar coding scan times.

Question 13

Information technology has been equally important to business to business, business to customer, and customer to customer interactions.

Accepted Answer

Information technology has played a crucial role in all these interactions and has significantly impacted the business world.

Question 14

High scalability is the capability to serve additional customers at high incremental variable costs.

Accepted Answer

High scalability refers to the capability to handle a growing amount of work or the potential to accommodate growth, typically with minimal incremental cost.

Question 15

A sociotechnical system integrates technology, people, and processes.

Accepted Answer

A sociotechnical system is a system that consists of a complex interaction between technology, people, and processes. It takes into consideration the interdependence between technical and social elements and how these elements affect one another. Therefore, the statement "A sociotechnical system integrates technology, people, and processes" is true.

Question 16

The acronym ICT stands for information and communication technology.

Accepted Answer

ICT stands for information and communication technology.

Question 17

E-communication changes the operation, speed, and efficiency of the value chain.

Accepted Answer

E-communication allows for faster and more efficient communication between different stages of the value chain, improving overall operation and efficiency.

Question 18

Information-intensive businesses have the potential to be infinitely scalable.

Accepted Answer

Information-intensive businesses, such as software companies or online platforms, can scale infinitely due to their digital nature. As they do not require physical production or distribution, they can expand their customer base and revenue without the same limitations as traditional businesses that require physical resources.

Question 19

Offshoring is a phenomenon by which the same or an increased quality and quantity of goods and/or services are created using fewer natural resources.

Accepted Answer

Offshoring refers to the relocation of business processes from one country to another, often to take advantage of lower labor costs. It does not necessarily mean a reduction in natural resources used or an increase in the quality and quantity of goods/services produced.

Question 20

Low scalability was one of the reasons for failure of many early Internet-based companies.

Accepted Answer

Low scalability, or the inability to handle increased user demand, caused many early Internet-based companies to fail as they were unable to cope with the sudden surge in traffic and usage. This led to system failures, slow response times, and overall poor user experience, ultimately leading to the downfall of these companies.

Quiz 5: Technology and Operations Management