Deck 14: Controlling Productivity Quality and Safety

Question 1

Just-in-time inventory control minimizes holding and storage costs.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Unions do not play a significant role in influencing the productivity of an organization.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Productivity is a measure that compares inputs to outputs and tells how efficiently a system is performing.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Another name for productivity is efficiency.

Question 5

Supervisors play key roles in cost control, in that they can control the firm's cost in labor hours and use of supplies.

Question 6

Productivity can be increased by decreasing input costs without decreasing total output.

Question 7

Decreasing productivity leads to lower prices and greater profits.

Question 8

Government tax incentives encourage business investment in new technology that increases productivity.

Question 9

Total quality can be achieved through continuous improvement of the organization's products, services, and processes.

Question 10

Quality control involves measurements to assess how many products are being produced.

Question 11

CAM equipment can be reprogrammed to easily produce a product to different specifications.

Question 12

During the 1980s, the U.S. productivity rate increased dramatically.

Question 13

During the 1980s, conservative management contributed to lowered productivity.

Question 14

One approach to increasing productivity is to increase input costs while decreasing output value.

Question 15

Industrial robots are more widely used in the U.S. than in Japan.

Question 16

Productivity can be increased by increasing output without changing total costs.

Question 17

A country's productivity indicates how efficiently its human resources are utilized in producing goods and services.

Question 18

Since a budget reflects expected performance, it cannot be a basis for evaluating a department's actual performance.

Question 19

Increased productivity can result in higher prices and smaller market shares.

Question 20

Team performance is not affected by an employee's motivation.

Question 21

Service processes are never subject to variation.

Question 22

A pareto chart is also known as a fishbone diagram.

Question 23

Rates of occupational injury and illness rates are consistent across all types of industries.

Question 24

A histogram is a data presentation that shows the results the results of a process plotted over a period of time.

Question 25

The control chart is the backbone of statistical process control.

Question 26

A flowchart is a visual representation of the sequence of steps needed to complete a process.

Question 27

With the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the federal government stepped in to ensure uniformity and enforcement of health and safety in the workplace.

Question 28

Technical factors such as defective tools and poor mechanical construction account for most work-related injuries.

Question 29

The supervisor plays an important role in workplace safety as he or she is management's link with operating employees.

Question 30

During the 1980s productivity in the U.S.:

A) lagged behind Canada, but was higher than in other countries.
B) stagnated due to conservative management.
C) resulted in increased U.S. market dominance.
D) was the highest in the world.

Question 31

Pareto charts are problem analysis charts that use a histogram to graphically illustrate the sources of problems.

Question 32

A common cause variation is nonroutine and unexpected.

Question 33

Total quality is a narrower process than quality control.

Question 34

Top management plays little role in controlling safety.

Question 35

The size of an organization is not related to job safety statistics.

Question 36

OSHA has the right to develop safety standards, but cannot conduct inspections or issue citations.

Question 37

Lower level management lays the foundation for the achievement of high quality.

Question 38

Workers should be involved in achieving quality.

Question 39

Another name for productivity is:

A) dynamism.
B) histology.
C) effervescence.
D) efficiency.

Question 40

In the 1980s, one of the things that productivity stagnation could be traced to was:

A) conservative management.
B) competitive management.
C) autocratic management.
D) complacent management.

Question 41

Which of the following statements is true of productivity?

A) Increased productivity results in smaller market share for the company and lesser profits.
B) Increased productivity in the United States increases inflation.
C) Increased productivity allows a company to pay better wages and invest in newer technology.
D) Increased productivity does not necessarily improve standard of living

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT true of computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM)?

A) They assist automated equipment in performing the processes necessary for production.
B) They can be reprogrammed to permit machinery to easily produce a product or part to different specifications.
C) They are useful for mass production of standardized products but not customized products.
D) They require supervisors to possess the technical knowledge to supervise the operation of equipment.

Question 43

General, routine variations built into a system are called:

A) manufacturing variances.
B) special case variations.
C) common cause variations.
D) checked variations.

Question 44

____ refers to an organization's overall effort that strives to achieve customer satisfaction through continuous improvement of the organization's products, services, and processes.

A) Total quality
B) Quality control
C) Continuous quality improvement
D) Quality attainment

Question 45

Output divided by input is:

A) variance.
B) quality control.
C) productivity.
D) quality assurance.

Question 46

W. Edwards Deming was associated with all of the following ideas, EXCEPT :

A) the 85-15 rule.
B) noting that special cause variations can sometimes be addressed by individual workers.
C) stating that management rather than employees is to be blamed for most quality-related issues.
D) histogram representation.

Question 47

____ is the process in which defined measurements are used to check whether quality standards are being met.

A) Quality control
B) Total quality management
C) Quality assurance
D) Continuous quality improvement

Question 48

Visual representation of the sequence of steps needed to complete a process is a:

A) histogram.
B) run chart.
C) check sheet.
D) flowchart.

Question 49

Which of the following is not a factor that has influenced productivity in recent times?

A) Robotics
B) Unionism
C) Computer-assisted manufacturing
D) Just-in-time inventory

Question 50

During the 1980s, the lower average age of workers resulted in a(n) _____.

A) decrease in productivity
B) increase in motivation
C) decrease in inadequacy
D) increase in skill

Question 51

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways to increase productivity?

A) Increase output without changing total costs
B) Decrease total input costs without changing total output
C) Increase output and decrease input costs
D) Decrease total output and increase input costs

Question 52

A company produces 240,000 units and has a total cost of $60,000. Therefore, the productivity is:

A) 60 units per dollar.
B) 4 units per dollar.
C) 24 units per dollar.
D) 6 units per dollar.

Question 53

Which of the following statements holds true for robotics?

A) Tasks that require precision cannot be performed by industrial robots.
B) Cost of operating industrial robots is higher than cost of having human workers.
C) Robots are generally not used for repetitive, monotonous operations.
D) Robots are not useful for performing hazardous industrial tasks.

Question 54

Budgets:

A) reflect actual performance; not expected performance.
B) cannot be used to evaluate an entire department's performance.
C) tend to falsely signal areas that don't need attention as needing attention.
D) are affected by factors that are sometimes beyond the control of the employees.

Question 55

A ____ occurs intermittently and is associated with a specific event.

A) manufacturing variance
B) special case variance
C) common cause variance
D) checked variance

Question 56

The official productivity measure of the U.S. is based on:

A) labor output and input per hour.
B) quality output and labor output per hour.
C) volume of goods and services produced per worker.
D) volume of goods produced per year.

Question 57

A measure that compares inputs to outputs and tells how efficiently a system is performing is:

A) consumption.
B) productivity.
C) compensation.
D) total quality.

Question 58

Which of the following is NOT a group which influences American productivity?

A) Management
B) Government
C) Publishers
D) Unions

Question 59

Increasing productivity leads to:

A) higher prices.
B) improved standard of living.
C) lower wages.
D) smaller market shares.

Question 60

_____ is the most influential of the forces affecting productivity.

A) Government
B) Union
C) Individual worker
D) Management

Question 61

The Occupational Safety and Health Act:

A) was put into effect in 1961.
B) necessitated maintaining safety records of illnesses and injuries incurred on the job.
C) ended government inspection of industries.
D) did not provide the government with authority to issue penalties.

Question 62

What is the difference between total quality and quality control?

Question 63

Explain the importance of productivity to both an individual company and the United States.

Question 64

The _____ displays if a process is free from special cause variation.

A) histogram
B) control chart
C) fishbone diagram
D) run chart

Question 65

In effective employee involvement teams, _____.

A) projects should be related to participants' work
B) projects should be individual activities
C) managers at the top need not be committed to the concept
D) only supervisors should handle the decision-making activities

Question 66

_____ refer to factors that cause accidents because of unsafe or defective tools and improper personal protective equipment.

A) Human factors
B) Environmental factors
C) Technical factors
D) Industrial factors

Question 67

In terms of inputs and outputs, describe the three methods by which productivity can be improved.

Question 68

Discuss how productivity in the U.S. has changed from the 1980s to the present.

Question 69

In implementing the 5S practice, shine involves:

A) periodically reviewing and evaluating the team's performance.
B) establishing standard procedures for maintaining the work area.
C) arranging and organizing the work area.
D) thoroughly cleaning the work area.

Question 70

A cause and effect diagram is also called a:

A) Pareto chart.
B) control chart.
C) fishbone diagram.
D) check sheet.

Question 71

The system in which materials arrive as close as feasible to when they are needed in the production process is referred to as:

A) deming's 85-15 rule.
B) just-in-time inventory.
C) computer-assisted manufacturing.
D) total quality improvement.

Question 72

In an effort to improve productivity in the United States, three productivity improvement measures have been introduced in manufacturing firms. Briefly describe each measure.

Question 73

List the four groups influencing productivity in the United States.

Question 74

What is the supervisor's role in cost control?

Question 75

Supervisors should promote safety in all of the following ways, EXCEPT :

A) ignoring signs of fatigue as employees must be on the job to promote safety.
B) actively listening to employee complaints and suggestions concerning safety.
C) making regular safety inspections of all major equipment.
D) implementing a safety reward system.

Question 76

Graphical representation of the variation found in a set of performance data is known as a:

A) histogram.
B) cause-and-effect diagram.
C) Pareto chart.
D) control chart.

Question 77

The best place to make an impact regarding quality expectations is with the:

A) supervisor.
B) old employee.
C) new employee.
D) upper management.

Question 78

The supervisor's role in achieving quality is to:

A) let employees know that mediocre quality is acceptable.
B) exclude workers in achieving and controlling quality.
C) make sure projects are completed as individual activities.
D) provide feedback regarding recommendations and solutions.

Question 79

According to the 5S practice, _____ guides the supervisor to remove unneeded materials from the work area.

A) shine
B) sustain
C) sort
D) straighten

Question 80

A data presentation that shows the results of a process plotted over a period of time is a:

A) run chart.
B) histogram.
C) flow chart.
D) Pareto chart.