Question 1

For converting inputs into outputs, _____ is responsible for creating, assembling, or providing a good or service.
A)materials management
B)production
C)customer service
D)marketing
E)sales

Accepted Answer

The production function is responsible for creating, assembling, or providing a good or service-for transforming inputs into outputs.

Question 2

An organization's audit revealed that its customer support system is the least effective department.The customer support system is a major source of the organization's _____ defects.
A)product
B)manufacturing
C)service
D)distribution
E)supply

Accepted Answer

A major source of product defects is the production system; a major source of service defects is poor customer service procedures.TQM preaches the need for managers to identify defects in the work process, trace those defects back to their source, find out why they occurred, and make corrections so they do not occur again.

Question 3

An organization that increases its quality can improve its profits by _____ the prices of its products due to increased reliability and _____ its operating costs due to increased productivity.
A)decreasing; reducing
B)reducing; increasing
C)increasing; increasing
D)increasing; reducing
E)discounting; increasing

Accepted Answer

An organization that increases its quality can improve its profits by increasing the prices of its products due to increased reliability and reducing its operating costs due to increased productivity.

Question 4

Attaining _____ includes all the other methods of achieving competitive advantage.
A)superior efficiency
B)superior quality
C)superior innovation
D)superior responsiveness to customers
E)superior speed and flexibility

Accepted Answer

Achieving superior quality, efficiency, and innovation is part of attaining superior responsiveness to customers.Customers want value for their money, and managers who develop functional strategies that result in a value chain capable of creating innovative, high-quality, low-cost products best deliver this value to customers.

Question 5

_____ is a management technique that focuses on improving attributes of an organization's products such as superior design, features, reliability, and after-sales support.
A)Effective client management (ECM)
B)Organizational efficiency management (OEM)
C)Total quality management (TQM)
D)Product manufacture management (PMM)
E)Customer relationship management (CRM)

Accepted Answer

Total quality management (TQM) is a management technique that focuses on improving attributes of an organization's products such as superior design, features, reliability, and after-sales support.

Question 6

According to TQM philosophy, the _____, not the _____ in quality control or engineering, define what quality is.
A)managers; customers
B)customers; managers
C)employees; managers
D)managers; employees
E)employees; customers

Accepted Answer

According to TQM philosophy, the customers, not managers in quality control or engineering, define what quality is.

Question 7

Managers try to develop functional strategies that allow the organization's value chain to deliver to customers
A)fewer product attributes at a lower price.
B)smaller products at a higher price.
C)more product attributes at a higher price.
D)the same product attributes at a lower price.
E)the same products at the same price.

Accepted Answer

Managers try to develop functional strategies that allow the organization's value chain to deliver to customers either more desired product attributes for the same price or the same product attributes for a lower price.

Question 8

A _____ is a plan of action to improve the ability of each of an organization's departments to perform its task-specific activities in ways that add value to an organization's goods and services.
A)corporate-level strategy
B)divisional-level strategy
C)functional-level strategy
D)business-level strategy
E)branch-level strategy

Accepted Answer

A functional-level strategy is a plan of action to improve the ability of each of an organization's functions to perform its task-specific activities in ways that add value to an organization's goods and services.

Question 9

________ management is the development of a set of functional-level strategies that support a company's business-level strategy and strengthen its competitive advantage.
A)Total quality
B)Human resource
C)Value chain
D)Materials
E)Marketing

Accepted Answer

Value chain management is the development of a set of functional-level strategies that support a company's business-level strategy and strengthen its competitive advantage.

Question 10

Red Fox Supplies solved customer problems and provided customer service to form an awareness of superior product value in the minds of its customers.This is an example of strong
A)production function.
B)sales function.
C)customer service function.
D)marketing function.
E)materials management function.

Accepted Answer

The customer service function can create a perception of superior value by solving customer problems and supporting customers after they have purchased the product.

Question 11

Which of the following is essential for good value chain management?
A)The materials management function should hold greater inventories in order to increase costs.
B)The marketing function should define business in terms of customer needs rather than the type of products.
C)The production function should locate customers and persuade them to buy the company's products.
D)The sales function should control the movement of physical materials from the procurement of inputs to delivery to the customer.
E)The customer service function should focus on offering high-quality products at higher prices.

Accepted Answer

The marketing function plays an important part in the value chain, and good value chain management requires that marketing managers focus on defining their company's business in terms of the customer needs it is satisfying and not by the type of products it makes.

Question 12

_____ is a technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with the purchasers or buyers of an organization's product to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time.
A)Effective reliability management (ERM)
B)Organizational efficiency management (OEM)
C)Total quality management (TQM)
D)Continuous innovation management (CIM)
E)Customer relationship management (CRM)

Accepted Answer

Customer relationship management is a technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with customers to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time.

Question 13

Which of the following is a potential outcome when organizations offer a very high level of responsiveness to customers?
A)Quality of products will become low.
B)Customer satisfaction will decrease.
C)Company costs will become too high.
D)Customer relationship will not improve.
E)Production costs will decrease.

Accepted Answer

Offering a high level of responsiveness to customers can result in costs becoming too high-something that threatens an organization's future performance and survival.

Question 14

Which of the following is true about the impact of high-quality products?
A)High product quality results in high operating costs.
B)High product quality results in high employee productivity.
C)High product quality lowers efficiency.
D)High product quality reduces profits.
E)High product quality lowers customer retention.

Accepted Answer

Higher product quality means less employee time is wasted in making defective products that must be discarded or in providing substandard services, and thus less time has to be spent fixing mistakes.This translates into higher employee productivity, which also means lower costs.

Question 15

The implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) is a method of
A)managing inventory.
B)changing the organizational structure.
C)getting close to customers and understanding their needs.
D)improving an organization's product development plan.
E)rearranging the facility layout.

Accepted Answer

One functional strategy managers can use to get close to customers and understand their needs is customer relationship management (CRM).

Question 16

Which of the following is not a product attribute or quality that most customers prefer?
A)high-quality products
B)products with valuable features
C)customized products
D)quick after-sales service
E)products with few features

Accepted Answer

Some general product attributes or qualities that most customers prefer: a lower price to a higher price; high-quality products to low-quality products; quick and good after-sales service to slow and poor after-sales service; products with many useful or valuable features to products with few features; products that are, as far as possible, customized or tailored to their unique needs.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about total quality management?
A)Output goals and targets should include only numbers.
B)The number of steps to assemble a product should be increased.
C)Managers should ask employees for suggestions about improvements.
D)Incentives such as bonus pay and promotional opportunities should be eliminated.
E)A just-in-case inventory system should be introduced.

Accepted Answer

Employees are a major source of information about the causes of poor quality, so it is important that managers establish a system for soliciting employee suggestions about improvements that can be made.

Question 18

Which of the following functions should a company use to help increase customer perceptions of the utility of a company's product through brand positioning and advertising?
A)design
B)materials management
C)production
D)marketing
E)customer service

Accepted Answer

Marketing can help create value through brand positioning and advertising that increase customer perceptions of the utility of a company's product.

Question 19

A(n) _____ is a series of functional activities needed to transform inputs into finished goods or services.
A)operating system
B)marketing function
C)organizational hierarchy
D)value chain
E)customer relationship management system

Accepted Answer

A company's value chain is the coordinated series or sequence of functional activities necessary to transform inputs such as new product concepts, raw materials, component parts, or professional skills into the finished goods or services customers value and want to buy.

Question 20

The _____ function plays a crucial role in an organization's value chain by locating customers and then informing and persuading them to buy the company's products.
A)production
B)materials management
C)customer service
D)marketing
E)sales

Accepted Answer

The sales function plays a crucial role in an organization's value chain by locating customers and then informing and persuading them to buy the company's products.

Quiz 9: Value Chain Management: Functional Strategies for Competitive Advantage

For converting inputs into outputs, _____ is responsible for creating, assembling, or providing a good or service.

An organization's audit revealed that its customer support system is the least effective department.The customer support system is a major source of the organization's _____ defects.

An organization that increases its quality can improve its profits by _ the prices of its products due to increased reliability and _ its operating costs due to increased productivity.

Attaining _____ includes all the other methods of achieving competitive advantage.

_____ is a management technique that focuses on improving attributes of an organization's products such as superior design, features, reliability, and after-sales support.

According to TQM philosophy, the _, not the _ in quality control or engineering, define what quality is.

Managers try to develop functional strategies that allow the organization's value chain to deliver to customers

A _____ is a plan of action to improve the ability of each of an organization's departments to perform its task-specific activities in ways that add value to an organization's goods and services.

________ management is the development of a set of functional-level strategies that support a company's business-level strategy and strengthen its competitive advantage.

Red Fox Supplies solved customer problems and provided customer service to form an awareness of superior product value in the minds of its customers.This is an example of strong

Which of the following is essential for good value chain management?

_____ is a technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with the purchasers or buyers of an organization's product to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time.

Which of the following is a potential outcome when organizations offer a very high level of responsiveness to customers?

Which of the following is true about the impact of high-quality products?

The implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) is a method of

Which of the following is not a product attribute or quality that most customers prefer?

Which of the following is true about total quality management?

Which of the following functions should a company use to help increase customer perceptions of the utility of a company's product through brand positioning and advertising?

A(n) _____ is a series of functional activities needed to transform inputs into finished goods or services.

The _____ function plays a crucial role in an organization's value chain by locating customers and then informing and persuading them to buy the company's products.