Question 1

Wide product variety makes it difficult for a company to increase its production efficiency and reduce its unit costs.According to this logic,the way to increase efficiency and drive down unit costs is to:

Accepted Answer

Producing greater product variety from a factory implies shorter production runs,which in turn implies an inability to realize economies of scale.That is,wide product variety makes it difficult for a company to increase its production efficiency and thus reduce its unit costs.According to this logic,the way to increase efficiency and drive down unit costs is to limit product variety and produce a standardized product in large volumes.

Question 2

In response to the problems with mass production,Toyota's engineer Ohno Taiichi looked for ways to make shorter production runs economical.Which of the following is a result of the techniques he used?

Accepted Answer

Small production runs eliminated the need to hold large inventories,thereby reducing warehousing costs.Small product runs and the lack of inventory meant that defective parts were produced only in small numbers and entered the assembly process immediately.This reduced waste and helped trace defects back to their source to fix the problem.

Question 3

What is a grouping of various types of machinery,a common materials handler,and a centralized cell controller called?

Accepted Answer

A flexible machine cell is a grouping of various types of machinery,a common materials handler,and a centralized cell controller (computer).

Question 4

Why does a product's value-to-weight ratio affect location decisions?

Accepted Answer

A product's value-to-weight ratio is a product factor in location decisions because of its influence on transportation costs.Transportation costs account for a very small percentage of total costs for products with high value-to-weight ratios as they are expensive and do not weigh very much.These can be produced at an optimal location and shipped across the world.However,there is great pressure to make products with low value-to-weight ratios in multiple locations close to the major markets to reduce transportation costs.

Question 5

Which of the following is a major efficiency benefit of flexible machine cells?

Accepted Answer

Improved capacity utilization and reductions in work in progress and in waste are major efficiency benefits of flexible machine cells.

Question 6

The larger the minimum efficient scale of a plant relative to total global demand,the greater is the argument for:

Accepted Answer

The larger the minimum efficient scale of a plant relative to total global demand,the greater the argument for centralizing production in a single location or a limited number of locations.

Question 7

For products that have a high value-to-weight ratio,there is great pressure to produce these products in:

Accepted Answer

Many products have high value-to-weight ratios;they are expensive and they do not weigh very much.Thus,even if they are shipped halfway around the world,their transportation costs account for a very small percentage of total costs.Given this,other things being equal,there is great pressure to produce these products in the optimal location and to serve the world market from there.

Question 8

Improved capacity utilization arises from the reduction in setup times and from the computer-controlled coordination of production flow between machines,which:

Accepted Answer

Improved capacity utilization arises from the reduction in setup times and from the computer-controlled coordination of production flow between machines,which eliminates bottlenecks.

Question 9

Flexible manufacturing technologies allow firms to manufacture products customized to various national markets at _____,without absorbing significant cost penalties.

Accepted Answer

When flexible manufacturing technologies are available,a firm can manufacture products customized to various national markets at a single factory sited at the optimal location.It can do this without absorbing a significant cost penalty.Thus,firms no longer need to establish manufacturing facilities in each major national market to provide products that satisfy specific consumer tastes and preferences,part of the rationale for a localization strategy.

Question 10

Two product factors impact location decisions.They are the product's value-to-weight ratio and:

Accepted Answer

Two product features affect location decisions.The first is the product's value-to-weight ratio because of its influence on transportation costs.The other product feature that can influence location decisions is whether the product serves universal needs,needs that are the same all over the world.

Question 11

Central to the concept of _____ is the idea that the best way to achieve high efficiency,and hence low unit costs,is through the mass production of a standardized output.

Accepted Answer

Central to the concept of economies of scale is the idea that the best way to achieve high efficiency,and hence low unit costs,is through the mass production of a standardized output.

Question 12

Toyota's engineer,Ohno Taiichi,saw numerous problems with Toyota's mass production philosophy for making cars.Which of the following is one of the problems?

Accepted Answer

First,long production runs created massive inventories that had to be stored in large warehouses.This was expensive,both because of the cost of warehousing and because inventories tied up capital in unproductive uses.Second,if the initial machine settings were wrong,long production runs resulted in the production of a large number of defects.Third,the mass production system was unable to accommodate consumer preferences for product diversity.

Question 13

Flexible manufacturing technologies enable companies to:

Accepted Answer

Flexible manufacturing technologies enable companies to customize products to the demands of small consumer groups-at a cost that at one time could be achieved only by mass-producing a standardized output.Most important for international business,flexible manufacturing technologies can help a firm to customize products for different national markets.

Question 14

Technological factors are making it feasible,and necessary,for firms to concentrate manufacturing facilities at optimal locations.However,_____ and _____ are major brakes on this trend.

Accepted Answer

Technological factors are making it feasible,and necessary,for firms to concentrate manufacturing facilities at optimal locations.Trade barriers and transportation costs are major brakes on this trend.

Question 15

Wide product variety makes it difficult for a company to increase its production efficiency and to:

Accepted Answer

Producing greater product variety from a factory implies shorter production runs,which in turn implies an inability to realize economies of scale.That is,wide product variety makes it difficult for a company to increase its production efficiency and thus reduce its unit costs.

Question 16

The level of output at which most plant-level scale economies are exhausted is referred to as the ______________ of output.

Accepted Answer

The level of output at which most plant-level scale economies are exhausted is referred to as the minimum efficient scale of output.

Question 17

The term flexible manufacturing technology or _____,as it is often called-covers a range of manufacturing technologies designed to reduce setup times,increase use of individual machines through better scheduling,and improve quality control at all stages of manufacturing.

Accepted Answer

The term flexible manufacturing technology -or lean production,as it is often called-covers a range of manufacturing technologies designed to (1)reduce setup times for complex equipment, (2)increase the utilization of individual machines through better scheduling,and (3)improve quality control at all stages of the manufacturing process.

Question 18

_____,or reductions in unit costs as plant output expands,are achieved because of greater utilization of capital equipment and the productivity gains that come with specialization of employees within the plant.

Accepted Answer

The concept of economies of scale tells us that as plant output expands,unit costs decrease.The reasons include the greater utilization of capital equipment and the productivity gains that come with specialization of employees within the plant.

Question 19

The term _____ refers to the ability of companies to use flexible manufacturing technology to reconcile two goals that were once thought to be incompatible-low cost and product customization.

Accepted Answer

The term mass customization has been coined to describe the ability of companies to use flexible manufacturing technology to reconcile two goals that were once thought to be incompatible-low cost and product customization.

Question 20

Which of the following is an objective of flexible manufacturing technology?

Accepted Answer