Exam 16: Operations Management: Putting It All Together

The selection of the best type of process for a given type of production is influenced by the volume of production and the degree to which the output is standardized.

Immediate predecessors are activities in a project that are independent of any other project activities,and thus have no effect on when these other activities are performed.

The purpose of just-in-time production is to do which of the following?

One weakness of the Critical Path Method is that it doesn't provide a way to determine the sequence in which the activities involved in a project must be performed.

Which type of system,whereby the programmed design and the programmed manufacturing are combined with robots and other high-tech equipment,may be changed to accommodate a variety of designs and manufacturing specifications?

Paolo Brothers Inc.has been awarded a contract to build the new middle school for a local school district.Jim Paolo,a project manager for the company,has put together a list of activities necessary to complete the project,the time it will take to complete each activity,and each activity's immediate predecessors.This information could be used to construct which of the following?

MicroMaster advertises that its computers are backed by 24/7 toll-free technical support.However,in order to meet its goal of keeping costs as low as possible,MicroMaster located its support function in a foreign country and staffed it with a small number of poorly trained employees who had (to Canadian ears)heavy foreign accents.Thus,when customers call the support line,they often must wait on hold.Then they find themselves speaking to someone who often can't answer their questions even if the customer could understand what the tech support person was trying to say in the first place.Which of the following appears to be the case with MicroMaster?

Firms that have demands that fluctuate significantly depending on the season may temporarily hold large inventories in order to smooth out their production schedules.

Unlike manufactured goods which can be stored,services must be consumed when they are produced.

Computer-aided design (CAD)software provides powerful drawing and drafting tools that enable users to create and edit blueprints and design drawings quickly and easily.

Jackie,the local toy store manager,has over-ordered skateboards for the holiday season.What is most likely her reasoning for this tactic?

Automation replaces the direct human operation of machinery,but it has no impact on human control.

The Critical Path Method focuses on controlling inventory levels during the production process to ensure that enough parts and materials are available to support production.

Operations management is more concerned with efficiency than with effectiveness.

A project is usually inexpensive and involves the production of a standardized product in high volumes.

Some hospitals now use robots to allow doctors to make rounds when they are geographically distant from the hospital and unable to see the patient in person.

Ron and Dave are business partners in a small manufacturing firm that makes special types of containers for fragile products.Ron is mainly concerned with product development and works directly with customers to design high-quality containers that meet their specific needs.Dave is more concerned with finding ways to produce the company's products at the lowest possible cost.In this partnership,Ron is more concerned with effectiveness while Dave is more concerned with efficiency.

What is the best-known type of flow shop process,which efficiently uses specialized equipment to produce a large quantity of a specific good?

The bars on a Gantt chart indicate which of the following?

What type of software takes the electronic design for a product and creates the programmed instructions that robots must follow to produce a product as efficiently as possible?