Exam 11: Managing Operations

Felcher & Sons Goes Global Upon graduating from university, Steve Bergman began his career as a management trainee at Felcher & Sons Ltd, a manufacturer of mid-priced office furniture.The firm has recently decided to expand overseas with manufacturing plants in Singapore and Thailand and sales offices in the Far East, Europe and the United States.In conjunction with this investment in new plants and technologies, the firm plans to develop an online presence that will enable customers to individually tailor the products they order from Felcher & Sons.Terry Tate, VP of Operations for Felcher & Sons, has been tasked with overseeing the development of these plants and new capabilities.Mr Tate has asked that Steve be assigned to him to help him in this process. -Refer to Felcher & Sons Goes Global (Scenario).Mr Tate and Steve attend a seminar put on by a Big 5 consulting firm with vast experience with ISO 9000 and an excellent reputation in implementing various quality-based initiatives.The speaker, John Dillon, begins by asking a question: 'When you consider a product or service to have quality, what does that mean?' Quality is the ability of a product or service to ________.

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of supply chain management?

Which of the following is NOT one of the three main human resource requirements for value chain management?

According to the textbook, in Australia in the automotive market productivity per employee for PMVs (personal motor vehicles)improved from around ________ per employee in 1991 to something over ________ per employee in 2003.

Felcher & Sons Goes Global Upon graduating from university, Steve Bergman began his career as a management trainee at Felcher & Sons Ltd, a manufacturer of mid-priced office furniture.The firm has recently decided to expand overseas with manufacturing plants in Singapore and Thailand and sales offices in the Far East, Europe and the United States.In conjunction with this investment in new plants and technologies, the firm plans to develop an online presence that will enable customers to individually tailor the products they order from Felcher & Sons.Terry Tate, VP of Operations for Felcher & Sons, has been tasked with overseeing the development of these plants and new capabilities.Mr Tate has asked that Steve be assigned to him to help him in this process. -Refer to Felcher & Sons Goes Global (Scenario).After the presentation, Mr Tate approaches John Dillon and asks him about his company's experience with quality improvement efforts in overseas operations.Mr Dillon tells Mr Tate about the experience of one of his customers, Delphi Automotive Systems Corporation.Mr Dillon just returned from visiting their plant in Matamoros, Mexico, where Delphi had implemented a quality initiative.The Delphi plant was able to reduce their customer reject rate by almost ________.

In a short essay, define 'operations management' and discuss the importance of this management process.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the textbook as a cultural attitude that supports the successful implementation of value chain management?

All of the following are mentioned in the textbook as main requirements for successful value chain management EXCEPT ________.

Which of the following is NOT a service quality dimension?

All of the following are mentioned in the textbook as conclusions about how organisational process must change EXCEPT ________.

Value Chain Management Sandy is the new strategic manager for Solutions Tech Ltd, a management consulting firm dedicated to assisting small businesses in the pursuit of success.He is currently in a meeting with Rob, who is the owner of a successful small business that creates computer displays for major Australian and multinational companies.Sandy is reviewing the business strategy at Rob's business and has some recommendations. -Refer to Value Chain Management (Scenario).Sandy also tells Rob that there is a difference between a value chain and a supply chain.A value chain is ________ orientated whereas a supply chain is ________ orientated.

Value Chain Management Sandy is the new strategic manager for Solutions Tech Ltd, a management consulting firm dedicated to assisting small businesses in the pursuit of success.He is currently in a meeting with Rob, who is the owner of a successful small business that creates computer displays for major Australian and multinational companies.Sandy is reviewing the business strategy at Rob's business and has some recommendations. -Refer to Value Chain Management (Scenario).At the conclusion of the meeting, Sandy wanted to convince Rob that the value chain was very important and practical.Sandy briefly reviewed the results of a survey of manufacturers that had embarked on value chain management.Sharing the results of the survey with Rob, Sandy indicated that as well as improved logistics and improved product development, ________ was a benefit that companies reported on this survey.

Which of the following companies popularised the use of stringent quality standards more than 30 years ago through a trademarked quality-improvement program called 'Six Sigma'?

According to the textbook, value chain management radically changes ________.

In its entirety, the value chain can encompass the supplier's suppliers to the customer's customers.

'Operations management' refers to the design, operation and control of the transformation process that utilises labour and machines to produce outputs.

Where did the modern era of manufacturing begin?

According to the textbook, ________ management is internally oriented and focuses on efficient flow of incoming materials to organisations.

According to the textbook, it is estimated that in Australia approximately ________ of all economic activity are in service industries.

The product quality dimension described as 'meeting operating specifications over some period of time' is called 'flexibility'.