Question 1

Traditional strategies of business organizations have tended to emphasize cost minimization or product differentiation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 2

Years ago in the overnight delivery business, providing package tracking capability gave some firms a competitive advantage.Now, all firms must offer this capability simply to be in this line of business.This is an example of ______________ becoming ____________ over time.

Accepted Answer

A) Tactical implications; strategic 
B) Strategic implications; tactical 
C) Order winners; order qualifiers 
D) Profitability factors; productivity factors 
E) Order qualifiers; order winners 
A) Tactical implications; strategic 
B) Strategic implications; tactical 
C) Order winners; order qualifiers 
D) Profitability factors; productivity factors 
E) Order qualifiers; order winners C

Question 3

Improving efficiency will guarantee a similar improvement in productivity.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 4

A characteristic that was once an order winner may become an order qualifier, and vice versa.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

The Balanced Scorecard is an attractive tool to use in the formation of strategy.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Which of the following is not a reason for poor performance of our organization in the marketplace?

Accepted Answer

A) placing too much emphasis on product/service design and too little on process design 
B) failing to take into account customer wants and needs 
C) putting too much emphasis on short-term financial performance 
D) taking advantage of strengths/opportunities, and recognizing competitive threats 
E) none of the above 
A) placing too much emphasis on product/service design and too little on process design 
B) failing to take into account customer wants and needs 
C) putting too much emphasis on short-term financial performance 
D) taking advantage of strengths/opportunities, and recognizing competitive threats 
E) none of the above

Question 7

Productivity is expressed as:

Accepted Answer

A) output plus input 
B) output minus input 
C) output times input 
D) output divided by input 
E) input divided by output 
A) output plus input 
B) output minus input 
C) output times input 
D) output divided by input 
E) input divided by output

Question 8

Environmental scanning is a search for events or trends that present either threats or opportunities to the organization.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

A firm pursuing a strategy based on customization and variety will tend to structure and manage its supply chain to accommodate more _____________ than a firm pursuing a strategy based on low-cost and high-volume.

Accepted Answer

A) Variation 
B) Streamlined flow 
C) Quality 
D) Capacity 
E) Productivity 
A) Variation 
B) Streamlined flow 
C) Quality 
D) Capacity 
E) Productivity

Question 10

If people would only work harder, productivity would increase.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Which of the following is considered to be a cause of poor U.S.global competitiveness?

Accepted Answer

A) the tendency to view labor as a cost factor to be minimized 
B) decision-making based on short-term horizons 
C) weaknesses in technological practice 
D) powerful trading partners 
E) all of the above 
A) the tendency to view labor as a cost factor to be minimized 
B) decision-making based on short-term horizons 
C) weaknesses in technological practice 
D) powerful trading partners 
E) all of the above

Question 12

Unique attributes of firms that give them a competitive edge are called ______________.

Accepted Answer

A) Functional strategies 
B) Balanced scorecards 
C) Supply chains 
D) Core competencies 
E) Sustainable initiatives 
A) Functional strategies 
B) Balanced scorecards 
C) Supply chains 
D) Core competencies 
E) Sustainable initiatives

Question 13

Services often don't fit simple yield measurements.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Tracking productivity measures over time enables managers to judge organizational performance and decide where improvements are needed.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Scheduling personnel is an example of an operations management:

Accepted Answer

A) mission implementation 
B) operational decision 
C) organizational strategy 
D) functional strategy 
E) tactical decision 
A) mission implementation 
B) operational decision 
C) organizational strategy 
D) functional strategy 
E) tactical decision

Question 16

A mission statement should provide a guide for the formulation of strategies for the organization.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

National productivity is determined by averaging the productivity measures of various companies or industries.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

The majority of our textbook deals with tactical operations that support established functional strategies.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

In an assembly operation at a furniture factory, six employees assembled an average of 450 standard dining chairs per 5-day week.What is the labor productivity of this operation?

Accepted Answer

A) 90 chairs/worker/day 
B) 20 chairs/worker/day 
C) 15 chairs/worker/day 
D) 75 chairs/worker/day 
E) none of the above 
A) 90 chairs/worker/day 
B) 20 chairs/worker/day 
C) 15 chairs/worker/day 
D) 75 chairs/worker/day 
E) none of the above

Question 20

Global competition really only applies to multi-national organizations.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 2: Competitiveness, Strategy, and Productivity

Traditional strategies of business organizations have tended to emphasize cost minimization or product differentiation.

Years ago in the overnight delivery business, providing package tracking capability gave some firms a competitive advantage.Now, all firms must offer this capability simply to be in this line of business.This is an example of ______________ becoming ____________ over time.

Improving efficiency will guarantee a similar improvement in productivity.

A characteristic that was once an order winner may become an order qualifier, and vice versa.

The Balanced Scorecard is an attractive tool to use in the formation of strategy.

Which of the following is not a reason for poor performance of our organization in the marketplace?

Productivity is expressed as:

Environmental scanning is a search for events or trends that present either threats or opportunities to the organization.

A firm pursuing a strategy based on customization and variety will tend to structure and manage its supply chain to accommodate more _____________ than a firm pursuing a strategy based on low-cost and high-volume.

If people would only work harder, productivity would increase.

Which of the following is considered to be a cause of poor U.S.global competitiveness?

Unique attributes of firms that give them a competitive edge are called ______________.

Services often don't fit simple yield measurements.

Tracking productivity measures over time enables managers to judge organizational performance and decide where improvements are needed.

Scheduling personnel is an example of an operations management:

A mission statement should provide a guide for the formulation of strategies for the organization.

National productivity is determined by averaging the productivity measures of various companies or industries.

The majority of our textbook deals with tactical operations that support established functional strategies.

In an assembly operation at a furniture factory, six employees assembled an average of 450 standard dining chairs per 5-day week.What is the labor productivity of this operation?

Global competition really only applies to multi-national organizations.

Introduction to Operations Management

Forecasting

Product and Service Design

Strategic Capacity Planning for Products and Services

Process Selection and Facility Layout

Work Design and Measurement

Location Planning and Analysis

Management of Quality

Quality Control

Aggregate Planning and Master Scheduling

MRP and ERP

Inventory Management

Jit and Lean Operations

Supply Chain Management

Scheduling

Project Management

Management of Waiting Lines

Linear Programming

Extension 4: Reliability

Extension 5: Decision Theory

Extension 7: Learning Curves

Extension 8: The Transportation Model

Extension 10: Acceptance Sampling

Extension 14: Maintenance

Filters

Years ago in the overnight delivery business, providing package tracking capability gave some firms a competitive advantage.Now, all firms must offer this capability simply to be in this line of business.This is an example of __ becoming over time.