Deck 7: Manufacturing and Service Technologies

Question 1

Which one of the following basic technology groups relies heavily on the human operator and is not highly mechanized?

A)Large-batch production
B)Assembly line production
C)Continuous-process production
D)Small-batch production

Answer 1

D
Explanation:Small-batch production relies heavily on the human operator; it is thus not highly mechanized.

Question 2

_____ means providing exactly the service each customer wants and needs.

A)Service complexity
B)Customized output
C)Mass customization
D)Joint optimization

Answer 2

B
Explanation:Customized output means providing exactly the service each customer wants and needs.

Question 3

Which of the following did Perrow specify?

A)Two dimensions of departmental activities: variety and analyzability
B)Three types of interdependence: pooled, sequential, and reciprocal
C)Two aspects of the environment that call for a particular organizational structure
D)Three categories of technical complexity present in organizations

Answer 3

A
Explanation:Perrow specified two dimensions of departmental activities that were relevant to organization structure and processes.The first is the number of exceptions in the work known as variety.The second dimension of technology concerns the analyzability of work activities.

Question 4

Juan works for a college that offers correspondence courses.She works in the mailroom department stuffing envelopes with the replies of professors to students.She then seals the envelopes and puts them in an outgoing bin and there is very little use for creativity.The department has very strict rules and the management process is not flexible.In this context,the department that Juan works for has a(n)_____ design.

A)mechanistic
B)organic
C)nonroutine
D)unanalyzable

Question 5

_____ is a manufacturing process characterized by long production runs of standardized parts,and output often goes into inventory from which orders are filled because customers do not have special needs.

A)Continuous-process production
B)Unit production
C)Large-batch production
D)Small-batch production

Question 6

In the _____ component of a smart factory,computers are used to assist in the drafting,creation,and engineering of new parts.

A)manufacturing processes management
B)computer-aided manufacturing
C)computer-aided design
D)product life cycle management

Question 7

Which of the following is not a characteristic of service technology?

A)Delayed response time is acceptable.
B)Customer interaction is generally high.
C)Human element is very important.
D)Quality is perceived and difficult to measure.

Question 8

The Verification Department of the Internal Revenue Service checks the calculations on returns and notes any discrepancies.According to Perrow,this department fits into the category of _____.

A)craft technologies
B)routine technologies
C)engineering technologies
D)nonroutine technologies

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true about smart factories?

A)The span of control is wide in smart factories.
B)The decision making is centralized in smart factories.
C)The customer demand is stable in smart factories.
D)The tasks are adaptive and craftlike in smart factories.

Question 10

Service organizations can achieve their greatest economies through:

A)centralization of services.
B)geographic concentration.
C)disaggregation into small units located close to customers.
D)centralized decision making with a high formalization.

Question 11

The awesome advantage of a smart factory is that:

A)little training is required.
B)employee involvement is very less.
C)one product can be produced at a time, making it easier for employees to operate the machines involved in production.
D)products of different sizes, types, and customer requirements freely intermingle on the assembly line.

Question 12

_____ is a highly ambitious quality standard that specifies a goal of no more than 3.4 defects per million parts.

A)Kaizen
B)Joint optimization
C)Mass customization
D)Six Sigma

Question 13

Chemical plants,oil refineries,liquor producers,pharmaceuticals,and nuclear power plants are examples of _____.

A)unit production
B)mass production
C)large-batch production
D)continuous-process production

Question 14

Which of the following is not true regarding mass production and a smart factory?

A)Mass production has many levels of control, while the smart factory has few.
B)The span of control in mass production is narrow, while the span of control in the smart factory is wide.
C)Tasks in mass production are routine and repetitive, while tasks in the smart factory are adaptive and creative.
D)Decision making is centralized in mass production, while it is decentralized in the smart factory.

Question 15

_____ is a technology that builds objects one successive layer of material at a time.

A)Additive manufacturing
B)CAD
C)CAM
D)Lean manufacturing

Question 16

_____ have high task variety,and the conversion process is not analyzable or well understood.

A)Nonroutine technologies
B)Routine technologies
C)Engineering technologies
D)Craft technologies

Question 17

Which of the following links together manufacturing components that previously stood alone?

A)Unit production systems
B)Flexible manufacturing systems
C)Subtractive manufacturing systems
D)Rigid production systems

Question 18

The frequency of unexpected and novel events that occur in the conversion process is known as:

A)complexity.
B)accountability.
C)variety.
D)analyzability.

Question 19

Teaching in a high school and medical services in a health clinic are referred to as an organization's _____ technology.

A)technical
B)Core
C)Craft
D)reciprocal

Question 20

An organization's _____ is the work process that is directly related to the organization's mission.

A)core technology
B)mediating technology
C)long-linked technology
D)noncore technology

Question 21

The goal of the sociotechnical systems approach is to design an organization for:

A)joint optimization.
B)reengineering.
C)self-regulation of advanced technology.
D)strong organization culture.

Question 22

The purpose of the sociotechnical systems approach is to:

A)apply the theory of job enlargement.
B)increase the amount to pooled interdependence in organizations.
C)increase the amount of manual labor used in organizations.
D)combine human needs with technical efficiency in job design.

Question 23

A _____ provides products or services that link clients from the external environment and,in so doing,allows each department to work independently.

A)craft technology
B)pooled technology
C)routine technology
D)mediating technology

Question 24

Perrow's study is classified as pertaining to organization-level technology,while Woodward's is classified as pertaining to department-level technology.

Question 25

Reciprocal interdependence tends to occur in organizations with what Thompson called _____,which provide a variety of products or services in combination to a client.

A)craft technologies
B)mediating technologies
C)intensive technologies
D)long-linked technologies

Question 26

Large-batch production is considered to have greater technical complexity than small-batch production on Woodward's scale of technical complexity.

Question 27

Six Sigma refers to using mass-production technology to quickly and cost-effectively assemble goods that are uniquely designed to fit the demands of individual customers.

Question 28

Sequential interdependence occurs in organizations with what Thompson called _____.

A)long-linked technology
B)mediating technology
C)intensive technology
D)routine technology

Question 29

Baxton Burgers is a chain of fast-food restaurants.It has outlets throughout the world.Each of the outlets is independent and does not communicate with each other,but each of them contributes to the growing success of the restaurant.In this context,the outlets of Baxton Burgers have _____.

A)sequential interdependence
B)pooled interdependence
C)reciprocal interdependence
D)successive interdependence

Question 30

Low technical complexity means most of the work is performed by machines.

Question 31

Core technology is a department work process that is important to an organization but is not directly related to its primary mission.

Question 32

In football,the interdependence tends to be:

A)pooled because management must select individual players and develop their skills.
B)sequential because plays are run sequentially and events during the plays occur sequentially.
C)reciprocal because mutual adjustments must be made by the players.
D)sporadic because it is really a game of individual talents.

Question 33

Failing to adopt appropriate new technologies to support strategy,or adopting a new technology and failing to realign strategy to match it,can lead to poor performance.

Question 34

_____ is the highest level of interdependence and exists when the output of operation A is the input to operation B,and the output of operation B is the input back again to operation A.

A)Reciprocal interdependence
B)Pooled interdependence
C)Sequential interdependence
D)Routine interdependence

Question 35

Products of different sizes,types,and customer requirements freely intermingling on the assembly line is an advantage of a smart factory.

Question 36

Small-batch production is highly mechanized,whereas continuous-process production relies heavily on the human operator.

Question 37

Kaizen is the implementation of a large number of small,incremental improvements in all areas of an organization on an ongoing basis.

Question 38

Jenson Motors,a car manufacturing company,decides to change its production operations strategy.In the company,an employee adds a part to the car frame and then sends it to another employee to add another part.This process continues until they get the final product,a complete car.The management wants to divide the employees into teams where each team is responsible for building an entire car.If Jenson Motors implements the change,the interrelationships would change from:

A)pooled interdependence on the line to reciprocal interdependence between the teams.
B)reciprocal interdependence on the line to sequential interdependence between the teams.
C)sequential interdependence on the line to pooled interdependence between the teams.
D)sequential interdependence on the line to reciprocal interdependence between teams.

Question 39

Vintichic,a fashion house,plans to launch its new collection for summer.Each department has a part to play in producing the final product.The designers send the fabric and designs to the tailors,the tailors send the sewed clothes to the department that accessorize the clothes,the accessorizing department sends the clothes to the packaging and shipping department,and finally the packaging and shipping department transports the clothes to their various outlets throughout the world.In this scenario,the type of interdependence exhibited by the departments of the fashion house is _____.

A)pooled interdependence
B)reciprocal interdependence
C)sequential interdependence
D)autonomous interdependence

Question 40

Computer-aided manufacturing enables the production line to quickly honor customer requests for changes in product design and product mix.

Question 41

A mediating technology provides products or services that mediate or link clients from the external environment and,in doing so,allows each department to work independently.

Question 42

Work staff in routine technologies typically require little education or experience,which is congruent with repetitious work activities.

Question 43

Contrast the two dimensions of departmental activities,specified by Perrow,that were relevant to organization structure and process.

Question 44

In routine technologies,most decision making about task activities is decentralized throughout an organization.

Question 45

In a service firm,the quality of a service is perceived and cannot be directly measured and compared in the same way that the quality of a tangible product can.

Question 46

Explain mass customization and its advantage.Give examples.

Question 47

A smart factory has a stable customer demand,whereas mass production has a changing customer demand.

Question 48

Span of control is the number of employees who report to a single manager or supervisor and is normally influenced by departmental technology.

Question 49

Sequential interdependence exists when the output of operation A is the input to operation B,and the output of operation B is the input back again to operation A.

Question 50

The goal of the sociotechnical systems approach is to design an organization for pooled interdependence.

Question 51

Service technologies are considered to be labor- and knowledge-intensive,while manufacturing technologies tend to be capital asset-intensive.

Question 52

Explain the difference between core technology and noncore technology.

Question 53

Discuss the three basic technology groups as categorized in Woodward's scale of technical complexity.

Question 54

Communication activity and frequency increase as task variety decreases.

Question 55

Craft technologies are characterized by a fairly stable stream of activities,but the conversion process is not analyzable or well understood.

Question 56

Compare the configuration and structural characteristics of service firms with that of product organizations.

Question 57

Boundary roles are used extensively in manufacturing firms but rarely used in service firms.

Question 58

Pooled interdependencies are given priority after reciprocal interdependencies.

Question 59

Perrow was most concerned with two aspects of technology: technical complexity and interdependence.

Question 60

Routine technologies are characterized by little task variety and the use of objective,computational procedures,whereas engineering technologies tend to be complex because there is substantial variety in the tasks performed.

Question 61

Discuss the three types of interdependence defined by James Thompson that influence organization structure.

Question 62

Discuss each of the categories of Perrow's framework.Give examples of each.

Question 63

Compare the specific design characteristics of formalization,centralization,employee kill level,span of control,and communication and coordination for routine technology and nonroutine tasks.

Question 64

Discuss the ideas that are essential while designing an organization.

Question 65

Discuss how the ultimate impact of technology can be understood through the concept of sociotechnical systems.