Deck 15: Collaboration, Cooperation and Integration in the Supply Chain

Question 1

The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) conducts surveys of companies and has identified a number of people-related factors that are considered important by high-performance organizations. Which of the following was not identified as being an important factor?

A) Coaching.
B) Employee pay.
C) Leadership development.
D) Performance management.
E) Talent management.

Answer 1

Employee pay.

Question 2

While recruiting skilled talent is crucial to supply chain management, many in the younger generation are not considering a career in the field. Which of the following is not a reason why many young people are avoiding careers in supply chain management?

A) Most people don't know what logistics, transportation, or supply chain management is about.
B) Some parents think their sons or daughters will be driving a truck upon graduation.
C) The industry hasn't shown the complex, technology-based nature of today's supply chains where firms' strategy becomes reality.
D) General awareness of the discipline is widespread.
E) Defining supply chain positions can be difficult because of its boundary spanning nature.

Answer 2

General awareness of the discipline is widespread.

Question 3

Which business writer and author has state that: "It's not how you compensate your executives, it's which executives you have to compensate in the first place."

A) Jim Collins.
B) W. Edwards Deming.
C) Peter Drucker.
D) Henry Ford.
E) Tom Peters.

Answer 3

Jim Collins.

Question 4

Which of the following would not be a viable approach to obtain maximum people involvement in supply chain management?

A) Encouraging employees through various activities and programs.
B) Providing the necessary tools and materials for employees to do their jobs.
C) Providing recognition programs that involve nonfinancial rewards.
D) Taking a "hands off" approach to communicating and managing employees.
E) Training and cross-training of employees.

Question 5

Supply chain executives should possess all of the following competencies, except for:

A) Ability to communicate information to others.
B) High adaptability to a workplace where job and environmental complexity varies.
C) High need for achievement.
D) Strong verbal intelligence.
E) All of these are competencies that supply chain executives should possess.

Question 6

Many supply chain executives are good leaders, but they recognize that they could improve in several areas. All of the following would be areas of potential improvement, except for:

A) Being deliberate, but going along on their own pace.
B) Being more willing to challenge the status quo.
C) Considering deadlines that are rigid rather than flexible.
D) Having more extensive cross-functional and global experience.
E) Use of more open and information approaches to building better relationships with others.

Question 7

Which of the following is a characteristic of a workforce performance system?

A) Cost expectations related to labor budget and profit margins.
B) Mechanisms to indicate when performance standards are not being achieved.
C) Provision of corrective actions to the supply chain executive for situations where under-performance occurs.
D) Uniform performance standards for all tasks and subtasks.
E) All of these are characteristics of a workforce performance system.

Question 8

When considering employee skills demanded by employers for supply chain management jobs, both technical and soft skills are required. Which of the following would be considered a soft skill?

A) Ability to utilize mobile technology.
B) Business analytics insight.
C) Good problem solving skills.
D) Supply chain tech management.
E) Understanding KPIs and benchmarking.

Question 9

In a study of onboarding practices of U.S.-based companies it was found that organizations do a number of things. Which of the following is not one of those onboarding practices?

A) A majority of firms do exit interviews when an employee leaves the company.
B) A minority of companies have a formal onboarding program.
C) A minority of firms have an onboarding program for employees who change jobs or are promoted.
D) Less than one-half of companies begin onboarding prior to the new employee reporting to work.
E) The most common onboarding metrics include employee turnover/retention and performance measures.

Question 10

In best-practice organizations, employee training efforts include all of the following key elements except for:

A) Measures are in place to determine training effectiveness.
B) Required competencies/skills are identified and documented for each position.
C) Training only occurs within the organization and does not extend beyond the organization to other members of the supply chain.
D) Training outcomes are correlated with performance reviews.
E) Web-based training supports other training programs.

Question 11

There can be many reasons that performance objectives are not met by employees. Which of the following would be the most likely reason?

A) They don't know what is expected of them.
B) They don't know how to do the job due to poor training.
C) They can't do the job because the job is poorly defined.
D) There are barriers beyond the employee's control (e.g., lack of proper equipment, poor work environment).
E) They don't want to do the job.

Question 12

There are many reasons why an organization may want to utilize a 4PL. All of the following are reasons to use a 4PL except for:

A) Companies often lack the ability to generate substantive supply chain performance improvement on their own.
B) Global expansion into new markets.
C) Global growth with more inventory in more places.
D) Need and demand for IT resources.
E) Shorter order-to-cash cycle times.

Question 13

3PLs and 4PLs differ in several ways. Which of the following is not one of the ways 3PLs and 4PLs differ?

A) A 4PL organization is often a separate entity established as a joint venture or long-term contract between a primary client and one or more partners.
B) A 4PL organization acts as a single interface between the client and multiple logistics service providers.
C) All aspects (ideally) of the client's supply chain are managed by the 4PL.
D) It is possible for a major 3PL to form a 4PL organization within its existing structure.
E) Most 4PLs do not use technology to manage their client's supply chains.

Question 14

Agile organizations typically can be identified by five trademarks, which include all of the following except for:

A) Finances.
B) People.
C) Process.
D) Strategy.
E) Structure.

Question 15

A keiretsu, a term describing a group of affiliated corporations with broad power and reach, would typically provide all of the following types of support to the supply chain, except for:

A) Financial.
B) Legal.
C) Logistics.
D) Marketing and sales.
E) Organizational.

Question 16

Which of the following factors would not likely contribute to organizational effectiveness in a supply chain?

A) Employee characteristics.
B) Environmental characteristics.
C) Managerial policies and practices.
D) Marketing and sales characteristics.
E) Organizational characteristics.

Question 17

Decentralization, specialization, formalization, span of control, organization size, and work-unit size, would all be examples of which major factor influencing the effectiveness of a supply chain organization?

A) Employee characteristics.
B) Environmental characteristics.
C) Managerial policies and practices.
D) Marketing and sales characteristics.
E) Organizational characteristics.

Question 18

In the context of collaboration and integration through technology, which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Instead of purchasing the hardware and software to operate and manage their supply chains, cloud computing allows firms to access the technologies they need through the Internet.
B) Information technology (IT) advances have had many benefits, but they have not been able to provide firms with sustainable advantages in cost control and/or customer satisfaction levels.
C) Many organizations today still have not yet developed systems that allow for better collaboration, visibility, and integrations within their supply chains.
D) The use of cloud computing is invaluable when firms are dealing with many suppliers or vendors, because each organization can communicate through the "cloud."
E) Three of the most significant technologies that will impact supply chain management are mobile computing devices, analytics software, and social media.

Question 19

Which of the following would not be applications of cloud computing in supply chain management?

A) Allows organizations to reduce order cycle times using an integrated cloud-based system.
B) Cloud-based WMS and ERP systems are less costly and just as effective as company-owned systems.
C) Equipment performance and maintenance can be managed proactively.
D) Supply chain visibility can be enhanced as real-time tracking and tracing occur with cloud-based applications.
E) All of these would be applications of cloud computing in supply chain management.

Question 20

As an important factor in achieving supply chain management success, labor must be evaluated regularly. APICS has identified several categories of metrics that could be used to measure labor performance. Which of the following is not one of those metrics identified by APICS?

A) Agility.
B) Asset management efficiency.
C) Perfect order rate.
D) Reliability.
E) Responsiveness.

Question 21

Each process or element of the supply chain is an important strategic resource and a corporate asset.

Question 22

Recruiting employees is becoming more difficult for many reasons. In most developed countries, the birth rate is well below the replacement rate of 2.1, thus firms have to attract talent from other countries.

Question 23

In surveys published by the Society for Human Resources Management and Monster.com, both groups reported that employee turnover during the first two years is very high and could be as much as 50 percent.

Question 24

Salary and benefits are typically the most important factors that motivate supply chain professionals.

Question 25

The leading edge or top performing companies tend to fill job vacancies from the outside versus filling them from within the company.

Question 26

Excellent communication skills would be an example of a soft skill that would be important in hiring employees for supply chain management jobs.

Question 27

"Onboarding" refers to the training of employees.

Question 28

According to a study of the onboarding practices of U.S.-based companies, 75 percent of companies have a formal onboarding program.

Question 29

Best-in-class organizations tend to significantly outperform the average firm with respect to the cross-training of employees across multiple roles.

Question 30

Incorporating the Internet into education and training involves both stand-alone supply chain-related coursework and the integration of the technology into other, more traditional, media.

Question 31

Retaining the knowledge of employees who retire or leave a company is important. An example of informal or uncodified "tacit knowledge" that could be collected would be documents, contracts and manuals.

Question 32

In most organizations, supply chain operations' IT investment is a high priority.

Question 33

Strategic versus operational organizational structures refer to the level at which supply chain activities are positioned within and across firms.

Question 34

There are two types of keiretsu's: horizontal and vertical. The horizontal keiretsu consists of a large manufacturing company surrounded by numerous small and subservient suppliers and distributors that keep the operations running smoothly, while the vertical keiretsu consists of a group of interlocking companies, typically clustered about a lead manufacturer, a main bank, and a trading company, and overseen by a presidents' council consisting of the presidents of the major group companies.

Question 35

Good structures facilitate the implementation of supply chain networks; they do not guarantee success.

Question 36

The components of a corporate mission statement or a supply chain mission statement will be similar.

Question 37

Cloud computing is an Internet service which can be accessed by a customer's own computer, rather than having the hardware and software at the customer's location.

Question 38

Because supply chains involve multiple firms and a large number of individuals, collaboration is essential to successful supply chain management. This makes social networking an ideal means of enabling and enhancing collaboration.

Question 39

The approach known as 360 degree evaluation of employees and suppliers is more of a quantitative rather than qualitative measure of results.

Question 40

Cost-to-sales ratios are important measures used to evaluate organizational effectiveness.