Deck 14: Operations Management: Managing Vital Operations and Processes

Question 1

Efficiency refers to goods and services that are reliable,dependable,and satisfying,and that do the job they were designed for.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: Efficiency refers to the amount of inputs required to produce a given output.

Question 2

Most organizations focus on partial productivity to measure the efficiency of an individual unit.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Though sometimes a useful measure of efficiency overall,total factor productivity obscures the exact contribution of an individual input to the production of a given output.Consequently,most organizations focus on specific measures of efficiency,known as partial productivity,that measure the efficiency of an individual unit.

Question 3

Customer relationship management (CRM)is a technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with customers to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: Customer relationship management (CRM)is a technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with customers to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time.CRM IT monitors,controls,and links each of the functional activities involved in marketing,selling,and delivering products to customers.

Question 4

Quality refers to the amount of inputs that are required to produce a given output.

Question 5

Total factor productivity isolates the exact contribution of an input to the production of a given output.

Question 6

Profit-seeking organizations have customers,but not-for-profit organizations do not have customers.

Question 7

Improving product quality increases the operating costs of the organization.

Question 8

A production system is the system that an organization uses to acquire inputs,convert inputs into outputs,and dispose of the outputs.

Question 9

Customers prefer products that are,as far as possible,customized to their unique needs.

Question 10

Management experts recommend that an organization should define its business in terms of the products it is producing,and not in terms of the customer needs that it is attempting to satisfy.

Question 11

CRM systems have two interconnected components,sales and selling and after-sales service and support.

Question 12

Responsiveness to customers refers to actions taken to meet the demands and needs of customers.

Question 13

To increase quality,managers should embrace the philosophy that mistakes,defects,and poor-quality materials should be limited to 0.5 percent of total production.

Question 14

Operations managers are managers who are responsible for managing an organization's production system.

Question 15

Higher quality translates into higher employee productivity,which means lower costs for the organization.

Question 16

The major advantage of total factor productivity is that each input is typically measured in the same units.

Question 17

The concept of "quality" can be applied only to manufacturing organizations,but not to service organizations.

Question 18

A CRM system can be used as a comprehensive method of gathering crucial information about the way customers respond to a company's products.

Question 19

Attributes of an organization's outputs-their quality,cost,and features-are determined by the organization's production system.

Question 20

Managers should create an environment in which subordinates will not be afraid to report problems or recommend improvements.

Question 21

In a process layout,machines are organized so that each operation needed is performed at workstations arranged in a fixed sequence.

Question 22

In a fixed-position production layout,each workstation is relatively self-contained.

Question 23

An advantage of JIT systems is that they leave a buffer stock of inventory available to the organization.

Question 24

Self-managing work teams are popular because they increase worker satisfaction and decrease turnover,but they have no effect on productivity.

Question 25

The effect of introducing self-managed teams is often an increase in efficiency of 30 percent or more,and sometimes much more.

Question 26

Process reengineering can boost efficiency because it eliminates the time devoted to activities that do not add value.

Question 27

"Labor productivity" is frequently used to compare different organizations in their efficiency.

Question 28

A disadvantage of flexible manufacturing is that a company is unable to produce many more varieties of a product than before in the same amount of time.

Question 29

It follows that if setup times for complex production equipment can be reduced,efficiency will rise.

Question 30

The amount of raw materials and component parts that an organization has on hand is known as inventory.

Question 31

Continually increasing the demands placed on employees,regardless of job stress,is ethical.

Question 32

The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes is known as "continuous improvement".

Question 33

Facilities layout is the operations management technique that pays minimal attention to design the machine-worker interface.

Question 34

Flexible manufacturing is the set of operations management techniques that attempt to reduce the setup costs associated with a production system.

Question 35

Buffer stocks can help an organization respond quickly to increases in customer demand.

Question 36

Although buffer stocks of inventory can be expensive to store,they can help an organization when it is affected by shortages of inputs brought about by a disruption among suppliers.

Question 37

Flexible manufacturing systems attempt to increase the time required to set up production machinery.

Question 38

In "process reengineering",managers rethink the organization's basic business strategy.

Question 39

An inventory system in which parts and supplies arrive at the organization when they are needed and not before is called a TQM system.

Question 40

The "just-in-time" concept of inventory states that the organization should stockpile excess inputs in the event that it needs them to meet a sudden increase in customer demand.

Question 41

In measuring the total factor productivity of an organization,an example of a measure of the amount of energy consumed in output production is the number of ____________.

A) tons of iron ore required to make one ton of steel
B) units produced
C) hours worked
D) kilowatt-hours consumed
E) employees required

Question 42

The management of any aspect of production that transforms inputs into finished outputs is known as:

A) total quality management.
B) supply chain management.
C) operations management.
D) reengineering management.
E) strategic management.

Question 43

A technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with buyers to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time is ____________.

A) customer relationship management
B) total quantity management
C) customer experience management
D) customer perception measurement
E) resource management

Question 44

With an organization's production system,operations managers are responsible for:

A) increasing sales.
B) converting outputs into inputs.
C) disposing of outputs.
D) guaranteeing quality of inputs.
E) reducing responsiveness to consumers.

Question 45

The managers who are responsible for managing the organization's production system are known as:

A) TQM managers.
B) JIT managers.
C) operations managers.
D) inventory managers.
E) facilities managers.

Question 46

The actions taken to meet the needs of customers refer to ____________.

A) efficiency
B) quality
C) TQM
D) quality control
E) responsiveness

Question 47

One of the reasons to increase product quality is that higher product quality can increase efficiency,_______________ operating costs,and _______________ profits.

A) increase;increase
B) lower;lower
C) decrease;decrease
D) lower;increase
E) increase;decrease

Question 48

Customer(s)____________.

A) wants vary from industry to industry
B) wants do not vary from industry to industry
C) want products with few features to products with many features
D) want products that are not customized or tailored to their unique needs
E) do not need to make a trade-off between price and preferred attributes

Question 49

The measure of the efficiency of a specific unit of an organization is called its:

A) efficiency ratio.
B) partial productivity.
C) total factor productivity.
D) labor productivity.
E) sales productivity.

Question 50

Goods and services that are dependable,reliable,able to do what they were designed for,and satisfying characterize ____________.

A) efficiency
B) timelines
C) conditioning
D) warranties
E) quality

Question 51

The engineers at Compaq Computer redesigned the ProLinea desktop computer so that its assembly time was reduced from 20.9 minutes to 10.5 minutes.This was a significant:

A) decrease in productivity.
B) increase in quality.
C) decrease in quality.
D) increase in efficiency.
E) decrease in total factor productivity.

Question 52

Operations managers are responsible for ____________.

A) the sale of products
B) setting sales quotas
C) designing the distribution system for the products
D) establishing the company mission and vision
E) designing low-cost products that customers are willing to buy

Question 53

The amount of input that is required to produce a given level of output refers to _____________.

A) quality
B) responsiveness to customers
C) efficiency
D) quality control
E) TQM

Question 54

Management writers recommend that an organization should define its business in terms of its:

A) technology.
B) number of employees.
C) product mix.
D) geographical locations.
E) customer needs.

Question 55

Total factor productivity equals _____________.

A) raw materials divided by labor costs
B) all inputs divided by outputs
C) outputs divided by all inputs
D) outputs times all inputs
E) marketing costs divided by labor costs

Question 56

The attributes of an organization's outputs are determined by its:

A) production system.
B) quality management program.
C) efficiency system.
D) distribution system.
E) flexible manufacturing system.

Question 57

A system that an organization uses to obtain inputs,convert them into outputs,and then dispose of these outputs is known as a(n):

A) production system.
B) quality control management system.
C) reengineering system.
D) line management system.
E) JIT system.

Question 58

The outputs of an organization,divided by all of its inputs,is called its:

A) total factor productivity.
B) total labor productivity.
C) partial productivity.
D) total capital productivity.
E) efficiency ratio.

Question 59

Total factor productivity is a measure of an organization's:

A) market competitiveness.
B) responsiveness.
C) process design standard.
D) efficiency.
E) raw material usage.

Question 60

In measuring the total factor productivity of an organization,an example of measuring the contribution of the raw materials to output production is calculating the _____________.

A) number of tons of iron ore required to make one ton of steel
B) total number of units of energy consumed
C) number of man hours required to process raw materials
D) total number of employees involved in processing
E) total number of employees required to operate the machinery

Question 61

In measuring the total factor productivity of an organization,an example of a measure of labor's contribution to output production is the ____________.

A) amount of raw materials consumed
B) number of units of energy consumed
C) number of hours worked
D) number of kilowatt-hours consumed
E) number of machineries used

Question 62

In the production process,a mainframe computer assembly line is an example of a ______________ facilities layout.

A) product
B) process
C) fixed-position
D) flexible manufacturing
E) hybrid

Question 63

The way in which machines,robots,and people are grouped together in the production process is known as:

A) JIT.
B) kanban.
C) facilities layout.
D) kaizen.
E) TQM.

Question 64

In the production process,a jet airplane assembly line would be an example of a _____________ layout.

A) product
B) process
C) fixed-position
D) flexible manufacturing
E) hybrid

Question 65

A process layout often _______________ efficiency and is well suited for _______________ products.

A) reduces;custom-made
B) increases;custom-made
C) reduces;mass-produced
D) increases;mass-produced
E) increases;all

Question 66

The operations management technique that has a goal of designing the machine-worker interface to increase production efficiency is ____________.

A) the facilities layout
B) quality circles
C) inventory management
D) production system improvement
E) JIT

Question 67

James calculates the average number of hours it takes an employee in his plant to produce a product.He is calculating the:

A) total factor productivity.
B) labor productivity.
C) labor cost.
D) product efficiency.
E) product cost.

Question 68

A problem associated with total factor productivity is that:

A) it is a useful tool to measure efficiency.
B) managers find the calculation too simple.
C) it converts all factors into simple factors.
D) it is too precise in converting an input to an output.
E) each input is typically measured in different units.

Question 69

Shawn,an executive with The Connoisseur's Brewery,wants to compare his firm's efficiency against its competitors.To do so,he should:

A) assess the financial ratios of the firm versus the competition.
B) compute the partial productivity of energy for the firm and compare it with that of the competition.
C) compare the firm's labor productivity to that of the competition.
D) compare the amount of materials used to that of the competition.
E) conduct a survey of customers' opinions about the firm's efficiency.

Question 70

In the production process,when component parts are produced throughout the factory and then brought to the production area for final assembly,this is known as a ­­­______________ layout.

A) process
B) product
C) fixed-position
D) JIT
E) kanban

Question 71

Labor productivity is calculated by:

A) outputs/direct labor.
B) outputs minus direct labor.
C) inputs/direct labor.
D) outputs × direct labor/inputs.
E) direct labor/outputs.

Question 72

In the production process,when the workers are stationary and a moving conveyor belt takes the product on to the next workstation so that it is assembled in a fixed sequence,this is known as:

A) flexible manufacturing.
B) pull production.
C) mass production.
D) batch production.
E) lean manufacturing.

Question 73

A fixed-position layout is most likely to be used in production of ____________.

A) tractors
B) aircraft carriers
C) custom furniture
D) beer bottling
E) clothing

Question 74

In the typical organization,increased efficiency leads to:

A) lower labor productivity.
B) higher operating costs.
C) lower production costs.
D) lower partial productivity.
E) higher maintenance costs.

Question 75

Labor productivity is most commonly used to:

A) formulate individual production targets for the employees involved.
B) calculate the total cost of production.
C) set wage standards per unit of production.
D) draw efficiency comparisons between different organizations.
E) define recruiting parameters for new candidates.

Question 76

In the production process,when the product goes to whichever workstation is needed to perform the next operation to complete the product and the workstations are relatively self-contained,this is known as a(n):

A) process layout.
B) fixed-position layout.
C) hybrid layout.
D) product layout.
E) cellular layout.

Question 77

A product layout is most likely to be used in a(n)_______________ assembly.

A) jet aircraft
B) automobile
C) gas turbine
D) custom furniture
E) mainframe computer

Question 78

The efficiency of an organization's labor inputs with reference to a particular unit is known as the:

A) total factor productivity.
B) cumulative productivity.
C) facilities index.
D) partial productivity.
E) unit productivity.

Question 79

Organizing machines in the production process so that each operation is performed at workstations in a fixed sequence is known as a(n):

A) fixed-position layout.
B) hybrid layout.
C) cellular layout.
D) product layout.
E) process layout.

Question 80

A process layout provides the flexibility needed to change the product.Such flexibility,however,often reduces efficiency because:

A) constant changes challenge worker efficiency.
B) employees find it difficult to learn.
C) it is expensive.
D) standardization is impossible.
E) it requires a long time to install.