Deck 9: Production and Operations Management

Question 1

In the past,production management was about using the factors of production to create finished goods.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

U.S.businesses are known for their creativity and their ability to implement change.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In order to be more competitive globally,production techniques such as enterprise resource planning and lean manufacturing are being used by American manufacturers.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

U.S.manufacturers are focusing on quality as a way to become more competitive globally,assuming that cost is not an issue.

Question 5

American manufacturers have emphasized continuous improvement as one strategy for regaining a competitive advantage in the manufacturing sector.

Question 6

The main reason for the recent resurgence of American manufacturing firms has been the quotas and tariffs imposed by the U.S.government in an attempt to protect domestic firms from cheap imports.

Question 7

One key to the resurgence of U.S.firms as world-class competitors has been the implementation of a focus on quality.

Question 8

The U.S.is still manufacturing intensive.Only 25% of U.S.jobs come from the service sector.

Question 9

As the service industries became a larger part of U.S.GDP,companies have become more concerned about measuring productivity in the service sector.

Question 10

Since U.S.manufacturing competes on price throughout the world,innovation plays a very small part in the U.S.economy.

Question 11

Companies such as IBM prefer to stay the course and continue to compete by selling products instead of services.

Question 12

Currently,manufacturing accounts for only around 70% of U.S.GDP.

Question 13

Casey and Kevin are scanning the "All Things Green" magazine trying to get some green ideas they can incorporate into their business.The problem with going green,however,is that quality tends to decrease,and it is difficult to incorporate contemporary operations management techniques with "green" ideas.

Question 14

To strengthen its manufacturing base,the U.S.will need to continue to innovate.

Question 15

Evidence suggests that U.S.manufacturing firms can no longer compete against the best firms in the rest of the world.

Question 16

The Green Movement has had a large effect on the service industry,but only a negligible effect on manufacturing.

Question 17

The 2008 recession greatly affected the state of manufacturing in the U.S. ,resulting in a slow down in production and the loss of jobs.

Question 18

Operations management converts resources into goods and services.

Question 19

Although important,the Green Economy will do little to add value to the U.S.economy.

Question 20

Prior to the recession of 2008-2010,foreign investment bought steel plants in the U.S.and planned to run them at capacity.These and other manufacturing sites were keeping the growth in manufactured products at about 4% per year.

Question 21

Operations management in service industries is about creating a good experience for the customer.

Question 22

While going through the line at the local grocery store,the clerk asks you if you found everything you needed,as she continues to scan the goods you are planning to purchase.At the end of the scan,a coupon emerges that you can use on future purchases of a product you have just purchased.In reviewing the key concepts from Chapter 9,you would consider this action,the store's management of its labor.

Question 23

The quality standard for service industries such as luxury hotels is meeting the customers' requests.

Question 24

Marci Costas is majoring in operations management at Brunau University.Unfortunately,the evolution of the U.S.from a manufacturing-oriented to a service-oriented economy means that Marci will probably find few job openings in her field of study.

Question 25

In recent years,operations management has become more focused on providing services,because that is where the growth and profit potential is greatest.

Question 26

In service industries such as hotels,quality management training is important to ensure that all employees are "certified" in their positions.

Question 27

Service businesses know that in order to delight customers they must be able to anticipate their needs.

Question 28

Education and training are less important to workers in the service sector than to workers who have jobs in the manufacturing sector.

Question 29

The service sector of the U.S.economy offers many jobs,but very few of them are considered high wage occupations.

Question 30

Jason recently graduated with a degree in operations management from a respected university.The knowledge he gained and skills he developed while obtaining this degree could make him an attractive employee for either a manufacturing firm or a service firm.

Question 31

Firms that specialize in accounting,finance,and management consulting are all part of the service sector.

Question 32

Operations management transforms resources into goods and services,such as a landscape company that utilizes equipment,labor,and materials to develop a landscape.Managing this operation may also involve maintenance services.

Question 33

Operations management moves from knowing the needs of consumers to actually satisfying those needs.

Question 34

Manufacturing companies are concerned with production management,while service companies are concerned with operations management.

Question 35

An important strategy in operations management is using technology to anticipate customer needs.In the hotel industry,this is known as guest-recognition services.

Question 36

In the process of operations management,a firm transforms resources such as raw materials,supplies,and even human resources into goods and services.

Question 37

Manufacturing firms focus exclusively on the production of goods and allow other firms to provide services.

Question 38

One important issue with respect to managing the operation of a business is to make certain that customers leave feeling as though they had a good experience with your service and with your company in general.

Question 39

Operations management involves inventory management,quality control,and production scheduling.

Question 40

Justin Tyme is a manager at Elastic Plastic,Inc.His duties include production scheduling and keeping tabs on the company's inventory.These activities suggest that Justin is involved in promotions management.

Question 41

The advantage of computer integrated manufacturing software is that it allows computer aided design machines to communicate directly with computer aided manufacturing machines.

Question 42

The ability to integrate computers into the design and manufacture of products has had the greatest impact on production techniques in recent years.

Question 43

The purpose of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)is to unite computer-aided design with computer-aided manufacturing.

Question 44

One of the reasons mass production techniques lost favor is that,despite their ability to keep costs relatively low,mass production lacks flexibility.

Question 45

Despite its early promise,computer-aided design has not met with much success in increasing productivity.

Question 46

The production process requires inputs,controls,and outputs.

Question 47

Mass production techniques allowed firms to respond quickly to the individual needs of consumers.

Question 48

Contemporary manufacturers in the U.S.lack the flexibility to use intermittent production processes.

Question 49

A continuous production process is characterized by long production runs that turn out finished goods over time.

Question 50

An assembly process involves physically or chemically manipulating raw materials to create a product.

Question 51

CAD systems allow designers to work in three dimensions.

Question 52

Only firms in the manufacturing sector can create true form utility.

Question 53

The value added by the creation of finished goods and services from inputs is called ownership utility.

Question 54

CAD/CAM has made it possible to custom-design products to meet the tastes of small markets with very little increase in costs.

Question 55

Process manufacturing refers to combining components and raw materials to make a product.

Question 56

The three basic requirements of production are: (1) creating a finished good (2) making sure you created it at the lowest cost possible, and (3) selling it.

Question 57

Process manufacturing physically or chemically alters materials to create finished goods.

Question 58

One drawback of intermittent production processes is that they tend to be much slower than continuous processes.

Question 59

When firms successfully produce products,they create form utility.

Question 60

Intermittent production processes are characterized by short production runs and frequent changes of machinery in order to produce different products like customized furniture.

Question 61

Lean manufacturing is a strategy of producing standardized products that have no frills or extra features in order to keep prices low.

Question 62

One way to compete with cheap labor is to use robots.

Question 63

Companies that employ lean manufacturing and flexible manufacturing produce better quality products,but have costlier production lines.

Question 64

Mass customization is not exclusive to product intensive businesses.Service businesses have learned how to use mass customization to serve their customers.

Question 65

Businesses that provide services typically cannot use mass customization because services are not tangible products that can be customized.

Question 66

Actually,it is much easier to custom-design service programs than it is to custom-make goods.

Question 67

While mass customization works well for producers it is not used in the service sector.

Question 68

The higher productivity of U.S.plants makes it possible to pay higher wages.

Question 69

Manufacturers use CAM (computer aided manufacturing)to create three-dimensional designs of products before they are built.

Question 70

Mass customization is a strategy of convincing customers to choose from a relatively small number of alternatives in order to achieve the efficiencies of mass production.

Question 71

Improvements in technology have significantly increased the quality of products,as well as helped reduce costs.

Question 72

A fast-changing plant needs a fast-moving employee base to achieve maximum productivity.

Question 73

Flexible manufacturing systems use machines that are designed to do a multitude of tasks so that they can produce a variety of goods.

Question 74

So far,the high cost of CAD/CAM techniques has limited their use to large,expensive manufactured goods such as automobiles.

Question 75

When a company has the ability to produce the same amount of goods with only half the floor space and half the labor that it used in the past,the firm is practicing flexible manufacturing.

Question 76

Speeding up the process of responding to consumer wants and needs is a key to global competitiveness.

Question 77

Companies that achieve lean manufacturing use less of everything (raw materials,labor,etc. )to produce the same amount of products.

Question 78

A disadvantage of flexible manufacturing systems is that they usually require a great deal of labor because machines are rarely capable of handling a wide variety of tasks.

Question 79

Technological improvements are largely responsible for the increase in productivity and efficiency of U.S.plants.

Question 80

Mass customization is tailoring products to meet the needs of individual customers.