Deck 6: Process-Flow Analysis

Question 1

The first step in flowchart analysis is:

A)To develop a flowchart
B)To break the process down into blocks
C)To decide what technique will be used to analyze the process flow
D)To select an appropriate transformation process for analysis

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Analysis of the flow of information:

A)Is only necessary if management wants tight control of the system
B)Is more important than materials flow
C)Should always accompany an analysis of materials flow
D)Is only of concern to service industries

Answer 2

C

Question 3

If a factory has 100,000 units of raw materials waiting in the system and if the average flow rate of the system is 5000 units per day,then according to Little's Law,the average throughput time is:

A)0.5 days
B)20 days
C)0.05 days
D)100 days
E)10 days

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A service blueprint is used to analyze and manage the service process because it involves:

A)The identification of flows,bottlenecks,and customer interaction points
B)The design of the services advertising campaign
C)The identification of the consumer benefit concept
D)All of the above

Question 5

One step in process flow analysis is to describe the existing process.If a new system is being developed,(there is no existing system):

A)This step is simply omitted
B)Process flow analysis cannot be performed
C)A socio-technical design must be used
D)Come up with a hypothetical process for comparison

Question 6

A numerically controlled machining center has an average processing capacity of 5000 units per day.It receives an average of 3000 units of semi-finished goods from another machining center and it has to supply an average of 1000 units of finished goods to the packaging section.Assuming that the company incurs a huge sum of money for carrying finished goods supplied to the packaging section,the flow rate of the machining process is:

A)3000 units per day
B)5000 units per day
C)1000 units per day
D)9000 units per day
E)2500 units per day

Question 7

Which of the following statements about Little's Law is incorrect?

A)Little's Law cannot be applied to service operations
B)Little's Law relates the average number of units in the system to average throughput time and the average flow rate
C)Little's Law is a part of queuing theory
D)Little's Law assumes that the system is in steady state
E)None of the above

Question 8

Which of the following would not be changed due to process flowchart analysis?

A)Raw materials
B)Product or service design
C)Job design
D)Customers
E)All of the above might be changed

Question 9

A process view emphasizes that it is important for a business to function as independent silos.

Question 10

Business process reengineering (BPR)has encountered some implementation problems because:

A)Top management support is lacking
B)Both the approach itself and the way it is implemented
C)Assignment of the wrong people to the project
D)All of the above

Question 11

The average flow rate into a bank teller station is 50 checks per hour.The clerk at this teller station can process 60 checks per hour.The utilization of the clerk is:

A)50%
B)120%
C)83.3%
D)Utilization cannot be computed due to insufficient information
E)66.7%

Question 12

Which of the following statements regarding business process reengineering (BPR)is incorrect?

A)BPR is a term coined by Hammer and Champy in the book called "Reengineering the Corporation."
B)BPR has come under attack in the recent years due to its association with downsizing of American corporations.
C)BPR simplifies processes and eliminates the non-value added elements from the process.
D)BPR eliminates functional layers of bureaucracy and speeds up the decision making process.
E)BPR is synonymous to the Total Quality Management approach of process improvement.

Question 13

In using the process view of the business,which of the following should be identified when defining the system?

A)Customers and suppliers
B)The process-flow analysis approach to be used
C)Of all the functional areas,only the operations function
D)Boundary of the system
E)Two of the above

Question 14

Which of the following components need not be defined as a prerequisite to process-flow analysis?

A)System boundaries
B)Customers
C)System flows
D)Suppliers
E)Cross-functional teams

Question 15

What does a square symbol mean in a flow process chart?

A)Operation
B)Inspection
C)Storage
D)Delay
E)Two of the above

Question 16

Which of the following statements is incorrect about flowchart analysis?

A)Process-flow analysis is heavily dependent on systems thinking.
B)Flowcharts are used to describe and improve the transformation process in a business.
C)There are ten process elements that might be changed when improving the effectiveness or efficiency of productive processes.
D)Swim lane is another name for a flowchart.
E)None of the above

Question 17

If I denotes the average inventory in the system,T denotes the average throughput time,and R denotes the average flow rate of the system,then by Little's Law:

A)I = T/R
B)T = I + R
C)I = R/T
D)R = I/T
E)R = I * T

Question 18

Process elements that might be changed when improving the efficiency of productive processes include:

A)Job design
B)Product or service design
C)Customer request
D)Both a and b
E)a,b,and c

Question 19

A service blueprint:

A)Shows all points of interaction between the customer and the service providers
B)Contains a "line of visibility"
C)Includes measurement of time
D)All of the above

Question 20

Which of the following is not one of the four principles of business process reengineering (BPR)?

A)Organize around outcomes,not tasks
B)Have the people who do the work process their own information
C)Eliminate unnecessary steps in the process
D)Computerize the remaining steps in the process

Question 21

Any given process will have at least one bottleneck.

Question 22

Provide two examples for each of the following categories of questions when conducting process flow analysis:
a.What
b.Who
c.Where
d.When
e.How

Question 23

If there are n resources that process each transaction,then the process capacity is the sum of all the individual capacities of the resources.

Question 24

Business process reengineering is cross-functional in nature and requires a complete overhaul of work methods,flows,and information systems.

Question 25

Provide two examples for each of the following categories of questions when conducting process flow analysis.
a.Flow
b.Time
c.Quantity
d.Quality
e.Cost

Question 26

Hollywood Video is a small video stored located in Minneapolis.It is open 24 hours a day and experiences customers arriving throughout the day.The video store manager was interested in determining the traffic in his store.This made him conduct a study regarding the arrival process of his customers.He found that the customers arrive uniformly at the rate of 10 customers per hour.The Video Store has a single clerical staff to process the customer request (checkout a video cassette).The clerical staff takes an average of 5 minutes to checkout a customer.
a.If we assume that every incoming customer rents at least one video,what is the average number of customers in the video store?
b.For the same assumption,determine the utilization of the clerical staff.

Question 27

A line of visibility separates the parts of a service that come in direct contact with customers from those that do not.