Awarded Points 145.00
Points Missed 5.00
Points Ungraded 40.00
1. The impact of strategies on the general direction and basic character of a company is
A) short range
B) medium range
C) long range
D) temporal
E) minimal
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): C
2. Franz Colruyt has achieved low-cost leadership through
A) Spartan headquarters
B) absence of voice mail
C) low-cost facilities
D) no background music
E) all of these
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): E
3. Experience Differentiation
A) isolates the consumer from the delivery of a service
B) is an extension of product differentiation in the service sector
C) uses only the consumer's senses of vision and sound
D) keeps consumers from becoming active participants in the service
E) is the same as product differentiation, but applied in the service sector
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): B
4. Which of the following is an example of competing on the basis of differentiation?
A) a firm manufactures its product with less raw material waste than its competitors
B) a firm's products are introduced into the market faster than its competitors
C) a firm's distribution network routinely delivers its product on time
D) a firm offers more reliable products than its competitors
E) a firm advertises more than its competitors
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): D
5. Activity D on a PERT/CPM network has predecessors B and C, and has successor F. D has duration 6. B's
earliest finish is 18, while C's is 20. F's late start is 26. Which of the following is true?
A) B is a critical activity.
B) C is completed before B.
C) D has no slack but is not critical.
D) D is critical, and has zero slack.
E) all of these are true.
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): D
6. A project organization works best for an organization when the project resides in only one of its functional
areas.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): False
7. Divulging information to some bidders on a project to give them an unfair advantage
A) is the same thing as altering a status report
B) is bribery
C) is permitted by NAFTA
D) is known as bid rigging
E) is acceptable for private corporations but not for government agencies
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): D
8. Slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): True
9. Computer monitoring of tracking signals and self-adjustment if a signal passes a preset limit is characteristic of
A) exponential smoothing including trend
B) adaptive smoothing
C) trend projection
D) focus forecasting
E) multiple regression analysis
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): B
10. The primary purpose of the mean absolute deviation (MAD) in forecasting is to
A) estimate the trend line
B) eliminate forecast errors
C) measure forecast accuracy
D) seasonally adjust the forecast
E) all of these
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): C
11. Which of the following statements about time series forecasting is true?
A) It is based on the assumption that future demand will be the same as past demand.
B) It makes extensive use of the data collected in the qualitative approach.
C) The analysis of past demand helps predict future demand.
D) Because it accounts for trends, cycles, and seasonal patterns, it is more powerful than causal forecasting.
E) all of these are true.
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): C
12. Which of the following is not a type of qualitative forecasting?
A) executive opinions
B) sales force composites
C) consumer surveys
D) the Delphi method
E) moving average
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): E
13. Which of the following is true regarding value engineering?
A) Value engineering occurs only after the product is selected and designed.
B) Value engineering is the same as value analysis.
C) Value engineering is oriented toward improvement of design.
D) Value engineering occurs during production when it is clear the product is a success.
E) Value engineering can save substantial amounts of product cost, but quality suffers.
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): C
14. The four phases of the product life cycle are incubation, introduction, growth, and decline.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): False
15. Relatively few new product ideas, perhaps only 1 in 250, become successfully marketed products.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): True
16. The objective of a decision tree is the expected value of each course of action.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): True
17. The Central Limit Theorem states that when the sample size increases, the distribution of the sample means
will approach the normal distribution.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): True
18. If the process average is in control, then the process range must also be in control.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): False
19. A manager wants to build 3 control limits for a process. The target value for the mean of the process is 10
units, and the standard deviation of the process is 6. If samples of size 9 are to be taken, the UCL and LCL will be
A) -8 and 28
B) 16 and 4
C) 12 and 8
D) 4 and 16
E) 8 and 12
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): B
20. Jars of pickles are sampled and weighed. Sample measures are plotted on control charts. The ideal weight
should be precisely 11 oz. Which type of chart(s) would you recommend?
A) p-charts
B) c-charts
C)
D)
E)
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): C
21. In mass service and professional service, the operations manager should focus on
A) automation
B) equipment maintenance
C) sophisticated scheduling
D) human resources
E) all of these
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): D
22. Processes can be environmentally friendly and socially responsible while still contributing to profitable
strategies.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): True
23. Flexibility is important in repetitive focus plants and product focus plants.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 0.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): True
24. Which of the following industries is likely to have low equipment utilization?
A) auto manufacturing
B) commercial baking
C) television manufacturing
D) chemical processing
E) restaurants
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): E
25. Which of the following statements regarding fixed costs is true?
A) Fixed costs rise by a constant amount for every added unit of volume.
B) While fixed costs are ordinarily constant with respect to volume, they can "step" upward if volume increases
result in additional fixed costs.
C) Fixed costs are those costs associated with labor and materials.
D) Fixed costs equal variable costs at the break-even point.
E) Fixed cost is the difference between selling price and variable cost.
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): B
26. A decision tree for analyzing capacity would have future demands or market favorability as the decision
alternatives.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): False
27. Adding a complementary product to what is currently being produced is a demand management strategy used
when
A) demand exceeds capacity
B) capacity exceeds demand for a product which has stable demand
C) the existing product has seasonal or cyclical demand
D) price increases have failed to bring about demand management
E) efficiency exceeds 100 percent
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): C
28. An organization whose capacity is on that portion of the average unit cost curve that falls as output rises
A) has a facility that is below optimum operating level and should build a larger facility
B) has a facility that is above optimum operating level and should build a smaller facility
C) is suffering from diseconomies of scale
D) has utilization higher than efficiency
E) has efficiency higher than utilization
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): A
29. The total of all outputs produced by the transformation process divided by the total of the inputs is
A) utilization
B) greater in manufacturing than in services
C) defined only for manufacturing firms
D) multi-factor productivity
E) none of these
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): D
30. A knowledge society is one that has migrated from work based on knowledge to one based on manual work.
A) True
B) False
Points Earned: 5.0/5.0
Correct Answer(s): False
31. What are similarities the and differences in location strategy between product and service firms? Note at least 2
of each, and briefly note its importance.
One primary commonality in the location strategies of goods-producing firms and service firms is the desire to
locate with a proximity to competitors. While this sounds illogical at first glance, clustering occurs in product firms
when they are locating near where raw materials are found and in service firms where appropriate talent (such as
engineers) is found. The proximity to customers is also important for both types of firms. With goods-producing
firms, the closer you are located to markets the lower your shipping costs, and since service firms are generally
hands-on with their offerings, they must be located within a brief travel distance.
The consideration of cost is one differentiator between product and service firms. The most important factor in the
location decision strategy for product firms is the minimization of costs, so locating where utilities are less
expensive or closer to suppliers so shipping costs can be minimized is important. For service firms, cost is obviously
a factor but is not the most important factor. For service firms, an office in an expensive part of town may be better
for business than being located in the suburbs so that you are closer to your customers. Finally, the decision to locate
on a global scale is a significant factor for product firms for the purpose of cost-minimization, but for service firms
that need to be in their customers vicinity, a global location strategy would be ineffective.
Points Earned: ?/5.0
32. In PERT network calculations, explain the advantage of using:
Three-time estimate model with a calculation of expected completion time and a project variance
Crash time model
Using a program evaluation and review technique (PERT) as a project management methodology has many
advantages. The employment of a three-time estimate model allows for a knowledge-based qualitative measurement
to be added to the analysis. Since managers often understand the processes better than a computer can estimate
them, this method.
Crash-time models can be used to determine how to shorten projects if the estimated time is beyond the desirable
range or if the project is running behind schedule. Using crash-time models, we can determine how the addition of
materials to a particular stage of the project can speed it up. It will allow us to input the cost of crashing the activity
and the expected benefit to come to a conclusion. Whether the project is crashed is not necessarily based upon the
negative or positive of crashing though, as a project behind schedule may require high costs just to complete on
time.
Points Earned: ?/5.0
33. Other than the obvious answer (that they are critical), what is the importance of project activities that are
calculated to be on the Critical Path in a PERT network analysis? How can that information be used to better manage
a product?
For project activities on the critical path, their completion time is essential to the total project completion time. All
other paths of the project have slack time where they are waiting for the completion of other activities. If activities
along the critical path are delayed, the entire project will be delayed. If activities along the critical path are
completed before their estimated time, the entire project could be ahead of schedule. In knowing the critical path, the
activities on the near-critical path(s) need to also be monitored. While there is slack time along these paths, a
slowdown in a single activity still has the potential to slow down the entire project.
Points Earned: ?/5.0
34. In forecasting, explain how you would determine which variable is the independent variable, and which is the
dependent variable?
In forecasting, independent variables are those that are not consequential to the action, or are not affected by the
action. Dependent variables on the other hand are directly related to the action. As an example, my quiz grades are a
dependent variable to my reading of the text and studying the material in-depth. My age may be an independent
variable. While statistically relevant, it does not affect the test scores.
Points Earned: ?/5.0
35. A firm calculates its equipment utilization rate at 88%, and its efficiency at 92%. Is this a poor, average, or
good efficiency and utilization? Explain your answers in terms of not only design and effective capacity, but in
terms to the companys overall product and process strategy.
Utilization and efficiency are both related to actual output, but utilization is based off the design capacity while
efficiency is based off the effective capacity. Since utilization measures the output against the theoretical maximum
output. Utilization does not necessarily show poor performance, but may instead reflect market conditions or
staffing issues. Efficiency on the other hand is measured suing the capacity that the firm actually expects to achieve
given the constraints not factored into the design capacity. While still nearly impossible to reach 100% if estimated
properly, this more accurately reflects the actual conditions both internally and externally to the organization.
Points Earned: ?/5.0
36. Significant time was spent in class assignments and exercises in exploring that the process selected by a firm
for a product or service must fit with a specific combination of volume and varietythat is there are some
combinations of expected product volume and the variety (flexibility) of items produced that produce a good
strategic fit, and other combinations that produce a poor strategic fit. Give an example of a volume and variety
that would be a poor strategic fitand explain what might be done to change the process to make the fit better.
As an example, product-focused processes are high-volume and low-variety. Generally these types of process are
involved in the production of semi-finished materials or other assembly-line items with no customization. A poor
strategic fit for a product-focused process would be in the automobile market. Little experimentation outside of still
then-communist USSR has been done with no-option automobiles, but the current global method involves a level
between product-focused and mass-customization (although some automakers like Scion have had success with
mass customization). The electronic goods market for cameras and televisions is strictly product-focused, but with
consumers being more involved in these types of purchases than ever before, adding some variety into these
products may help one manufacturer set themselves apart in the market.
Points Earned: ?/5.0
37. Locational break-even was presented as a tool for providing a method for selecting a plant or facility location.
What are the minimum requirements that you need to perform a locational break-even analysis? Once done, how can
you determine which location to select? Explain.
To perform a locational break-even analysis, you must first understand the fixed and variable costs for each of the
locations to be considered. To compare the differences using a break-even analysis then you set your baseline as the
fixed costs, then set a scale with expected volume and per-unit (variable) costs from 0 units up to that expected
volume. When complete, you will have a crossover chart that distinguishes the points at which certain measureable
volumes change the preferred location based on cost.
Points Earned: ?/5.0
38. After 8 chapters of operations management, what are the actual differences between operations management
for products, and operations management for services? Given your answerif you had to make a case for one or the
other of the followingwhich would you choose and why?
1) products are more different than services and need to be treated differently, or 2) products are actually very much
like services, and there are many elements that can be handled in a similar manner
I think that products are much like services and strategies for management are generally quite the same. Of course,
there are details that the organization of service strategies cannot handle when it comes to the production of goods,
but at through at least the chapters we have covered so far many of the same concepts apply to both goodsproducing and service businesses. In transitioning inputs to outputs, the tasks involving management of operations
are generally the same.
Points Earned: ?/5.0
\