SC OM questions – Flashcards
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A global network of organizations and activities that supply a firm with good and services is what?
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supply chain
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Competition in the 21st century is between ________________?
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supply chains
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A large percentage of revenue of most firms is spent on which function?
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operations
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Which of the following OM decisions determine how a good or service is produced and commits management to specific technology, quality, human resources and capital investment?
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process and capacity design
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The father of scientific management is:
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Frederick W. Taylor
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The person who introduced standardized, interchangeable parts was:
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Eli Whitney
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The person who believed that management must do more to improve the work environment and processes so that quality can be improved was:
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W. Edwards Deming
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The service sector constitutes what percentage of employment in the US?
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between 80% and 90%
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Productivity increases when
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inputs decrease while outputs remain the same
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The ratio of all resources to the goods and services produced is referred to as:
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multifactor productivity
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What are the five elements in the management process?
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plan, organize, staff, lead and control
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The 10 strategic operations management decisions include:
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All of the above (managing quality, maintenance, layout strategy, process and capacity design, design of goods and services, location strategy, human resources and job design, supply-chain management, inventory/JIT, intermediate and short-term scheduling)
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Walter Shewhart is listed among the important people of operations management because of his contributions to:
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statistical quality control
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Walter Sheward, in the _______, provided the foundations for______ in operations management.
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1920's; statistical sampling
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Illiteracy and poor diets have been known to cost countries up to what percent of their productivity?
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20%
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The stated purpose of NAFTA is to:
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phase out all trade and tariff barriers among Canada, Mexico and the US
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A strategy is
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an action plan to achieve a mission
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Regal Marine utilizes the strategy of differentiation. Which one does not belong in this group?
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marketing (high quality, constant innovation, unique features)
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Competing on differentiation is
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concerned with uniqueness
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Competing on cost is
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achieving maximum value as perceived by the customer
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Which of the following is NOT an OM strategy/issue during the introduction stage of the product life cycle?
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long production runs
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A method managers use to evaluate the resources at their disposal and manage or alter them to achieve competitive advantage is referred to as:
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resources view
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SWOT is
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strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats
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A set of skills, talents, and capabilities in which a firm is particularly strong is referred to as
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core competencies
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Which of these is NOT an advantage of outsourcing?
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potential creation of future competition
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Which of the following is NOT a step in the factor-rating method to rate outsource providers?
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divide the ratings by the applicable weights
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What is the difference between multinational corporation (MNC) and an international business?
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For the MNC, the business done outside the country is especially significant
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Which of the following international operations strategies uses decentralized authority with substantial autonomy at the business?
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multidomestic
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With reference to cultural and ethical issues, the WTO has:
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made progress in providing equal protection of intellectual property among nations
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Porter's Five Forces Model is used to evaluate competition based on which 5 aspects?
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immediate rivals, potential entrants, customer suppliers, and substitute products
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Porter's Five Forces Model contains which of the following?
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all of the above (suppliers, customers, immediate rivals, potential entrants)
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Who introduced the concept of value-chain analysis?
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Porter
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Standardization is an appropriate strategy in which stage of the product life cycle?
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maturity
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Given the position of the 3D printer in the growth stage of its life cycle, which of the following OM strategy/Issues should the makers of 3D printers be least concerned with at the current time?
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cost cutting
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What is the practice of transferring a firm's activities that have traditionally been internal to external suppliers?
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outsourcing
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What theory implies that you should allow another firm to perform work activities for your company if that company can do it more productively than you can?
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theory of comparative advantage
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An operations manager is performing a factor-rating analysis to help her choose an outsourcing provider. She is focusing on three factors: A, B, C with weights of .5, .2 and .3. She has scored one potential outsourcer, Ling Services, on each of the factors using a scale 10-50. Ling Services received a score of 30 for A, 46 for B and 22 for C. What is the factor score for Ling?
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30.8
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A forecast that addresses the business cycle by predicting planning indicators is an:
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economic forecast
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A forecast that projects a company's sales is:
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a demand forecast
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CPFR is:
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collaborative, planning, forecasting and replenishment
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Which of the following is the FIRST step in a forecasting system?
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determine the use of the forecast
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Which of the following is a quantitative forecasting method?
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exponential smoothing
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Which of the following is a qualitative forecasting method?
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Delphi method
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Which of the following is NOT a time-series model?
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linear regression
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What two numbers are contained in the daily report to the CEO of Walt Disney regarding the Orlando parks?
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yesterday's forecasted attendance and yesterday's actual attendance
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one use of short-range forecasts is to determine:
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job assignments
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Forecasts are usually classified by time horizon into which three categories?
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short-range, medium-range, long-range
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A forecast with a time horizon of about 3 months to 3 years is typically called a:
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medium-range forecast
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The three major types of forecasts used by organizations in planning future operations are:
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economic, technological and demand
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Which of the following is not a type of qualitative forecasting?
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moving average
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Gradual upward or downward movement of data over time is called:
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a trend
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A six-month moving average forecast is generally better than a three-month moving average forecast if demand:
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is rather stable
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Which time-series model uses BOTH past forecasts and past demand data to generate a new forecast?
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exponential smoothing
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Which of the following smoothing constants would make an exponential smoothing forecast equivalent to a naive forecast?
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1.0
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Which of the following values of alpha would cause exponential smoothing to respond the SLOWEST?
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.10 (lowest number)
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The primary purpose of the mean absolute deviation (MAD) in forecasting is to:
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measure forecast accuracy
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For a given product demand, the time-series equation is 53-4x. The negative sign on the coefficient:
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is an indication that product demand is declining
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The degree of strength of a relationship between two variables is shown by the:
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coefficient of correlation
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The tracking signal is the:
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ratio of cumulative error/MAD
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Computer monitoring of tracking signals and self-adjustments if a signal passes a preset limit is characteristic of:
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adaptive smoothing
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Taco Bell's unique employee scheduling practices are partly the result of using:
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A and C (point of sale computers to track food sales in 15 minute intervals and a six-week moving average forecasting technique
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A house quality would depict strength of the relationship between which of the following two items?
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The customer's desire for a durable wallet and the company's choice of material for the wallet
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What is the first step to build a house of quality?
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identify customer wants
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When ordering a new zagflatz, customers must choose the style of three major components, each of which has about 10 variations. This is an example of:
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modular design
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What is a design that can be produced to requirements event with unfavorable conditions in the production process?
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robust design
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What is a review of successful products that takes place during the production process?
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value analysis
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Which of the following is an external product development strategy?
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joint ventures
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Which of the following represents an internal product development strategy?
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migration of existing products
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A route sheet:
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lists the operations necessary to produce the component
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An assembly chart:
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is a schematic showing how the product is assembled
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What is an umbrella of software programs that may include CAD/CAM, product routing, maintenance and other product concerns?
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product life-cycle management
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Which of the following regions of a process chain includes the process steps that involved interaction between participants?
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direct interaction region
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Operation of a hair salon is an example of:
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delayed customization
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When should product strategy focus on forecasting capacity requirements?
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at the growth stage of the product life cycle
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At which stage of the product life cycle is product strategy likely to focus on improved cost control?
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maturity
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What percentage of sales from new products is indicative of industry leaders?
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50%
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Reducing the complexity of a product and improving a product's maintainability are activities of:
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manufacturability and value engineering
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Quality function deployment (QFD)
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all of the above (is used early in design process, translates customer desires into the target design, used to determine where to deploy quality efforts, determines what will satisfy the customer)
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An engineering drawing shows the:
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dimensions, tolerances, materials and finishes of component
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Which of the following typically shows the hierarchy of components, their description and the quantity of each required to make one unit of a product?
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a bill of material
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The hierarchy of components, their description and the quantity of each required to make one unit of a product are documented on:
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a bill of material
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The role of decision trees in product design is to:
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calculate the expected value of each course of action
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Which of the following is NOT true regarding corporate social responsibility?
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CSR only requires firms to focus on environmentally friendly product disposal
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Which of the following statements is NOT true about sustainability?
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sustainability focuses only on environmental resources
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What are the three Ps in the triple bottom line of the three Ps?
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people, planet and profit
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How companies remain in business is referred to as:
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economic sustainability
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The 3Rs for sustainability are
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reduce, reuse and recycle
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What is the most critical phase in product life cycle assessment?
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product design
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What is an analysis of environmental impacts of products from the design stage through end-of-life?
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life cycle assessment
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Which of the following considers forward and reverse product flows over the entire life cycle?
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reverse logistics
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What is the key tool for reducing industrial greenhouse gas emission in the European Union?
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EUETS
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The five core elements of ISO 14000 are:
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environmental management, auditing, performance evaluation, labeling and life cycle assessment
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What does CSR stand for?
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corporate social responsiblity
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Corporate social responsibility involves managerial decision making that considers what three impacts?
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environmental, societal and financial
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What refers to looking at a product's life from design to disposal, including all the resources required?
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A systems view
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What is a measure of total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly by an organization, a product, an event or a person?
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carbon footprint
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What percentage of the 2012 Mercedes S-Class is recyclable?
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95%
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What type of supply chain consider forward and reverse product flows over the entire life cycle?
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closed-loop
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Products are more "environmentally friendly" when they are made:
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using less energy
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What allows companies in Europe to buy and sell allowances for the right to pollute?
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EUETS
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Within environmental regulation the "cap-and-trade" principle produces a market that allows companies to purchase and sell what?
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emission allowances
