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1. Operations managers are responsible for assessing consumer wants and needs and selling and promoting the organization's goods or services.

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FALSE Operation managers are not responsible for promoting goods/services.

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2. Often, the collective success or failure of companies' operations functions will impact the ability of a nation to compete with other nations.

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TRUE A nation is often only as competitive as its companies.

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3. Companies are either producing goods or delivering services. This means that only one of the two types of operations management strategies are used.

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FALSE Most systems involve a blend of goods and services.

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4. Operations, marketing, and finance function independently of each other in most organizations.

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FALSE Operations, marketing and finance are naturally dependent upon one another

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5. The greater the degree of customer involvement, the more challenging the design and management of operations.

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TRUE Greater customer involvement leads to more complexity in the design and management of operations.

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6. Goods producing organizations are not involved in service activities.

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FALSE Most systems involve a blend of goods and services.

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7. Service operations require additional inventory because of the unpredictability of consumer demand.

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FALSE Service operations cannot use inventory as a hedge against unpredictable demand.

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8. The value of outputs is measured by the prices customers are willing to pay for goods or services.

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TRUE Customers' willingness to pay for goods or services sets the value of these outputs.

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9. The use of models will guarantee the best possible decisions.

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FALSE Models are useful, but their use does not guarantee the best decisions.

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10. People who work in the field of operations should have skills that include both knowledge and people skills.

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TRUE Operations management requires a blend of knowledge and people skills.

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11. Assembly lines achieved productivity but at the expense of standard of living.

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FALSE Productivity and standard of living go hand in hand.

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12. The operations manager has primary responsibility for making operations system design decisions, such as system capacity and location of facilities.

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FALSE The operations manager plays a role in these decisions but is not primarily responsible for them.

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13. The word "technology" is used only to refer to "information technology".

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FALSE Technology also refers to the technology involved in resource transformations.

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14. 'Value added' by definition is always a positive number since 'added' implies increases.

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FALSE Some transformations result in the output being worth less than the inputs.

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15. Service often requires greater labor content, whereas manufacturing is more capital intensive.

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TRUE Service operations tend to be more labor-intensive than manufacturing.

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16. Measurement of productivity in service is more straightforward than in manufacturing since it is not necessary to take into account the cost of materials.

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FALSE Materials cost must be considered in services as well.

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17. Special-purpose technology is a common way of offering increased customization in manufacturing or services without taking on additional labor costs.

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FALSE Special-purpose technology typically reduces costs through standardization.

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18. One concern in the design of production systems is the degree of standardization.

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TRUE How standardized outputs will be is a critical consideration in the system design question.

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19. Most people encounter operations only in profit-making organizations.

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FALSE Operations are also relevant to not-for-profit organizations such as the Red Cross.

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0. Service involves a much higher degree of customer contact than manufacturing.

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TRUE Customer contact tends to be much higher in services.

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21. A systems approach emphasizes interrelationships among subsystems, but its main theme is that the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

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TRUE Optimizing the performance of individual subsystems does not guarantee optimal performance from the overall system.

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22. The Pareto phenomenon is one of the most important and pervasive concepts that can be applied at all levels of management.

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TRUE Pareto phenomena can be observed in a wide variety of organization situations.

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23. Operations managers, who usually use quantitative approaches, are not really concerned with ethical decision-making.

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FALSE Ethics issues are touching on all areas of management, including operations.

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24. The optimal solutions produced by quantitative techniques should always be evaluated in terms of the larger framework.

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TRUE Quantitative techniques have limitations that must be considered.

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25. Managers should most often rely on quantitative techniques for important decisions since quantitative approaches result in more accurate decisions.

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FALSE Just as other techniques do, quantitative techniques have limitations.

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26. Many operations management decisions can be described as tradeoffs.

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TRUE Managing tradeoffs is the essence of operations management.

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27. A systems approach means that we concentrate on efficiency within a subsystem and thereby assure overall efficiency.

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FALSE Subsystem efficiency doesn't necessarily translate into overall efficiency.

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28. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, goods were produced primarily by craftsmen or their apprentices using custom made parts.

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TRUE After the Industrial Revolution, more standardized approaches became common.

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29. Elton Mayo's "Hawthorne Experiment" was the focal point of the Human Relations Movement, which emphasized the importance of the human element in job design.

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TRUE The Hawthorne Experiments were the beginning of the Human Relations Movement.

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30. Among Ford's many contributions was the introduction of mass production, using the concept of interchangeable parts and division of labor.

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TRUE Ford made mass production a practical success.

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31. Operations management and marketing are the two functional areas that exist to support activities in other functions such as accounting, finance, IT and human resources.

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FALSE Operations management and marketing are supported by these functions.

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32. Lean production systems incorporate the advantages of both mass production and craft production.

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TRUE Lean production blends the best of both worlds.

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33. As an abstraction of reality, a model is a simplified version of a real phenomenon.

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TRUE Models are valuable abstractions and simplifications of real, complex phenomena.

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34. Lean production systems use a highly skilled work force and flexible equipment.

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TRUE Lean depends on a skilled workforce.

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35. The lean production philosophy has been slow to be adopted in service industries.

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FALSE Lean concepts apply very well in service industries.

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36. Operations Management activities will be less important in the future because many firms are becoming service-oriented operations rather than goods producing operations.

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FALSE Operations management is just as important for service firms.

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37. A modern firm has two supply chain considerations - external links with suppliers and customers, and an internal network of flows to and between the operations function itself.

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TRUE Supply chain considerations are at play both in and beyond the modern firm.

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38. Operations management involves continuous decision-making; hopefully most decisions made will be:

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C. informed Informed decisions incorporate all relevant issues.

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39. A 'product package' consists of:

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C. a combination of goods and services Most firms are not pure service or manufacturing firms; they produce combinations of goods and services.

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40. Business organizations consist of three major functions which, ideally:

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A. support one another Finance, Marketing and Operations are these major functions.

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41. Which of the following is not a type of operations?

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E. all the above involve operations All of these involve taking inputs and transforming them.

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42. Technology choices seldom affect:

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C. union activity. Union activity can affect a firm's technology choices, but not the other way around.

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43. Measurements taken at various points in the transformation process for control purposes are called:

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D. feedback Feedback is used to monitor and improve processes.

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44. Budgeting, analysis of investment proposals, and provision of funds are activities associated with the _______ function.

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D. finance These are the primary tasks for the finance function.

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45. Which one of the following would not generally be classified under the heading of transformation?

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C. staffing Staffing doesn't involve transforming resources so much as it involves acquiring them.

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46. Manufacturing work sent to other countries is called:

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B. outsourced Outsourcing is increasingly a part of operations management.

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47. Product design and process selection are examples of _______ decisions.

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C. system design These major decisions affect decisions made at lower levels.

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48. The responsibilities of the operations manager are:

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B. planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling The scope of operations management ranges across the organization.

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49. Knowledge skills usually don't include:

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C. communication skills Communication skills generally are considered to be people skills.

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50. Which of the following is not true about systems approach?

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C. A systems approach concentrates on efficiency within subsystems. Subsystem efficiency doesn't necessarily translate into overall system efficiency.

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51. What is credited with gains in industrial productivity, increased standards of living and affordable products?

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D. assembly lines Mass production has played a prominent role in increasing standards of living.

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52. Production systems with customized outputs typically have relatively:

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E. skilled workers Skilled workers are necessary to accommodate the variation inherent in customized outputs.

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53. Which is not a significant difference between manufacturing and service operations?

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A. cost per unit Manufacturing operations aren't necessarily more or less efficient than service operations.

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54. Which of the following is not a characteristic of service operations?

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D. easy measurement of productivity The productivity of service operations is often hard to measure.

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55. Which of the following is a recent trend in business?

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C. supply chain management Supply chain management involves a broader systemic view of operations.

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56. Farming is an example of:

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C. non-manufactured goods Farm operations are not manufacturing operations.

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57. Dealing with the fact that certain aspects of any management situation are more important than others is called:

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C. recognition of priorities Solutions tend to be targeted toward higher priority aspects of a situation.

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58. The fact that a few improvements in a few key areas of operations will have more impact than many improvements in many other areas is consistent with the:

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B. Pareto phenomenon Pareto phenomena direct our attention to the difference between the "important few" and the "trivial many."

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59. The process of comparing outputs to previously established standards to determine if corrective action is needed is called:

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C. controlling Controls are used to maintain performance.

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60. Which of the following does not relate to system design?

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C. inventory management Inventory management is a system operation decision area.

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61. Taking a systems viewpoint with regard to operations in today's environment increasingly leads decision-makers to consider ______________ in response to the ___________.

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C. sustainability; threat of global warming Sustainability is a relatively recent operations management consideration.

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62. Some companies attempt to maximize the revenue they receive from fixed operating capacity by influencing demands through price manipulation. This is an example of __________________:

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D. Revenue management Revenue management is used to ensure that as much perishable capacity as possible is sold.

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63. Which of the following is not an ongoing trend in manufacturing?

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D. mass production for greater economies of scale Manufacturers are moving away from mass production for economies of scale.

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64. Which of the following is not a benefit of using models in decision making?

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D. All of the above are benefits. Models are useful tools for making decisions without confronting the actual situation with all of its complexity.

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65. Modern firms increasingly rely on other firms to supply goods and services instead of doing these tasks themselves. This increased level of _____________ is leading to increased emphasis on ____________ management.

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A. outsourcing; supply chain Supply chain management takes a more systemic view of the firm, its operations, and its suppliers.

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66. Operations and sales are the two ________ functions in businesses.

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E. line Others are support functions.

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67. Marketing depends on operations for information regarding ___________.

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B. lead time Marketing uses lead time information to make promises to customers.

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68. Two widely used metrics of variation are the __________ and the _________.

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The mean and standard deviation summarize important facets regarding the variation in a process. . mean; standard deviation

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69. Which of the following statements about variation is FALSE?

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D. Any variation makes a production process less productive. The choice to offer customers greater variety might increase variation but increase productivity even more.

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70. Which of the following is essential to consider with respect to managing a process to meet demand?

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A. strategy B. demand forecasts C. capacity D. random variability E. all of the above All of these play a role in determining whether a process can meet demand.

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