BUS 380 Operations Management Ch 2 – Flashcards
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An example of a strategic operations management decision is the choice of where to locate. True or False?
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True
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An example of an operational operations management decision is inventory level management. True or False?
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True
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Government statistics are a good source of data about productivity trends in the service sector. True or False?
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False
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An example of a tactical operations management decision is determining employment levels. True or False?
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True
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Productivity is defined as the ratio of output to input. True or False?
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True
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Competitiveness relates to the profitability of an organization in the marketplace. True or False?
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False
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If people would only work harder, productivity would increase. True or False?
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False
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Tracking productivity measures over time enables managers to judge organizational performance and decide where improvements are needed. True or False?
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True
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Productivity is directly related to the ability of an organization to compete. True or False?
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True
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A characteristic that was once an order winner may become an order qualifier, and vice versa. True or False?
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True
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Outsourcing tends to improve quality but at the cost of lowered productivity. True or False?
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False
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Productivity tends to be only a very minor factor in an organization's ability to compete. True or False?
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False
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An organization that is twice as productive as its competitor will be twice as profitable. True or False?
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False
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National productivity is determined by averaging the productivity measures of various companies or industries. True or False?
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False
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Wage and salary increases that are not accompanied by productivity increases tend to exert inflationary pressures on a nation's economy. True or False?
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True
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Global competition really only applies to multi-national organizations. True or False?
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False
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A business that is rated highly by its customers for service quality will tend to be more profitable than a business that is rated poorly. True or False?
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True
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Services often don't fit simple yield measurements. True or False?
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True
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A mission statement should provide a guide for the formulation of strategies for the organization. True or False?
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True
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The hierarchy and sequence of planning and decision-making is: mission, organizational strategy, tactics, and operational decisions. True or False?
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True
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Strategy includes both organizational and functional strategies. True or False?
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True
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Organizational strategy should be determined without considering the realities of functional area strengths and weaknesses since they can be changed to meet our strategy. True or False?
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False
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Mission statements should be as specific as possible regarding exactly how they will be accomplished. True or False?
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False
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Improving efficiency will guarantee a similar improvement in productivity. True or False?
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False
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As long as we match a competitor on quality and price we will gain market share. True or False?
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False
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Environmental scanning is a search for events or trends that present either threats or opportunities to the organization. True or False?
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True
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Standardization has the advantage of reducing variability. True or False?
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True
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Traditional strategies of business organizations have tended to emphasize cost minimization or product differentiation. True or False?
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True
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Quality-based strategies focus on customer satisfaction by ensuring that each product is carefully and thoroughly inspected prior to delivery to prevent sending out bad product. True or False?
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False
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Time-based strategies focus on reducing the time required to accomplish certain activities, such as new product development or delivery to the customer. True or False?
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True
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Functional strategies should be designed to directly support a firm's mission. True or False?
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False
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Competitiveness does not include: A. Productivity B. Effectiveness C. Profitability D. Operations Strategy E. Operations Management
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C. Profitability
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Product design and choice of location are examples of _______ decisions. A. strategic B. tactical C. operational D. customer focused E. design
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A. Strategic
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Scheduling personnel is an example of an operations management: A. mission implementation B. operational decision C. organizational strategy D. functional strategy E. tactical decision
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B. Operational Decision
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Which of the following is not a factor that affects productivity? A. computer viruses B. design of the workspace C. use of the Internet D. standardizing processes E. wireless cellular phones
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E. Wireless Cellular Phones
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Which of these factors affects productivity? A. methods and technology B. workers C. management D. a and b only E. all of the above
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E. All of the Above
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Which of the following is not a key step toward improving productivity? A. developing productivity measures for all operations B. improving the bottleneck operations C. establishing reasonable goals for improvement D. considering incentives to reward workers E. converting bond debt to stock ownership
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E. converting bond debt to stock ownership
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For an organization to grow its market share, it must: A. advertise using multimedia B. lower prices C. exceed minimum standards of acceptability for its products or services D. establish an internet website E. broaden its mission statement
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D. exceed minimum standards of acceptability for its products or services
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The ratio of good output to quantity of raw material input is called A. non-defective productivity B. process yield C. worker quality measurement D. total quality productivity E. quantity/quality ratio
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B. Process Yield
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The fundamental purpose for the existence of any organization is described by its: A. policies B. procedures C. corporate charter D. mission statement E. bylaws
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D. Mission statement
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A productivity increase in one operation that doesn't improve overall productivity of the business isn't A. worthwhile B. trivial C. competence-destroying D. an order winner E. an order qualifier
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worthwhile
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Value added can be calculated by: A. average productivity gains over time B. inputs divided by the outputs C. outputs divided by the inputs D. input plus output divided by two E. outputs minus inputs
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E. Outputs minus inputs
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Core competencies in organizations generally relate to: A. cost B. quality C. time D. flexibility E. all of the above
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E. All of the Above
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Which of the following is not typically considered a cure for poor competitiveness? A. remove communications barriers within organizations B. minimize attention to the operations function C. put less emphasis on short-term financial results D. recognize labor as a valuable asset and act to develop it E. improve quality
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B. minimize attention to the operations function
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Time-based approaches of business organizations focus on reducing the time to accomplish certain necessary activities. Time reductions seldom apply to: A. product/service design time B. processing time C. delivery time D. response time for complaints E. internal audits
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E. Internal Audits
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The external elements of SWOT analysis are: A. strengths and weaknesses B. strengths and threats C. opportunities and threats D. weaknesses and opportunities E. strengths and opportunities
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C. Opportunities and threats
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In an assembly operation at a furniture factory, six employees assembled an average of 450 standard dining chairs per 5-day week. What is the labor productivity of this operation? A. 90 chairs/worker/day B. 20 chairs/worker/day C. 15 chairs/worker/day D. 75 chairs/worker/day E. none of the above
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C. 15 chairs/worker/days
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The manager of a carpet store is trying to determine the best installation crew size. He has tried various crew sizes with the results shown below. Based on productivity, what crew size do you recommend? A. 2 B. 3 C. 4
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A. 2
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The weekly output of a fabrication process is shown below together with data for labor and material inputs. Standard selling price is $125 per unit. Overhead is charged weekly at the rate of $1,500 plus .5 times direct labor cost. Assume a 40-hour week and an hourly wage of $16. Material cost is $10 per foot. What is the average multifactor productivity? A. 1.463 B. 1.457 C. 1.431
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B. 1,457
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The Balanced Scorecard is a useful tool for helping managers translate their strategy into action in the following areas: A. Sustainability; Flexibility; Efficiency; Technology B. Customers; Financial; Internal Business Processes; Learning and Growth C. Customization; Standardization; Efficiency; Effectiveness D. The Environment; The Community; Suppliers; Other Stakeholders E. Strategy; Tactics; Productivity; Profitability
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B. Customers; Financial; Internal Business Processes; Learning and Growth
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A firm pursuing a strategy based on customization and variety will tend to structure and manage its supply chain to accommodate more _____________ than a firm pursuing a strategy based on low-cost and high-volume. A. Variation B. Streamlined flow C. Quality D. Capacity E. Productivity
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A. Variation
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Unique attributes of firms that give them a competitive edge are called ______________. A. Functional strategies B. Balanced scorecards C. Supply chains D. Core competencies E. Sustainable initiatives
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D. Core compentencies
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Years ago in the overnight delivery business, providing package tracking capability gave some firms a competitive advantage. Now, all firms must offer this capability simply to be in this line of business. This is an example of ______________ becoming ____________ over time. A. Tactical implications; strategic B. Strategic implications; tactical C. Order winners; order qualifiers D. Profitability factors; productivity factors E. Order qualifiers; order winners
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C. Order winners; order qualifiers
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Increasing the service offered to the customer makes it more difficult to compete on the basis of ______. A. order qualifiers B. customization C. quality D. price E. flexibility
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D. Price
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__________ is generally used to facilitate an organization strategy that emphasizes low cost. A. Speed to market B. Flexibility C. Customization D. Sustainability E. None of the above
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E. None of the Above
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Which of the following factors would tend to reduce productivity? A. improvements in workplace safety B. reductions in labor turnover C. more inexperienced workers D. reductions in the scrap rate E. none of the above
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C. more inexperienced workers
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Suppose a country's productivity last year was 84. If this country's productivity growth rate of 5% is to be maintained, this means that this year's productivity will have to be _______. A. 88.2 B. 79.8 C. 82.8 D. 78.9 E. 4.2
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A. 88.2
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The weekly output of a production process is shown below, together with data for labor and material inputs. The standard inventory value of the output is $125 per unit. Overhead is charged weekly at the rate of $1500 plus 0.5 times direct labor cost. Assume a 40-hour week and an hourly wage of $16. Material cost is $10 per running foot. What is the average multi-factor productivity for this process?
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1.447
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A company has introduced a process improvement that reduces processing time for each unit, so that output is increased by 25% with less material, but one additional worker required. Under the old process, five workers could produce 60 units per hour. Labor costs are $12/hour, and material input was previously $16/unit. For the new process, material is now $10/unit. Overhead is charged at 1.6 times direct labor cost. Finished units sell for $31 each. What increase in productivity is associated with the process improvement?
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48.83
