op 16 Sustainable Operations Management—Preparing for the Future – Flashcards

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When people and profit intersect, from a sustainability perspective, which of the following areas is most impacted? Sustainability Bearability Viability Equitability
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Equitability
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Which of the following phrases BEST defines the concept of sustainability, as set out by the United Nations Brundtland Commission: To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. To ensure that business and the community work together to preserve limited resources while also ensuring that business is appropriately rewarded for its efforts. To foster an environment that satisfies the requirements of the triple bottom line—namely people, profit, and the planet—the keys to our future survival. To reduce, minimize, and ideally eliminate pollution, thus preserving the planet and its resources for the benefit of not only today's generation but also the future. The answer is found in the first paragraph under the heading, and it focuses on the notion that sustainability must deal with needs (not pollution alone) and that these needs must
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To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The answer is found in the first paragraph under the heading, and it focuses on the notion that sustainability must deal with needs (not pollution alone) and that these needs must be satisfied both today and in the future.
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Which of the following environmental initiatives/programs deals most specifically with the firm's environmental management system? ISO 14000 LEED certification The Kyoto Protocol Responsible Care
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ISO 14000 Of all the standards and programs summarized in Table 16-1, ISO 14000 is the only one specifically targeted toward the firm's environmental management system.
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Which of the following environmental initiatives/programs deals most specifically with building design and construction? The Kyoto Protocol Responsible Care LEED certification ISO 14000
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LEED certification The answer to this question can be found in Table 16-1.
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Which of the following environmental initiatives/programs is an example of an industry-specific program aimed at improving environmental performance? ISO 14000 Responsible Care The Kyoto Protocol LEED certification
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Responsible Care The answer to this question can be found in Table 16-1.
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Which of the following approaches provides management with an appropriate tool for assessing the full impact from "seed to sewer" (from creation to disposal)? Life cycle analysis Trade-off analysis Total cost of ownership Cost of quality analysis
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Life cycle analysis Of these four options, only life cycle analysis deals with all of the stages of a product's life.
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Over which stage of the product's life cycle does operations management have the greatest amount of direct control? Extraction Usage Packaging/transportation Disposal
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Packaging/transportation Of these four areas, operations can directly influence packaging/transportation; the others are under the control of other areas (e.g., extraction is under the control of the suppliers and usage and disposal are under the control of the user).
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BMW has introduced a program of covered scheduled maintenance for its cars. That is, when you bring in your vehicle for maintenance at a BMW dealership, BMW will cover the costs of everything (except for worn-out tires). This practice specifically targets which stage of the product life cycle? Usage Disposal Packaging/transportation Extraction
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Usage What BMW is doing here is influencing how the customer uses (and treats) the product, thus improving the trade-in values and reducing the total costs of ownership. Consequently, the correct answer is Usage.
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Downcycling, as described in the chapter, is a critical consideration during which stage of the product life cycle? Usage Disposal Packaging/transportation Extraction
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Disposal Of the four areas, while the issues of downcycling are encountered in all four, this issue is most directly relevant during the last stage, disposal.
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Which of the following statements most accurately represents the challenge of being environmentally sustainable? Being environmentally responsible is simply a matter of complying with governmental regulations. The choices facing the firm are clear, and the obvious candidates for improvement can be easily identified. It is not easy to be environmentally responsible since the choices facing management involve trade-offs. This is a decision that firms must move on since the demand for environmental responsibility is driven by forces that cannot be ignored—governmental regulations, decreasing resource levels, and changing customer demands.
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It is not easy to be environmentally responsible since the choices facing management involve trade-offs. As illustrated in the discussion presented in the section, it is not easy to be environmentally responsible since there are significant and conflicting trade-offs that must be addressed—trade-offs where there is no obvious "right" answer.
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From an operations standpoint, sustainability means that: Firms should pursue profit without damaging the environment or the well-being of future generations. Profit is not an important goal. The firm must improve how it manages its people resources since these are important to the long-term survival of the firm. A company should focus its efforts on reducing pollution.
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Firms should pursue profit without damaging the environment or the well-being of future generations. Sustainability is much more than reducing pollution, and it includes meeting profitability goals. Firms should pursue profit without damaging the environment or the well-being of future generations.
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Lean systems thinking in operations management can extend to sustainability in what way? its focus on delivering products to customers faster . Its focus on reducing waste of all types. Its focus on improving product quality. Its focus on product innovation.
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Its focus on reducing waste of all types. Lean systems could improve quality and result in faster delivery, but the focus is on waste reduction, which is important to sustainability.
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A specific analysis of the total greenhouse gases caused directly or indirectly by a product is called: Carbon footprinting. Life cycle analysis. Life cycle waste assessment matrix. Cap and trade.
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Carbon footprinting. Carbon footprinting is an analysis of the total greenhouse gases caused directly or indirectly by a product. Life cycle analysis and LCWAM are more extensive than carbon footprinting.
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The following environmentally responsible process/material matrix was developed for Zanda Corp. Zanda has determined that a score of 40 is its goal at this time, but efforts to lower its score will continue regardless. What is Zanda's current score, and what is your conclusion? 53, Zanda is doing better than its goal. 47, Zanda, is doing better than its goal. 47, Zanda is doing worse than its goal. 53, Zanda is doing worse than its goal.
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47, Zanda is doing worse than its goal. The sum of the scores is 47. Since this is a higher number than the goal, Zanda is doing worse (the ultimate objective would be a score of zero).
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The following environmentally responsible process/material matrix was developed for Zanda Corp. Zanda has determined that a score of 50 is its goal at this time, but efforts to lower its score will continue regardless. What is Zanda's current score, and what is your conclusion? 47, but Zanda must do something about solid residue during extraction now. 47, and Zanda has met its goals—no further actions are necessary. 15, (from manufacture) and Zanda has met its goals—no further actions are necessary. 53, and Zanda has not met its goals.
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47, but Zanda must do something about solid residue during extraction now. While the sum of 47 is less than the goal of 50, the problem facing Zanda is that of solid residue during extraction. This has a score of 4, which indicates an event that is extremely dangerous and highly hazardous from an environmental perspective.
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Walmart has announced that suppliers must attempt to improve their efforts in environmental management. In this announcement, Walmart could have included a requirement that suppliers meet the standards of: SO 9000. ISO 14000. ISO 9002. ISO 2011.
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ISO 14000 is the international standard for environmental management.
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The "triple bottom line" suggests that efforts should be devoted to assessing the impact of activities on: People, planet, profit. Profit, planet, processes. People, profit, processes. Profit, profit, profit.
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People, planet, profit.
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Which of the following programs/initiatives strives to improve the lives of suppliers and their families? Responsible Care ISO 14000 LEED FairTrade
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FairTrade Of the various initiatives, only Fair Trade deals with suppliers and their conditions
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Which of the following is NOT a stakeholder, as considered from the P-People perspective of sustainability? Government Customers Investors Workers
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Government
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Which of the following sustainability issues has a significant impact on supply chain relationships? Governmental regulations and tariffs Location Culture Common usage of lean systems
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Culture discussed in this section, culture, or more correctly similarity of culture, has a significant impact on the ease with which companies can establish and maintain supply chain relationships.
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Which of the following best describes organizational culture? Organizational culture is becoming less important in today's environment (due to factors such as downsizing and outsourcing). Organizational culture is easy to change. Organizational culture is critical to long-term success . Organizational culture is readily identified.
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Organizational culture is critical to long-term success. As discussed in the section dealing with organizational culture, all of the factors except organizational culture being critical to long-term success are not true.
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Which of the following factors was most responsible for the breakdown of the Daimler-Benz/Chrysler merger? Technology incompatibility Lack of sustainability Cultural incompatibility Different languages
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Cultural incompatibility The Chrysler/Daimler-Benz failure is an oft-cited example of a clash of cultures.
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Zanda Corp. has always operated within one country. It is contemplating opening production facilities in another country. Zanda should realize: The means of motivating the workforce domestically may not work well in a different country. Production processes used domestically should work well in a different country. The technology used domestically is often the best to use in a different country. The same business model that is used domestically should apply to the foreign country.
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The means of motivating the workforce domestically may not work well in a different country. Because of cultural differences, including skills, ways of interacting, what constitutes "success," may be different in another culture.
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Which of the following terms best describes the impact of sustainability initiatives on the business model? Sustainability affects primarily the capabilities offered by the supply chain. Sustainability helps the firm to change its value proposition. Sustainability affects the entire business model. Sustainability impacts primarily the customers that we serve.
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Sustainability affects the entire business model.
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Which of the following statements best describes the role of sustainability measurement and reporting in many of today's firms? Sustainability reporting focuses on those issues where the reporting firm has the greatest degree of control. Sustainability reporting is becoming more important, with its structure being determined by governmental regulations and requirements. Sustainability reporting, while important, is plagued by problems involving its development and deployment and with concerns over appropriate standards. correct Sustainability reporting is becoming more important with more metrics being provided by different organizations.
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Sustainability reporting is becoming more important with more metrics being provided by different organizations. Of these various statements, all are essentially false except for the right answer.
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As technology and cultures evolve, the best approach for operations managers is to: Work harder. Retire. Adapt their business models. Make their processes more efficient.
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Adapt their business models. While some students may argue for the other choices, the theme of the chapter is that technology and culture are important elements of operations that may dictate the need to alter business models.
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part 2
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part 2
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Which of the following describes the intersection between people, profit, and the planet?
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Sustainability
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Which of the following developments deals with emission trading and clean development mechanisms?
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Kyoto Protocol
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Recycling is a major consideration during which phase of the product life cycle?
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Disposal
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Which of the following operations management systems/approaches is most appropriate when dealing with environmental sustainability?
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Lean Systems
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ISO 14000 deals with which of the following?
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Environment
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Underlying the success of companies such as Apple and Zappos is which of the following elements?
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Culture
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Which of the following statements best describes the role of the business model in today's environment?
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Business models must be regarded as dynamic.
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Sustainability metrics are being added to operations management both as customer requirements and as operational performance criteria.
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True
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The carbon footprint is established by estimating the difference between direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions?
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False
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Which of the following statements is true regarding corporate culture?
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Corporate culture is learned.
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Fairtrade deals with the following elements of the Triple Bottom Line?
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People.
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Which of the following statements best describes the implementation of environmental sustainability?
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Environmental sustainability always has some form of environmental impact.
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