Operation Management Questions

Question 1

A new product development team that is composed of product and process engineers, marketers, quality specialists, and buyers that work together to make sure the new product can actually be built is engaging in:

Question 1 options:

	joint application development.
	reverse logistics.
	core process design.
	concurrent engineering.

Question 2 (2 points)

A process selected for reengineering should be a:

Question 2 options:

	front-office process.
	back office process.
	core process.
	hybrid office.

Question 3 (2 points)

Which one of the following statements about process management is best?

Question 3 options:

	The traditional relationship between capital intensity and resource flexibility is that if one is high, so is the other.
	Creating a more capital-intensive process tends to reduce the fixed cost and raise the variable unit cost.
	When customization must be high, equipment should be general purpose, and employees need to perform a broader range of duties.
	Economies of scope mean that a process should be devoted to a single product or service to achieve high volumes.

Question 4 (2 points)

Scenario 2.1
Garman observes a worker assembling peanut valves and records the data displayed in the table.

Time (seconds)	Observations
21	15
25	12
30	12

Use the information in Scenario 2.1 to answer this question. What is the average time for this job element?

Question 4 options:

	15 seconds
	20 seconds
	25 seconds
	30 seconds

Question 5 (2 points)

Examples of radio frequency identification (RFID) could include all of the following except:

Question 5 options:

	tracking the flow of parts through a manufacturing process.
	air travel use for baggage tracking.
	tracking the status of engineering changes during development of a new product line.
	tracking cases and pallets of products into and out of warehouse inventories.

Question 6 (2 points)

The practice of selecting suppliers and giving them significant responsibility for the design of certain components or systems of the product is called:

Question 6 options:

	value analysis.
	presourcing.
	locus of control.
	vendor-managed inventories.

Question 7 (2 points)

Use the following to answer the questions below.
The Steele Bike Company has completed a total cost analysis for two suppliers of bicycle frames to support their business. They also consider on-time speed, top quality and customization in their selection process. Each criterion is given a weight (total = 100 points), and each supplier is scored on each criterion (1 = poor, 10 = excellent). The data are shown in the following table.

CRITERION	WEIGHT	ACME	STATE
Total Cost	15	8	4
On-Time Delivery	20	5	7
Top Quality	30	7	6
Customization	35	4	6

Refer to the instruction above. Using the preference matrix (total weighted score) approach for selecting suppliers, which supplier should Steele select?

Question 7 options:

	State
	Acme
	Either is acceptable-their preference matrix scores are the same.
	More information is needed to make this decision.

Question 8 (2 points)

The SCOR model focuses on the basic supply chain processes of:

Question 8 options:

	source, control, operate, return.
	purchase, operate, control, logistics.
	plan source, make deliver, return.
	operations, marketing, finance.

Question 9 (2 points)

Scenario 2.6
You currently purchase a part used in your production process from an outside supplier, and have decided to begin making this part in-house. You have two equipment options for moving production in-house: special-purpose equipment and general-purpose equipment. Cost information for these two options is as follows:

ALTERNATIVE	FIXED COST	VARIABLE COST
Special-Purpose Equipment	$200,000 per year	$15 per unit
General-Purpose Equipment	$50,000 per year	$20 per unit

Use Scenario 2.6 to solve this mystery. At an annual requirement of 40,000 units, what does the company save per year by selecting the lower-cost option?

Question 9 options:

	$300,000
	$150,000
	$50,000
	$40,000

Question 10 (2 points)

When managing processes, it is vital that:

Question 10 options:

	the organization is not satisfied unless fundamental reengineering changes are made.
	design teams are not held accountable since their involvement ends once the new process rolls out.
	attention is paid to competitive priorities and strategic fit.
	design teams are allowed to function creatively and set their own charter.

Question 11 (2 points)

A swim lane flowchart is an appropriate tool to use when:

Question 11 options:

	the process features only intangible outputs.
	the process involves more than one department.
	the process scope is difficult to define.
	the process has a person or group of people at a workstation or with a customer.

Question 12 (2 points)

A firm that chooses to compete based on delivery speed and variety would most likely have:

Question 12 options:

	an assemble-to-order production and inventory strategy.
	a make-to-order production and inventory strategy.
	a make-to-stock production and inventory strategy.
	an engineer-to-order production and inventory strategy.

Question 13 (2 points)

Scenario 2.5
A job consists of three distinct work elements that were timed with a highly accurate Swiss watch by a trained industrial engineer. The engineer recorded ten observations listed in the following table. All recorded times are in seconds.

Element 1	Element 2	Element 3
15	23	45
17	25	51
16	23	52
13	26	49
15	25	46
14	23	43
16	24	51
14	25	50
15	23	49
16	22	49

Use the data in Scenario 2.5 to answer this question. If the performance rating factor is 15%, what is the average time for Element 1?

Question 13 options:

	19.1 seconds
	16.61 seconds
	15.1 seconds
	14.44 seconds

Question 14 (2 points

Which of the following is not a stage in the New Service / Product Development Process?

Question 14 options:

	maintenance
	development
	design
	analysis

Question 15 (2 points)

The SCOR model requires a:

Question 15 options:

	point of reference.
	three-tier supply chain.
	process view.
	make-to-order or assemble-to-order product.

Question 16 (1 point)

Customer involvement reflects the ways in which customers become part of the process and the extent of their participation.

Question 16 options:

	True
	False

Question 17 (1 point)

Petroleum refineries typically use continuous flow processes.

Question 17 options:

	True
	False

Question 18 (1 point)

One of the benefits of additive manufacturing is its ability to reduce time and resources required for design and development of new products.

Question 18 options:

	True
	False

Question 19 (1 point)

More often than not, process improvement takes place whether or not a process is reengineered.

Question 19 options:

	True
	False

Question 20 (1 point)

A toaster is an example of flexible automation.

Question 20 options:

	True
	False

Question 21 (2 points)

________ is the mix of equipment and human skills in a process.

Question 21 options:

Question 22 (2 points)

The ________ in a service blueprint separates which steps are in view of the customer from those that aren’t.

Question 22 options:

Question 23 (2 points)

A(n) ________ process would probably not be used to produce products before a customer has placed a firm order.

Question 23 options:

Question 24 (2 points)

________ reflects the ways in which customers become part of the process and the extent of their participation.

Question 24 options:

Question 25 (2 points)

The “Define” step of the Six Sigma Process Improvement Model entails establishing the ________ and boundaries of the process to be analyzed.

Question 25 options:

Question 26 (2 points)

________ automation can handle various products through programmability.

Question 26 options:

Question 27 (2 points)

The ________ process involves the activities required to deliver a product or service to a customer.

Question 27 options:

Question 28 (2 points)

________ are different operations within a facility with individualized competitive priorities, processes, and workforces under the same roof.

Question 28 options:

Question 29 (2 points)

A(n) ________ would be a useful tool to determine the effect that the number of practice problems solved correctly has on the midterm score.

Question 29 options:

Question 30 (2 points)

________ is represented in a process flow chart when an outgoing arrow from one step splits into two or more arrows that lead to different boxes.

Question 30 options:

Question 31 (15 points)

The Burdell Wheel and Tire Company assembles tires to wheel rims for use on cars during manufacture of vehicles by the automotive industry. Burdell wants to locate a low-cost supplier for the tires he uses in his assembly operation. The supplier will be selected based on total annual cost to supply Burdell’s needs. Burdell’s annual requirements are for 25,000 tires, and the company operates 250 days a year. The following data are available for two suppliers being considered.

SUPPLIER	SHIPPING QUANTITY PER SHIPMENT	SHIPPING COSTS	PRICE / TIRE (p)	INVENTORY HOLD COSTS (H)	LEAD TIME (DAYS)	ADMIN. COSTS
LEXINGTON TIRE	2,000	$18,000	$30	$6.00	6	$15,000
IRMO AUTO	1,000	$25,000	$29	$5.80	4	$18,000

Using the Total Cost Analysis for Supplier Selection, which supplier should Burdell choose? Provide details to justify your answer.

Question 31 options:

Question 32 (15 points)

A discount store is experiencing an unacceptable number of dissatisfied customers leaving from the checkout process. Information from customer complaints about the checkout process was collected and is found in the following table. Construct a Pareto chart to identify the significant problems.

Problem Type	Total Problems
Cashier slow	15
Price check required	9
Line too long	22
Cashier unfriendly	4

Question 32 options:

Question 33 (15 points)

An undergraduate business student studies diligently in the library late in the term in anticipation of an outstanding performance on her final exams. She asks a friend to spy on her at random intervals to determine what percentage of time she is actually studying. Over the course of three days, her friend records the following observations:

Observation Period	Times Studying	Times Not Studying	Observations
Monday	19	4	23
Tuesday	22	4	26
Wednesday	9	2	11

Based on this work sample, what percentage of time was the student actually studying?

Question 33 options:

Question 34 (Mandatory) (1 point)

A company realizes that recent layoffs at its primary company reflect potential falling demands for its customers’ products, and hence for its own products. The company has engaged in:

Question 34 options:

	market segmentation.
	environmental scanning.
	flow strategy.
	mission statement redefinition.

Question 35 (Mandatory) (1 point)

A set of activities that delivers value to external customers is a:

Question 35 options:

	core process.
	support process.
	supply chain.
	system.

Question 36 (Mandatory) (1 point)

Budgeting, recruiting, and scheduling are examples of a:

Question 36 options:

	system.
	development.
	core process.
	support process.

Question 37 (Mandatory) (1 point)

Core competencies are:

Question 37 options:

	the unique resources and strengths that management considers when formulating strategy.
	another name for competitive priorities.
	various flow strategies.
	product or service attributes that represent the needs of a particular market segment.

Question 38 (Mandatory) (1 point)

In response to social and political moves to discourage cigarette smoking, major cigarette manufacturers have had to diversify into other products. Identifying the pressures against smoking is an example of:

Question 38 options:

	flow strategy.
	environmental scanning.
	market segmentation.
	mission statement development.

Question 39 (Mandatory) (1 point)

Manufacturing processes usually have:

Question 39 options:

	low levels of capital intensity.
	output that cannot be inventoried.
	physical, durable output.
	high levels of customer contact.

Question 40 (Mandatory) (1 point)

Operations management is part of a production system that can be described in the following manner:

Organization: inputs→processes→outputs.

Which one of the following correctly describes a production system?

Question 40 options:

	Airline: pilots→planes→transportation
	Bank: tellers→computer equipment→deposits
	Furniture manufacturer: wood→sanding→chair
	Telephone company: satellites→cables→communication

Question 41 (Mandatory) (1 point)

 

Price, quality, and the degree of customization are all examples of:

Question 41 options:

	product needs.
	volume needs.
	delivery system needs.
	other needs.

Question 42 (Mandatory) (1 point)

Regardless of how departments like Accounting, Engineering, Finance, and Marketing function in an organization, they are all linked together through:

Question 42 options:

	customers.
	stakeholders.
	processes.
	management.

Question 43 (Mandatory) (1 point)

The Gap, Inc. has targeted teenagers and young adults in need of casual clothes, and through its GapKids stores, the parents or guardians of infants through 12-year-olds. This is an example of:

Question 43 options:

	a mission statement.
	market segmentation.
	a needs assessment.
	a collaborative effort between the company and its customers.