Midterms

Question 1

Goods

Answer 1

physical items that include raw materials, parts, subassemblies such as motherboards that go into computers, and final products such as cell phones and automobiles.

Question 2

activities that provide some combination of time, location, form, or psychological value.

Answer 2

Services

Question 3

processes that either provide services or create goods.

Answer 3

Processes

Question 4

sequence of organizations—their facilities, functions, and activities—that are involved in producing and delivering a product or service

Answer 4

Supply chain

Question 5

provide raw materials, parts, equipment, supplies, and/or other inputs to the organization, and they deliver outputs that are goods to the organization’s customers.

Answer 5

External supply chain

Question 6

part of the operations function itself, supplying operations with parts and materials, performing work on products, and/or performing services.

Answer 6

Internal part of supply chain

Question 7

Value-added

Answer 7

Difference between the cost of inputs and the value or price of outputs.

Question 8

non-profit organizations, the value of outputs (e.g., highway construction, police and fire protection) is their value to society; the greater the value-added, the greater the effectiveness of these operations.

True or false

Answer 8

True

Question 9

In for-profit organizations, the value of outputs is measured by the prices that customers are willing to pay for those goods or services. Firms use the money generated by value-added for research and development, investment in new facilities and equipment, worker salaries, and profits.
Consequently, the greater the value added, the greater the amount of funds available for these purposes. Value can also be psychological, as in branding.

True or false

Answer 9

True

Question 10

Implies an act

Answer 10

Delivery of service

Question 11

Production of goods

Answer 11

Results in tangible output

Question 12

services such as Internet providers, utilities, and mail service do not. When there is a high degree of contact, the interaction between server and customer becomes a “moment of truth” that will be judged by the customer every time the service occurs.

Answer 12

Degree of customer contact

Question 13

Services often have a higher degree of labor content than manufacturing jobs do, although automated services are an exception.

Answer 13

Labor content of jobs

Question 14

Function of business organizations

Answer 14

OPERATIONS
FINANCE
MARKETING

Question 15

storing, transporting, repairing

Answer 15

Transformation procecesses

Question 16

To ensure that the desired outputs are obtained, an organization takes measurements at various points in the transformation process

Answer 16

feedback

Question 17

control

Answer 17

compares them with previously established standards to determine whether corrective action is needed

Question 18

Service operations are often subject to a higher degree of variability of inputs. Each client, patient, customer, repair job, and so on presents a somewhat unique situation that requires assessment and flexibility. Conversely, manufacturing operations often have a greater ability to control the variability of inputs, which leads to more-uniform job requirements.

Answer 18

uniformity of inputs

Question 19

can be more difficult for service jobs due largely to the high variations of inputs.

Answer 19

Measurement of productivity

Question 20

Quality assurance

Answer 20

more challenging for services due to the higher variation in input, and because delivery and consumption occur at the same time. Unlike manufacturing, which typically occurs away from the customer and allows mistakes that are identified to be corrected, services have less opportunity to avoid exposing the customer to mistakes.

Question 21

Many services tend to involve less use of inventory than manufacturing operations, so the costs of having inventory on hand are lower than they are for manufacturing. However, unlike manufactured goods, services cannot be stored. Instead, they must be provided “on demand.”

Answer 21

inventory

Question 22

Manufacturing jobs are often well paid, and have less wage variation than service jobs, which can range from highly paid professional services to minimum-wage workers.

Answer 22

wages

Question 23

Product designs are often easier to patent than service designs, and some services cannot be patented, making them easier for competitors to copy.

Answer 23

ability to patent

Question 24

Points of comparison

Answer 24

Degree of customer contact
Labor content of jobs
Uniformity of inputs
Measurement of productivity
Quality assurance
Inventory
Ability to patent
Wages

Question 25

consists of one or more actions that transform inputs into outputs.

Answer 25

process

Question 26

Businesses are compose of may interrelated processes. Generally, there are three (3) business processes:

Answer 26

Upper-management processes Operational processes. Supporting processes

Question 27

These govern the operation of the entire organization. Ex. Organizational governance and organizational strategy.

Answer 27

upper management processes

Question 28

Operational processes

Answer 28

These are the core processes that made up the value stream. Ex. Purchasing, production/service, marketing & sales.

Question 29

Ex: Accounting, HR, and IT

Answer 29

Supporting processes. These support the core processes.

Question 30

Ideally, the capacity of a process will be such that its output just matches demand. True or false

Answer 30

True

Question 31

To be effective, it is not necessary for managers to be able to deal with variation. True or false

Answer 31

False | To be effective, it is ALSO necessary for managers to be able to deal with variation.

Question 32

. It can be due to variety or variability. For example, random variability is inherent in every process; it is always present. In addition, variation can occur as the result of deliberate management choices to offer customers variety.

Answer 32

Process variation

Question 33

Four basic sources of variation:

Answer 33

Variety of goods and services being offered Structural variation in demand Random variation Assignable variation

Question 34

These variations, which include trends and seasonal variations, are generally predictable. They are particularly important for capacity planning.

Answer 34

Structural variation in demand

Question 35

The greater the variety of goods and services, the greater the variation in production or service requirements.

Answer 35

Variety of goods and services being offered

Question 36

These variations are caused by effective inputs, incorrect work methods, out-of-adjustment equipment, and so on. This type of variation can be reduced or eliminated by analysis and corrective action.

Answer 36

Assignable variation

Question 37

Random variation

Answer 37

This natural variability is present to some extent in all processes, as well as in demand for services and products, and it cannot generally be influenced by managers.

Question 38

SCOPE OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Answer 38

product and service design, process selection, selection and management of technology, design of work systems, location planning, facilities planning, and quality improvement of the organization’s products or services.

Question 39

operations function includes many interrelated activities

Answer 39

forecasting, capacity planning, scheduling, managing inventories, assuring quality, motivating employees, deciding where to locate facilities, and more.

Question 40

Forecasting

Answer 40

such things as weather and landing conditions, seat demand for flights, and the growth in air travel.

Question 41

essential for the airline to maintain cash flow and make a reasonable profit. (Too few or too many planes, or even the right number of planes but in the wrong places, will hurt profits.)

Answer 41

Capacity planning

Question 42

Locating facilities

Answer 42

according to managers’ decisions on which cities to provide service for, where to locate maintenance facilities, and where to locate major and minor hubs.

Question 43

important in achieving effective use of workers and equipment.

Answer 43

Facilities and layout

Question 44

planes for flights and for routine maintenance; scheduling of pilots and flight attendants; and scheduling of ground crews, counter staff, and baggage handlers.

Answer 44

Scheduling

Question 45

Competition is the driving force in many organizations True or false

Answer 45

True

Question 46

, it is essential for organizations to determine what combinations of factors are important to customers, which factors are order qualifiers, and which are order winners. True or false

Answer 46

True

Question 47

_______ plans for achieving organizational goals. They provide focus for decision making. Strategies must take into account present and future customer wants, as well as the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities.

Answer 47

Strategies

Question 48

____________ strategies are narrower in scope and should be linked to overall strategies.

Answer 48

Functional

Question 49

______strategies and_______ strategies are among the most widely used strategies business organizations employ to serve their customers and to become more productive.

Answer 49

Quality based

Question 50

is a measure of the use of resources. There is considerable interest in productivity both

Answer 50

Productivity

Question 51

Business organizations want higher productivity because it yields _______ and helps them to become more competitive.

Answer 51

lower costs

Question 52

Nations want _______________ because it makes their goods and services more attractive, offsets inflationary pressures associated with higher wages, and results in a higher standard of living for their people.

Answer 52

higher productivity

Question 53

means that business organizations must frequently assess their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as their own, to remain competitive.

Answer 53

Competitive pressure

Question 54

Strategy formulation

Answer 54

critical because strategies provide direction for the organization, so they can play a role in the success or failure of a business organization.

Question 55

________strategies need to be aligned with the goals and strategies of the overall organization.

Answer 55

Functional strategies and supply chain

Question 56

3 primary business strategies

Answer 56

low cost, responsiveness, and differentiation.

Question 57

a key factor in the cost of goods and services. Increases in productivity can become a competitive advantage.

Answer 57

productivity

Question 58

High productivity is particularly important for organizations that have a strategy of _______

Answer 58

low costs

Question 59

vital inputs for the design and the operation of the productive systems because they help managers to anticipate the future.

Answer 59

forecasts

Question 60

Forecasting techniques can be classified as _______________

Answer 60

qualitative or quantitative.

Question 61

___________ rely on judgment, experience, and expertise to formulate forecasts; quantitative techniques rely on the use of historical data or associations among variables to develop forecasts. Some of the techniques are simple,

Answer 61

Qualitative techniques

Question 62

rely strictly on the examination of historical data; predictions are made by projecting past movements of a variable into the future without considering specific factors that might influence the variable.

Answer 62

time series techniques

Question 63

All forecasts tend to be accurate; therefore, it is important to provide a measure of accuracy True or false

Answer 63

false inaccurate

Question 64

Control of forecasts involves deciding whether a forecast is performing adequately, typically using a _______

Answer 64

control chart

Question 65

_____________ is a key factor in satisfying the customer.

Answer 65

Product and service design

Question 66

Successful design often incorporates many of these basic principles:

Answer 66

Determine what customers want as a starting point; minimize the number of parts needed to manufacture an item or the number of steps to provide a service; simplify assembly or service, standardize as much as possible; and make the design robust.

Question 67

__________ efforts can play a significant role in product and process innovations, although these are sometimes so costly that only large companies or governments can afford to underwrite them.

Answer 67

Research and development

Question 68

Reliability of a product or service is often a key dimension in the eyes of the customer.

Answer 68

Measuring and improving reliability are important aspects of product and service design, although other areas of the organization also have an influence on reliability.

Question 69

_______________is one approach for getting customer input for product or service design.

Answer 69

Quality function deployment

Question 70

A range of factors can cause an organization to design or redesign

Answer 70

economic, legal, political, social, technological, and competitive pressures.

Question 71

Among considerations that are generally important are legal, ethical, and environmental. True or false

Answer 71

True

Question 72

Minimum standards of acceptability

Answer 72

Order Qualifiers

Question 73

Better than competition

Answer 73

Order winners

Question 74

SWOT Approach

Answer 74

Analysis of strength,weakness,opportunities and threats

Question 75

The monitoring of events and trends that present as threats or opportunities for a company

Answer 75

Environmental scanning

Question 76

Economic conditions

Answer 76

general health and direction of the economy ,inflation,deflation,interest rates,tax and tariffs

Question 77

favorable and unfavorable attitudes towards business,political stability and instability, wars

Answer 77

Political conditions

Question 78

laws.regulations,trade restrictions,minimum wage laws,product liability laws,patents

Answer 78

Legal environment

Question 79

technology

Answer 79

rate of which product innovations is occurring, current and future process of technology (equipment,materials,handling) and design technologies.

Question 80

competition | External factor

Answer 80

number and strength of competitors,basis of competition (price, quality, special features), and ease of market entry

Question 81

markets | External factor

Answer 81

size,location,brand loyalties,ease of entry,potential for growth,long-term stability, and demographics