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89) Compare and contrast the method of time study to the method of work sampling. What are the
strengths and limitations of each, and for which applications are they best suited?
Answer: Both are direct observation methods. However, a time study observes several cycles of work
90) A manager of a company producing computer chips knows that in the early stages of production for a
new product, the expenditures exceed receipts, whereas in the latter stages, the reverse is true. Give an
explanation for this phenomenon.
91) An industrial engineer observes a brand new process and develops time standards for several of the
manual components of the production line. What are the implications of learning effects on the time
standards and the line balance? What could be done to address this situation?
Answer: The learning curve theory states that the labor requirement will be greater in the early stages of
production and lower as workers enjoy several repetitions of their jobs. A line balance that is performed
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92) How could a fishbone chart be used to design a new process?
Answer: Also called a cause-and-effect diagram, the classic fishbone chart relates a key quality problem
93) Create a flowchart that displays the proper sequential use of the major graphical tools in Chapter 2,
“Process Strategy and Analysis.” Include a note next to each tool that explains how the output of one tool
is used as the input for the following tool.
Answer: A flowchart shows a big picture view of the process. The output from this step is a view that
94) An existing insurance application process requires manual keying of three different forms by a team
of data entry operators. The three forms’ input times appear in the following table along with the
numbers of each type of form anticipated for the coming year. A proposed refinement in the process
would reduce the number of forms but make each slightly longer. This would be combined with a search
of public records on the World Wide Web as necessary. These times and quantities appear in the lower
half of the table. If the labor rate for the data entry operators is the same, which method is preferable?
Form
Time to Input
(minutes)
Quantity
(forms/year)
Part A – Existing Method
3
1,200,000
Part B – Existing Method
3
1,200,000
Part C – Existing Method
4
1,100,000
P art A – Proposed Method
4
1,200,000
Part B – Proposed Method
4
1,200,000
Web Search – Proposed Method
2
650,000
95) The labor time for successive units produced is plotted in the graph shown below. What is the
learning percentage reflected by this graph?
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96) 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
97) Develop a fishbone diagram from the perspective of a pizza restaurateur to troubleshoot the pizza
delivery process to determine why weekend pizza deliveries are usually late. Make sure your diagram
includes at least four bones and ten ribs.
Answer: Answers will vary, but the head of the fishbone diagram should show “late pizza delivery on
the weekend“ as the problem to be studied. Major bones might include materials, manpower, machinery,
98) Because a telephone customer service center has experienced several problems, it has begun to
analyze the data from customer complaints. The first step was to construct the following table. Use this
data to build a Pareto chart to help identify the “vital few” problems.
Total Failures
5
12
7
39
20
17
99) The semester project came back from the copy store and to her horror, the project leader has just
noticed that the left side y-axis of a key Pareto chart was cut off due to a printing error. The bar chart
component uses the missing left side y-axis and the cumulative percentage line on the Pareto chart uses
the right side y-axis. The project leader is pretty sure that the total number of observations in all
combined categories is 200. Can you help her develop estimates of the counts for each of the five
categories?
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100) Develop a process chart for a manual car wash.
Answer: Answers will vary, but a typical answer might look like the following process chart:
Difficulty: Challenging
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101) Develop a process chart for one of the following:
1) Researching and writing a paper for your Operations Management class
2) Managing, developing and completing a team project for a Finance (or other) class
3) Planning for your job interview process as you approach graduation (including resume preparation,
developing interview skills, researching company backgrounds, etc.)
4) Studying and developing a process improvement plan for a business or other process you are familiar
with (e.g., fast food restaurant, obtaining tickets to a university-sponsored event, dry cleaners, book
purchases for next term, and the like)
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102) A pilot work study has been conducted on a new operation with four work elements. The following
times, in seconds, were obtained using a time study.
a. What is the normal time for this operation?
b. If an allowance of 20 percent is used, what is the standard time for this task?
103) 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?
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 and assigned the performance rating
that is recorded in the bottom row of the table under the corresponding work element. 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
110
115
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104) The allowance factor assigned is 20% for the data recorded. The rating factor for Element 1 is 10%,
for Element 2 is 15%, and for Element 3 is 5%. What is the standard time for the three-element job?
2.7 Improving and Controlling Process Improvements
1) A group of people, who are knowledgeable about the process and its disconnects, meets to propose
ideas for change in a rapid-fire manner. Such a session is called a brainstorming session.
2) Brainstorming sessions can be effectively conducted on the Internet using software that allows one
person to see another’s ideas and build on them.
3) The bursar‘s office at a large state school sends a team to the bookstore on campus to see how they
handle customers and process payments. This is an example of functional benchmarking.
4) All forms of benchmarking are best applied in situations where long-term continuous improvement is
desired.
5) Benchmarking is a continuous, systematic procedure that measures a firm’s products, services, and
processes against those of industry leaders.
6) Which of these questions is not one of the initial round questions typically used to uncover
opportunities during a process redesign?
A) What is being done?
B) When is it being done?
C) Who is doing it?
D) Why are we doing it?
7) Brainstorming sessions must have:
A) all participants together in the same room.
B) a mechanism for evaluation of the ideas as they are surfaced.
C) a means of implementing ideas as they are surfaced.
D) a way for all participants to communicate.
8) Xerox benchmarked its distribution system against that of L. L. Bean’s. This is an example of:
A) competitive benchmarking.
B) internal benchmarking.
C) functional benchmarking.
D) disaggregate benchmarking.
9) Benchmarking studies must have:
A) a direct competitor for comparison.
B) a team composed of at least one member from each department in the organization.
C) a team composed of at least one member from each department in the organization plus one customer
of each process output.
D) quantitative goals.
10) An accounting firm realizes it is woefully inadequate at cultivating new clients. It is allowed to
observe a rival firm perform the new-client cultivation process in hopes of gleaning improved methods it
can adopt. This is an example of:
A) competitive benchmarking.
B) functional benchmarking.
C) internal benchmarking.
D) generic benchmarking.
11) An accounting professor realizes she is woefully inadequate at performing research. She discusses the
art of research with a colleague and gains important insights that permit her to establish a research
agenda. This is an example of:
A) competitive benchmarking.
B) functional benchmarking.
C) internal benchmarking.
D) generic benchmarking.
12) An accounting firm realizes it is woefully inadequate at cultivating new clients. It is allowed to
observe a law firm perform the new-client cultivation process in hopes of gleaning improved methods it
can adopt. This is an example of:
A) competitive benchmarking.
B) functional benchmarking.
C) internal benchmarking.
D) generic benchmarking.
13) Which of these benchmarking metrics is not suitable for a support process?
A) average employee turnover rate
B) total cost of payroll processes per $1,000 revenue
C) the impression that applicants have as they submit applications
D) number of accepted jobs as a percent of job offers
14) When managing processes, it is vital that:
A) attention is paid to competitive priorities and strategic fit.
B) design teams are allowed to function creatively and set their own charter.
C) design teams are not held accountable since their involvement ends once the new process rolls out.
D) the organization is not satisfied unless fundamental reengineering changes are made.
15) When managing processes, it is vital that:
A) design teams are allowed to function creatively and set their own charter.
B) the organization is not satisfied unless fundamental reengineering changes are made.
C) sound project management practices are used to implement the redesigned process.
D) people are redesigned at the same time the process is redesigned.
16) Good process management should include:
A) a mechanism for identifying what goes wrong and who is responsible.
B) a method for creating self-directed work teams.
C) at least half time dedicated to each employee‘s self-actualization.
D) an infrastructure for continuous improvement.
17) A(n) ________ is a method where a group of people, knowledgeable about the process and its
disconnects, propose ideas for change in a rapid-fire manner.
18) ________ is a continuous, systematic procedure that measures a firm’s products, services, and
processes against those of industry leaders.
19) The bursar’s office at your university decides to benchmark the collections department of a credit
agency to improve their own collection rate. This is an example of ________.
20) ________ is based on comparison of processes with a direct adversary in industry.
21) ________ data is probably the easiest to obtain compared to other types of benchmarking data.
22) ________ involves using an organizational unit with superior performance as the ideal for other
departments.
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23) Provide examples for each of the three types of benchmarking.
24) The authors discuss seven mistakes when managing processes, arguing that failure to manage
processes is ultimately a failure to manage the business. What are any four of those mistakes?
Answer: Answers will vary depending on which four mistakes are chosen. The full list of seven mistakes
are:
1. Not Connecting with Strategic Issues. Is particular attention being paid to core processes, competitive
priorities, impact of customer contact and volume, and strategic fit during process analysis?
2. Not Involving the Right People in the Right Way. Does process analysis closely involve the people
performing the process, or those closely connected to it as internal customers and suppliers?
3. Not Giving the Design Teams and Process Analysts a Clear Charter, and then Holding Them Accountable. Does
management set expectations for change and maintain pressure for results? Does it allow paralysis in
process improvement efforts by requiring excessive analysis?
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25) Suppose you have owned and operated your own package delivery business for a year. You would
like to engage in competitive benchmarking to make sure your business is run as smoothly as possible.
What firms and processes would you consider for benchmarking? Defend your choices of these firms and
processes. What specific metrics would you focus on and why? How could the data be reliably collected
at your own business?
Answer: Answers will vary, but processes that might be considered are the pick up and delivery
processes, sorting, billing, customer service, and many others. The student might identify some processes