Fundamentals of Management, 10e (Robbins)
Chapter 15 Operations Management
1) ________ management oversees the transformation process that converts resources such as
labor and raw materials into finished goods and services.
A) Control
B) Operations
C) Systems
D) Planning
2) The purpose of operations management is to manage ________.
A) inputs
B) outputs
C) the transformation process
D) the manufacturing process
3) The transformation process transforms ________.
A) goods and services into products
B) inputs into services only
C) materials into goods only
D) inputs into goods and services
4) Value is created during the process of ________.
A) inputs being converted into outputs
B) inputs being stored
C) outputs being measured
D) operations being controlled
5) Inputs in the transformation process include ________.
A) physical, material substances only
B) both material and nonmaterial items
C) nonmaterial items only
D) equipment and materials only
6) All organizations produce goods or services through the ________ process.
A) transformation
B) service
C) manufacturing
D) operations
7) As a product, piano lessons are ________.
A) a good because you can purchase them
B) a service because they are nonmaterial
C) a good because they can be divided into discrete lessons
D) a service because someone needs to give them
8) In a transformation process, people are considered to be inputs because they ________.
A) are material beings
B) are costly
C) perform tasks that are needed to create outputs
D) have knowledge and information
9) It is easier to see the transformation process at work in manufacturing organizations than in
service organizations because manufacturing organizations ________.
A) produce goods and services
B) turn inputs into outputs
C) turn inputs into physical and nonphysical products
D) produce physical goods
10) Service organizations ________.
A) produce physical and nonphysical outputs
B) produce physical outputs
C) require nonphysical inputs
D) produce nonphysical outputs
11) Manufacturing organizations ________.
A) produce physical outputs
B) produce nonphysical outputs
C) require nonphysical inputs
D) require physical inputs
12) Which of the following is NOT an example of a service organization?
A) a military force
B) a university
C) a lens maker
D) a hospital
13) It is estimated that in the United States, about ________ of all economic output is toward
making tangible, physical objects.
A) 10 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 40 percent
D) 80 percent
14) A bus company is a ________ organization because its product is ________.
A) service; buses
B) manufacturing; transportation
C) service; transportation
D) manufacturing; buses
15) You would expect a highly developed country like ________ to have a predominantly
________ economy.
A) France; manufacturing
B) France; service
C) Vietnam; service
D) the United Kingdom; manufacturing
16) A laptop computer company is a ________ organization because its product is ________.
A) service; electronic
B) manufacturing; electronic
C) service; a computer
D) manufacturing; a computer
17) You would expect an undeveloped country like ________ to have a predominately ________
economy.
A) Laos; nonservice
B) Laos; service
C) Great Britian; manufacturing
D) Belgium; nonservice
18) In the ever more difficult struggle to survive in a competitive world, Evans Findings
Company has a work shift with ________.
A) extra employees to increase productivity
B) no employees to allow workers to rest
C) no employees to punish unproductive workers
D) no employees to increase productivity
19) Most countries in today’s global business climate see ________ as the key to success.
A) maintaining productivity
B) increasing productivity
C) higher wages
D) shorter working hours
20) McDonald’s recently made productivity gains by cutting the ________.
A) wages of workers
B) weight of an order of French fries
C) time workers were trained
D) time it takes to make French fries
21) Which of the following is NOT a way to increase productivity?
A) increase inputs
B) decrease costs
C) increase outputs
D) increase efficiency
22) W. Edwards Deming thought that ________ the key to productivity.
A) workers were
B) controlling costs was
C) managers were
D) both managers and workers were
23) With respect to planning, Deming believed that ________ was most important for
productivity.
A) short-term planning
B) long-term planning
C) medium-term planning
D) flexible planning
24) With respect to product quality, Deming believed that a company should never ________.
A) pay more attention to quality than to price
B) be satisfied with its current level of quality
C) try to fix a product if it “ain’t broke”
D) put quality ahead of profits
25) Deming was a strong believer in keeping accurate statistics and advocated ________ goals.
A) strictly nonnumerical
B) strictly numerical
C) both numerical and nonnumerical
D) both numerical and statistical
26) Of all the emotions that affect a workplace, Deming felt that ________ was most important
for increasing productivity.
A) making workers fear failure
B) eliminating fear
C) making employees happy
D) eliminating anger
27) Deming felt that ________ with statistics.
A) employees should be capable of dealing
B) employees should not be asked to deal
C) managers only should deal
D) employees only should deal
28) Deming felt that doing quality work was this.
A) a job requirement
B) a goal
C) a standard to strive toward
D) optional for most jobs
29) Deming felt that any new skills that employees needed should be acquired ________.
A) when they are hired and trained
B) by the employees on their own
C) when the need arises
D) years ahead of time
30) Since Deming first proposed his 14 points for improving productivity, his prescriptions have
________.
A) been largely discredited
B) fallen into disuse
C) been confirmed repeatedly
D) been confirmed for U.S. workers only
31) Where did the modern era of manufacturing primarily begin?
A) the coal industry
B) Detroit automobile factories
C) southern cotton plantations
D) northeastern textile mills
32) After World War II, U.S. managers made the mistake of thinking that ________.
A) production problems were solved
B) marketing problems were solved
C) finance problems were solved
D) marketing problems were not solved
33) In the 1970s, many U.S. manufacturers fell behind because they ignored production issues
and focused on ________.
A) quality and efficiency
B) marketing and finance
C) efficiency and customers
D) finance and quality
34) Managers in the United States today see this as the path to establishing and maintaining
global leadership.
A) reducing costs
B) increasing production
C) operations management
D) scientific management
35) The goal of operations management is to manage the process of turning labor and raw
materials into goods and services of some type.
36) Operations management is a subsystem of the transformation process.
37) Employees are considered an input in transformation process.
38) Operations management includes service industries but not manufacturing firms.
39) When inputs are turned into goods and services, value is created.
40) Manufacturing and service organizations produce both physical and nonphysical outputs.
41) The majority of U.S. companies still produce goods rather than services.
42) For most U.S. companies, high productivity is a matter of survival.
43) According to W. Edwards Deming, managers should emphasize short-term rather than long-
term planning.
44) Deming advocated an approach in which managers never get complacent about the quality of
their product.
45) Productivity goals, according to Deming, should be strictly numerical to avoid ambiguity.
46) Deming’s 14 points were useful in their time but are now largely considered to be obsolete.
47) After World War II, managers in the U.S. firms began to focus on manufacturing rather than
finance and marketing.
48) In the 1960s and 1970s, companies in Japan and Germany began to catch up with U.S. firms
by focusing on quality.
49) Operations management is likely to play a key role in American firms regaining their
preeminence among world companies.
50) In a short essay, define and describe operations management.
51) Value is any aspect of a product that customers ________ in the product.
A) like or admire
B) want to see
C) will pay for
D) notice
52) The durability an expensive pair of shoes provides has value since ________ are willing to
________ it.
A) suppliers; provide
B) customers; pay for
C) manufacturers; make
D) managers; plan for
53) On eBay, brand-new red espresso machines routinely sell for $50 more than identical white
machines. What can you conclude?
A) The color white has no value.
B) The color red has value.
C) Color has no value since it does not add to the function of the machine.
D) There is something different about the red machines.
54) When the New York Times experimented with charging money for its online news source, its
popularity on the Internet plummeted. This shows that online news, at least as it is defined in this
market, has ________.
A) enormous value
B) no value
C) no appeal
D) little value
55) The ________ is the series of work actions that add value to a product as it is being
transformed from inputs to finished product.
A) supply chain
B) value chain
C) output chain
D) input chain
56) In its entirety, the value chain includes which of the following participants?
A) internal customers, external customers, and stakeholders
B) design, production, and customers
C) research and development, production, and distribution
D) suppliers, manufacturers, and customers
57) ________ is the process of managing the sequence of activities and information along the
entire value chain for a product.
A) Supply chain management
B) Value chain management
C) Supply management
D) Customer management
58) ________ focuses on providing an efficient flow of resources to an organization.
A) Supply chain management
B) Value chain management
C) Value
D) Supply
59) Value chain management is ________ oriented.
A) supplier
B) internally
C) manager
D) externally
60) All of the following are characteristics of value chain management EXCEPT ________.
A) it is externally oriented
B) it focuses on both incoming materials and outgoing products and services
C) it is efficiency oriented
D) it is effectiveness oriented
61) In value chain management, ultimately the ________ have power to make changes.
A) suppliers
B) customers
C) employees
D) managers
62) When value is created by a participant in a value chain ________ benefits.
A) everyone downstream from that step in the chain
B) only the party that initiated the step
C) everyone in the chain
D) only the customers
63) A new cell phone battery doubles battery life but also increases the cost of the phone. This
battery adds ________.
A) no value to the phone since it increases the cost
B) value to the phone only if the cost can be cut
C) value to the phone if more customers buy the phone
D) no value to the phone if more customers buy the phone
64) Since all partners in a value chain benefit when value is added, partners ideally should
________.
A) collaborate closely
B) work independently of one another
C) be dependent only on their narrow local part of the chain
D) collaborate with every other part of the chain