1. What activities does operations management involve?
2. Briefly assess the good and bad news of the current U.S. manufacturing environment.
3. What is meant by the magnitude of a conversion process?
4. Explain how the production of services is different from the production of manufactured goods.
5. Provide an example of a product that has refined the want-satisfying capability of its product and a second product
that has extended the capability of its product.
6. Define design planning. How does it differ from operational planning?
7. Compare and contrast the ideas of labor-intensive and capital-intensive technology.
8. When does a firm incur holding costs? When does it incur stock-out costs?
9. How do routing and timing affect the scheduling process for a furniture manufacturer like Drexel-Heritage?
10. What is the purpose of quality control? Why is it important to a firm?
11. What does improving productivity mean? How can a manufacturing or service business improve productivity?
12. What advantages do robots have over human workers? What advantages do human workers have over robots?
13. Describe the operations of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS).
Jasper Electronics, Inc. (JEI)
Jasper Electronics, Inc., is an electronics manufacturer that creates circuits for various electronic products.
Currently, the company has eight locations. It prides itself on its fast production process.
Ross is the newly appointed head operations manager of the company–and he is hoping to contribute to the
company in a meaningful way. Ross has decided that there are several aspects of the production process that need
to be changed or improved. One such aspect is quality control. He also wants to do some research to decide
whether the company is moving in the right direction. In addition, he wishes to learn what other successful firms
focus on so he can implement this knowledge at JEI.
14. Refer to Jasper Electronics, Inc. The plant layout at Jasper Electronics is mostly likely a
a. fixed position layout.
b. process layout.
c. product layout.
d. circular layout.
e. capacity layout.
15. Refer to Jasper Electronics, Inc. Which of the following objectives would you advise Ross to focus on?
a. Increasing the use of technology
b. Increasing production costs to gain competitive position
c. Improving the inspection process
d. Eliminating expenses by reducing control procedures
e. Obtaining new equipment to minimize technological expenses
16. Refer to Jasper Electronics, Inc. As an operating manager, Ross must do all of the following to be successful
except
a. motivate and lead people.
b. understand how technology can make a manufacturer more productive and efficient.
c. appreciate the control processes that help lower production costs and improve product quality.
d. understand the relationship among the customer, the marketing of a product, and the production of a product.
e. understand how to successfully finance production to gain the larger market share.
17. Refer to Jasper Electronics, Inc. If JEI management were to explore the possibility of using its products in different
ways, what types of research and development activities could they engage in?
a. Quality control
b. Applied
c. Flexible
d. PERT
e. Core
ABC Company
ABC Company is dedicated to operations control. It holds its suppliers to the highest standards, believing there is
one best way to complete their tasks. ABC has even gone so far as to incorporate the Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award criteria into its business. Following these criteria has allowed the company to grow from a small
business to a large corporation. ABC plans on going international in the next couple of years to broaden its scope.
ABC has kept up with new technologies. In fact, it has incorporated a new computer system that helps with the
development of the company’s products. This system has improved ABC’s production dramatically. Now, ABC will
be able to sell its products at a lower cost. The ABC management is dedicated to total quality management and will
do whatever is necessary to maintain quality now and for the future.
18. Refer to ABC Company. Given that ABC is dedicated to operations control, the management must have
incorporated all of these aspects of operations control except
a. purchasing.
b. selling.
c. inventory control.
d. scheduling.
e. quality control.
19. Refer to ABC Company. The supplier must have
ABC.
a. marketing operations
b. productivity growth
c. technological displacement
d. reliability
e. R&D
in order to be the best possible option and do business with
20. Refer to ABC Company. For ABC, using the Baldrige award criteria could result in all of the following except
a. form utility.
b. better employee relations.
c. increased market share.
d. improved profitability.
e. higher productivity.
21. Refer to ABC Company. Based on the information provided, what type of computer system is ABC Company
using?
a. PERT
b. Continuous
c. CAD
d. CID
e. CPM
22. All of the managerial activities in which managers engage for the purpose of creating goods and services are
known as management.
a. personnel
b. operations
c. production
d. site
e. plant
23. Greg is in charge of making sure the raw steel brought into his company’s factory is turned into high-quality
bearings for sale to customers. Greg is a(n) manager.
a. marketing
b. operations
c. productivity
d. middle
e. finance
24. To produce a BMW sport-utility vehicle, an operations manager must engage in all of the following activities except
a. recruitment of human resources.
b. control of product quality.
c. effective use of planning.
d. inventory management.
e. control of production costs.
25. During the period after World War II, the United States was the most productive country in the world for
approximately years.
a. five
b. ten
c. twenty
d. thirty
e. fifty
26. In an attempt to regain a competitive edge, U.S. firms have
a. reduced production costs by selecting suppliers that offer high-quality raw materials and components at
reasonable prices.
b. used green manufacturing to conserve natural resources and sustain the planet.
c. used computer-aided and flexible manufacturing systems that allow a higher degree of customization.
d. improved control procedures to help ensure lower manufacturing costs.
e. done all of the above.
27. When a lumber company takes timber and converts it into lumber, cardboard, and other paper products, the
company is using
a. an analytical process.
b. extraction manufacturing.
c. a synthetic process.
d. an operations process.
e. raw processing.
28. When a manufacturer like ExxonMobil refines crude oil, that corporation is using a(n) process.
a. analytical
b. extraction
c. manufacturing
d. refining
e. synthetic
29. When Black & Decker manufactures its wide array of tools, it is using a(n) process.
a. analytical
b. qualitative
c. synthetic
d. assembly
e. conversion
30. Kraft combines elbow macaroni, cheese, and cardboard to make packages of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. This
most closely resembles a(n) process.
a. analytical
b. assembly
c. combined
d. synthetic
e. quantitative
31. Successful operations managers must be able to do all of the following except
a. lead and motivate people.
b. use technology to make a manufacturer more productive.
c. advertise and sell the firm’s product.
d. control production costs.
e. improve product quality.
32. If a good or service satisfies a human need, it has
a. value.
b. focus.
c. magnitude.
d. form.
e. utility.
33. When 3M satisfies consumers’ needs for notepads that will not get lost easily by converting paper and glue into
Post-It Notes, it is creating
a. reminders for employees.
b. technological advancement.
c. productive output.
d. form utility.
e. possession utility.
34. The type of utility on which production and operations management focuses is utility.
a. place
b. time
c. form
d. possession
e. need
35. IBM satisfies consumers’ needs for powerful, easy–to–use laptop computers by converting assorted software
routines, hardware devices, and miscellaneous parts into personal computers. By doing this, IBM is creating
a. consumer demand.
b. market control.
c. technological dependence.
d. form utility.
e. production efficiency.
36. Chevron and other refiners emphasize material resources in the conversion process. This implies that the material
resources are the of the conversion process.
a. catalyst
b. technology
c. output
d. impetus
e. focus
37. When considering the conversion process, human resources in the form of hair stylists and cosmetologists are the
for a beauty salon.
a. magnitude
b. utility
c. focus
d. production process width
e. analytic process
38. The degree to which input resources are physically changed by the conversion is referred to as the
a. width of the conversion process.
b. magnitude of change.
c. depth of a conversion.
d. number of technologies.
e. focus of the conversion process.
39. Tom’s Toothpicks and Don’s Doghouses both use lumber as the major input in their conversion processes. Although
the input is the same for each factory, the of the conversion process varies greatly between the two.
a. catalyst
b. focus
c. impetus
d. magnitude
e. capacity
40. In a service industry such as a package carrier, the of the conversion process is usually small or none at all.
a. focus
b. magnitude
c. width of processes
d. utility
e. result
41. Ford produces a wide variety of vehicles for individuals, businesses, manufacturers, and even schools. It also
operates its own financing division, Ford Motor Acceptance Corp. It seems as if Ford
a. focuses on financial resources.
b. has a small magnitude.
c. has few production processes.
d. has many production processes.
e. is a service business.
42. Cisco Systems manufactures computer hardware, uses software programs, and provides networking services to
customers. As a result, Cisco uses
a. research implementation.
b. more than one production process.
c. a complex magnitude of change.
d. basic research applications.
e. multiple outputs.
43. An Illinois-based firm crushes materials to make gravel, its only product. The gravel company has
a. few production processes.
b. a focus on human resources.
c. very little utility.
d. many production processes.
e. a focus on financial resources.