Operations Management, 12e (Heizer/Render/Munson)
Chapter 1 Operations and Productivity
Section 1 What is Operations Management?
1) Some of the operations-related activities of Hard Rock Café include designing meals and analyzing
them for ingredient cost and labor requirements.
2) Because Hard Rock Cafés are themed restaurants, operations managers focus their layout design
efforts on attractiveness while paying little attention to efficiency.
3) All organizations, including service firms such as banks and hospitals, have a production function.
4) Operations management is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by
transforming inputs into outputs.
5) An example of a “hidden” production function is the transfer of funds between accounts at a bank.
6) At Hard Rock Café, tasks that reflect operations or operations management include:
A) designing efficient layouts.
B) providing meals.
C) receiving ingredients.
D) preparing effective employee schedules.
E) all of the above.
7) An operations task performed at Hard Rock Café is:
A) borrowing funds to build a new restaurant.
B) advertising changes in the restaurant menu.
C) calculating restaurant profit and loss.
D) preparing employee schedules.
E) all of the above.
8) Operations management is applicable:
A) mostly to the service sector.
B) to services exclusively.
C) mostly to the manufacturing sector.
D) to all firms, whether manufacturing or service.
E) to the manufacturing sector exclusively.
9) ________ is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming
inputs into outputs.
10) Identify three or more operations-related tasks carried out by Hard Rock Café.
11) Define operations management. Will your definition accommodate both manufacturing and service
operations?
Section 2 Organizing to Produce Goods and Services
1) Which of the following are the primary functions of all organizations?
A) production/operations, marketing, and human resources
B) marketing, human resources, and finance/accounting
C) sales, quality control, and production/operations
D) marketing, production/operations, and finance/accounting
E) research and development, finance/accounting, and purchasing
2) Which of the following pioneers was NOT making a professional impact during the Scientific
Management Era?
A) Frank Gilbreth
B) W. Edwards Deming
C) Henry L. Gantt
D) Lillian Gilbreth
E) Frederick W. Taylor
3) Which of the following would NOT be an operations function in a commercial bank?
A) auditing
B) teller scheduling
C) maintenance
D) collection
E) check clearing
4) The marketing function is concerned with:
A) producing goods or providing services.
B) procuring materials, supplies, and equipment.
C) building and maintaining a positive image.
D) generating the demand for the organization’s products or services.
E) securing monetary resources.
5) The purchasing function is concerned with:
A) producing goods or providing services.
B) procuring materials, supplies, and equipment.
C) building and maintaining a positive image.
D) generating the demand for the organization’s products or services.
E) securing monetary resources.
6) The finance function is concerned with:
A) producing goods or providing services.
B) procuring materials, supplies, and equipment.
C) building and maintaining a positive image.
D) generating the demand for the organization’s products or services.
E) securing monetary resources.
7) Which of the following tasks within an airline company are related to operations?
A) crew scheduling
B) international monetary exchange
C) sales
D) advertising
E) accounts payable
8) Marketing, production/operations, and ________ are the three functions that all organizations must
perform to create goods and services.
Section 3 The Supply Chain
1) Competition in the 21st century is no longer between companies; it is between supply chains.
2) An accounting firm that provides tax services for a company would be considered to be part of that
company’s supply chain.
3) What is a global network of organizations and activities that supply a firm with goods and services?
A) supply tree
B) provider network
C) supply chain
D) vendor network
E) vendor tree
4) Which of the following fosters specialization and worldwide supply chains?
A) more expensive transportation
B) instant communication
C) economies of scope
D) managers with a broad knowledge of many things
E) high trade tariffs
5) A(n) ________ is a global network of organizations and activities that supply a firm with goods and
services.
6) Competition in the 21st century is no longer between companies; it is between ________.
7) Identify up to four phenomena that foster specialization and worldwide supply chains.
Section 4 Why Study OM?
1) One reason to study operations management is to learn how people organize themselves for
productive enterprise.
2) Reasons to study operations management include:
A) studying how people organize themselves for productive enterprise.
B) knowing how goods and services are consumed.
C) understanding what human resource managers do.
D) learning about a costly part of the enterprise.
E) A and D
3) Reasons to study operations management include learning about:
A) how people organize themselves for productive enterprise.
B) how goods and services are produced.
C) what operations managers do.
D) a costly part of the enterprise.
E) all of the above.
4) Brandon Production is a small firm focused on the assembly and sale of custom computers. The firm is
facing stiff competition from low-priced alternatives, and is looking at various solutions to remain
competitive and profitable. Current financials for the firm are shown in the table below. In the first
option, marketing will increase sales by 50%. The next option is Vendor (Supplier) changes, which would
result in a decrease of 10% in the cost of inputs. Finally, there is an OM option, which would reduce
production costs by 25%. Which of the options would you recommend to the firm if it can only pursue
one option? In addition, comment on the feasibility of each option.
Business Function Current Value
Cost of Inputs $50,000
Production Costs $25,000
Revenue $80,000
Section 5 What Operations Managers Do
1) The operations manager performs the management activities of planning, organizing, staffing, leading,
and controlling of the OM function.
2) “Considers inventory ordering and holding decisions” is within the strategic operations management
decision area of managing quality.
3) In order to have a career in operations management, one must have a degree in statistics or
quantitative methods.
4) What are the five elements in the management process?
A) plan, direct, update, lead, and supervise
B) accounting, finance, marketing, operations, and management
C) organize, plan, control, staff, and manage
D) plan, organize, staff, lead, and control
E) plan, lead, organize, manage, and control
5) Which of the following is NOT an element of the management process?
A) controlling
B) leading
C) planning
D) pricing
E) staffing
6) An operations manager is NOT likely to be involved in:
A) the design of goods and services to satisfy customers’ wants and needs.
B) the quality of goods and services to satisfy customers’ wants and needs.
C) the identification of customers’ wants and needs.
D) work scheduling to meet the due dates promised to customers.
E) maintenance schedules.
7) All of the following decisions fall within the scope of operations management EXCEPT for:
A) creating the company income statement.
B) design of goods and services.
C) location strategy.
D) managing quality.
E) human resources and job design.
8) The 10 strategic operations management decisions include:
A) layout strategy.
B) maintenance.
C) process and capacity design.
D) managing quality.
E) all of the above.
9) Which of the following is NOT one of the 10 strategic operations management decisions?
A) layout strategy
B) maintenance
C) process and capacity design
D) mass customization
E) supply chain management
10) Which of the following is one of the 10 strategic operations management decisions?
A) depreciation policy for tax returns
B) advertising
C) process and capacity design
D) pricing
E) debt/equity ratio
11) Which of the following are among the 10 strategic operations management decisions?
I. design of goods and services
II. managing quality
III. layout strategy
IV. marketing
V. pricing of goods and services
A) I, II, V
B) I, II, IV
C) II, III, V
D) I, II, III
E) I, II, III, IV, V
12) Which of the following influences layout design?
A) inventory requirements
B) capacity needs
C) personnel levels
D) technology
E) All of the above influence layout decisions.
13) Which of the following is NOT a strategic operations management decision?
A) maintenance
B) price
C) layout design
D) quality
E) inventory
14) Identify two operations-related tasks carried out by Hard Rock Café. Match each to its related area of
the 10 strategic operations management decisions.
15) Identify the 10 strategic OM decisions.
Section 6 The Heritage of Operations Management
1) Henry Ford is known as the Father of Scientific Management.
2) Shewhart’s contributions to operations management came during the Scientific Management Era.
3) Walter Shewhart is listed among the important people of operations management because of his
contributions to:
A) assembly line production.
B) measuring productivity in the service sector.
C) just-in-time inventory methods.
D) statistical quality control.
E) information technology.
4) Walter Shewhart, in the ________, provided the foundations for ________ in operations management.
A) 1920s; statistical sampling
B) United Kingdom; mass production
C) U.S. Army; logistics
D) nineteenth century; interchangeable parts
E) 1900s; queuing theory
5) Eli Whitney, in the ________, provided the foundations for ________ in operations management.
A) 1920s; statistical sampling
B) United Kingdom; mass production
C) U.S. Army; logistics
D) nineteenth century; interchangeable parts
E) 1890s; queuing theory
6) Who was the person most responsible for popularizing interchangeable parts in manufacturing?
A) Frederick Winslow Taylor
B) Henry Ford
C) Eli Whitney
D) Whitney Houston
E) Lillian Gilbreth
7) The “Father of Scientific Management” is:
A) Henry Ford.
B) Frederick W. Taylor.
C) W. Edwards Deming.
D) Frank Gilbreth.
E) just a figure of speech, not a reference to a person.
8) Henry Ford is noted for his contributions to:
A) material requirements planning.
B) statistical quality control.
C) assembly line operations.
D) scientific management.
E) time and motion studies.
9) Who among the following is associated with contributions to quality control in operations
management?
A) Charles Babbage
B) Henry Ford
C) Frank Gilbreth
D) W. Edwards Deming
E) Henri Fayol
10) The field of operations management is shaped by advances in which of the following fields?
A) chemistry and physics
B) industrial engineering and management science
C) biology and anatomy
D) information technology
E) all of the above
11) Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A) The person most responsible for initiating the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing was Eli
Whitney.
B) The origins of management by exception are generally credited to Frederick W. Taylor.
C) The person most responsible for initiating the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing was
Walter Shewhart.
D) The origins of the scientific management movement are generally credited to Henry Ford.
E) The person most responsible for initiating the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing was
Henry Ford.
12) Henry Ford and ________ are credited with the development of the moving assembly line.
13) Identify the items that Fredrick W. Taylor believed management should be more responsible for.
14) Operations managers should be well versed in what disciplines in order to make good decisions?
1) Customer interaction is often high for manufacturing processes, but low for services.
2) Manufacturing now constitutes the largest economic sector in postindustrial societies.
3) Although the number of people employed in manufacturing in the United States has decreased since
1950, each person is now producing almost 20 times more than in 1950.
4) Which of the following is the best example of a pure service?
A) counseling
B) oil change
C) heart transplant
D) electric Co-Op
E) restaurant
5) The service sector makes up approximately what percentage of all jobs in the United States?
A) 12%
B) 40%
C) 66%
D) 85%
E) 94%
6) Which is NOT true regarding differences between goods and services?
A) Tangible goods are generally produced and consumed simultaneously; services are not.
B) Most goods are common to many customers; services are often unique to the final customer.
C) Services tend to have a more inconsistent product definition than goods.
D) Services tend to have higher customer interaction than goods.
E) None, i.e., all of the above are true.
7) Which is NOT true regarding differences between goods and services?
A) Services are generally produced and consumed simultaneously; tangible goods are not.
B) Services tend to be more knowledge-based than goods.
C) Services tend to have a more inconsistent product definition than goods.
D) Goods tend to have higher customer interaction than services.
E) Reselling is unusual in services; goods often have some residual value.
8) Which of the following services is LEAST likely to be unique, i.e., customized to a particular
individual’s needs?
A) dental care
B) hairdressing
C) legal services
D) elementary education
E) computer consulting
9) Which of the following is NOT a typical service attribute?
A) intangible product
B) easy to store
C) customer interaction is high
D) simultaneous production and consumption
E) difficult to resell
10) Which of the following attributes is most typical of a service?
A) production and consumption occur simultaneously
B) tangible
C) mass production
D) consistency
E) easy to automate
11) Which of the following is a similarity between goods and services?
A) mass production
B) consistency
C) automation
D) Both have quality standards.
E) Both can usually be kept in inventory.
12) When a tangible component is not included in a service, such as with counseling, it is called a(n)
________.
13) How do services differ from goods? Identify five ways.
Section 8 The Productivity Challenge
1) Productivity is generally more difficult to improve in the service sector than in the manufacturing
sector.