All of the following are important criteria in choosing a forecasting method EXCEPT:
a. the smoothing constant (α).
b. the time span for which the forecast is made.
c. the data requirements.
d. the quantitative skills needed.
Answer:
Dell’s ability to provide a wide range of customized computer hardware to
accommodate customers’ needs best describes _____.
a. volume flexibility
b. design flexibility
c. cycle time
d. queue time
Answer:
Which of the following statements about goods and services is TRUE?
a. The demand for services is independent of time.
b. A durable good is a product that typically lasts for less than three years.
c. A good example of a nondurable good is furniture.
d. A service encounter can consist of one or more moments of truth.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT a concept or dimension of the servicescape?
a. Signs, symbols, and artifacts
b. Ambient conditions
c. Transaction processing
d. Spatial layout and functionality
Answer:
If the forecast annual production volume is 100,000 units, which technology alternative
should the company choose?
a. FMS
b. CNC
Answer:
_____ is vertical expansion of job duties to give a worker more responsibility.
a. Job enlargement
b. Job rotation
c. Job enrichment
d. Job design
Answer:
Two fundamental inventory decisions are: when to order and how much to order. Which
of the following statement is TRUE about fixed-quantity (FQS) and fixed-period (FPS)
inventory systems?
a. An FPS orders a fixed-period quantity when the inventory position reaches or passes
the reorder point (r).
b. An FPS must cover a time period of T + L to cover the risk of a stockout.
c. An FPS places an order for an economic order quantity (EOQ) on a continuous basis.
d. An FQS places an order to replenish the inventory position up to a target level (M)
when the inventory position reaches the reorder point (r).
Answer:
Use the following information about vehicle traffic to and from a proposed sports
stadium (not built yet) to find the best location for the stadium that minimizes total
distance travelled using the center-of-gravity method.
Which one of the following statements is TRUE for this set of center-of-gravity data?
a. Cx is less than 10.00 and Cy is more than 10.00.
b. Cx is more than 10.00 and Cy is less than 10.00.
c. Cx is less than 10.00 and Cy is less than 10.00.
d. Cx is more than 10.00 and Cy is more than 10.00.
Answer:
A Proctor and Gamble factory process fills boxes with detergent. Construct an
appropriate set of control charts to monitor the process. Historical data for fill weight
(in ounces) of eight samples is presented below. A sample size of six was used.
For the Proctor and Gamble detergent box problem, based on the control charts it can be
said that _____.
a. both the R- and X-bar charts are not in statistical control
b. the R-chart is not in statistical control, but the X-bar chart is in statistical control
c. the R-chart is not in statistical control, but the X-bar chart is in statistical control, and
therefore, the process should be stopped and sources of error investigated
d. the R-chart is in statistical control, but the X-bar chart is not in statistical control, and
therefore, the process should be stopped and sources of error investigated
Answer:
All of the following are perspectives of sustainability EXCEPT:
a. economic sustainability.
b. social sustainability.
c. technological sustainability.
d. environmental sustainability.
Answer:
Steve, an operations manager at Krypto InfoTech, must set up an assembly line to
assemble a computer mouse. The precedent network given below is defined with task
times in parentheses and stated in minutes. There are 480 minutes of assembly time per
shift and there is one shift. The forecast (output rate) is 60 units per shift. He decides to
use the longest/largest-task-time rule to assign tasks to workstations.
Worksheet for assembly-line balancing problem
What is the cycle time?
a. 6 minutes/unit
b. 7 minutes/unit
c. 8 minutes/unit
d. 9 minutes/unit
Answer:
Ayben is responsible for managing an advertising and promotion project using Program
Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) with the following activities (times are given
in weeks).
Draw the project network here. BLANK SPACES
Using the table for the advertising and promotion project, if the expected time (not the
most likely time) for activity B is changed to 18 weeks, by how many weeks will the
project’s expected completion time increase?
a. It will not change.
b. It will increase by 1 week.
c. It will increase by 2 weeks.
d. It will increase by 3 weeks.
Answer:
If the highest priority is to minimize the average job lateness, then the job sequence
should begin with those jobs requiring:
a. the shortest processing time.
b. the smallest critical ratio.
c. the least remaining operations.
d. the longest processing time.
Answer:
Brian is assigned his first project. If things go well, he should get promoted. The CEO
is aware of this project, so he has a chance for high visibility. His first task is to define
the work break down structure by interviewing project activity managers, and the firm’s
friendly, yet boring accountants, to get “good estimates” of project activity times and
costs.
For Activity Z, the crash cost per week is _____, given the following data: normal time
= 5 weeks, crash time = 2, normal cost = $7,560, and crash cost = $17,365.
a. less than or equal to $1,000 per week
b. more than $1,000 but less than or equal to $2,500
c. more than $2,500 but less than or equal to $3,000
d. more than $3,000 but less than or equal to $3,500
Answer:
Which one of the following statements about the structure of the U.S. economy is
TRUE?
a. About 90 percent of all U.S. jobs are in service-providing processes.
b. All goods-producing jobs account for 25 percent of total U.S. jobs.
c. All service-providing jobs account for 65 percent of total U.S. jobs.
d. The largest U.S. industry with respect to U.S. jobs is manufacturing.
Answer:
_____ services offer customers broad freedom to select the pathways that are best
suited for their immediate needs and wants from many possible pathways through the
service delivery system.
a. Provider-routed
b. Customer-routed
c. Option-oriented
d. Standard
Answer:
The numerical difference between the completion time and the due date is called:
a. flow time
b. lateness
c. makespan
d. tardiness
Answer:
A _____ layout is an arrangement based on the sequence of operations that are
performed during the manufacturing of a good or delivery of a service.
a. product
b. process
c. cellular
d. fixed-position
Answer:
_____ occur when the average unit cost of the good or service begins to increase as the
capacity and/or volume of throughput increases.
a. Economies of scale
b. Diseconomies of scale
c. Costs of cushioning
d. Capacity cushions
Answer:
The As-You-Like-It Hamburger Shop is considering adding a new location. The
investment at each of the four potential sites is the same. The price they can charge for
hamburgers is set by the competition in the area.
Given the information below, which site is expected to be the most profitable (i.e., net
profit)?
a. Site A
b. Site B
c. Site C
d. Site D
Answer:
Honda wants to monitor the number of blemishes (scratches, blisters, etc.) on the
fenders of its cars using a statistical process control chart. The most appropriate type of
statistical process control (SPC) chart that can be used in this scenario is a(n) _____.
a. x-bar chart
b. R-chart
c. Cpk chart
d. c-chart
Answer:
Which of the following is a short-term capacity decision?
a. Expanding the capacity and the number of beds in a hospital
b. Determining the amount of warehouse space to rent for a new promotional item
c. Closing down a distribution center
d. Changing the cooking technology in a chain of fast-food restaurants
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT an assumption of the critical path method?
a. Activities are independent of one another.
b. Activity time estimates are stable.
c. Activity times are characterized by a beta probability distribution.
d. Once an activity is started, it continues uninterrupted until completion.
Answer:
Which of the following statements is TRUE of total productive maintenance (TPM)?
a. It puts total responsibility on maintenance workers.
b. It puts total responsibility on equipment operators.
c. Planned down time is maximized.
d. Employees preserve and protect their equipment.
Answer:
A small lumber company produces two types of pine boards used in home construction:
2x4s and 2x6s (dimensions in inches). It is attempting to determine how many of each
to produce so as to minimize its costs on a per-minute basis. It has sales commitments
to produce four 2x4s and two 2x6s per minute, but the management thinks they should
not produce any more than eight 2x6s because of market demand. The company is also
trying to support the community by employing people. Thus, it wants to keep at least 12
men employed, but only needs 2 men to produce each 2×4 and 1 person to produce each
2×6 per minute. It costs the company $.50 to produce a 2×4 and $.80 to produce a 2×6
per minute.
a. What is the objective function for this LP problem?
b. What is the constraint for the employment issue, assuming x1 corresponds to 2x4s?
c. What is the optimal solution point for this problem?
d. What is the optimal value of the objective function?
Answer:
A furniture company produces two types of wooden chairs: Products A and B. They are
interested in developing a rough-cut capacity plan to prevent overloading their
assembly facility. Assembly time required for Product A is 2 hours and for product B, it
is 3 hours. Total assembly time available is 100 hours/week. They have the following
weekly production information available:
Answer:
A retail store sells a popular cosmetic called Devineand the store manager is given
$300,000 by the corporate office to improve store performance any way she thinks best.
The “base case” information is a price of $30 per bottle, a contribution margin of 0.50, a
customer defection rate of 20%, and a repurchase frequency of 3 times a year. If these
improvement funds could be used to either (a) increase the contribution margin to 0.60
or (b) reduce the customer defection rate to 12% or (c) increase the repurchase
frequency to 4 times per year, what is the best way to spend these improvement funds?
(Assume all other variables remain at the base case level for each of the three
improvement options.) VLC = P*CM*RF*BLC
You may want to use the worksheet below to help organize your computations and
answer of the multiple choice question(s).
The value of a loyal customer (VLC) for improvement option (a) is _____.
a. more than $100 and less than or equal to $150
b. more than $150 and less than or equal to $200
c. more than $200 and less than or equal to $250
d. more than $250
Answer:
The sequencing rule that minimizes the maximum number of jobs that are past due
from a given set of jobs is:
a. shortest processing time (SPT).
b. earliest due date (EDD).
c. first come, first served (FCFS).
d. least amount of work at the next process queue (LWNQ).
Answer:
Scheduling refers to specifying:
a. the sequence in which jobs must be completed.
b. the due date for each job.
c. the start and completion times of jobs.
d. the makespan of each job.
Answer:
Jude is in charge of the advertising program for the Boston Red Sox baseball team
during their spring training in Fort Myers, Florida. He has defined the advertising
program as a project with the following characteristics. The goal is to fill all stadium
seats during the spring training season or he may not have this job next yearthe pressure
is on!
The most likely activities to share resources with critical path activities are:
a. Activities A and B.
b. Activities E and A.
c. Activities A and C.
d. Activities B and D.
Answer:
A regional fast-food restaurant is considering an expansion program. The major factor
influencing the success of such a program is the future level of interest rates. It is
estimated that there is a 20 per-cent chance that interest rates will increase by 2
percentage points, a 50 percent chance that they will remain the same, and a 30 percent
chance that they will decrease by 2 percentage points. The alternatives they are
considering and possible payoffs are shown in the following table:
a. Using decision tree analysis, what is the expected value (EV) for building 50 new
restaurants?
b. Using decision tree analysis, what is the expected value (EV) for building 25 new
restaurants?
c. What is the action and corresponding expected value EV for this overall decision tree
problem?
Answer:
Which of the following is most
closely associated with root cause
analysis?
a. The 5-Why Technique
b. The DMAIC approach
c. SERVQUAL
d. Zero defects
Answer:
Assembly-Line Balancing ProblemTable 1 below
The Florida Appliance Company is installing an assembly line to produce vacuum
cleaners, and Patrick, as an operations manager, is responsible for balancing the line.
The work elements to be performed are listed, along with their items and immediate
predecessors.
Use the information in Table 1. The company is planning to operate 2 shifts per day, 8
hours per shift. If the desired output rate of the line is 480 units per day, what is the
cycle time?
a. 60 seconds
b. 120 seconds
c. 180 seconds
d. 240 seconds
Answer:
Which of the following statements in Tom’s Auto Service case study is TRUE?
a. The customer survey results indicate the facilities were in disrepair and not so clean.
b. b. The customer survey results indicate the employees needed more (better) service
management training.
c. c. The reliability of the service-delivery system was computed in class to be 92.5
percent.
d. d. The customer survey results indicate the servicescape was in disrepair and not well
designed.
Answer:
Zero Defects (ZD) is achieved by identifying defects in production processes and fixing
them.
Answer:
To find the reliability of a complex system, one must first convert the parallel
components into equivalent series components.
Answer:
Define a project. Give some non-manufacturing or non-construction examples.
Answer:
Quality management includes how goods and services are designed, rather than simply
how quality is assured during the manufacturing or service-delivery process.
Answer:
Services such as legal and medical specialties employ cellular layouts.
Answer:
Appointments systems usually overbook to maximize revenue when no-show
percentage reaches 10 percent or more.
Answer:
Capacity costs depend primarily on annual operating and maintenance costs.
Answer:
Some argue that modern technology invalidates the application of the product-process
matrix. Explain their logic.
Answer:
The average number of hotel rooms occupied per day during the month of March is
225. Rooms are booked on average for 2.5 days. On average, how many new bookings
occur each day?
a. Less than 100 rooms per day
b. More than100 but less than or equal to 150 rooms per day
c. More than 150 but less than or equal to 200 rooms per day
d. More than 200 but less than or equal to 250 rooms per day
Answer:
In general, as the number of probabilistic components of a system increases, the more
likely it is that simulation will be the best analysis approach.
Answer:
Explain the difference between an efficient and a responsive supply chain, and the
business context for which each works best.
Answer:
An automobile emissions testing center has six (6) inspectors and tests 50 vehicles per
hour. Each inspector can inspect twelve (12) vehicles per hour. If the center wants a
utilization of 90%, how many inspectors are required?
a. Two
b. Three
c. Four
d. Five
Answer:
Compare and contrast wait cost with server cost. Which is harder to estimate?
Answer:
Explain the three levels of resource planning.
Answer:
Reliability is formally expressed as a probability between 0 and 1.
Answer:
Distribution centers are warehouses that act as intermediaries between suppliers and
factories.
Answer:
Find the control limits for a c-chart with c-bar= 7.
Answer: