Answer to Questions
1. a. Doctor’s office – job shop or project. All patients do not require the same
procedures, namely the service(s) offered are custom in nature.
b. Automatic car wash – assembly line flow. There is a linear sequence of
operations common to all cars.
Project: if curriculum is tailored to individual students (e.g., independent study
courses)
d. Studying for an exam – project. The studying process is unique to each student
for different, unique exams.
2. Reasons for efficiency, but less flexibility of the line than the batch process:
a. Standardization of tasks
b. Standard products
c. Highly automated
assembly line or continuous process approach.
The problems in using more efficient processes in the service industries are:
– Possible customer dissatisfaction with standardized product
– Need for extensive capital investment
To make a batch process preferred would require construction of some number of
identical skyscrapers. This seems both unlikely and aesthetically undesirable. Perhaps,
however, sections of skyscrapers could be standardized and produced by batch
product bundle. They must, therefore, have distinctive and changing products. This is
not a problem, then, because the distinctive competence of these industries requires that
they do not become highly standardized.
6.
Fast Food Expensive
Market type Mass Mass Custom
Volume High High Low
Labor
Investment High Medium Medium
Inventory Low Medium High
Equipment Special purpose Special purpose General purpose
Objectives
Control & Planning
Production control Easy Easy Difficult
Quality control Difficult Difficult Difficult
Inventory control Easy Easy Difficult
Cafeteria Fast Food Fine Restaurant
Capital Heavy initial Medium initial Lower initial
Requirements investment to set investment, but investment,
up cafeteria line. higher inventory medium
Low inventory. needs. inventory.
Competition very
intense.
Labor Low skilled Low skilled Highly skilled
8. They will, of course, have to develop an inventory. This will require storage and
inventory control procedures.
– They will need to develop standard product lines.
– They will need to forecast demand for the product lines.
– They will need to schedule production and develop capacity planning
9. Unless the product and process happen to be at the same stage of evolution, this will
result in moving off the diagonal of the product-process matrix. Unless this happens to
be justified by the firm’s business strategy, the firm will lose its competitive ability.
10. Distinctive Competence Product/Process
a. McDonald’s Fast, inexpensive, Product
c. General Motors Its reputation, number Product
of dealers &
Process
d. Harvard Business Case method Process
Marketing – Can the higher volumes of product and more restricted variety be sold?
Finance – How much additional investment is needed?
12. a. The business should consider using a batch process that is flexible enough to be
modified into a line process when the products become successful and sell in high
volume.
In November 1999, Nike launched NikeID, a website that allows customers to order a
growing number of personalized running shoes and cross trainers. Hoping to avoid the
manufacturing and distribution pains that have plagued and sometimes defeated many
online retailers, Nike has cautiously expanded the number of sole and color combinations
NikeID offers as well as the product lines available through the site.
tools for achieving mass customization in all cases. In the modular case, like Dell
Computer, orders are received by the Internet, assembled, and shipped by UPS overnight,
so they need to assure flawless integration between order taking (front office operations)
and order fulfillment (back-office operations). Setup time reduction is essential for fast
changeover. Postponement requires close coordination between order entry and final
a. Operations viewed as just a place to produce the company’s products.
b. Uncoordinated decisions made according to implicit goals such as minimum
cost which leads to actions with conflicting objectives.
c. Decision making which overlooks the tradeoffs inherent in the four objectives
g. No explicit review of goals when the focus of the operation changes.
17. Organizing a plant-within-a-plant has several drawbacks. Some economies of scale are
forfeited as a result of smaller-scale production, use of special purpose equipment that
may be more expensive and existence of some excess capacity. Jobs with more breadth
mission. The result of a focused operation is a consistent set of cost, delivery, quality
and flexibility objectives.
18. An operation does not need to be focused when
a. There is little competition now or in the future due to government regulations or the
19. Operations should be concerned with environmental issues because sustainability has
become a critical objective and strategy for operations and the supply chain. The
greening of operations and supply chain should begin by examining the opportunities
for reducing the environmental footprint in the firm across all operations and supply
chains globally.
pollution, fewer landfills and recycled materials. For example, use of solar power to
reduce energy consumption and fewer materials to reduce landfills. Pollution control is
used to treat pollutants from existing processes. For example air filters on smoke stacks
and cleanup of polluted water. Pollution practices can be changed by training workers
or using revised procedures. For example, workers are trained to save energy.
Answer to Questions
1. a. Doctor’s office – job shop or project. All patients do not require the same
procedures, namely the service(s) offered are custom in nature.
b. Automatic car wash – assembly line flow. There is a linear sequence of
operations common to all cars.
Project: if curriculum is tailored to individual students (e.g., independent study
courses)
d. Studying for an exam – project. The studying process is unique to each student
for different, unique exams.
2. Reasons for efficiency, but less flexibility of the line than the batch process:
a. Standardization of tasks
b. Standard products
c. Highly automated
assembly line or continuous process approach.
The problems in using more efficient processes in the service industries are:
– Possible customer dissatisfaction with standardized product
– Need for extensive capital investment
To make a batch process preferred would require construction of some number of
identical skyscrapers. This seems both unlikely and aesthetically undesirable. Perhaps,
however, sections of skyscrapers could be standardized and produced by batch
product bundle. They must, therefore, have distinctive and changing products. This is
not a problem, then, because the distinctive competence of these industries requires that
they do not become highly standardized.
6.
Fast Food Expensive
Market type Mass Mass Custom
Volume High High Low
Labor
Investment High Medium Medium
Inventory Low Medium High
Equipment Special purpose Special purpose General purpose
Objectives
Control & Planning
Production control Easy Easy Difficult
Quality control Difficult Difficult Difficult
Inventory control Easy Easy Difficult
Cafeteria Fast Food Fine Restaurant
Capital Heavy initial Medium initial Lower initial
Requirements investment to set investment, but investment,
up cafeteria line. higher inventory medium
Low inventory. needs. inventory.
Competition very
intense.
Labor Low skilled Low skilled Highly skilled
8. They will, of course, have to develop an inventory. This will require storage and
inventory control procedures.
– They will need to develop standard product lines.
– They will need to forecast demand for the product lines.
– They will need to schedule production and develop capacity planning
9. Unless the product and process happen to be at the same stage of evolution, this will
result in moving off the diagonal of the product-process matrix. Unless this happens to
be justified by the firm’s business strategy, the firm will lose its competitive ability.
10. Distinctive Competence Product/Process
a. McDonald’s Fast, inexpensive, Product
c. General Motors Its reputation, number Product
of dealers &
Process
d. Harvard Business Case method Process
Marketing – Can the higher volumes of product and more restricted variety be sold?
Finance – How much additional investment is needed?
12. a. The business should consider using a batch process that is flexible enough to be
modified into a line process when the products become successful and sell in high
volume.
In November 1999, Nike launched NikeID, a website that allows customers to order a
growing number of personalized running shoes and cross trainers. Hoping to avoid the
manufacturing and distribution pains that have plagued and sometimes defeated many
online retailers, Nike has cautiously expanded the number of sole and color combinations
NikeID offers as well as the product lines available through the site.
tools for achieving mass customization in all cases. In the modular case, like Dell
Computer, orders are received by the Internet, assembled, and shipped by UPS overnight,
so they need to assure flawless integration between order taking (front office operations)
and order fulfillment (back-office operations). Setup time reduction is essential for fast
changeover. Postponement requires close coordination between order entry and final
a. Operations viewed as just a place to produce the company’s products.
b. Uncoordinated decisions made according to implicit goals such as minimum
cost which leads to actions with conflicting objectives.
c. Decision making which overlooks the tradeoffs inherent in the four objectives
g. No explicit review of goals when the focus of the operation changes.
17. Organizing a plant-within-a-plant has several drawbacks. Some economies of scale are
forfeited as a result of smaller-scale production, use of special purpose equipment that
may be more expensive and existence of some excess capacity. Jobs with more breadth
mission. The result of a focused operation is a consistent set of cost, delivery, quality
and flexibility objectives.
18. An operation does not need to be focused when
a. There is little competition now or in the future due to government regulations or the
19. Operations should be concerned with environmental issues because sustainability has
become a critical objective and strategy for operations and the supply chain. The
greening of operations and supply chain should begin by examining the opportunities
for reducing the environmental footprint in the firm across all operations and supply
chains globally.
pollution, fewer landfills and recycled materials. For example, use of solar power to
reduce energy consumption and fewer materials to reduce landfills. Pollution control is
used to treat pollutants from existing processes. For example air filters on smoke stacks
and cleanup of polluted water. Pollution practices can be changed by training workers
or using revised procedures. For example, workers are trained to save energy.