Q&A Hero

Q: A simple project listing of five activities, their predecessors and their respective time estimates are presented below: Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure, which activities have slack in this project? A. A B. B C. C D. D E. C and E

Q: TQM is a quick fix that can turn an organization around overnight.

Q: A simple project listing of five activities, their predecessors and their respective time estimates are presented below: Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure, what is the Latest Finish Time for the last activity in this project (i.e., the total time to complete the project)? A. 10 days B. 7 days C. 8 days D. 12 days E. 9 days

Q: For effective implementation of TQM, managers must assume the role of supervisor rather than facilitator.

Q: A simple project listing of five activities and their respective time estimates are presented below: Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure, which activities make up the critical path? A. A, C, D, E B. A, B, D, E C. A, C, B, D, E D. A, D, E E. None of the above

Q: Total quality management (TQM) is an ongoing and constant effort by all of an organization's functions to find new ways to improve the quality of the organization's goods and services.

Q: You have been placed in charge of a large project. Shortened communication lines are required to insure quick resolution of problems as they arise. You recognize that the project is going to take a lot of time and require a lot of team pride, motivation and commitment by all members. Which project management structure should you use in this situation? A. Pure Project B. Task force C. Matrix Project D. Functional Project E. PERT

Q: Reengineering, restructuring, and innovation are three important instruments of evolutionary change.

Q: You have just been assigned to oversee a series of projects. Functional areas will loan you personnel for each project and separate project managers will be responsible for separate projects. These project managers will report to you. Which project management structure is being used? A. Pure Project B. Task force C. Matrix Project D. Functional Project E. PERT

Q: Evolutionary change involves not a drastic or sudden altering of the basic nature of an organization's strategy and structure but a constant attempt to improve, adapt, and adjust strategy and structure incrementally to accommodate to changes taking place in the environment.

Q: If each activity time is known with certainty in a CPM analysis, which of the following methodologies can be used to analyze the project? A. Single Time Estimate B. Three Activity Time Estimates C. Expected Activity Time D. Probability Analysis E. None of the above

Q: Sociotechnical systems theory, total quality management, and the creation of empowered, flexible work groups are three instruments of revolutionary change.

Q: PERT is an abbreviation for which of the following methodologies? A. Product Evaluation Result and Treatment B. Programming and Evaluation Realization Technology C. Program Evaluation and Review Technique D. Process Evaluation and Review Technology E. It is a name, not an abbreviation for anything

Q: Evolutionary change has a much broader focus than revolutionary change.

Q: A series of projects that are organized in such a way that each project utilizes people from different functional areas is using which of the following organizational structures? A. Matrix project B. Integrated Task Force C. Functional project D. Pure project E. Cross-functional flexible team

Q: Revolutionary change is gradual and incremental.

Q: Some of the advantages of a functional project where the project is housed in a functional division include which of the following? A. The project manager has full authority over the project B. Team pride, motivation and commitment are high C. A team member can work on several projects D. Needs of the client are secondary E. None of the above

Q: The force-field theory states that organizations have a tendency to overestimate their degree of influence over other external events.

Q: An advantage of a pure project where self-contained teams work full time on a project is which of the following? A. Team members can work on several projects B. Functional area is a "home" after the project is completed D. Lines of communication are shortened E. Overall organizational policies and goals can be ignored

Q: Which of the following is a graphic project report used in project management? A. Project proposal B. Approved project plan C. Humphrey chart D. Equipment and supplies chart E. Cost and performance tracking schedule

Q: The term "framing effect" refers to a pattern of faulty decision-making that occurs when members of a group discount negative information in order to arrive at a unanimous agreement.

Q: As compared to organic structures, mechanistic structures are less resistant to change.

Q: In a Gantt chart the horizontal axis is usually which of the following? A. Activities B. Cost C. Profit D. Time E. Milestones

Q: A typical characteristic of an organic structure is standardization of behavior through rules and procedures.

Q: Which of the following is a reason that project management is important? A. Organizations do not allow hastily planned projects B. Organizational hierarchies are becoming more robust C. The firm's reputation is not a concern since projects are invisible to the outside world D. Projects are a way to promote effective leadership E. It is usually more important to complete a project on time than to complete it correctly

Q: Mechanistic structure is characterized by a flat hierarchy, decentralized decision-making.

Q: What is a work breakdown structure? A. A list of the activities making up the higher levels of the project B. A definition of the hierarchy of project tasks, subtasks and work packages C. A depiction of the activities making up a project D. A Gantt chart E. A structure that is incompatible with the Critical Path Method

Q: Differences in functional orientation is a major internal force that encourages organizational change.

Q: A project starts out as which of the following? A. A Statement of Work (SOW) B. Critical Path Method (CPM) C. A Series of Milestones (SOM) D. A Gantt chart E. A latest-start-time estimate

Q: Change usually benefits some people, functions, or divisions at the expense of others.

Q: A project can be subdivided into which of the following? A. Job orders B. Subjobs C. Work Package D. Sub-paths E. Events and decisions

Q: Resistance to change lowers an organization's effectiveness and reduces its chances of survival.

Q: Derivative projects are those which address incremental changes to products or processes.

Q: The term "organizational inertia" refers to the tendency of an organization to increase the level of production in order to take advantage of economies of scale.

Q: Breakthrough projects are those that provide fundamental improvements to existing products.

Q: Competition is a force that resists change.

Q: A project milestone is a specific event to be reached by a particular point in time.

Q: Human resources are an organization's most important asset.

Q: One of the criticisms of CPM analysis is that projects tend to change and develop over time, making the use of formulas for combining together the optimistic, most likely and pessimistic values useless.

Q: Even thriving and high-performing organizations need to continuously change the way they operate over time.

Q: Project management software available today combines CPM and other scheduling aids, like Gantt charting, to aid in tracking progress of project completion.

Q: Explain the advantages of the computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) technique.

Q: One of the assumptions made using CPM is that project activity sequence relationships can be specified and networked.

Q: Describe the advantages of using a just-in-time inventory system.

Q: One of the assumptions made using CPM is that project activities can be identified with clear beginning and ending points.

Q: Explain the characteristics of intensive technology as described by Thompson.

Q: When reducing the planned duration of a project using the Time-Cost CPM model we select the activity to crash by determining the cost of each alternative and selecting the one whose cost is the greatest.

Q: Explain the characteristics of mediating technology as described by Thompson.

Q: In the Time-Cost CPM model, cost is a linear function of time.

Q: What are the four types of technologies identified by Perrow on the basis of task variability and task analyzability?

Q: Using the Time-Cost CPM model, the crash time is the shortest possible time allowed for each activity in the project.

Q: Define task variability and task analyzability.

Q: You are managing a project and need to cut the cost of the project. You decide to transfer workers to another job to cut the project's costs. Costs associated with transferring the workers are an example of project indirect costs.

Q: According to Joan Woodward, how does technical complexity affect the structure of an organization?

Q: The "Z" distribution used to calculate the probability of completing a project on time is only useful in calculating probabilities where the desired time is greater than the expected time.

Q: Explain the characteristics of continuous-process technology as described by Joan Woodward.

Q: The activity direct costs associated with a project might include giving workers overtime to complete a project in less-than the expected time.

Q: Explain the characteristics of small-batch technology as described by Joan Woodward.

Q: The project indirect costs associated with a project include overhead, facilities and resource opportunity costs.

Q: What is technology?

Q: We assume in CPM analysis that the activity times are independent and therefore the sum of the variances of the activities along the critical path is the variance of the expected time to complete the path.

Q: The use of robots is integral to ________. A) CAD B) CAMM C) JIT inventory systems D) CIM

Q: In calculating the probabilities in a CPM analysis the desired time is determined by calculating the expected time for the project as a whole.

Q: Which of the following techniques controls the changeover from one operation to another by means of the commands given to the machines through computer software and eliminates the need to retool machines physically? A) computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) B) computer-aided materials management (CAMM) C) computer-aided design (CAD) D) JIT inventory systems

Q: The "Z" value used to calculate the probabilities in CPM analysis is based on the Beta probability distribution.

Q: A just-in-time (JIT) inventory system ________. A) decreases technical complexity B) requires the use of CAMM for working effectively C) makes it difficult for an organization to respond quickly to the changing customer preferences D) decreases task interdependence

Q: To calculate the variances of activity times in CPM analysis we must use all three time estimates (i.e., optimistic, most likely and pessimistic time estimates).

Q: Which of the following advanced manufacturing techniques is developed from the Japanese kanban system? A) fixed automation system B) computer-aided design system C) just-in-time inventory system D) computer-integrated manufacturing system

Q: The expected time estimate in a CPM three time estimate procedure is a weighted average formula.

Q: Computer-aided materials management (CAMM) ________. A) uses a push approach to manage inventory flows B) increases the costs of carrying inventory C) increases task interdependence D) increases the cost of designing a product

Q: When the time estimates in a CPM analysis vary into optimistic, most likely and pessimistic, we should use the single time estimate CPM procedure.

Q: Which of the following technologies is used to develop master production schedules for manufacturing? A) CAD B) CAMM C) JIT inventory system D) CIM

Q: Lee jeans meets customer demand by sending computer requests from stores to the manufacturing departments as jeans sell out in stores. Lee's manufacturing department then pulls in raw materials, such as cloth and thread, from suppliers as it needs them. This information indicates that Lee uses ________. A) traditional mass production B) computer-aided designing (CAD) C) six sigma strategy for managing quality of the products D) computer-aided-materials management (CAMM)

Q: Calculating the early start and early finish times for each activity in a CPM analysis does not provide any useful information.

Q: Which of the following technologies simplifies the process of developing prototypes? A) CAD B) CAMM C) JIT inventory systems D) CIM

Q: The critical path in a CPM analysis is found by locating the activities times with zero slack.

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding computer-aided design (CAD)? A) It makes it possible for an organization to develop a new component and produce it by pressing a button. B) It increases the costs of product designing. C) It decreases the ability of an organization to customize products to satisfy particular customers. D) It helps an organization receive supplies exactly at the time they are needed.

Q: In a CPM analysis if you subtract the early finish from the late finish the result is the activity's slack time.

Q: Which of the following technologies electronically links an organization with its suppliers? A) CAD B) CAMM C) Fixed automation D) CIM

Q: One of the assumptions of CPM is that project activity times can be estimated accurately.