Q&A Hero

Q: A reason for studying operations and supply management (OSM) is which of the following? A. OSM is essential for understanding organizational behavior B. Most business graduates do OSM work regardless of their job title C. The concepts and tools of OSM are used in managing other business functions D. OSM is a required course in all business degree programs E. OSM is the most rigorous business discipline

Q: Typically, the R&D function in an organization uses ________. A) centralized decision-making B) a mechanistic structure C) a high level of standardization D) a flat organizational structure

Q: Because the text states that "at the most fundamental level, operations and supply management is about getting work done quickly, efficiently, without error and at low cost" there is little in the field of operations management that relates to overall corporate strategy.

Q: According to ________ theory, an organization's design should permit each function to develop a structure that suits its human and technical resources. A) strategic choice B) contingency C) resource dependence D) transaction cost

Q: Deciding how much inventory to purchase is a fundamental topic of operations management.

Q: A core competence in ________ management can allow an organization quickly to discover and respond to customer needs. A) financial B) human resource C) materials D) marketing

Q: All European companies require that their vendors meet ISO 9000 standards as a condition for obtaining contracts.

Q: Which of the following functions would be responsible for implementing a just-in-time inventory system? A) manufacturing B) R&D C) marketing D) materials management

Q: ISO 9000 certification standards play a minor role in setting quality standards for global manufacturers but a major role in setting quality standards in the European Union.

Q: A U.S. auto manufacturer establishes plants in Europe and in Asia. This is an example of a (n) ________. A) vertical integration B) global expansion C) horizontal integration D) unrelated diversification

Q: One of the challenges facing operations and supply management is distributing products to global markets.

Q: Honda takes its strength in engine production and uses it to produce cars, motor bikes, and lawnmowers, creating value in different markets. This is an example of a ________ strategy. A) supplier-level B) business-level C) corporate-level D) functional-level

Q: Really successful firms have an ambiguous idea of how they intend to make money.

Q: Mercedes-Benz used its competences in R&D and product development to enter the household products and aerospace industries. This is an example of a(n) ________ strategy. A) environmental-level B) functional-level C) business-level D) corporate-level

Q: ________ strategy is a plan to use and develop core competences so that the organization can not only protect and enlarge its domain but can also expand into new domains. A) Functional-level B) Business-level C) Environmental-level D) Corporate-level

Q: Managing global supplier, production and distribution networks is easy with the implementation of global enterprise resource planning systems.

Q: Coca-Cola uses its marketing skills to defend its niche against PepsiCo. This is an example of a ________ strategy. A) functional-level B) contingency-level C) corporate-level D) business-level

Q: Making resource utilization decisions must capture the direct costs of staffing and need not consider the implicit costs of lost customers.

Q: In order to strengthen an organization's technical and human resources, a manager trains and develops his subordinates. This is an example of a ________ strategy. A) global expansion B) corporate-level C) business-level D) functional-level

Q: One of the current issues of operations and supply management is increased co-production of goods and services.

Q: 3M and HP, invest heavily to improve their skills in R&D and product design. This is an example of a ________ strategy. A) functional-level B) business-level C) supply-level D) corporate-level

Q: One of the current issues of operations and supply management is decreasing "commoditization" of suppliers.

Q: ________ strategy is a plan to use and combine an organization's functional core competences to position it so it has a competitive advantage in its domain or segment of its industry. A) Functional-level B) Corporate-level C) Business-level D) Environmental-level

Q: One of the current issues of operations and supply management is optimizing global supplier, production and distribution networks.

Q: Land is an example of a(n) ________. A) liquid asset B) organizational resource C) deferred revenue asset D) functional resource

Q: A current issue facing operations and supply managers is coordinating the relationships between mutually supportive but separate organizations.

Q: To become core competences, the functional resources possessed by an organization should be ________. A) plentiful and easily available B) easily replaceable with alternative resources C) unique and difficult to imitate D) cheap

Q: The term "value" refers to the relationship between quality and the price paid by the consumer.

Q: Which of the following is an example of a functional resource? A) plant equipment B) corporate reputation C) capital reserves D) skills of a technical expert

Q: JIT is designed to achieve high-volume production using a significant inventory of component parts that minimizes the probability of running out of supplies.

Q: JIT is an integrated set of activities designed to achieve high-volume production using minimal inventories of parts that arrive at the workstation exactly when they are needed.

Q: The skills of Microsoft's software design group are an example of ________. A) organizational resources B) rites of integration C) functional resources D) rites of enhancement

Q: Just-in-time manufacturing (JIT) is applicable only for small-scale manufacturing operations and can be used to eliminate production defects.

Q: ________ are the skills and abilities in value creation activities that allow a company to achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, or customer responses. A) Core competences B) Environmental contingencies C) Rites of enhancement D) Organizational foundation skills

Q: In 1913, Henry Ford developed an assembly line to make the Model-T automobile.

Q: Which of the following terms refers to the pattern of decisions and actions that managers take to use core competences to achieve a competitive advantage and outperform competitors? A) product formation chain B) PERT chart C) strategy D) value engineering

Q: Widespread use of computers in business led to development of methods like material requirements planning (MRP) to rationalize manufacturing in the 1970s.

Q: As companies change from a multidomestic to an international, global, or transnational strategy, they require a more complex structure, control system, and culture to coordinate the value-creation activities associated with implementing that strategy.

Q: In the late 1950's scholars began to deal specifically with operations management rather than with industrial engineering and operations research.

Q: The need to coordinate and integrate global activities increases as a company moves from a transnational strategy to a multidomestic strategy.

Q: Development of economic lot sizing models, including the EOQ model, occurred during the 1930's.

Q: A multidomestic strategy is oriented toward cost reduction, with all the principal value-creation functions centralized at the lowest cost global location.

Q: One of the precursors of operations management was the development of principles of scientific management which happened during the 1930's.

Q: A global strategy is oriented toward local responsiveness and a company pursuing this strategy decentralizes control to subsidiaries and divisions in each country in which it operates to produce and customize products to local markets.

Q: Core services are those products that integrate tangible goods into the service.

Q: Considerably more communication and coordination are needed to create value from related diversification than from the other corporate-level strategies.

Q: Core goods are those tangible products that include a significant service component.

Q: The bureaucratic costs associated with managing unrelated diversification are much greater than those associated with related diversification.

Q: Organizations with a strategy of unrelated diversification are likely to use a conglomerate structure.

Q: A visit to a hair salon produces a tangible resulta new appearance for the customer. Hence, the output of hair salons is a manufactured good, not a service.

Q: The strategy of related diversification involves an organization entering a new domain in which it can use one or more of its existing core competences to create a low-cost or differentiated competitive advantage in that new domain.

Q: A traveler is an input to an airline's transformation system.

Q: A business education is complete with an understanding of modern approaches to managing operations.

Q: The more an organization pursues vertical integration the larger it becomes, and the bureaucratic costs associated with managing the strategy rise sharply.

Q: Strategic operations and supply management issues tend to be primarily directed at planning how to efficiently schedule material and labor.

Q: A strategy in which an organization takes over and owns its distributors is known as backward vertical integration.

Q: A transformation process uses resources to convert inputs into some desired output.

Q: Organizations following a low-cost business-level strategy typically produce a wide range of products to suit the needs of different groups of customers.

Q: Maximizing both effectiveness and efficiency at the same time always creates the most value for the organization.

Q: Organizations pursuing differentiation business-level strategy generally operate in a simple, stable, and slow-moving environment.

Q: A firm pursuing a low-cost strategy will likely have a mechanistic structure.

Q: Trying to maximize effectiveness and efficiency at the same time can create conflict.

Q: A speedy response to market changes is not vital to the competitive success of an organization that is following a low-cost business-level strategy.

Q: A worker can be efficient without being effective.

Q: Typically, the manufacturing function in an organization uses an organic structure and decentralized decision-making.

Q: A doctor completes a surgical procedure on a patient without error. The patient dies anyway. In operations management terms, we could refer to this doctor as being efficient but not effective.

Q: Typically, the sales function in an organization uses a tall, centralized structure to coordinate its activities.

Q: Effectiveness means doing the right things to create the most value for the company.

Q: According to contingency theory, an organization's design should ensure that all the functions in the organization use the same organizational structure.

Q: Efficiency means doing the right things to create the most value for the company.

Q: Business-level strategy is the responsibility of the top-management team.

Q: If a total capital investment of $500,000 is required for a robot and accessories, the annual labor costs replaced by the robot is $30,000, the annual maintenance cost for the robot is $2,000, the fractional speedup is 90 percent and the annual depreciation is $10,000, which of the following is the payback period based on the formula in Supplement B for evaluating a robotic investment? A. About 10.8 years B. About 6.9 years C. About 5.9 years D. About 2.6 years E. About 0.2 years

Q: A corporate-level strategy is a plan of action to strengthen an organization's functional and organizational resources, as well as its coordination abilities, in order to create core competences.

Q: If a total capital investment of $150,000 is required for a robot and accessories, the annual labor costs replaced by the robot is $25,000, the annual maintenance cost for the robot is $1,000, the fractional speedup is 150 percent and the annual depreciation is $20,000? Which of the following is the payback period based on the formula in Supplement B for evaluating a robotic investment? A. About 4.3 years B. About 3.5 years C. About 2.6 years D. About 1.6 years E. About 0.4 years

Q: A functional-level strategy is a plan to combine functional core competences in order to position the organization so that it has a competitive advantage in its domain.

Q: Typical robot axes of motion include which of the following? A. Rectangular coordinate B. Cartesian coordinate C. Neck axis D. Elbow axis E. Jointed arm

Q: Coca-Cola uses its marketing skills to defend its niche against PepsiCo. This is an example of a functional-level strategy.

Q: Typical robot axes of motion include which of the following? A. Rounded face B. Square joint C. Rectangular coordinate D. Wrist E. Elbow

Q: The plant equipment possessed by a company is considered to be an organizational resource.

Q: Which of the following is an example of a robotic end effector? A. The date when the robot is fully depreciated B. A tool such as a wrench C. The obsolescence of the robot through newer technology D. A physical barrier that prevents the robot from damage E. The human responsible for "training" the robot