Q&A Hero

Q: Which of the following statements about CAD is not true? A. It increases the productivity of designers. B. It uses computer graphics. C. It requires a good database. D. Some systems permit engineering or cost analysis of proposed designs. E. It is used successfully by all manufacturing companies.

Q: In the area of product and service design, the acronym CAD refers to: A. conceptually appropriate design. B. computer-aided design. C. commercial applications design. D. competitive advantage design. E. completely automated design.

Q: One possible disadvantage of modular design is that: A. replacement and repair are more difficult. B. failure diagnosis is more complex. C. the number of configurations of modules decreases. D. individual parts lose their identities. E. inventory problems arise.

Q: Excitement characteristics are categories in the _________ model. A. bipolar B. Kano C. Pareto D. quality E. service matrix

Q: Products or services with a high degree of similarity of features and components are called: A. generic. B. copy-cat. C. rip-offs. D. product families. E. product/service matrix.

Q: Which of the following is not an advantage of standardization? A. The opportunity to freeze design at a very early stage. B. Fewer parts to deal with in inventory. C. Reduced training cost and time. D. Purchasing is more routine. E. Inventory management is less complex.

Q: The research and development activity which starts after positive research results are available and attempts to turn these results into useful commercial applications is: A. basic research. B. applied research. C. development. D. redesign. E. commercial research.

Q: One step that is not part of service blueprinting is: A. Eliminate boundaries for the service and decide on the level of interaction needed. B. Identify and determine the sequence of customer and service actions and interactions. C. Develop time estimates for each phase of the process. D. Understand the time variability involved. E. Identify potential failure points and develop a plan to minimize them.

Q: Mobile phones have evolved from devices intended to place and receive phone calls into handheld multimedia communications devices, but in the eyes of some customers these new features make the phones less desirable. This is an example of: A. robust design. B. creeping featurism. C. sustainable design. D. quality function deployment. E. component commonality.

Q: A disadvantage of global teams for product design is that: A. customers may have different needs in different countries. B. the product designed may have increased marketability and utility. C. the diversity of an international team may be a detriment. D. ease of face-to-face meetings is absent since members are located everywhere. E. technology allows constant contact with team members.

Q: Which of the following is not a reason for redesigning a product or service? A. to reduce labor or material cost B. to increase the level of employee satisfaction C. to increase the level of customer satisfaction D. to attract and increase customer demand E. to increase quality

Q: One way to increase reliability is to: A. eliminate backup components. B. improve preventive maintenance procedures. C. increase mean repair time. D. increase the number of independent components. E. use a global supply chain.

Q: One way to increase reliability is to: A. improve component design. B. increase the number of service stations. C. increase mean repair time. D. increase the number of dependent components. E. reduce production capacity.

Q: Designing for recycling helps facilitate: A. reduced legal liability. B. compliance with regulatory environments. C. increased product reliability. D. reduced standardization costs. E. better customer service.

Q: Incorporating design for disassembly principles in product design helps firms with ___________ design issues. A. legal B. social C. reuse D. reverse engineering E. reengineering

Q: Which of these pairs of functions would tend to be affected most dramatically by a product or service redesign? A. Operations and Accounting B. Marketing and Operations C. Finance and Human Resources D. Engineering and Accounting E. Finance and Engineering

Q: Which of the following questions is least appropriate during value analysis? A. How can we reduce the cost of parts? B. How can we improve the performance of the product? C. How can we incorporate more cultural values in the design of our global system? D. Can we find a way to use less energy in the production of our product? E. Could a given component in our product be simplified or combined with another?

Q: Which of the following is an example of a postponement tactic? A. mass customization B. standardization C. process mapping D. delayed differentiation E. service blueprinting

Q: Which of the following is not one of the 3 Rs? A. reuse B. reduce C. reposition D. recycle

Q: Which of the following is least likely to result in product innovations that have near-term commercial application? A. process blueprinting B. development C. applied research D. quality function deployment E. basic research

Q: Delayed differentiation and modular design are tactics for mass customization.

Q: Reliability can be improved by the use of backup components.

Q: Reliability can be defined in terms of a particular point in time or in terms of length of service.

Q: The term failure as applied to reliability means that a part or item does not function at all.

Q: Standardization can at times lead to serious difficulties and competitive struggles, particularly when systems are running under different conditions.

Q: Commonality of components is beneficial for manufacturing but not for services.

Q: Applied research is the major R&D effort of business organizations because of their desire for commercial applications.

Q: Reliability refers to the ability of a product to perform its intended function under normal conditions.

Q: Service design often must take into account the degree of customer contact required.

Q: The quality function deployment matrices are often referred to as the "house of quality" because, when completed, they "house" all of the customer's quality requirements.

Q: Quality function deployment (QFD) is based on a set of standards which relate customer requirements to company capabilities.

Q: Taguchi design methods involve identifying the optimal operating or environmental conditions for a given product.

Q: Robust design describes a product that will perform satisfactorily so long as it is used in a very narrow range of conditions.

Q: The demand for a product and the rate of technological change have a significant impact on the length of a given phase of the product life cycle.

Q: Remanufacturing refers to removing some of the components of old products and reusing them in new products.

Q: Standardization refers to the extent to which there is absence of variety in a product, service, or process.

Q: Research and development (R&D) refers to organized efforts that are directed toward increasing scientific knowledge and product (or process) innovation.

Q: The process of dismantling and inspecting a competitor's product to discover improvements is called reverse engineering.

Q: Product liability means that a manufacturer is liable for any injuries or damages caused by a faulty product because of poor workmanship or design.

Q: Quality function deployment is a structured approach that guarantees that the highest-quality product or service will be designed.

Q: One approach to extending a product's life cycle is to promote alternate uses of the product.

Q: Concurrent engineering means that at least two engineers are involved in product design at the same time.

Q: Concurrent engineering brings people concerned with manufacturing into the design phase earlier than in the "over-the-wall" approach.

Q: Consumers tend to resist purchasing products that contain recycled materials.

Q: Design for production takes into account the capabilities of the organization to produce or deliver a given product or service.

Q: Basic research is done with the expectation that discoveries will have near-term commercial application.

Q: Applied research has the objective of achieving commercial applications for new ideas.

Q: Many U.S. manufacturers are now shifting their focus from products to both product and process improvements.

Q: To save money, it is essential that designers revise the production capabilities to meet the requirements of the new products.

Q: The process of dismantling and inspecting a competitor's product to discover product improvement is called benchmarking.

Q: A service blueprint is quite similar to an architectural drawing.

Q: Most of the time what is called product or service design is actually a redesign of an existing product or service.

Q: A major benefit of computer-aided design (CAD) is the increased productivity of designers.

Q: One motivation for an organization to redesign its product or service is to avoid the alternative of downsizing the organization.

Q: Product failures can be easier to remedy with modular design.

Q: Modular design increases the costs of purchasing and controlling inventory compared to nonmodular.

Q: Reducing consumer choices makes service more efficient.

Q: A disadvantage of standardization is the possibility of standardizing designs too early, which may make them difficult to modify in the future.

Q: One of the main advantages of standardization is that it increases the potential variety of products.

Q: Concurrent engineering is another term for sequential development.

Q: A house of quality is achieved when no department in a single location has more than 15 percent rejects.

Q: Global teams provide diversity while eliminating conflicts and miscommunication.

Q: The president of State University wants to forecast student enrollments for this academic year based on the following historical data: What is the forecast for this year using trend-adjusted (double) smoothing with alpha = .05 and beta = .3, if the forecast for last year was 21,000, the forecast for two years ago was 19,000, and the trend estimate for last year's forecast was 1,500? A. 18,750 B. 19,500 C. 21,000 D. 22,650 E. 22,800

Q: Given forecast errors of -5, -10, and +15, the MAD is: A. 0. B. 10. C. 30. D. 175. E. 225.

Q: Given the following historical data and weights of .5, .3, and .2, what is the three-period moving average forecast for period 5? A. 144.20 B. 144.80 C. 144.67 D. 143.00 E. 144.00

Q: Given the following historical data, what is the simple three-period moving average forecast for period 6? A. 67 B. 115 C. 69 D. 68 E. 68.67

Q: Customer service levels can be improved by better: A. mission statements. B. control charting. C. short-term forecast accuracy. D. exponential smoothing. E. customer selection.

Q: A managerial approach toward forecasting which seeks to actively influence demand is: A. reactive. B. proactive. C. influential. D. protracted. E. retroactive.

Q: Forecasting techniques generally assume: A. the absence of randomness. B. continuity of some underlying causal system. C. a linear relationship between time and demand. D. accuracy that increases the farther out in time the forecast projects. E. accuracy that is better when individual items, rather than groups of items, are being considered.

Q: Which of the following is not necessarily an element of a good forecast? A. estimate of accuracy B. timeliness C. meaningful units D. low cost E. written

Q: The degree of management involvement in short-range forecasts is: A. none. B. low. C. moderate. D. high. E. total.

Q: The two most important factors in choosing a forecasting technique are: A. cost and time horizon. B. accuracy and time horizon. C. cost and accuracy. D. quantity and quality. E. objective and subjective components.

Q: Which of the following is used for constructing a control chart? A. mean absolute deviation B. mean squared error C. tracking signal D. bias

Q: Given forecast errors of 5, 0, -4, and 3, what is the bias? A. -4 B. 4 C. 5 D. 12 E. 6

Q: Given forecast errors of 5, 0, -4, and 3, what is the mean absolute deviation? A. 4 B. 3 C. 2.5 D. 2 E. 1

Q: Given forecast errors of 4, 8, and -3, what is the mean absolute deviation? A. 4 B. 3 C. 5 D. 6 E. 12

Q: The mean absolute deviation is used to: A. estimate the trend line. B. eliminate forecast errors. C. measure forecast accuracy. D. seasonally adjust the forecast. E. compute periodic forecast errors.

Q: Which of the following corresponds to the predictor variable in simple linear regression? A. regression coefficient B. dependent variable C. independent variable D. predicted variable E. demand coefficient

Q: Which term most closely relates to associative forecasting techniques? A. time series data B. expert opinions C. Delphi technique D. consumer survey E. predictor variables

Q: The primary method for associative forecasting is: A. sensitivity analysis. B. regression analysis. C. simple moving averages. D. centered moving averages. E. exponential smoothing.