Production Management

1. A nation’s ability to compete with other nations impacts a business’ strategy in the area of: A) Marketing B) Finance C) Operations D) Distribution E) All of the above
2. Competitiveness doesn’t include: A) Productivity B) Effectiveness C) Profitability D) Operations Strategy E) Operations Management
3. Cost cutting in international operations can take place because of A) lower taxes and tariffs B) lower wage scales C) lower indirect costs D) less stringent regulations E) all of the above

4. Operations management involves continuous decision-making; hopefully most decisions made will be: A) redundant B) minor in nature C) smart D) quantitative E) none of the above
5. A ‘product package’ consists of: A) the exterior wrapping B) the shipping container C) a combination of goods and services D) goods if a manufacturing organization E) customer relations if a service organization
6. Multinational organizations can shop from country to country and cut costs through A) lower wage scales B) lower indirect costs C) less stringent regulations D) lower taxes and tariffs E) all of the above
7. Product design and choice of location are examples of _______ decisions. A) strategic B) tactical C) operational D) customer focused E) design
8. Scheduling personnel is an example of an operations management: A) mission implementation B) operational decision C) organizational strategy D) functional strategy E) tactical decision
9. Productivity is expressed as: A) output plus input B) output minus input C) output times input D) output divided by input E) input divided by output
10. Which of the following is true about business strategies? A) An organization should stick with its strategy for the life of the business. B) All firms within an industry will adopt the same strategy. C) Well defined missions make strategy development much easier. D) Strategies are formulated independently of SWOT analysis. E) Organizational strategies depend on operations strategies.
11. Which of the following activities takes place most immediately once the mission has been developed? A) The firm develops alternative or back-up missions in case the original mission fails. B) The functional areas develop their functional area strategies. C) The functional areas develop their supporting missions. D) The ten OM decision areas are prioritized. E) Operational tactics are developed.
12. What term describes how an organization expects to achieve its missions and goals? A) conditional expectation B) tactic C) SWOT D) strategy E) competitive advantage
13. Which of the following is not a key step toward improving productivity? A) developing productivity measures for all operations B) improving the bottleneck operations C) establishing reasonable goals for improvement D) considering incentives to reward workers E) converting bond debt to stock ownership
14. The fundamental purpose of an organization’s mission statement is to A) create a good human relations climate in the organization B) define the organization’s purpose in society C) define the operational structure of the organization D) generate good public relations for the organization E) define the functional areas required by the organization
15. The ratio of good output to quantity of raw material input is called A) non-defective productivity B) process yield C) worker quality measurement D) total quality productivity E) quantity/quality ratio
16. Time-based approaches of business organizations focus on reducing the time to accomplish certain necessary activities. Time reductions seldom apply to: A) product/service design time B) processing time C) delivery time D) response time for complaints E) internal audits
17. Business organizations consist of three major functions which: A) overlap B) are mutually exclusive C) exist independently of each other D) function independently of each other E) do not interface with each other
18. The external elements of SWOT analysis are: A) strengths and weaknesses B) strengths and threats C) opportunities and threats D) weaknesses and opportunities E) strengths and opportunities
19. Which of the following is not one of the Ten Critical Decisions of Operations Management? A) location strategy B) human resources and job design C) managing quality D) design of goods and services E) determining the financial leverage position
20. Which of the following is true? A) Corporate mission is shaped by functional strategies. B) Corporate strategy is shaped by functional strategies. C) Functional strategies are shaped by corporate strategy. D) External conditions are shaped by corporate mission. E) Functional area missions are merged to become the organizational mission.
21. Operations management is applicable A) mostly to the service sector B) to services exclusively C) mostly to the manufacturing sector D) to all firms, whether manufacturing or service E) to the manufacturing sector exclusively
22. Which of the international operations strategies involves a focus on high cost reductions and low local responsiveness? A) international strategy B) global strategy C) transnational strategy D) multidomestic strategy E) none of the above
23. Which of the following is not a key factor of competitiveness? A) price B) product differentiation C) flexibility D) after-sale service E) size of organization
24. Gourmet Pretzels bakes soft pretzels on an assembly line. It currently bakes 800 pretzels each 8-hour shift. If the production is increased to 1,200 pretzels each shift, the productivity increases by: A) 50% B) 33% C) 25% D) 67%
25. An operation that processes less than a previous operation is called a: A) bottleneck B) multi-factor constraint C) parallel operation D) turnabout process E) tactical operation
26. Which of the following is not a type of operations? A) goods production B) storage/transportation C) entertainment D) communication E) all the above involve operations
27. Which one of the following would not generally be classified under the heading of transformation? A) assembling B) teaching C) staffing D) farming E) consulting
28. Which of the following is least likely to be a Cost Leadership competitive advantage? A) low overhead B) effective capacity use C) inventory management D) broad product line E) mass production
29. The ability of an organization to produce goods or services that have some uniqueness in their characteristics is A) mass production B) time-based competition C) competing on productivity D) competing on flexibility E) competing on differentiation
30. Which of the international operations strategies involves a focus on low cost reductions and high local responsiveness? A) international strategy B) global strategy C) transnational strategy D) multidomestic strategy E) none of the above
31. Which of the following statements best characterizes delivery reliability? A) a company that always delivers on the same day of the week B) a company that always delivers at the promised time C) a company that delivers more frequently than its competitors D) a company that delivers faster than its competitors E) a company that has a computerized delivery scheduling system
32. Which of the following best describes “experience differentiation”? A) immerses consumers in the delivery of a service B) uses people’s five senses to enhance the service C) complements physical elements with visual and sound elements D) consumers may become active participants in the product or service E) All of the above are elements of experience differentiation.
33. Product design and process selection are examples of decisions that are: A) financial B) tactical C) system design D) system operation E) forecasting
34. The responsibilities of the operations manager are: A) planning, organizing, staffing, procuring, and reviewing B) planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling C) forecasting, designing, planning, organizing, and controlling D) forecasting, designing, operating, procuring, and reviewing E) designing and operating
35. Which of the following is not true about systems approach? A) A systems viewpoint is almost always beneficial in decision making. B) A systems approach emphasizes interrelationships among subsystems. C) A systems approach concentrates on efficiency within subsystems. D) A systems approach is essential whenever something is being redesigned or improved. E) All of the above are true.
36. Which of the following is not a characteristic of service operations? A) intangible output B) high customer contact C) high labor content D) easy measurement of productivity E) low uniformity of output
37. Which of the following does not relate to system design? A) altering the system capacity B) location of facilities C) inventory management D) selection and acquisition of equipment E) physical arrangement of departments
38. Which of the following is not a benefit of using models in decision making? A) They provide a standardized format for analyzing a problem. B) They serve as a consistent tool for evaluation. C) They are easy to use and less expensive than dealing with the actual situation. D) All of the above are benefits. E) None of the above is a benefit.
39. Which of the following is the best example of competing on low-cost leadership? A) A firm produces its product with less raw material waste than its competitors. B) A firm offers more reliable products than its competitors. C) A firm’s products are introduced into the market faster than its competitors’ products. D) A firm’s research and development department generates many ideas for new products. E) A firm advertises more than its competitors.
40. Reasons to study Operations Management include learning about A) how people organize themselves for productive enterprise B) how goods and services are produced C) what operations managers do D) a costly part of the enterpriseE) all of the above