Operations Management

1. The behavioral approach to job design that involves giving the worker a larger portion of the total task is job _______________.

a. enlargement

b. enrichment

c. enhancement

d. rotation

e. involvement

2. When a worker has a say in the work methods that he/she wishes to utilize, his/her job is characterized by _______________.

a. skill variety

b. job identity

c. job significance

d. feedback

e. autonomy

3. Which of the following terms implies an increase in responsibility and control in the vertical direction?

a. job rotation

b. job enrichment

c. job re-design

d. job enlargement

e. job satisfaction

4. Which of the following statements describes job rotation?

a. The job contains a larger number of similar tasks.

b. The job includes some planning and control necessary for job accomplishment.

c. The operator works on different shifts on a regular basis.

d. The operator’s schedule is flexible.

e. The operator is allowed to move, for example, from one type of CNC machine to the other.

5. The difference between job enrichment and job enlargement is that ______________.

a. enlarged jobs involve vertical expansion while enriched jobs involve horizontal expansion

b. enriched jobs enable an employee to do a number of boring jobs instead of just one

c. job enlargement is more psychologically satisfying than job enrichment

d. job enrichment is suitable for all employees, whereas job enlargement is not

e. enriched jobs involve vertical expansion while enlarged jobs involve horizontal expansion

6. Suppose that the allowance factor for a job is 0.10 and the normal time is 5 hours. What is the standard time?

a. 4.5 hours

b. 4.9 hours

c. 5.1 hours

d. 5.6 hours

e. 50.0 hours

7. A job characterized by _______________ allows a worker to use his/her dexterity, physical strength and skills to do his/her work.

a. feedback

b. skill variety

c. job identity

d. job significance

e. autonomy

8. Outsourcing ______________.

a. transfers traditional internal activities to outside vendors

b. utilizes the efficiency which comes with specialization

c. lets the outsourcing firm focus on its key success factors

d. None of the above are true of outsourcing.

e. All of the above are true of outsourcing.

9. The transfer of some of what are traditional internal activities and resources of a firm to outside vendors is ______________.

a. a standard use of the make or buy decision

b. not allowed by the ethics code of the Supply Management Institute

c. offshoring

d. outsourcing

e. keiretsu

10. The Institute for Supply Management ________________.

a. establishes laws and regulations for supply management

b. is an agency of the United Nations charged with promoting ethical conduct globally

c. publishes the principles and standards for ethical supply management conduct

d. prohibits backward integration into developing economies

e. All of the above are true.

11. In supply-chain management, ethical issues ______________.

a. are particularly important because of the enormous opportunities for abuse

b. may be guided by company rules and codes of conduct

c. become more complex the more global the supply chain

d. may be guided by the principles and standards of the Institute for Supply Management

e. All of the above are true.

12. Which one of the following is not a supply-chain strategy?

a. negotiation with many suppliers

b. vertical integration

c. keiretsu

d. short-term relationships with few suppliers

e. virtual companies

13. A disadvantage of the “few suppliers” strategy is _______________.

a. the risk of not being ready for technological change

b. the lack of cost savings for customers and suppliers

c. possible violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act

d. the high cost of changing partners

e. All of the above are disadvantages of the “few suppliers” strategy.

14. In the basic EOQ model, if the cost of placing an order doubles, and all other values remain constant, the EOQ will _______________.

a. increase by about 41%

b. increase by 100%

c. increase by 200%

d. increase, but more data is needed to say by how much

e. either increase or decrease

15. In the basic EOQ model, if D=6000 per year, S=$100 andH=$5 per unit per month, then the economic order quantity is approximately _______________.

a. 24

b. 100

c. 141

d. 490

e. 600

16. The two most basic inventory questions answered by the typical inventory model are _______________.

a. timing and cost of orders

b. quantity and cost of orders

c. timing and quantity of orders

d. order quantity and service level

e. ordering cost and carrying cost

17. Among the advantages of cycle counting is that it ______________.

a. makes the annual physical inventory more acceptable to management

b. does not require the detailed records necessary when annual physical inventory is used

c. does not require highly trained people

d. allows more rapid identification of errors and consequent remedial action than is possible with annual physical inventory

e. does not need to be performed for less expensive items

18. Which of the following is an element of inventory holding costs?

a. housing costs

b. material handling costs

c. investment costs

d. pilferage, scrap and obsolescence

e. All of the above are elements of inventory holding cost.

19. Most inventory models attempt to minimize _______________.

a. the likelihood of a stockout

b. the number of items ordered

c. total inventory based costs

d. the number of orders placed

e. the safety stock

20. Top executives tend to focus their attention on which type of forecasts?

a. short-range

b. medium-range

c. long-range

d. weather

e. the forecast for the next day’s absentee levels

21. Which of the following would most likely fall under the scope of only an operations manager?

a. research and development

b. new product plans

c. capital investments

d. facility location and expansion

e. setting inventory levels

22. Disaggregation _______________.

a. breaks the aggregate plan into greater detail

b. transforms the master production schedule into an aggregate plan

c. calculates the optimal price points for yield management

d. converts product schedules and labor assignments to a facility-wide plan

e. is an assumption required for the use of the transportation model in aggregate planning

23. Aggregate planning would entail which of the following production aspects at BMW for a 12 month period?

a. number of cars with a hi-fi stereo system to produce

b. number of two-door vs. four-door cars to produce

c. number of green cars to produce

d. total number of cars to produce

e. b, c, and d are correct.

24. What directly results from disaggregation of an aggregate plan?

a. a master production schedule

b. priority scheduling

c. a transportation matrix

d. a capacity-demand matrix

e. detailed work schedules

25. Dependence on an external source of supply is found in which of the following aggregate planning strategies?

a. varying production rates through overtime or idle time

b. subcontracting

c. using part-time workers

d. back-ordering during high demand periods

e. hiring and laying off