Introduction to Operations Management

True/False

1. Operations managers, marketing managers, and financial managers have much in common, and the decisions they make are very similar.

2. An entry-level position in the POM field would be a job such as plant manager.

3. POM today is an interesting blend of time-tested practices combined with a search for new ways to manage production systems.

4. Production systems prior to the 1700s are often referred to as the cottage system.

5. Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF NATIONS preached the benefits of the division of labor.

6. Eli Whitney developed the concept of interchangeable parts.

7. The post-Civil War period witnessed the beginnings of modern forms of capital that separated capitalist from employer.

8. Frederick Taylor is known as the father of industrial engineering, as well as the father of scientific management.

9. Taylor's shop system was directed mainly at the shop-floor level of organizations.

10. The Hawthorne Studies were the first time that it was recognized that psychological and sociological factors affected production as well as motivation and attitude.

11. Linear programming and PERT/CPM are techniques that are most often thought of as being from the scientific management era.

12. Less than one-half the U.S. work force is employed in services.

13. A country's borders offer the best protection from global competition.

14. To succeed in global competition, companies must make a commitment to customer responsiveness and continuous improvement.

15. The traditional ways of studying POM include as a production system, as an organization function, and as a decision-making activity.

16. Inputs to a production system that directly support the production of goods and services are called external inputs.

17. The primary function of the organization's production system is to provide manufacturing capacity.

18. Tangible goods, as direct outputs of the production system, are the services a company provides.

19. Where the conversion process is carried out in a company does not vary greatly among organizations.

20. In general, the term "operations" tends to be used in manufacturing companies and the term "production" in service companies.

21. Strategic decisions in POM concern the planning of production to meet customers' demands for products and services.

22. The human relations movement began at the Midvale Steel Company in Pennsylvania.

23. Control decisions concern operations strategies and the long-run game plan for the firm.

24. Deciding when new factories are needed or where they should be built are examples of operating decisions.

25. Deciding what the quality control acceptance criteria for a product should be is an example of a control decision.

Multiple Choice

1. Which one of the following is NOT considered a primary business function:
a. finance
b. marketing
c. management
d. production

2. Which of the following is NOT a key reason given by operations managers for liking their work:
a. interesting and challenging work
b. opportunities for advancement
c. high salaries
d. opportunity to work with high-tech equipment

3. Which of the following is an entry-level job in the POM field:
a. purchasing buyer
b. inventory analyst
c. quality specialist
d. All of the alternatives are correct.

4. The industrial revolution involved two principal elements:
a. personnel training and supervision training
b. labor unions and governmental regulation
c. machine power and the factory system
d. craftsmanship and the cottage system

5. What was the first great industry in the United States?
a. railroads
b. textiles
c. newspapers
d. firearms

6. The second great industry in the United States was:
a. railroads
b. textiles
c. automobiles
d. newspapers

7. Which of the following events provided a large work force for rapidly developing industrial centers after the Civil War:
a. the abolition of slave labor
b. the exodus of farm laborers to cities
c. the massive influx of immigrants
d. All of the alternatives are correct.

8. Increased capital and production capacity, the expanding of the urban work force, new Western markets, and an effective national transportation system were all developments that took place within which era?
a. Post-World War II period
b. post-Civil War period
c. the human relations movement
d. the industrial revolution

9. Who is known as the father of scientific management?
a. Henry Gantt
b. Frederick Taylor
c. Morris Cooke
d. Henry Ford

10. Frederick Winslow Taylor's shop system included all of the following steps EXCEPT:
a. production of products were broken up into small, specialized tasks that were assigned to workers along the production lines
b. skill, strength, and learning ability were determined for each worker so that individuals could be placed in jobs for which they were best suited
c. stopwatch studies were used to precisely set standard output per worker on each task
d. incentive pay systems were initiated to increase productivity and to relieve foremen of their traditional responsibility of driving the workers

11. The analysts who followed Taylor's methods were finally known as:
a. efficiency experts
b. industrial engineers
c. mechanical engineers
d. management scientists

12. The high-water mark of scientific management occurred at:
a. Hawthorne Works
b. General Electric
c. Ford Motor Company
d. Edison Electric

13. The Ford Motor Company was the first organization to employ all the chief elements of scientific management. All of the following are considered elements of scientific management EXCEPT:
a. standardized product designs
b. specialization of labor
c. mass production and interchangeable parts
d. None of the alternatives is correct; they all are elements

14. The beginning of the human relations movement is linked to:
a. Peter Drucker
b. Taylor's shop system
c. Abraham Maslow
d. the Hawthorne studies

15. Chester Barnard, Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, and Elton Mayo are often described as:
a. efficiency experts
b. operations researchers
c. behavioralists or human relationists
d. management scientists

16. The main focus of the human relations movement was:
a. the Hawthorne studies
b. the ways in which to get the most work out of the workers
c. the emphasis on the fact that workers were human beings and should be treated with dignity
d. the emphasis upon productivity and efficiency

17. Early operations research teams utilized:
a. a departmental approach
b. very little mathematics
c. engineering and computer science
d. many of the academic disciplines

18. Operations research is used extensively in today's firms. All of the following statements are true of operations research EXCEPT:
a. operations research's primary focus is optimization of manufacturing systems
b. computers are used extensively in operations research
c. operations research approaches problem solving and decision making from the total system's perspective
d. model building and mathematical manipulation provide the methodology that has been key to operations research

19. Operations research seeks mainly to:
a. use an intuitive, gut-feeling type of decision making process
b. provide scientific methodology that allows for extensive analysis before a decision is made
c. assist the decision making on large, complex problems with an approach that identifies the optimal alternative
d. find quick solutions to urgent problems

20. About how much of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) originates in the service sector?
a. 1/4
b. 1/3
c. 1/2
d. 2/3

21. Which area has most of the U.S. workers and is the largest contributor to the GDP?
a. government
b. manufacturing
c. services
d. military

22. Toward the goal of quickly developing innovative products, companies must use the best combination of:
a. exceptional quality
b. fast and on time delivery
c. low prices and cost
d. All of the alternatives are correct.

23. The outputs of a production system are monitored by the:
a. conversion subsystem
b. planning subsystem
c. control subsystem
d. operations system

24. Inputs into a production system are classified into three general classes. These are:
a. market, technology, and capital
b. external, social, and legal
c. external, market, and primary resources
d. economic, capital, competition

25. All of the following are external inputs to a production system EXCEPT:
a. personnel
b. legal/political
c. economic
d. technological

26. The type of input to a production system that is informational in character with regards to competition, product design, and customer desires is:
a. technological input
b. market input
c. social input
d. political input

27. Indirect outputs of the production system include all of the following EXCEPT:
a. services
b. wages and salaries
c. technological advances
d. pollution

28. An operations manager has three general types of decisions that he/she must make. They are:
a. production decisions, management decisions and strategic decisions
b. operating decisions, management decisions and production decisions
c. strategic decisions, operating decisions and control decisions
d. production decisions, management decisions and control decisions

29. Decisions that concern the day-to-day activities of workers, quality of products and services, production and overhead costs, and maintenance of machines are known as:
a. operating decisions
b. control decisions
c. production decisions
d. management decisions

30. Adam Smith is to THE WEALTH OF NATIONS as is to THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT.
a. Henry Gantt
b. Frank Gilbreth
c. Henry Ford
d. None of the alternatives is correct.

31. decisions involve decisions about planning production to meet demand.
a. Operating
b. Control
c. Strategic
d. Critical

32. decisions have long-term significance for the organization.
a. Operating
b. Control
c. Strategic
d. Critical

33. Which one doesn't belong? Chester Barnard, Abraham Maslow, Frederick Taylor, Frederick Herzberg
a. Chester Barnard
b. Abraham Maslow
c. Frederick Taylor
d. Frederick Herzberg

34. Which one doesn't belong? Benchmarking, JIT, interchangeable parts, ISO standards

a. Benchmarking
b. JIT
c. interchangeable parts
d. ISO standards

35. Which one doesn't belong? Robotics, statistical process control, assembly lines, computer-assisted design
a. robotics
b. statistical process control
c. assembly lines
d. computer-assisted design

36. Deciding whether to develop a new product or not is an example of a(n) decision.
a. marketing
b. control
c. strategic
d. operating

37. All of the following played a role in the development of scientific management EXCEPT:
a. Lillian Gilbreth
b. Henry Gantt
c. Abraham Maslow
d. Frederick Taylor 

Short Answer

1. Define POM.

2. Describe the responsibilities of the managers in the three primary business functions.

3. What are three key reasons given by operations managers for liking their work?

4. What are some mid-career jobs in the POM field?

5. What are some entry-level jobs in the POM field?

6. What are the six historical milestones in POM?

7. What are the two principal elements associated with the "industrial revolution?"

8. List the four developments of the post-Civil War period

9. List the players and their parts in the scientific management era.

10. Briefly describe the five steps of Taylor's shop system.

11. What are the chief elements of scientific management as applied at Ford Motor Company?

12. What is the basic philosophy behind the human relations movement?

13. Describe the characteristics of operations research.

14. What is the purpose of operations research?

15. List the six major factors affecting POM today.

16. To succeed in global competition, what must companies do?

17. What are the traditional approaches to studying POM?

18. Describe the term "system."

19. Describe the major components of a production system.

20. Describe the types of decisions made by operations managers.

21. Match the person and the idea or publication.
a. behavioralist                     1. Russell Ackoff
b. interchangeable parts         2. James Watt
c. time and motion studies      3. Frederick Taylor
d. scientific management        4. Abraham Maslow
e. pioneer in systems theory    5. Eli Whitney
f. steam engine                     6. Henry Gantt
g. Principles of Scientific Management 7. Elton Mayo
h. assembly lines                   8. Adam Smith
i. The Wealth of Nations         9. Frank Gilbreth
j. Western Electric Company   10. Henry Ford

22. Arrange the items "a" through "j" in chronological order, from the oldest to the most recent.

a. Hawthorne studies
b. The Wealth of Nations
c. Whitney's interchangeable parts
d. Taylor's scientific management
e. ISO standards
f. Ford's assembly line
g. Watt's steam engine
h. linear programming
i. cottage system
j. joint stock companies