Answer Question 4 for some other organization, perhaps an organization where you have worked.
> Give examples of industries in which demand forecasting is dependent on the demand for other products.
> Give examples of industries that are affected by seasonality. Why would these businesses want to filter out seasonality?
> What is the difference between a dependent and an independent variable?
> Explain, in your own words, the meaning of the correlation coefficient. Discuss the meaning of a negative value of the correlation coefficient.
> What is the purpose of a tracking signal?
> In your own words, explain adaptive forecasting.
> Which forecasting technique can place the most emphasis on recent values? How does it do this?
> Explain the value of seasonal indices in forecasting. How are seasonal patterns different from cyclical patterns?
> What effect does the value of the smoothing constant have on the weight given to the recent values?
> Define time series.
> What is the minimum cost of crashing the following project that Roger Solano manages at Slippery Rock University by 4 days? NORMAL CRASH TIME ACTIVITY (DAYS) (DAYS) TIME NORMAL CRASH IMMEDIATE COST COST PREDECESSOR(S) A 6 5 $ 900 $1,000 6 300 400 4
> What is the primary difference between a time-series model and an associative model?
> What three methods are used to determine the accuracy of any given forecasting method? How would you determine whether time-series regression or exponential smoothing is better in a specific application?
> What is the basic difference between a weighted moving average and exponential smoothing?
> Explain why such forecasting devices as moving averages, weighted moving averages, and exponential smoothing are not well suited for data series that have trends.
> A skeptical manager asks what medium-range forecasts can be used for. Give the manager three possible uses/purposes.
> Identify the three forecasting time horizons. State an approximate duration for each.
> Identify and briefly describe the two general forecasting approaches.
> What is a qualitative forecasting model, and when is its use appropriate?
> What is the difference between the waterfall approach and agile project management?
> Name some of the widely used project management software programs.
> Assume that the activities in Problem 3.11 have the following costs to shorten: A, $300/week; B, $100/week; C, $200/ week; E, $100/week; and F, $400/week. Assume also that you can crash an activity down to 0 weeks in duration and that every week you can
> How the variance of the total project is computed in PERT?
> Would a project manager ever consider crashing a noncritical activity in a project network? Explain convincingly.
> Students are sometimes confused by the concept of critical path, and want to believe that it is the shortest path through a network. Convincingly explain why this is not so.
> What would a project manager have to do to crash an activity?
> What is the significance of the critical path?
> What is the difference between an activity-on-arrow (AOA) network and an activity-on-node (AON) network? Which is primarily used in this chapter?
> Define work breakdown structure. How is it used?
> What are the three phases involved in the management of a large project?
> Explain the purpose of project organization.
> Give an example of a situation in which project management is needed.
> Using PERT, Adam Munson was able to determine that the expected project completion time for the construction of a pleasure yacht is 21 months, and the project variance is 4. a) What is the probability that the project will be completed in 17 months? b) W
> There are three primary ways to achieve competitive advantage. Provide an example, not included in the text, of each. Support your choices.
> Describe how an organization’s mission and strategy have different purposes.
> Define strategy.
> What are some of the possible consequences of poor outsourcing?
> How should a company select an outsourcing provider?
> What internal issues must managers address when outsourcing?
> What potential cost-saving advantages might firms experience by using outsourcing?
> Describe some of the actions taken by Taco Bell to increase productivity that have resulted in Taco Bell’s ability to serve “twice the volume with half the labor.”
> List six reasons to internationalize operations.
> Mass customization and rapid product development were identified as challenges to modern manufacturing operations. What is the relationship, if any, between these challenges? Can you cite any examples?
> Four Squares Productions, a firm hired to coordinate the release of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (starring Johnny Depp), identified 16 activities to be completed before the release of the film. a) How many weeks in advance of the
> What are the measurement problems that occur when one attempts to measure productivity?
> Based on the descriptions and analyses in this chapter, would Boeing be better described as a global firm or a transnational firm? Discuss.
> As a library or Internet assignment, identify the mission of a firm and the strategy that supports that mission.
> Identify the 10 strategic operations management decisions.
> What are the three basic functions of a firm?
> Define mission.
> Coca-Cola is called a global product. Does this mean that Coca-Cola is formulated in the same way throughout the world? Discuss.
> Identify four people who have contributed to the theory and techniques of operations management.
> Why should one study operations management?
> Rich Cole Control Devices, Inc., produces custom built relay devices for auto makers. The most recent project undertaken by Cole requires 14 different activities. Cole’s managers would like to determine the total project completion time
> What is a heuristic? Name several that can be used in assembly line balancing.
> What is random stocking?
> Visit a local supermarket and sketch its layout. What are your observations regarding departments and their locations?
> What are the variables that a manager can manipulate in a retail layout?
> What layout innovations have you noticed recently in retail establishments?
> What are the two major trends influencing office layout?
> What are the requirements for a focused work center or focused factory to be appropriate?
> What are the alternative forms of work cells discussed in this textbook?
> What are the three factors that complicate a fixed-position layout?
> What are the seven layout strategies presented in this chapter?
> The estimated times and immediate predecessors for the activities in a project at George Kyparis’s retinal scanning company are given in the following table. Assume that the activity times are independent. a) Calculate the expected ti
> List the techniques used by service organizations to select locations.
> Why shouldn’t low wage rates alone be sufficient to select a location?
> Explain the assumptions behind the center-of-gravity method. How can the model be used in a service facility location?
> List factors, other than globalization, that affect the location decision.
> Although most organizations may make the location decision infrequently, there are some organizations that make the decision quite regularly and often. Provide one or two examples. How might their approach to the location decision differ from the norm?
> What factors affect region/community location decisions?
> Provide two examples of clustering in the service sector.
> What are the advantages and disadvantages of a qualitative (as opposed to a quantitative) approach to location decision making?
> How does factor weighting incorporate personal preference in location choices?
> What is clustering?
> Kelle Carpet and Trim installs carpet in commercial offices. Peter Kelle has been very concerned with the amount of time it took to complete several recent jobs. Some of his workers are very unreliable. A list of activities and their optimistic completio
> Lillian Fok is president of Lakefront Manufacturing, a producer of bicycle tires. Fok makes 1,000 tires per day with the following resources: a) What is the labor productivity per labor-hour for these tires at Lakefront Manufacturing? b) What is the mu
> Why do so many foreign companies build facilities in the U.S.?
> Why do so many U.S. firms build facilities in other countries?
> How is FedEx’s location a competitive advantage? Discuss.
> What is additive manufacturing?
> In what ways do CAD and FMS connect?
> Name some of the advances being made in technology that enhance production and productivity.
> Identify service firms that compete on each of the four processes shown in Figure 7.1. Reference Figure 7.1: *****..*......... ... I Figure 7.1 Volume Process Selected Must Fit with Volume and Variety Low Volume Repetitive Process High Volume Proce
> Identify manufacturing firms that compete on each of the four processes shown in Figure 7.1. Reference Figure 7.1: *****..*......... ... I Figure 7.1 Volume Process Selected Must Fit with Volume and Variety Low Volume Repetitive Process High Volume
> What do we mean by a process-control system, and what are the typical elements in such systems?
> What is CIM?
> A renovation of the gift shop at Orlando Amway Center has six activities (in hours). For the following estimates of a, m, and b, calculates the expected time and the standard deviation for each activity: ACTIVITY a m b A 11 15 19 B 27 31 41 18 18 18
> Name the four quadrants of the service process matrix. Discuss how the matrix is used to classify services into categories.
> What are the techniques for improving service productivity?
> What is process redesign?
> What is service blueprinting?
> What type of process is used for making each of the following products? (a) beer (b) wedding invitations (c) automobiles (d) paper (e) Big Macs (f ) custom homes (g) motorcycles
> What is process strategy?
> Name several products that do not require high quality.
> What are 10 determinants of service quality?
> Explain, in your own words, what is meant by source inspection.
> What roles do operations managers play in addressing the major aspects of service quality?
> Ross Hopkins, president of Hopkins Hospitality, has developed the tasks, durations, and predecessor relationships in the following table for building new motels. Draw the AON network and answer the questions that follow. a) What is the expected (estima
> What are the four broad categories of “causes” to help initially structure an Ishikawa diagram or cause-and-effect diagram?
