What layout variables would you consider particularly important in an office layout where computer programs are written?
> 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?
> What is the purpose of using a Pareto chart for a given problem?
> List the three concepts central to Taguchi’s approach.
> Philip Crosby said that quality is free. Why?
> How can a university control the quality of its output (that is, its graduates)?
> How does fear in the workplace (and in the classroom) inhibit learning?
> What are seven tools of TQM?
> Name three of the important people associated with the quality concepts of this chapter. In each case, write a sentence about each one summarizing his primary contribution to the field of quality management.
> List the seven concepts that are necessary for an effective TQM program. How are these related to Deming’s 14 points?
> As an Internet exercise, determine the Baldrige Award criteria. See the Web site www.nist.gov/baldrige/.
> The Rover 6 is a new custom-designed sports car. An analysis of the task of building the Rover 6 reveals the following list of relevant activities, their immediate predecessors, and their duration: a) Draw a network diagram for the project. b) Mark the
> Explain how improving quality can lead to reduced costs.
> Why are the direct interactions and surrogate interaction regions in a PCN diagram important in service design?
> What is a process chain?
> Explain how the house of quality translates customer desires into product/service attributes.
> Explain what is meant in service design by the “moment of truth.”
> What information is contained in an assembly chart? In a process sheet?
> What information is contained in an engineering drawing?
> What information is contained in a bill of material?
> What are three specific ways in which computer-aided design (CAD) benefits the design engineer?
> Explain what is meant by robust design.
> Dave Fletcher (see Problem 3.12) was able to determine the activity times for constructing his laser scanning machine. Fletcher would like to determine ES, EF, LS, LF, and slack for each activity. The total project completion time and the critical path s
> Describe the differences between joint ventures and alliances.
> What is time-based competition?
> Once a product is defined, what documents are used to assist production personnel in its manufacture?
> In what ways is product strategy linked to product decisions?
> What techniques do we use to define a product?
> As an approach to inventory management, how does MRP differ from the approach taken in Chapter 12 , dealing with economic order quantities (EOQ)?
> What are the typical benefits of ERP?
> Identify five specific requirements of an effective MRP system.
> Master schedules are expressed in three different ways depending on whether the process is continuous, a job shop, or repetitive. What are these three ways?
> MRP is more than an inventory system; what additional capabilities does MRP possess?
> The following is a table of activities associated with a project at Rafay Ishfaq’s software firm in Chicago, their durations, and what activities each must precede: a) Draw an AON diagram of the project, including activity durations.
> What are the similarities between MRP and DRP?
> Once a material requirements plan (MRP) has been established, what other managerial applications might be found for the technique?
> What is the difference between a gross requirements plan and a net requirements plan?
> What are major limitations of using the transportation method for aggregate planning?
> Why are graphical aggregate planning methods useful?
> What is the relationship between the aggregate plan and the master production schedule?
> Define mixed strategy. Why would a firm use a mixed strategy instead of a simple pure strategy?
> What is level scheduling? What is the basic philosophy underlying it?
> What information is necessary for random stocking to work?
> The activities described by the following table are given for the Howard Corporation in Kansas: a) Draw the appropriate AON PERT diagram for J.C. Howard’s management team. b) Find the critical path. c) What is the project completion t
> What are the advantages and disadvantages of work cells?
> What are the four assumptions (or preconditions) of establishing layout for high-volume, low variety products?
> What are the advantages and disadvantages of product layout?
> How would an analyst obtain data and determine the number of trips in: (a) a hospital? (b) a machine shop? (c) an auto-repair shop?
> What are the advantages and disadvantages of process layout?
> Explain the concept of cross-docking.
> Manufacturers locate near their resources, retailers locate near their customers.” Discuss this statement, with reference to the proximity-to-markets arguments covered in the text. Can you think of a counter-example in each case? Support your choices.
> What are the three steps to locational cost–volume analysis?
> What are the major factors that firms consider when choosing a country in which to locate?
> Contrast the location of a food distributor and a supermarket. (The distributor sends truckloads of food, meat, produce, etc., to the supermarket.) Show the relevant considerations (factors) they share; show those where they differ.
> Task time estimates for the modification of an assembly line at Jim Goodale’s Carbondale, Illinois, factory are as follows: a) Draw the project network using AON. b) Identify the critical path. c) What is the expected project length?
> Explain what a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is.
> Describe briefly what an automatic identification system (AIS) is and how service organizations could use AIS to increase productivity and at the same time increase the variety of services offered.
> What are numerically controlled machines?
> Identify the competitive advantage of each of the four firms identified in Discussion Question 11.
> Identify the competitive advantage of each of the four firms identified in Discussion Question 9.
> Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing.
> Of the several points where inspection may be necessary, which apply especially well to manufacturing?
> Which 3 of Deming’s 14 points do you think are most critical to the success of a TQM program? Why?
> In this chapter, we have suggested that building quality into a process and its people is difficult. Inspections are also difficult. To indicate just how difficult inspections are, count the number of E s (both capital E and lowercase e ) in the OM in Ac
> What strategic advantages does computer-aided design provide?
> Roger Ginde is developing a program in supply chain management certification for managers. Ginde has listed a number of activities that must be completed before a training program of this nature could be conducted. The activities, immediate predecessors,
> Describe four organizational approaches to product development. Which of these is generally thought to be best?
> Why are documents for service useful? Provide examples of four types.
> Use the Web or other sources to identify what an ERP vendor (SAP, PeopleSoft/Oracle, American Software, etc.) includes in these software modules: a) Customer relationship management. b) Supply-chain management. c) Product life cycle management.
> Use the Web or other sources to: a) Find stories that highlight the advantages of an ERP system. b) Find stories that highlight the difficulties of purchasing, installing, or failure of an ERP system.
> What are the disadvantages of ERP?
> What are the distinctions between MRP, DRP, and ERP?
> What is the rationale for (a) a phantom bill of material, (b) a planning bill of material, and (c) a pseudo bill of material?
> What functions of the firm affect an MRP system? How?
> What are the options for the production planner who has: a) scheduled more than capacity in a work center next week? b) a consistent lack of capacity in that work center?
> What impact does ignoring carrying cost in the allocation of stock in a DRP system have on lot sizes?
> James Lawson has decided to run for a seat as Congressman from the House of Representatives, District 34, in Florida. He views his 8-month campaign for office as a major project and wishes to create a work breakdown structure (WBS) to help control the de
> Which is the best lot-sizing policy for manufacturing organizations?
> How does MRP II differ from MRP?
> The structure of MRP systems suggests “buckets” and infinite loading. What is meant by these two terms?
> How does aggregate planning in service differ from aggregate planning in manufacturing?
> What are the advantages and disadvantages of varying the size of the work force to meet demand requirements each period?
> How does revenue management impact an aggregate plan?
> What can purchasing do to implement just-in-time deliveries?
> What are blanket orders? How do they differ from invoice less purchasing?
> How does Walmart use drop shipping?
> What is the difference between postponement and channel assembly?
> The work breakdown structure (WBS) for building a house (levels 1 and 2) is shown below: a) Add two level-3 activities to each of the level-2 activities to provide more detail to the WBS. b) Select one of your level-3 activities and add two level-4 act
> George Kyparisis (using data from Problem 1.5) determines his costs to be as follows: Labor: $10 per hour Resin: $5 per pound Capital expense: 1% per month of investment Energy: $0.50 per BTU Show the percent change in productivity for one month last yea
> How does Darden Restaurants, described in the Global Company Profile, find competitive advantage in its supply chain?
> Research and briefly describe the Delphi technique. How would it be used by an employer you have worked for?
> Briefly describe the steps that are used to develop a forecasting system.
> CEO John Goodale, at Southern Illinois Power and Light, has been collecting data on demand for electric power in its western sub region for only the past 2 years. Those data are shown in the table below. To plan for expansion and to arrange to borrow pow
> What are the three time estimates used with PERT?
