GMS 401 EXAMINATION TEST 2025/2026 QUESTIONS
WITH ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔Operations management? - ✔✔the set of activities that creates value in the form of
goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs.
✔✔Marketing? - ✔✔generates demand, or at least take the order for a product or
service (nothing happens until there is a sale)
✔✔production/operations? - ✔✔creates, produces and delivers the product
✔✔finance/accounting? - ✔✔tracks how well the organization is doing, pays the bills
and collect the money
✔✔Management process? - ✔✔consists of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and
controlling. Managers apply this process to the decisions they make in the OM function.
✔✔Frederick W Taylor contributions to management: - ✔✔Matching employees to the
right job
Providing the proper training
Providing proper work methods and tools
Establishing legitimate incentives for work to be accomplished
✔✔Service? - ✔✔as including repair and maintenance, government, food and lodging,
transportation, insurance, trade, financial, real estate, education, law, medicine,
entertainment, and other professional occupations.
✔✔Supply chain partnering? - ✔✔shorter product life cycles, demanding customers,
and fast changes in technology, materials and processes require supply chain partners
to be in tune with the needs of end users.
✔✔Productivity? - ✔✔the ratio of outputs (goods and services) divided by the inputs
(resources, such as labour and capital)
✔✔Efficiency? - ✔✔means doing the job well with minimum of resources and waste
✔✔Single-factor productivity? - ✔✔the use of just one resource input to measure
productivity
✔✔Multifactor productivity? - ✔✔includes all inputs (capital, labour, material and
energy). Also known as total factor productivity
✔✔Productivity increases are dependent on three productivity variables: - ✔✔Labour-
which contributes about 10% of the annual increase
,Capital- which contributes about 38% of the annual increase
Management- which contributes about 52% of the annual increase
✔✔Three key variables for improved labour productivity are: - ✔✔Basic education
appropriate for an effective labour force
Diet of the labour force
Social overhead that makes labour available, such as transportation and sanitation
✔✔Knowledge society? - ✔✔is one in which much of the labour force has migrated from
manual work to technical and information processing tasks requiring ongoing education.
✔✔Among the many ethical challenges facing operations managers are: - ✔✔Efficiently
developing and producing safe, quality products
Maintaining a sustainable environment
Providing a safe workplace
Honouring stakeholder commitments
✔✔Reasons to globalize: - ✔✔Reduce costs (labour, taxes tariffs)
Improve the supply chain
Provide better goods and services
Understand markets
Learn to improve operations
Attract and retain global talent
✔✔Reduce costs? - ✔✔foreign locations with lower wage rates can lower direct and
indirect costs
(exp. World trade orgainization, United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA)
used to be NAFTA)
✔✔Improve the supply chain? - ✔✔locating facilities closer to unique resources
(exp. Metal companies to northern ontario, auto design to california)
✔✔Provide better goods and services? - ✔✔objective and subjective characteristics of
goods and services
(exp. On time deliveries, cultural variables)
✔✔Understand markets? - ✔✔interacting with foreign customers and suppliers can lead
to new opportunities
(exp. Cell phone design from europe, cell phone fads from japan)
✔✔Learn to improve operations? - ✔✔remain open to the free flow of ideas
(exp. General motors partnered with a japanese auto manufacturer to learn new
approaches to production and inventory control)
✔✔Attract and retain global talent? - ✔✔offer better employment opportunities
, (exp. better growth opportunities and insulation against unemployment)
✔✔Cultural and ethical issues? - ✔✔cultures can be quite different, attitudes can be
quite different towards:
Punctuality
Lunch breaks
Environment
Intellectual property
Thievery
Bribery
Child labour
✔✔Mission? - ✔✔statement tell an organization where it is going
Where are you going?
Organizations purpose for being
Answers "what do we provide to society?"
Provides boundaries and focus
✔✔Strategy? - ✔✔tells the organization how to get there
Action plan to achieve mission
Functional areas have strategies
Strategies exploit opportunities and strengths, neutralize threats, and avoid weakness
✔✔Differentiation? - ✔✔better, or at least different, distinguishing the offerings of an
organization in a way that the customer identifies them as adding value
✔✔Cost leadership? - ✔✔cheaper, provide the maximum value as perceived by the
customer
✔✔Productivity? - ✔✔is the ratio out outputs (goods and services) divided by the inputs
(resources, eg. labour and capital)
Improving productivity means improving efficiency
✔✔Efficiency? - ✔✔means doing the job well with a minimum of resources and waste
*note the distinction between being efficient, which implies doing the job well, and being
effective, which means doing the right thing
✔✔The productivity challenge: - ✔✔High productivity is linked to higher standards of
living
Higher productivity relative to the competition leads to competitive advantage in the
Marketplace
A more productive company can enjoy lower costs and also obtain a competitive edge
High relative productivity makes it less likely that a company will be supplanted by
foreign company
WITH ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔Operations management? - ✔✔the set of activities that creates value in the form of
goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs.
✔✔Marketing? - ✔✔generates demand, or at least take the order for a product or
service (nothing happens until there is a sale)
✔✔production/operations? - ✔✔creates, produces and delivers the product
✔✔finance/accounting? - ✔✔tracks how well the organization is doing, pays the bills
and collect the money
✔✔Management process? - ✔✔consists of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and
controlling. Managers apply this process to the decisions they make in the OM function.
✔✔Frederick W Taylor contributions to management: - ✔✔Matching employees to the
right job
Providing the proper training
Providing proper work methods and tools
Establishing legitimate incentives for work to be accomplished
✔✔Service? - ✔✔as including repair and maintenance, government, food and lodging,
transportation, insurance, trade, financial, real estate, education, law, medicine,
entertainment, and other professional occupations.
✔✔Supply chain partnering? - ✔✔shorter product life cycles, demanding customers,
and fast changes in technology, materials and processes require supply chain partners
to be in tune with the needs of end users.
✔✔Productivity? - ✔✔the ratio of outputs (goods and services) divided by the inputs
(resources, such as labour and capital)
✔✔Efficiency? - ✔✔means doing the job well with minimum of resources and waste
✔✔Single-factor productivity? - ✔✔the use of just one resource input to measure
productivity
✔✔Multifactor productivity? - ✔✔includes all inputs (capital, labour, material and
energy). Also known as total factor productivity
✔✔Productivity increases are dependent on three productivity variables: - ✔✔Labour-
which contributes about 10% of the annual increase
,Capital- which contributes about 38% of the annual increase
Management- which contributes about 52% of the annual increase
✔✔Three key variables for improved labour productivity are: - ✔✔Basic education
appropriate for an effective labour force
Diet of the labour force
Social overhead that makes labour available, such as transportation and sanitation
✔✔Knowledge society? - ✔✔is one in which much of the labour force has migrated from
manual work to technical and information processing tasks requiring ongoing education.
✔✔Among the many ethical challenges facing operations managers are: - ✔✔Efficiently
developing and producing safe, quality products
Maintaining a sustainable environment
Providing a safe workplace
Honouring stakeholder commitments
✔✔Reasons to globalize: - ✔✔Reduce costs (labour, taxes tariffs)
Improve the supply chain
Provide better goods and services
Understand markets
Learn to improve operations
Attract and retain global talent
✔✔Reduce costs? - ✔✔foreign locations with lower wage rates can lower direct and
indirect costs
(exp. World trade orgainization, United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA)
used to be NAFTA)
✔✔Improve the supply chain? - ✔✔locating facilities closer to unique resources
(exp. Metal companies to northern ontario, auto design to california)
✔✔Provide better goods and services? - ✔✔objective and subjective characteristics of
goods and services
(exp. On time deliveries, cultural variables)
✔✔Understand markets? - ✔✔interacting with foreign customers and suppliers can lead
to new opportunities
(exp. Cell phone design from europe, cell phone fads from japan)
✔✔Learn to improve operations? - ✔✔remain open to the free flow of ideas
(exp. General motors partnered with a japanese auto manufacturer to learn new
approaches to production and inventory control)
✔✔Attract and retain global talent? - ✔✔offer better employment opportunities
, (exp. better growth opportunities and insulation against unemployment)
✔✔Cultural and ethical issues? - ✔✔cultures can be quite different, attitudes can be
quite different towards:
Punctuality
Lunch breaks
Environment
Intellectual property
Thievery
Bribery
Child labour
✔✔Mission? - ✔✔statement tell an organization where it is going
Where are you going?
Organizations purpose for being
Answers "what do we provide to society?"
Provides boundaries and focus
✔✔Strategy? - ✔✔tells the organization how to get there
Action plan to achieve mission
Functional areas have strategies
Strategies exploit opportunities and strengths, neutralize threats, and avoid weakness
✔✔Differentiation? - ✔✔better, or at least different, distinguishing the offerings of an
organization in a way that the customer identifies them as adding value
✔✔Cost leadership? - ✔✔cheaper, provide the maximum value as perceived by the
customer
✔✔Productivity? - ✔✔is the ratio out outputs (goods and services) divided by the inputs
(resources, eg. labour and capital)
Improving productivity means improving efficiency
✔✔Efficiency? - ✔✔means doing the job well with a minimum of resources and waste
*note the distinction between being efficient, which implies doing the job well, and being
effective, which means doing the right thing
✔✔The productivity challenge: - ✔✔High productivity is linked to higher standards of
living
Higher productivity relative to the competition leads to competitive advantage in the
Marketplace
A more productive company can enjoy lower costs and also obtain a competitive edge
High relative productivity makes it less likely that a company will be supplanted by
foreign company
