MGM101 Chapter 12 - Operations
Management, Productivity, and Quality
Exam Questions and Correct Answers
Goods production - ANSWER Production activities that yield tangible products
Service Operations - ANSWER Production activities that yield tangible and intangible service
products
Utility - ANSWER The power of a product to satisfy a human want; something of value
Time Utility - ANSWER Making a product available at a time when consumers want it
Place Utility - ANSWER Making a product available in a place convenient for consumers
Ownership (Possession) Utility - ANSWER Making a product that consumers can take pleasure in
owning
Form Utility - ANSWER Turning raw materials into finished products
Operations/Production Management - ANSWER A set of methods and technologies used in the
production of a good or service.
Operations managers - ANSWER Bring raw materials, equipment, and labor together under a
production plan that effectively uses all the resources available in the production facility
Differences between Service and Manufacturing Operations - ANSWER In service operations,
the raw materials are people who have either unsatisfied needs or possessions needing care or
alteration. The output are people with needs met and possessions serviced.
Service operations are more complicated than goods production - ANSWER 1. The interaction
with consumers
2. The intangible and unstorable nature of some services
3. The customer's presence in the process
4. Service quality considerations
, Operations Processes - ANSWER A set of methods and technologies used in the production of a
good and service
make-to-order - ANSWER Producing custom-designed products for special order
Make-to-stock - ANSWER Producing standard items in large quantities for consumers in general
chemical processes - ANSWER Raw materials are chemically altered (i.e., aluminum, steel,
fertilizer, petroleum, and paint industries)
fabrication processes - ANSWER Mechanically alter the basic shape or form of a product.
Fabrication occurs in the metal forming, woodworking, and textile industries.
assembly processes - ANSWER Put together various components. These techniques are
common in the electronics, appliance, and automotive industries.
transport processes - ANSWER Goods acquire place utility by being moved from one location to
another. For example, bicycles are routinely moved from manufacturing plants to consumers by
trucks and through warehouses and discount stores.
clerical processes - ANSWER Transform information. Combining data on employee absences and
machine breakdowns into a productivity report is a clerical process. So is compiling inventory
reports at a retail outlet.
analytic process - ANSWER Breaks down basic resources into their component parts (i.e.,
aluminum is manufactured by extracting it form an ore called bauxite).
synthetic process - ANSWER Combines several raw materials to produce a finished product such
as fertilizer or paint
service-production processes - ANSWER One useful way of classifying services is to determine
whether a given service can be provided without the customer being part of the production
system
high-contact systems - ANSWER A system in which the service cannot be provided without the
customer being physically in the system (i.e., transit systems)
low-contact systems - ANSWER A system in which the service can be provided without the
customer being physically in the system (i.e., lawn-care services).
Business Strategy as the Driver of Operations - ANSWER Production is a flexible activity that can
be moulded into many shapes to give quite different capabilities for different purposes. The kind
of production that is best for a particular company should be decided from above by the firm's
business strategy.
Management, Productivity, and Quality
Exam Questions and Correct Answers
Goods production - ANSWER Production activities that yield tangible products
Service Operations - ANSWER Production activities that yield tangible and intangible service
products
Utility - ANSWER The power of a product to satisfy a human want; something of value
Time Utility - ANSWER Making a product available at a time when consumers want it
Place Utility - ANSWER Making a product available in a place convenient for consumers
Ownership (Possession) Utility - ANSWER Making a product that consumers can take pleasure in
owning
Form Utility - ANSWER Turning raw materials into finished products
Operations/Production Management - ANSWER A set of methods and technologies used in the
production of a good or service.
Operations managers - ANSWER Bring raw materials, equipment, and labor together under a
production plan that effectively uses all the resources available in the production facility
Differences between Service and Manufacturing Operations - ANSWER In service operations,
the raw materials are people who have either unsatisfied needs or possessions needing care or
alteration. The output are people with needs met and possessions serviced.
Service operations are more complicated than goods production - ANSWER 1. The interaction
with consumers
2. The intangible and unstorable nature of some services
3. The customer's presence in the process
4. Service quality considerations
, Operations Processes - ANSWER A set of methods and technologies used in the production of a
good and service
make-to-order - ANSWER Producing custom-designed products for special order
Make-to-stock - ANSWER Producing standard items in large quantities for consumers in general
chemical processes - ANSWER Raw materials are chemically altered (i.e., aluminum, steel,
fertilizer, petroleum, and paint industries)
fabrication processes - ANSWER Mechanically alter the basic shape or form of a product.
Fabrication occurs in the metal forming, woodworking, and textile industries.
assembly processes - ANSWER Put together various components. These techniques are
common in the electronics, appliance, and automotive industries.
transport processes - ANSWER Goods acquire place utility by being moved from one location to
another. For example, bicycles are routinely moved from manufacturing plants to consumers by
trucks and through warehouses and discount stores.
clerical processes - ANSWER Transform information. Combining data on employee absences and
machine breakdowns into a productivity report is a clerical process. So is compiling inventory
reports at a retail outlet.
analytic process - ANSWER Breaks down basic resources into their component parts (i.e.,
aluminum is manufactured by extracting it form an ore called bauxite).
synthetic process - ANSWER Combines several raw materials to produce a finished product such
as fertilizer or paint
service-production processes - ANSWER One useful way of classifying services is to determine
whether a given service can be provided without the customer being part of the production
system
high-contact systems - ANSWER A system in which the service cannot be provided without the
customer being physically in the system (i.e., transit systems)
low-contact systems - ANSWER A system in which the service can be provided without the
customer being physically in the system (i.e., lawn-care services).
Business Strategy as the Driver of Operations - ANSWER Production is a flexible activity that can
be moulded into many shapes to give quite different capabilities for different purposes. The kind
of production that is best for a particular company should be decided from above by the firm's
business strategy.
