SOLUTIONS MANUAL
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
7TH CANADIAN EDITION
CHAPTER NO. 1: INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION AND REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Operations management is the management of processes (i.e., the sequence of activities and
resources) that create goods and/or provide services.
2. Production/operations planner/scheduler/controller, demand planner (forecaster), quality
specialist, logistics coordinator, purchasing agent/buyer, supply chain manager, materials planner,
inventory clerk/manager, production/operations manager.
3. a. Because a large % of a company’s expenses occur in operations, e.g., purchasing
materials and workforce salaries, more efficient operations can result in large increases in
profits.
b. A number of management jobs are in OM.
c. Activities in all other areas of any organization are all interrelated with OM.
d. Operations innovations lead to marketplace and strategic benefits.
4. The three major functions of organizations are operations, finance, and marketing. Operations is
concerned with the creation of goods and services identified by marketing, finance is concerned
with provision of funds necessary for operations and investment of extra funds, and marketing is
concerned with promoting and/or selling goods or services.
5. The operations function consists of all activities that are directly related to producing goods or
providing services. It adds value during the transformation process (the difference between the
cost of inputs and price of outputs). An operations manager manages the transformation function.
He/she is responsible for planning and using the resources (labour, machines, and materials). The
kind of work that operations managers do varies from organization to organization (largely
because of the different goods or services involved). For example, a store/restaurant manager is in
, effect an operations manager. See Table 1-4 for examples of typical activities performed by
operations managers.
6. Design decisions are usually strategic and long term (1–5 years or so ahead), whereas planning
and control decisions are shorter term. In particular, planning decisions are tactical and medium
term (1–12 months or so ahead), and control decisions (including scheduling and execution) are
short term (1–12 weeks or so ahead). Design involves decisions that relate to goods and service
design, capacity, acquisition of equipment, arrangement of departments, and location of facilities.
Planning/control activities involve management of personnel, quality control/assurance,
inventory planning and control, production planning, and scheduling.
7. Important differences between producing goods and performing services are:
(1) Customer contact, use of inventories, and demand variability
(2) Uniformity of input
(3) Labour content of jobs
(4) Uniformity of output
(5) Measurement of productivity
(6) Quality Assurance
8. Answers might vary for each student. Examples include Teaching, personal services such as
haircut, lawn mowing, maid service, and car wash. The customer or something belonging to the
customer is being transformed.
9.
• dealing with labour difficulties, solving personnel problems, solving management
problems, solving technical problems
• making OM decisions, including general management decisions (planning, organizing,
controlling, and directing)
• innovating, personal initiatives, improving productivity
• representing operations in upper management
,10. a. The Industrial Revolution began in the 1770s in England and spread to the rest of Europe and
North America in the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century. A number of
inventions such as the steam engine, the spinning jenny, and the power loom helped to bring
about this change. Later machines made of iron were built. Two concepts assisted in large-
scale production: division of labour and interchangeable parts. Despite the major changes that
were taking place, management theory and practice had not progressed much from early days.
What was needed was a systematic approach to management.
b. Frederick W. Taylor spearheaded the scientific management more than a century ago. The
science of management movement was based on observation, measurement, analysis,
improvement of work methods, and economic incentives. He also published a book titled The
Principles of Scientific Management in 1911. Other pioneers who contributed to scientific
management include Frank Gilbreth, often referred to as the father of time and motion study,
and his wife Lillian Gilbreth, and Henry Gantt.
c. An interchangeable part is a part made to such precision that all units of the part would fit any
particular product it is made for. It meant that individual parts would not have to be custom-
made (they were standardized). The standardized parts could also be used as replacement
parts. The result was a tremendous decrease in assembly time and cost.
d. Division of labour is breaking up a production process into a series of tasks, each performed
by a different worker. It enabled a worker to learn the job and become proficient at it more
quickly, and avoid the delays of having a single worker shifting from one activity to another.
11. a. The service sector accounts for more than 79 percent of jobs in Canada and this continues to
increase. Some examples include government services, finance and insurance, healthcare,
education, professional and technical services.
b. Manufacturing is important because it produces the goods that we use, and many service jobs
are dependent on manufacturing because they support manufacturing. Manufacturing
produces food and beverage, textile and clothing, petroleum, chemicals, machinery, computer
and electronic products, electrical equipment, and transportation equipment.
, 12. A model is an abstraction of reality, a simplified representation of something. Models can be
mathematical, schematic, or statistical. Models ignore the unimportant details so that attention
can be concentrated on the most important aspects, thus increasing the opportunity to understand
a problem and its solution. Models allow experiments that could be very costly to do in real life.
13. From Table 1-6: e.g., Frederick W. Taylor, Frank Gilbreth, Henry Gantt, Henry Ford, F.W.
Harris, W. Shewhart, W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Orlicky, and Taiichi Ohno.
14. Answers might vary for each student.
a. Pros (for owning a car): convenience, flexibility
Cons (for owning a car): costs (initial, insurance, maintenance & repairs, gas), parking
b. Pros (for buying now): availability
Cons (for buying now): technology change, reduced cost in future
c. Pros (for new car): reliability, warrantee
Cons (for new car): more expensive, higher insurance, higher depreciation
d. Pros (for speaking up in class): develop favourable image with instructor, feel more confident
Cons (for speaking up in class): risk of being wrong, appearance of showing off
15. Craft production: involves skilled workers producing high variety of customized goods at low
quantity, utilizing general-purpose equipment. The main advantage is the flexibility to produce a
wide variety of goods providing many choices to customers. The main disadvantage is its
inability to produce at low cost. Examples: custom tailor, machine shop, print shop, and
landscaping.
Mass production: involves low-skilled workers producing a few standardized goods at high
quantity, utilizing specialized equipment. The main advantage is low cost efficient production.
The main disadvantage is that it does not allow easy changes in quantity of output, the product, or
the process. Examples: paper, sugar or salt or crude oil refining, and soft drink-bottling.
Lean production (or just-in-time): involves highly skilled workers producing a high variety of
goods at high quantity, using flexible equipment. It requires high level of employee involvement
and teamwork. It combines the advantages of both mass production (high quantity, low cost) and
craft production (variety, flexibility). Examples: automobiles, computers, and appliances.
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
7TH CANADIAN EDITION
CHAPTER NO. 1: INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION AND REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Operations management is the management of processes (i.e., the sequence of activities and
resources) that create goods and/or provide services.
2. Production/operations planner/scheduler/controller, demand planner (forecaster), quality
specialist, logistics coordinator, purchasing agent/buyer, supply chain manager, materials planner,
inventory clerk/manager, production/operations manager.
3. a. Because a large % of a company’s expenses occur in operations, e.g., purchasing
materials and workforce salaries, more efficient operations can result in large increases in
profits.
b. A number of management jobs are in OM.
c. Activities in all other areas of any organization are all interrelated with OM.
d. Operations innovations lead to marketplace and strategic benefits.
4. The three major functions of organizations are operations, finance, and marketing. Operations is
concerned with the creation of goods and services identified by marketing, finance is concerned
with provision of funds necessary for operations and investment of extra funds, and marketing is
concerned with promoting and/or selling goods or services.
5. The operations function consists of all activities that are directly related to producing goods or
providing services. It adds value during the transformation process (the difference between the
cost of inputs and price of outputs). An operations manager manages the transformation function.
He/she is responsible for planning and using the resources (labour, machines, and materials). The
kind of work that operations managers do varies from organization to organization (largely
because of the different goods or services involved). For example, a store/restaurant manager is in
, effect an operations manager. See Table 1-4 for examples of typical activities performed by
operations managers.
6. Design decisions are usually strategic and long term (1–5 years or so ahead), whereas planning
and control decisions are shorter term. In particular, planning decisions are tactical and medium
term (1–12 months or so ahead), and control decisions (including scheduling and execution) are
short term (1–12 weeks or so ahead). Design involves decisions that relate to goods and service
design, capacity, acquisition of equipment, arrangement of departments, and location of facilities.
Planning/control activities involve management of personnel, quality control/assurance,
inventory planning and control, production planning, and scheduling.
7. Important differences between producing goods and performing services are:
(1) Customer contact, use of inventories, and demand variability
(2) Uniformity of input
(3) Labour content of jobs
(4) Uniformity of output
(5) Measurement of productivity
(6) Quality Assurance
8. Answers might vary for each student. Examples include Teaching, personal services such as
haircut, lawn mowing, maid service, and car wash. The customer or something belonging to the
customer is being transformed.
9.
• dealing with labour difficulties, solving personnel problems, solving management
problems, solving technical problems
• making OM decisions, including general management decisions (planning, organizing,
controlling, and directing)
• innovating, personal initiatives, improving productivity
• representing operations in upper management
,10. a. The Industrial Revolution began in the 1770s in England and spread to the rest of Europe and
North America in the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century. A number of
inventions such as the steam engine, the spinning jenny, and the power loom helped to bring
about this change. Later machines made of iron were built. Two concepts assisted in large-
scale production: division of labour and interchangeable parts. Despite the major changes that
were taking place, management theory and practice had not progressed much from early days.
What was needed was a systematic approach to management.
b. Frederick W. Taylor spearheaded the scientific management more than a century ago. The
science of management movement was based on observation, measurement, analysis,
improvement of work methods, and economic incentives. He also published a book titled The
Principles of Scientific Management in 1911. Other pioneers who contributed to scientific
management include Frank Gilbreth, often referred to as the father of time and motion study,
and his wife Lillian Gilbreth, and Henry Gantt.
c. An interchangeable part is a part made to such precision that all units of the part would fit any
particular product it is made for. It meant that individual parts would not have to be custom-
made (they were standardized). The standardized parts could also be used as replacement
parts. The result was a tremendous decrease in assembly time and cost.
d. Division of labour is breaking up a production process into a series of tasks, each performed
by a different worker. It enabled a worker to learn the job and become proficient at it more
quickly, and avoid the delays of having a single worker shifting from one activity to another.
11. a. The service sector accounts for more than 79 percent of jobs in Canada and this continues to
increase. Some examples include government services, finance and insurance, healthcare,
education, professional and technical services.
b. Manufacturing is important because it produces the goods that we use, and many service jobs
are dependent on manufacturing because they support manufacturing. Manufacturing
produces food and beverage, textile and clothing, petroleum, chemicals, machinery, computer
and electronic products, electrical equipment, and transportation equipment.
, 12. A model is an abstraction of reality, a simplified representation of something. Models can be
mathematical, schematic, or statistical. Models ignore the unimportant details so that attention
can be concentrated on the most important aspects, thus increasing the opportunity to understand
a problem and its solution. Models allow experiments that could be very costly to do in real life.
13. From Table 1-6: e.g., Frederick W. Taylor, Frank Gilbreth, Henry Gantt, Henry Ford, F.W.
Harris, W. Shewhart, W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Orlicky, and Taiichi Ohno.
14. Answers might vary for each student.
a. Pros (for owning a car): convenience, flexibility
Cons (for owning a car): costs (initial, insurance, maintenance & repairs, gas), parking
b. Pros (for buying now): availability
Cons (for buying now): technology change, reduced cost in future
c. Pros (for new car): reliability, warrantee
Cons (for new car): more expensive, higher insurance, higher depreciation
d. Pros (for speaking up in class): develop favourable image with instructor, feel more confident
Cons (for speaking up in class): risk of being wrong, appearance of showing off
15. Craft production: involves skilled workers producing high variety of customized goods at low
quantity, utilizing general-purpose equipment. The main advantage is the flexibility to produce a
wide variety of goods providing many choices to customers. The main disadvantage is its
inability to produce at low cost. Examples: custom tailor, machine shop, print shop, and
landscaping.
Mass production: involves low-skilled workers producing a few standardized goods at high
quantity, utilizing specialized equipment. The main advantage is low cost efficient production.
The main disadvantage is that it does not allow easy changes in quantity of output, the product, or
the process. Examples: paper, sugar or salt or crude oil refining, and soft drink-bottling.
Lean production (or just-in-time): involves highly skilled workers producing a high variety of
goods at high quantity, using flexible equipment. It requires high level of employee involvement
and teamwork. It combines the advantages of both mass production (high quantity, low cost) and
craft production (variety, flexibility). Examples: automobiles, computers, and appliances.
