Drexel OPM 200 Midterm Mastery:
Conceptual Questions&Answers with
Rationales (Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)
Q1. What is operations management?
A1. The design, operation, and improvement of the systems that
create and deliver the firm’s primary products and services.
Rationale: It focuses on the transformation process that adds
value.
Q2. What are the three primary functions of a business
organization?
A2. Operations, marketing, and finance.
Rationale: These three are interdependent; operations creates
value, marketing sells it, finance supports it.
Q3. What is a process?
A3. A set of activities that takes one or more inputs and
transforms them into outputs of greater value.
Rationale: Every process has inputs, transformation, and outputs.
Q4. What is the difference between a good and a service?
A4. Goods are tangible, can be inventoried, and produced before
consumption; services are intangible, perishable, and often
consumed simultaneously with production.
,Rationale: This distinction affects process design and quality
measurement.
Q5. Give an example of a transformation process in
manufacturing.
A5. Converting raw steel into automobile body panels.
Rationale: Physical change is a common transformation.
Q6. Give an example of a transformation process in services.
A6. A doctor diagnosing an illness from patient symptoms.
Rationale: Information and patient condition are transformed into
treatment.
Q7. What are the four major inputs to any operations system?
A7. Materials, labor, capital, and information.
Rationale: These are the classic resources converted into outputs.
Q8. What is the output of a university’s operations system?
A8. Educated students (knowledge and skills).
Rationale: The primary product is the value added to students.
Q9. Why is operations management important to a firm’s
strategy?
A9. It directly affects cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery – all
competitive priorities.
Rationale: Operations execution determines whether strategic
goals are met.
Q10. What is the “10 strategic decisions” framework in
operations?
A10. A list of ten key areas: product design, quality, process,
location, layout, human resources, supply chain, inventory,
,scheduling, and maintenance.
Rationale: These cover all major operational choices.
Q11. Which strategic decision involves choosing how to produce
goods or services?
A11. Process and capacity strategy.
Rationale: It defines the technology and methods used.
Q12. Which decision relates to meeting customer expectations
consistently?
A12. Quality management.
Rationale: Quality is a core competitive dimension.
Q13. What is a mission statement?
A13. A statement that defines the organization’s purpose and
reason for existence.
Rationale: It guides all strategic decisions.
Q14. How does operations strategy differ from corporate
strategy?
A14. Corporate strategy sets overall direction; operations strategy
specifies how to produce and deliver goods/services to support
that direction.
Rationale: Operations strategy is functional and aligns with
corporate.
Q15. What is productivity?
A15. The ratio of outputs (goods/services produced) to inputs
(resources used).
Rationale: It measures how efficiently resources are utilized.
Q16. What is single-factor productivity?
A16. Productivity measured using only one input, e.g., labor
, productivity = output/labor hours.
Rationale: Useful to track specific resource efficiency.
Q17. What is multifactor productivity?
A17. Productivity measured using multiple inputs, e.g.,
output/(labor + material + energy).
Rationale: Gives a broader view of overall efficiency.
Q18. What is total factor productivity?
A18. Productivity measured by all inputs combined.
Rationale: The most comprehensive measure.
Q19. Why is productivity growth important?
A19. It leads to higher profits, lower costs, and improved standard
of living.
Rationale: It is a key driver of economic competitiveness.
Q20. What is a bottleneck?
A20. The resource or step in a process that has the lowest
capacity and limits overall throughput.
Rationale: It constrains the entire system’s output.
Q21. How do you identify a bottleneck?
A21. Find the step with the longest processing time or lowest
capacity relative to demand.
Rationale: It will have work piling up in front of it.
Q22. What is capacity?
A22. The maximum output rate a process or facility can achieve
under normal conditions.
Rationale: Capacity determines the ceiling for production.
Conceptual Questions&Answers with
Rationales (Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)
Q1. What is operations management?
A1. The design, operation, and improvement of the systems that
create and deliver the firm’s primary products and services.
Rationale: It focuses on the transformation process that adds
value.
Q2. What are the three primary functions of a business
organization?
A2. Operations, marketing, and finance.
Rationale: These three are interdependent; operations creates
value, marketing sells it, finance supports it.
Q3. What is a process?
A3. A set of activities that takes one or more inputs and
transforms them into outputs of greater value.
Rationale: Every process has inputs, transformation, and outputs.
Q4. What is the difference between a good and a service?
A4. Goods are tangible, can be inventoried, and produced before
consumption; services are intangible, perishable, and often
consumed simultaneously with production.
,Rationale: This distinction affects process design and quality
measurement.
Q5. Give an example of a transformation process in
manufacturing.
A5. Converting raw steel into automobile body panels.
Rationale: Physical change is a common transformation.
Q6. Give an example of a transformation process in services.
A6. A doctor diagnosing an illness from patient symptoms.
Rationale: Information and patient condition are transformed into
treatment.
Q7. What are the four major inputs to any operations system?
A7. Materials, labor, capital, and information.
Rationale: These are the classic resources converted into outputs.
Q8. What is the output of a university’s operations system?
A8. Educated students (knowledge and skills).
Rationale: The primary product is the value added to students.
Q9. Why is operations management important to a firm’s
strategy?
A9. It directly affects cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery – all
competitive priorities.
Rationale: Operations execution determines whether strategic
goals are met.
Q10. What is the “10 strategic decisions” framework in
operations?
A10. A list of ten key areas: product design, quality, process,
location, layout, human resources, supply chain, inventory,
,scheduling, and maintenance.
Rationale: These cover all major operational choices.
Q11. Which strategic decision involves choosing how to produce
goods or services?
A11. Process and capacity strategy.
Rationale: It defines the technology and methods used.
Q12. Which decision relates to meeting customer expectations
consistently?
A12. Quality management.
Rationale: Quality is a core competitive dimension.
Q13. What is a mission statement?
A13. A statement that defines the organization’s purpose and
reason for existence.
Rationale: It guides all strategic decisions.
Q14. How does operations strategy differ from corporate
strategy?
A14. Corporate strategy sets overall direction; operations strategy
specifies how to produce and deliver goods/services to support
that direction.
Rationale: Operations strategy is functional and aligns with
corporate.
Q15. What is productivity?
A15. The ratio of outputs (goods/services produced) to inputs
(resources used).
Rationale: It measures how efficiently resources are utilized.
Q16. What is single-factor productivity?
A16. Productivity measured using only one input, e.g., labor
, productivity = output/labor hours.
Rationale: Useful to track specific resource efficiency.
Q17. What is multifactor productivity?
A17. Productivity measured using multiple inputs, e.g.,
output/(labor + material + energy).
Rationale: Gives a broader view of overall efficiency.
Q18. What is total factor productivity?
A18. Productivity measured by all inputs combined.
Rationale: The most comprehensive measure.
Q19. Why is productivity growth important?
A19. It leads to higher profits, lower costs, and improved standard
of living.
Rationale: It is a key driver of economic competitiveness.
Q20. What is a bottleneck?
A20. The resource or step in a process that has the lowest
capacity and limits overall throughput.
Rationale: It constrains the entire system’s output.
Q21. How do you identify a bottleneck?
A21. Find the step with the longest processing time or lowest
capacity relative to demand.
Rationale: It will have work piling up in front of it.
Q22. What is capacity?
A22. The maximum output rate a process or facility can achieve
under normal conditions.
Rationale: Capacity determines the ceiling for production.
