Business Operations and Marketing Strategies - Practice Questions & Verified Answers
Term Definition
Operations 1: What is operations management? The business processes that involve transformation and production. It converts
inputs into outputs and adds value through the transformation process.
Operations 2: What is the strategic role of operations To gain a long-term competitive advantage by improving productivity, efficiency and
management? quality. The two broad strategic approaches are cost leadership and product
differentiation.
Operations 3: What is cost leadership? Aiming to operate at the lowest cost in the market while remaining profitable.
Methods include economies of scale, waste reduction, technology, cheaper inputs,
outsourcing and standardised products.
Operations 4: What is product differentiation in operations? Distinguishing a good or service from competitors through product features, quality,
augmented features, expertise, time spent on service or the provider's qualifications
and experience.
Operations 5: Distinguish standardised and customised Standardised goods are mass-produced and uniform, supporting cost leadership.
goods. Customised goods are varied to meet individual customer needs, supporting
product differentiation.
Operations 6: How is operations interdependent with Marketing identifies customer needs and demand; finance funds and constrains
marketing, finance and human resources? operations; human resources recruits, trains and motivates the staff who carry out
the transformation process.
Operations 7: How does globalisation influence It allows global sourcing, offshore outsourcing, overseas expansion and economies
operations? of scale, but increases competition, exchange-rate exposure, supply-chain
dependence and quality-control risks.
Operations 8: How does technology influence operations? Technology can increase productivity, efficiency, consistency and product quality
while reducing long-term labour and material costs. Initial purchase, implementation
and retraining costs can be high.
Operations 9: What are quality expectations? Customer expectations about how well goods are designed, made and function,
and how competently services are delivered. Meeting expectations supports loyalty,
sales, profitability and competitiveness.
Operations 10: What is cost-based competition? Using operations strategies to create a cost advantage over competitors through
economies of scale, waste elimination, standardisation and automated production.
Cost reduction must not undermine quality.
Operations 11: How do government policies influence Policies involving taxation, interest rates, environmental protection, workplace
operations? relations and work health and safety can change operating costs, procedures and
business opportunities.
Operations 12: How does legal regulation influence Businesses must comply with laws relating to work health and safety, Fair Work,
operations? anti-discrimination, consumer protection and the environment. Compliance creates
costs but reduces legal and reputational risk.
Operations 13: What is environmental sustainability in Shaping operations so resources are used today without compromising their
operations? availability for future generations. Strategies include fuel-efficient technology,
reduced waste, recycling and cleaner production.
Operations 14: What is corporate social responsibility in Business actions that go beyond legal compliance to meet ethical, social and
operations? environmental responsibilities. CSR raises costs but may improve reputation, sales
and competitive advantage.
Stuvia 2026-2027
, Business Operations and Marketing Strategies - Practice Questions & Verified Answers
Operations 15: What are transformed inputs? Resources changed or converted by operations: materials, information and
customers. Example: customer information shapes a service and the customer's
needs are transformed through delivery.
Operations 16: What are transforming inputs? Resources that carry out transformation: human resources and facilities. Staff skills
and motivation affect productivity, while plant, equipment, layout and location affect
capacity and efficiency.
Operations 17: What are the four influences on the Volume, variety, variation in demand and visibility. They influence capacity, flexibility,
transformation process? costs, lead times, product range and the amount of customer contact.
Operations 18: Distinguish volume flexibility and mix Volume flexibility is the ability to increase or decrease output as demand changes.
flexibility. Mix flexibility is the ability to change the range or combination of goods and services
produced.
Operations 19: Distinguish sequencing and scheduling. Sequencing is the order in which operations activities occur. Scheduling is the time
allocated to each activity and when it will be completed.
Operations 20: What is a Gantt chart? A scheduling tool showing activities, their order and expected duration. It helps
managers plan tasks and monitor actual progress against the schedule.
Operations 21: What is critical path analysis? A scheduling method showing required tasks, their duration and order. The critical
path is the shortest time in which all necessary tasks can be completed.
Operations 22: How can operations technology be Office technology includes computers, communications and transaction systems.
classified? Manufacturing technology includes robotics, computer-aided design and computer-
aided manufacturing.
Operations 23: What is task design? Breaking the transformation process into tasks so employees can complete work
effectively. It requires a skills audit and links closely to sequencing, scheduling and
process layout.
Operations 24: What are the main process layouts? Process layout groups equipment by function; product layout arranges equipment in
production sequence; fixed-position layout brings resources to a large or immovable
product; office layout organises workstations and support equipment.
Operations 25: Distinguish monitoring, control and Monitoring measures actual performance against planned performance using KPIs.
improvement. Control takes corrective action when results differ. Improvement systematically
removes waste, inefficiency and bottlenecks.
Operations 26: What are common operations KPIs? Lead times, inventory turnover, defect rates, capacity and volume, maintenance
costs, customer complaints and warranty claims.
Operations 27: What are operations outputs? The final good or service received by the customer. Effective outputs should have
value greater than the cost of inputs and be supported by customer service and
warranties.
Operations 28: What are the six operations performance Quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, customisation and cost.
objectives?
Operations 29: How do quality, speed and dependability Quality meets design and conformance standards; speed reduces waiting and lead
improve performance? times; dependability provides consistent, reliable goods and services. Together they
support customer satisfaction and repeat sales.
Stuvia 2026-2027
Term Definition
Operations 1: What is operations management? The business processes that involve transformation and production. It converts
inputs into outputs and adds value through the transformation process.
Operations 2: What is the strategic role of operations To gain a long-term competitive advantage by improving productivity, efficiency and
management? quality. The two broad strategic approaches are cost leadership and product
differentiation.
Operations 3: What is cost leadership? Aiming to operate at the lowest cost in the market while remaining profitable.
Methods include economies of scale, waste reduction, technology, cheaper inputs,
outsourcing and standardised products.
Operations 4: What is product differentiation in operations? Distinguishing a good or service from competitors through product features, quality,
augmented features, expertise, time spent on service or the provider's qualifications
and experience.
Operations 5: Distinguish standardised and customised Standardised goods are mass-produced and uniform, supporting cost leadership.
goods. Customised goods are varied to meet individual customer needs, supporting
product differentiation.
Operations 6: How is operations interdependent with Marketing identifies customer needs and demand; finance funds and constrains
marketing, finance and human resources? operations; human resources recruits, trains and motivates the staff who carry out
the transformation process.
Operations 7: How does globalisation influence It allows global sourcing, offshore outsourcing, overseas expansion and economies
operations? of scale, but increases competition, exchange-rate exposure, supply-chain
dependence and quality-control risks.
Operations 8: How does technology influence operations? Technology can increase productivity, efficiency, consistency and product quality
while reducing long-term labour and material costs. Initial purchase, implementation
and retraining costs can be high.
Operations 9: What are quality expectations? Customer expectations about how well goods are designed, made and function,
and how competently services are delivered. Meeting expectations supports loyalty,
sales, profitability and competitiveness.
Operations 10: What is cost-based competition? Using operations strategies to create a cost advantage over competitors through
economies of scale, waste elimination, standardisation and automated production.
Cost reduction must not undermine quality.
Operations 11: How do government policies influence Policies involving taxation, interest rates, environmental protection, workplace
operations? relations and work health and safety can change operating costs, procedures and
business opportunities.
Operations 12: How does legal regulation influence Businesses must comply with laws relating to work health and safety, Fair Work,
operations? anti-discrimination, consumer protection and the environment. Compliance creates
costs but reduces legal and reputational risk.
Operations 13: What is environmental sustainability in Shaping operations so resources are used today without compromising their
operations? availability for future generations. Strategies include fuel-efficient technology,
reduced waste, recycling and cleaner production.
Operations 14: What is corporate social responsibility in Business actions that go beyond legal compliance to meet ethical, social and
operations? environmental responsibilities. CSR raises costs but may improve reputation, sales
and competitive advantage.
Stuvia 2026-2027
, Business Operations and Marketing Strategies - Practice Questions & Verified Answers
Operations 15: What are transformed inputs? Resources changed or converted by operations: materials, information and
customers. Example: customer information shapes a service and the customer's
needs are transformed through delivery.
Operations 16: What are transforming inputs? Resources that carry out transformation: human resources and facilities. Staff skills
and motivation affect productivity, while plant, equipment, layout and location affect
capacity and efficiency.
Operations 17: What are the four influences on the Volume, variety, variation in demand and visibility. They influence capacity, flexibility,
transformation process? costs, lead times, product range and the amount of customer contact.
Operations 18: Distinguish volume flexibility and mix Volume flexibility is the ability to increase or decrease output as demand changes.
flexibility. Mix flexibility is the ability to change the range or combination of goods and services
produced.
Operations 19: Distinguish sequencing and scheduling. Sequencing is the order in which operations activities occur. Scheduling is the time
allocated to each activity and when it will be completed.
Operations 20: What is a Gantt chart? A scheduling tool showing activities, their order and expected duration. It helps
managers plan tasks and monitor actual progress against the schedule.
Operations 21: What is critical path analysis? A scheduling method showing required tasks, their duration and order. The critical
path is the shortest time in which all necessary tasks can be completed.
Operations 22: How can operations technology be Office technology includes computers, communications and transaction systems.
classified? Manufacturing technology includes robotics, computer-aided design and computer-
aided manufacturing.
Operations 23: What is task design? Breaking the transformation process into tasks so employees can complete work
effectively. It requires a skills audit and links closely to sequencing, scheduling and
process layout.
Operations 24: What are the main process layouts? Process layout groups equipment by function; product layout arranges equipment in
production sequence; fixed-position layout brings resources to a large or immovable
product; office layout organises workstations and support equipment.
Operations 25: Distinguish monitoring, control and Monitoring measures actual performance against planned performance using KPIs.
improvement. Control takes corrective action when results differ. Improvement systematically
removes waste, inefficiency and bottlenecks.
Operations 26: What are common operations KPIs? Lead times, inventory turnover, defect rates, capacity and volume, maintenance
costs, customer complaints and warranty claims.
Operations 27: What are operations outputs? The final good or service received by the customer. Effective outputs should have
value greater than the cost of inputs and be supported by customer service and
warranties.
Operations 28: What are the six operations performance Quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, customisation and cost.
objectives?
Operations 29: How do quality, speed and dependability Quality meets design and conformance standards; speed reduces waiting and lead
improve performance? times; dependability provides consistent, reliable goods and services. Together they
support customer satisfaction and repeat sales.
Stuvia 2026-2027
