OM 300 EXAM 1 CHILCUTT QUESTIONS ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE
2026
What is Operations Management? - Answers the set of activities that create value in
the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs
Marketing (Essential Function) - Answers generates demand
Finance/Accounting (Essential Function) - Answers creates the product
Supply Chain - Answers A global network of organizations and activities that supply
a firm with goods and services
Members of the Supply Chain - Answers collaborate to achieve high levels of
customer satisfaction, efficiency, and competitive advantage
Why Study Operations Management? - Answers 1. one of 3 major functions of any
organization, we want to study how people organize themselves for productive
enterprise
2. We want (and need) to know how goods and services are produced
3. We want to understand what operations managers do
4. costly part of an organization
What Do Operations Managers Do? - Answers planning, organizing, staffing,
leading, controlling
Strategic Operations Management Decisions - Base - Answers people, product,
process
Strategic Operations Management Decisions - Staff - Answers quality management,
inventory management, supply chain management
Strategic Operations Management Decision - Place - Answers location, layout
Strategic Operations Management Decision - Answers Scheduling and Maintenance
Goods - Answers Manufacturers produce tangible products
Services - Answers Economic activities that typically produce an intangible product
Productivity Challenge - Answers Ratio of outputs divided by inputs
Productivity - Answers Measure of process improvement
Single-Factor Productivity - Answers Output levels relative to single input
Total Factor Productivity - Answers Output achieved with given inputs
Quality - Answers Measurement problem: may change while inputs/outputs constant
External Elements - Answers Measurement problem: may impact productivity
Challenges in Improving Service Productivity - Answers Labor intensive, focused on
unique attributes, intellectual, hard to mechanize, evaluate quality
Current OM Challenges - Answers Globalization, Supply-chain partnering,
Sustainability, Rapid product development, Mass customization, Lean operations
Challenges Facing Operations Managers - Answers 1. Develop and produce safe,
high-quality green products
2. Train, retrain, and motivate employees in a safe workplace
3. Honor stakeholder commitments
Stakeholders - Answers The people whose interests are affected by an organization's
activities
Reasons to Globalize - Answers Tangible to Intangible: reduce costs, improve supply
chain, provide better goods and services, understand markets, learn to improve
operations, attract and retain global talent
Strategies for Competitive Advantage - Answers Differentiation, Cost leadership, and
Response
, Issues in Operations Strategy - Answers Resources view, Value-chain analysis,
Porter's Five Forces model, Operating in a system with many external factors,
Constant change
Porter's Five Forces - Answers Rivalry, Threat of Substitution, Buyer power,
Supplier Power, Barriers to entry
Strategy Development and Implementation - Answers 1. Identify key success factors
2. Integrate OM with other activities
3. Build and staff the organization
Outsourcing - Answers A decision by a corporation to turn over much of the
responsibility for production to independent suppliers
Outsourcing Accelerating Due To - Answers 1. Increased technological expertise
2. More reliable and cheaper transportation
3. Rapid development and deployment of advancements in telecommunications and
computers
Outsourced Activities - Answers - Legal services
- IT services
- Travel services
- Payroll
- Production
- Surgery
Theory of Comparative Advantage - Answers If an external provider can perform
activities more productively than the purchasing firm, then the external provider
should do the work. Purchasing firm focuses on core competencies. Drives
outsourcing.
Project Characteristics - Answers Single unit. Many related activities. Difficult
production planning and inventory control. General purpose equipment. High labor
skills.
Management of Projects - Answers 1. Planning - goal setting, defining the project,
team organization
2. Scheduling - relate people, money, and supplies to specific activities and activities
to each other
3. Controlling - monitor resources, costs, quality, and budgets; revise plans and shift
resources to meet time and cost demands
Project Planning - Answers Establishing objectives, defining project, creating work
breakdown structure, determining resources, forming organization
Project Organization - Answers - Often temporary structure
- Uses specialists from entire company
- Headed by project manager (Coordinates activities, monitors schedule and costs)
- Permanent structure called 'matrix organization'
Role of Project Manager - Answers Highly visible. 1. All necessary activities are
finished in order and on time
2. The project comes in within budget
3. The project meets quality goals
4. The people assigned to the project receive motivation, direction, and information
Ethical Issue Problems - Answers Offers of gifts from contractors, pressure to alter
status reports to mask delay, false reports for charges of time and expenses, pressure
to compromise quality to meet schedules
Work Breakdown Structure - Answers 1. Project
2. Major tasks in the project
3. Subtasks in the major tasks
2026
What is Operations Management? - Answers the set of activities that create value in
the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs
Marketing (Essential Function) - Answers generates demand
Finance/Accounting (Essential Function) - Answers creates the product
Supply Chain - Answers A global network of organizations and activities that supply
a firm with goods and services
Members of the Supply Chain - Answers collaborate to achieve high levels of
customer satisfaction, efficiency, and competitive advantage
Why Study Operations Management? - Answers 1. one of 3 major functions of any
organization, we want to study how people organize themselves for productive
enterprise
2. We want (and need) to know how goods and services are produced
3. We want to understand what operations managers do
4. costly part of an organization
What Do Operations Managers Do? - Answers planning, organizing, staffing,
leading, controlling
Strategic Operations Management Decisions - Base - Answers people, product,
process
Strategic Operations Management Decisions - Staff - Answers quality management,
inventory management, supply chain management
Strategic Operations Management Decision - Place - Answers location, layout
Strategic Operations Management Decision - Answers Scheduling and Maintenance
Goods - Answers Manufacturers produce tangible products
Services - Answers Economic activities that typically produce an intangible product
Productivity Challenge - Answers Ratio of outputs divided by inputs
Productivity - Answers Measure of process improvement
Single-Factor Productivity - Answers Output levels relative to single input
Total Factor Productivity - Answers Output achieved with given inputs
Quality - Answers Measurement problem: may change while inputs/outputs constant
External Elements - Answers Measurement problem: may impact productivity
Challenges in Improving Service Productivity - Answers Labor intensive, focused on
unique attributes, intellectual, hard to mechanize, evaluate quality
Current OM Challenges - Answers Globalization, Supply-chain partnering,
Sustainability, Rapid product development, Mass customization, Lean operations
Challenges Facing Operations Managers - Answers 1. Develop and produce safe,
high-quality green products
2. Train, retrain, and motivate employees in a safe workplace
3. Honor stakeholder commitments
Stakeholders - Answers The people whose interests are affected by an organization's
activities
Reasons to Globalize - Answers Tangible to Intangible: reduce costs, improve supply
chain, provide better goods and services, understand markets, learn to improve
operations, attract and retain global talent
Strategies for Competitive Advantage - Answers Differentiation, Cost leadership, and
Response
, Issues in Operations Strategy - Answers Resources view, Value-chain analysis,
Porter's Five Forces model, Operating in a system with many external factors,
Constant change
Porter's Five Forces - Answers Rivalry, Threat of Substitution, Buyer power,
Supplier Power, Barriers to entry
Strategy Development and Implementation - Answers 1. Identify key success factors
2. Integrate OM with other activities
3. Build and staff the organization
Outsourcing - Answers A decision by a corporation to turn over much of the
responsibility for production to independent suppliers
Outsourcing Accelerating Due To - Answers 1. Increased technological expertise
2. More reliable and cheaper transportation
3. Rapid development and deployment of advancements in telecommunications and
computers
Outsourced Activities - Answers - Legal services
- IT services
- Travel services
- Payroll
- Production
- Surgery
Theory of Comparative Advantage - Answers If an external provider can perform
activities more productively than the purchasing firm, then the external provider
should do the work. Purchasing firm focuses on core competencies. Drives
outsourcing.
Project Characteristics - Answers Single unit. Many related activities. Difficult
production planning and inventory control. General purpose equipment. High labor
skills.
Management of Projects - Answers 1. Planning - goal setting, defining the project,
team organization
2. Scheduling - relate people, money, and supplies to specific activities and activities
to each other
3. Controlling - monitor resources, costs, quality, and budgets; revise plans and shift
resources to meet time and cost demands
Project Planning - Answers Establishing objectives, defining project, creating work
breakdown structure, determining resources, forming organization
Project Organization - Answers - Often temporary structure
- Uses specialists from entire company
- Headed by project manager (Coordinates activities, monitors schedule and costs)
- Permanent structure called 'matrix organization'
Role of Project Manager - Answers Highly visible. 1. All necessary activities are
finished in order and on time
2. The project comes in within budget
3. The project meets quality goals
4. The people assigned to the project receive motivation, direction, and information
Ethical Issue Problems - Answers Offers of gifts from contractors, pressure to alter
status reports to mask delay, false reports for charges of time and expenses, pressure
to compromise quality to meet schedules
Work Breakdown Structure - Answers 1. Project
2. Major tasks in the project
3. Subtasks in the major tasks
