OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT (MSIS 301)

STUDY GUIDE FINAL EXAM

Exam may require a calculator, pencil, pen and plain sheets paper. Answer fill-in questions in the
spaces provided. Please prepare for chapters 15, 6 and 6s for the final exam. Also, prepare for the
overview questions. You do not need to study the whole chapters of the overview questions.

OVERVIEW QUESTIONS
1) In which stages of a product's life cycle does cost minimization become critical? (identify both)
A) decline
B) retirement of product
C) maturity
D) A or C
E) growth
See page125-127
2) Effective capacity is the
A) minimum usable capacity of a particular facility
B) sum of all of the organization's inputs
C) capacity a firm expects to achieve given the current operating constraints
D) average output that can be achieved under ideal conditions
E) maximum output of a system in a given period
See pages 228-229
3) Design capacity is the
A) capacity a firm expects to achieve given the current operating constraints
B) maximum usable capacity of a particular facility
C) maximum theoretical output of a system in a given period under ideal conditions
D) actual production over a specified time period
E) average output that can be achieved under ideal conditions
See pages 228-229
4) Inspection, scrap, and repair are examples of
A) costs of dissatisfaction
B) prevention costs
C) external costs
D) internal costs
E) societal costs
See chapter 6
5) Which of the following is most likely to affect the location strategy of a manufacturing firm?
A) utility and labor costs of employees
B) purchasing power of drawing area
C) parking availability
D) competition in the area
E) appearance/image of the area

First name, Last name: _______________________________

ID: _________________________

See pages 250--251

CHAPTER 15: SHORT TERM SCHEDULING

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.

Which of the following best describes the strategic importance of short-term scheduling?
a. Effective scheduling, through lower costs, faster delivery, and more dependable schedules, can
provide a competitive advantage.
b. Effective scheduling is a tactical tool for increasing demand to meet production.
c. Forward scheduling looks to future demand levels in order to increase customer satisfaction.
d. Aggregate planning is a tactical action, but short-term scheduling is strategic because of its
immense impact on costs.
e. Short-term scheduling matches capacity to demand during the short term, three to eighteen months
into the future.

2.

The sequence of decisions that affect scheduling is

a. short termintermediate termlong term
b. capacity planningaggregate planningmaster scheduleshort-term schedules
c. strategic decisionstactical decisionsoperational decisions
d. forward decisionscurrent decisionsbackward decisions
e. none of the above

3.

Forward scheduling is the scheduling of

a. the end items or finished products
b. jobs as soon as the requirements are known
c. the start items or component parts
d. the final operation first beginning with the due date
e. jobs according to their profit contributions

4.

Which scheduling technique should be employed when due dates are important for a job order?
a. forward scheduling
b. loading
c. dispatching
d. backward scheduling
e. master scheduling

5.

Which of the following is not an effectiveness criterion for scheduling?

a. minimizing customer waiting time
b. minimizing completion time
c. minimizing WIP inventory
d. maximizing utilization
e. maximizing flow time

6.

The four criteria for short-term scheduling

a. are of equal importance
b. include maximize completion time and minimize utilization
c. are applied simultaneously
d. may have different levels of importance, depending on circumstances
e. All of the above are true.

First name, Last name: _______________________________

ID: _________________________

7.

Scheduling is rather straightforward in product-focused facilities because

a. kanban automates the scheduling of the assembly line
b. demand is reasonably stable, and capacities, set-up times, and run times are generally known
c. assembly line balancing assures the highest possible production efficiency
d. finite capacity scheduling has made MRP much more realistic
e. All of the above are true.

8.

The short-term scheduling activity called loading

a. assigns dates to specific jobs or operations steps
b. specifies the order in which jobs should be done at each center
c. assigns jobs to work centers
d. assigns workers to jobs
e. assigns workers to machines

9.

A scheduling technique used to achieve optimum, one-to-one matching of tasks and resources is
a. the assignment method
b. Johnson's rule
c. the CDS algorithm
d. the appointment method
e. the reservation method

10.

Which of the following is an aid used to monitor jobs in process?

a. a Gantt load chart
b. the assignment method
c. a Gantt schedule chart
d. Johnson's rule
e. none of the above

11.

If an assignment problem consists of 6 workers and 7 projects,

a. one worker will not get a project assignment
b. one worker will be assigned two projects
c. each worker will contribute work toward the seventh project
d. one project will not get a worker assigned
e. The problem cannot be solved by assignment method.

12.

Orders are processed in the sequence in which they arrive if (the) ______ rule sequences the jobs.
a. earliest due date
b. slack time remaining
c. first come, first served
d. critical ratio
e. Johnson's

13.

Which of the following dispatching rules ordinarily gives the best results when the criterion is lowest
time for completion of the full sequence of jobs?
a. shortest processing time (SPT)
b. critical ratio (CR)
c. first in, first out (FIFO)
d. first come, first served (FCFS)
e. longest processing time

First name, Last name: _______________________________

14.

Five jobs are waiting to be processed. Their processing times and due dates are given below. Using the
shortest processing time dispatching rule, in which order should the jobs be processed?
Job
Processing Time (days)
Job due date (days)
A
4
7
B
7
4
C
8
11
D
3
5
E
5
8
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

15.

ID: _________________________

A, B, C, D, E
C, E, A, D, B
B, D, A, E, C
D, A, E, B, C
C, E, A, D, B

Five jobs are waiting to be processed. Their processing times and due dates are given below. Using the
earliest due date dispatching rule, in which order should the jobs be processed?
Job
A
B
C
D
E
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Processing Time (days)

4
2
8
3
5

Job due date (days)

7
4
11
5
8

C, E, A, D, B
A, B, C, D, E
B, D, A, E, C
C, B, A, E, D
none of the above

16.

Flow time represents the time

a. an order spends waiting for processing at a work center
b. an order spends being processed at a work center
c. an order spends moving from one work center to another
d. to complete an order, including time spent in processing and in waiting
e. none of the above

17.

Average completion time for a schedule sequence at a work center is the ratio of
a. total processing time to the number of jobs
b. total flow time to total processing time
c. total flow time to the number of jobs
d. total processing time plus total late time to the number of jobs
e. total flow time plus total late time to the number of jobs

First name, Last name: _______________________________

ID: _________________________

18.

Eight jobs have been sequenced at a single work center. Total processing time for the eight jobs is 34
hours and total flow time for the sequence is 85 hours. For this schedule, utilization is ______ and
average jobs in the system is ________.
a. 100 percent; 10.625
b. low; .0941
c. 0.400 or 40 percent; 2.5
d. 0.235 or 23.5 percent; 4.25
e. maximized; minimized

19.

Which of the following is an advantage of the FCFS dispatching rule when used in services?
a. FCFS is easy to update.
b. FCFS minimizes the average number of jobs in the system.
c. FCFS minimizes the average lateness of all jobs.
d. FCFS maximizes the number of jobs completed on time.
e. FCFS seems fair to customers.

20.

Which of the following is false regarding services scheduling?

a. The scheduling emphasis is on staffing levels, not machines and materials.
b. Reservations and appointments are often used to manipulate the demand for services.
c. Yield management is a powerful tool for manipulating supply.
d. Labor use is intensive, and labor demand can be highly variable.
e. Scheduling can be complicated by behavioral and social issues.

FILL-IN-THE BLANK
21.

__________ scheduling begins with the due date and schedules the final operation first and the other
job steps in reverse order.

22.

In the sequence of decisions that affect scheduling, __________ is (are) the immediate follower of the
master schedule (or master production schedule).

23.

Because facility capacity, set-up time, and run time are usually known, scheduling is often
straightforward in _______ facilities.

24.

__________ is the assignment of jobs to work or processing centers.

25.

The ______________ is a special class of linear programming models that involves assigning tasks or
jobs to resources.

26.

________ determines the order in which jobs should be done at each work center.

CHAPTER 6: MANAGING QUALITY

1.

Arnold Palmer Hospital uses which of the following quality management techniques?
a. Pareto charts
b. flow charts
c. benchmarking

First name, Last name: _______________________________

ID: _________________________

d. Just-in-Time
e. The hospital uses all of the above techniques.
2.

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between quality management and
product strategy?
a. Product strategy is set by top management; quality management is an independent activity.
b. Quality management is important to the low-cost product strategy, but not to the response or
differentiation strategies.
c. High quality is important to all three strategies, but it is not a critical success factor.
d. Managing quality helps build successful product strategies.
e. Companies with the highest measures of quality were no more productive than other firms.

3.

"Quality is defined by the customer" is

a. an unrealistic definition of quality
b. a user-based definition of quality
c. a manufacturing-based definition of quality
d. a product-based definition of quality
e. the definition proposed by the American Society for Quality

4.

Three broad categories of definitions of quality are

a. product quality, service quality, and organizational quality
b. user-based, manufacturing-based, and product-based
c. internal, external, and prevention
d. low-cost, response, and differentiation
e. Pareto, Shewhart, and Deming

5.

According to the manufacturing-based definition of quality,

a. quality is the degree of excellence at an acceptable price and the control of variability at an
acceptable cost
b. quality depends on how well the product fits patterns of consumer preferences
c. even though quality cannot be defined, you know what it is
d. quality is the degree to which a specific product conforms to standards
e. quality lies in the eyes of the beholder

6.

Which of the following is not one of the major categories of costs associated with quality?
a. prevention costs
b. appraisal costs
c. internal failures
d. external failures
e. none of the above; they are all major categories of costs associated with quality

7.

The philosophy of zero defects is

a. the result of Deming's research
b. unrealistic
c. prohibitively costly
d. an ultimate goal; in practice, 1 to 2% defects is acceptable
e. consistent with the commitment to continuous improvement

First name, Last name: _______________________________

ID: _________________________

8.

Stakeholders who are affected by the production and marketing of poor quality products include
a. stockholders, employees, and customers
b. suppliers and creditors, but not distributors
c. only stockholders, creditors, and owners
d. suppliers and distributors, but not customers
e. only stockholders and organizational executives and managers

9.

ISO 9000 seeks standardization in terms of

a. products
b. production procedures
c. suppliers' specifications
d. procedures to manage quality
e. all of the above

10.

Which of the following is true about ISO 14000 certification?

a. It is not a prerequisite for ISO 9000 certification.
b. It deals with environmental management.
c. It offers a good systematic approach to pollution prevention.
d. One of its core elements is life-cycle assessment.
e. All of the above are true.

11.

Which of the following is true about ISO 14000 certification?

a. It is a prerequisite for ISO 9000 certification.
b. It indicates a higher level of adherence to standards than ISO 9000.
c. It is only sought by companies exporting their goods.
d. It deals with environmental management.
e. It is of little interest to European companies.

12.

To become ISO 9000 certified, organizations must

a. document quality procedures
b. have an onsite assessment
c. have an ongoing series of audits of their products or service
d. all of the above
e. none of the above

13.

Total quality management emphasizes

a. the responsibility of the quality control staff to identify and solve all quality-related problems
b. a commitment to quality that goes beyond internal company issues to suppliers and customers
c. a system where strong managers are the only decision makers
d. a process where mostly statisticians get involved
e. ISO 14000 certification

14.

Which of the following statements regarding "Six Sigma" is true?

a. The term has two distinct meaningsone is statistical; the other is a comprehensive system.
b. Six Sigma means that about 99 percent of a firm's output is free of defects.
c. The Six Sigma program was developed by Toyota in the 1970s.

First name, Last name: _______________________________

ID: _________________________

d. The Six Sigma program is for manufacturing firms, and is not applicable to services.
e. Six Sigma certification is granted by the International Standards Organization (ISO).
15.

The "four Ms" of cause-and-effect diagrams are

a. material, machinery/equipment, manpower, and methods
b. material, methods, men, and mental attitude
c. named after four quality experts
d. material, management, manpower, and motivation
e. none of the above

16.

Among the tools of TQM, the tool ordinarily used to aid in understanding the sequence of events
through which a product travels is a
a. Pareto chart
b. process chart
c. check sheet
d. Taguchi map
e. poka-yoke

17.

The process improvement technique that sorts the "vital few" from the "trivial many" is
a. Taguchi analysis
b. Pareto analysis
c. benchmarking
d. Deming analysis
e. Yamaguchi analysis

18.

A production manager at a pottery factory has noticed that about 70 percent of defects result from
impurities in raw materials, 15 percent result from human error, 10 percent from machine malfunctions,
and 5 percent from a variety of other causes. This manager is most likely using
a. a Pareto chart
b. a scatter diagram
c. a Taguchi loss function
d. a cause and effect diagram
e. a flow chart

19.

A customer service manager at a retail clothing store has collected numerous customer complaints from
the forms they fill out on merchandise returns. To analyze trends or patterns in these returns, she has
organized these complaints into a small number of categories. This is most closely related to the
____________ tool of TQM.
a. Taguchi loss function
b. cause and effect diagram
c. scatter diagram
d. histogram
e. process control chart

20.

A manager tells her production employees, "It's no longer good enough that your work fall anywhere

First name, Last name: _______________________________

ID: _________________________

within the specification limits. I need your work to be as close to the target value as possible." Her
thinking is reflective of
a. internal benchmarking
b. Six Sigma
c. ISO 9000
d. Taguchi concepts
e. process control charts

SUPPLEMENT 6: STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.

If a sample of items is taken and the mean of the sample is outside the control limits the process is
a. out of control and the cause should be established
b. in control, but not capable of producing within the established control limits
c. within the established control limits with only natural causes of variation
d. monitored closely to see if the next sample mean will also fall outside the control limits
e. producing high quality products

2.

The causes of variation in statistical process control are

a. cycles, trends, seasonality, and random variations
b. producer's causes and consumer's causes
c. mean and range
d. natural causes and assignable causes
e. Type I and Type II

3.

Natural variations
a. affect almost every production process
b. are the many sources of variation that occur when a process is under control
c. when grouped, form a pattern, or distribution
d. are tolerated, within limits, when a process is under control
e. All of the above are true.

4.

Natural variations
a. are variations that are to be identified and eliminated
b. are variations that can be traced to a specific cause
c. are the same as assignable variations
d. lead to occasional false findings that processes are out of control
e. play no role in statistical process control

First name, Last name: _______________________________

ID: _________________________

5.

Assignable variation
a. is a sign that a process is under control
b. is to be identified and eliminated
c. is the same as random variation
d. is variation that cannot be traced to a specific cause
e. leads to a steep OC curve

6.

Assignable causes
a. are not as important as natural causes
b. are within the limits of a control chart
c. depend on the inspector assigned to the job
d. are also referred to as "chance" causes
e. are causes of variation that can be identified and removed

7.

Control charts for variables are based on data that come from
a. acceptance sampling
b. individual items
c. averages of small samples
d. averages of large samples
e. the entire lot

8.

The purpose of an X chart is to determine whether there has been a

a. gain or loss in uniformity
b. change in the percent defective in a sample
c. change in the central tendency of the process output
d. change in the number of defects in a sample
e. change in the AOQ

9.

Statistical process control charts

a. display the measurements on every item being produced
b. display upper and lower limits for process variables or attributes, and signal when a process is no
longer in control
c. indicate to the process operator the average outgoing quality of each lot
d. indicate to the operator the true quality of material leaving the process
e. none of the above

10.

A sample of parts is measured. The mean of this sample is in the middle of the control limits, but some
individual parts measure too low for design specifications and other parts measure too high. Which of
the following is true?
a. The process is out of control, and the cause should be established.
b. The process is in control, but not capable of producing within the established control limits.
c. The process is within the established control limits with only natural causes of variation.
d. The process is outside the established control limits with only natural causes of variation.
e. The process is in control, and there is nothing to worry about.

11.

The type of inspection that classifies items as being either good or defective is

10

First name, Last name: _______________________________

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
12.

ID: _________________________

variable inspection
attribute inspection
fixed inspection
all of the above
none of the above

The x-bar chart tells us whether there has been a

a. gain or loss in dispersion
b. change in the percent defective in a sample
c. change in the central tendency of the process output
d. change in the number of defects in a sample
e. none of the above
ESSAY PROBLEMS:
Review the in-class exercises for SPC charts and quality management tools
Review the textbook example on pages 467-468 (Short-term scheduling)
Please review class teaching slides and all in-class problems and examples.

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