Name:______
Section:______
Final Exam
BA 301
Spring 2002
S.K. Norman
BLUE Version
1
Final Exam Spring 2002
3 Points each
1. When deciding whether or not to outsource, which of the following is a reason for NOT outsourcing?
a. lower production cost
b. inadequate capacity
c. reduce inventory costs
d. management can focus on its primary business
e. to reduce labor requirements
2. Advantages of the postponement technique typically include
a. early customization of the product
b. better quality of the product
c. reduction in training costs
d. reduction in inventory investment
e. reduction in automation
3. Planning tasks associated with job scheduling, machine loading, and dispatching typically fall under
a. long-range plans
b. intermediate-range plans
c. short-range plans
d. mission-related planning
e. strategic planning
4. Which of the following statements regarding project management is false?
a. Project management differs from the management of more traditional activities due to the limited lifetime of projects.
b. Dummy activities are added to paths to make all paths of equal length, analogous to adding slack variables in linear programming.
c. A Gantt chart contains no precedence relationships, but may be useful for simple projects.
d. Dummy activities consume no time.
e. Slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project, assuming its preceding activities are completed as early as possible.
5. Which of the following products is likely to be assembled on an assembly line?
a. custom furniture
b. beer
c. sugar
d. television sets
e. paper
6. A bill-of-materials lists the
a. production schedules for all products
b. components, ingredients, and materials required to produce an item
c. operations required to produce an item
d. components, ingredients, materials and assembly operations required to produce an item
e. times needed to perform all phases of production
7. All of the following decisions fall within the scope of operations management except for
a. analyzing the financial position of the firm
b. designing a new assembly line
c. determining the location of a new distribution center
d. improving the quality of the product
e. creating a preventive maintenance program
8. Decision trees
a. give more accurate solutions than decision tables
b. give less accurate solutions than decision tables
c. are rarely used because one needs specialized software to graph them
d. are especially powerful when a sequence of decisions must be made
e. are too complex to be used by decision makers
9. Which of the following services is not unique, i.e., customized to a particular individual's needs?
a. hairdressing
b. elementary education
c. legal services
d. dental care
e. computer consulting
10. The owner of Cracker’s Computer Store is considering what to do with his business over the next five years. Sales growth could grow substantially if a major electronics firm is built in his area as proposed. The owner see three options: 1) enlarge his current store 2) relocate to a new site, 3) wait and do nothing. The likelihood that the electronics firm will locate in his area and cause a substantial increase in sales is 0.55. Of the tools we have studied in this class, the most appropriate for analyzing this situation is:
a. Decision trees
b. Linear programming
c. Forecasting
d. Simulation
e. Waiting-line analysis
11. Aggregate planning is capacity planning for
a. the long range
b. the intermediate range
c. the short range
d. typically one to three months
e. typically one or more years
12. Miller Brewing Company produces beer. Beer is brewed, bottled, packaged, and shipped on one long production line. This is an example of a ______process.
a. job shop
b. batch
c. assembly line
d. continuous flow
e. virtual
13. Bratt's Bed and Breakfast, in a small historic New England town, must decide how to subdivide (remodel) the large old home that will become their inn. There are three alternatives: Option A would modernize all baths and combine rooms, leaving the inn with four suites, each suitable for two to four adults each. Option B would modernize only the second floor; the results would be six suites, four for two to four adults, two for two adults only. Option C (the status quo option) leaves all walls intact. In this case, there are eight rooms available, but only two are suitable for four adults, and four rooms will not have private baths. Below is the decision tree. Which is the best decision and expected payoff for Bratt’s Bed and Breakfast?
a. A, $90,000
b. A, $43,500
c. B, $73,000
d. B, $80,000
e. B, $150,000
14. Which one of the following is not an operating characteristic used to measure the performance of a waiting line?
a. average length of the queue
b. average number of customers in the system
c. server utilization
d. average time in the system
e. arrival rate
15. In linear programming, a statement such as the “number of available labor hours is 600” becomes part of a
a. constraint
b. slack variable
c. objective function
d. violation of linearity
e. decision variable
16. Which of the following statements regarding project crashing is FALSE?
a. Crashing is not effective when applied to tasks with zero slack.
b. Crashing shortens the length of the critical path.
c. Crashing can be achieved by utilizing alternative processes.
d. Crashing can be achieved by utilizing higher technology
e. Crashing can be achieved by adding labor.
17. 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 percent defective of each lot
e. are a record of rejected parts
18. An airline ticket counter, with several agents for one line of customers is an example of a
a. single channel, single phase system
b. single channel, multi-phase system
c. multi-channel, single phase system
d. multi-channel, multi-phase system
e. multi-channel, balking system
19. The three parts of a waiting-line system are:
a. arrivals, waiting line, service facility
b. supplier, manufacturing, distribution
c. parts, waiting line, distribution
d. waiting line, queue discipline, utilization
e. input, programming, output
20. Which of the following statements regarding critical paths is true?
a. The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path.
b. Some activities on the critical path may have slack.
c. Every network has exactly one critical path.
d. The critical path is the shortest amount of time necessary to complete the project.
e. The duration of the critical path is the average duration of all paths in the project network.
21. There are two types of demand – independent and dependent. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. Dependent demand is forecasted.
b. A manufacturer produces tricycles. The demand for the wheels is dependent demand.
c. A manufacturer produces tricycles. The demand for the tricycles is independent.
d. MRP systems are to determine demand for items with dependent demand.
e. Exponential smoothing is used to determine independent demand.
22. Which of the following is not an effectiveness criterion for scheduling?
a. minimizing customer waiting time
b. minimizing completion time
c. maximizing flow time
d. minimizing WIP inventory
e. maximizing utilization
23. The planning tasks associated with staffing, production, inventory, and sub-contracting levels typically fall under
a. long-range plans
b. intermediate-range plans
c. short-range plans
d. demand options
e. strategic planning
24. A master production schedule contains information about
a. quantities and required delivery dates of final products
b. quantities and required delivery dates of all sub-assemblies
c. inventory on hand for each final product
d. inventory on hand for each sub-assembly
e. scheduled receipts for each final product
25. A product's life cycle is divided into four stages, which include all BUT
a. introduction
b. research and development
c. growth
d. maturity
e. decline
26. Jack’s Toys is creating a production plan. Jack’s Toys produces 3 models of stuffed animals – a teddy bear, a kitten, and a monkey. The profits are $5, $3, $7, respectively. There are 2000 labor hours available next month. There are 1000 pounds of stuffing of which the teddy bear requires ½ pound, the kitten ¼ pound, and the monkey requires ¾ pound. Which of the following tools is the most appropriate to apply?
a. Decision trees
b. Linear programming
c. Forecasting
d. Simulation
e. Waiting-line analysis
27. Which of the following aggregate planning strategies is a "demand option"?
a. sub-contracting
b. varying production levels
c. changing inventory levels
d. changing price
e. using part-time workers
28. Which of the following is generally found in most JIT environments?
a. push systems
b. pull systems
c. a push or pull system, depending upon the rate of demand
d. a push system for high margin items and a pull system for low margin items
e. a push system for purchased parts and a pull system for manufactured parts
29. Which of the following is not a benefit of small production lots?
a. work-in-process inventory is smaller
b. workstations can be placed closer together
c. manufacturing cycle time is smaller
d. fewer setups
e. better product distribution (i.e. mix) available for customer demand
30. Dummy activities used in PERT/CPM. Which of the following is NOT true?
a. Dummy activities are used to indicate a zero-length activity duration
b. Dummy activities are used because no two activities can have the same starting and ending nodes
c. Dummy activities are used to ensure that the network properly reflects the project under consideration
d. Dummy acitivities are used to represent activity predecessors.
e. Dummy activities are used to represent only activities on the critical path.
31. Which of the following is an example of competing on the basis of differentiation?
a. A firm manufactures its product with less raw material waste than its competitors.
b. A firm's products are introduced into the market faster than its competitors'.
c. A firm's distribution network routinely delivers its product on time.
d. A firm offers more reliable products than its competitors.
e. A firm advertises more than its competitors.
32. Time series data may exhibit all of the following behaviors except ______.
a. random variations
b. seasonality
c. cycles
d. trend
e. maximization
33. In level scheduling, what is kept uniform from month to month?
a. product mix
b. inventory levels
c. demand levels
d. production/workforce levels
e. sub-contracting levels
34. A material requirements plan contains information with regard to all of the following except
a. quantities and required delivery dates of all sub-assemblies
b. quantities and required delivery dates of final products
c. inventory on hand for each final product
d. the capacity needed to provide the projected output rate
e. inventory on hand for each sub-assembly
35. A sample of 10 parts is measured. The mean of this sample is in the middle of the control limits, but some individual parts measure below the lower control limit and other parts measure higher than the upper control limit. 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. More information is needed to make a statement.
36. A quality circle holds a brainstorming session and attempts to identify the factors responsible for poor on-time delivery. Which tool do you suggest they use to organize their findings?
a. fish-bone diagram
b. Pareto chart
c. process chart
d. control charts
a. activity chart
37. Which one of the following is not a supply-chain strategy?
a. negotiation with many suppliers
b. short-term relationships with few suppliers
c. vertical integration
d. keiretsu
e. virtual companies
38. Which one of the following is not a requirement of JIT systems?
a. quality deliveries on time
b. strong job specialization
c. low setup time
d. training support
e. employee empowerment
39. Which of the following is an aid used to monitor jobs in process?
a. Shortest processing time priority rule
b. a Gantt schedule chart
c. the assignment method
d. Johnson's Rule
e. consecutive days-off schedule
- For the two constraints given below, which point is a feasible solution?
(1) 14x + 6y 42 (2) x - y 3
a. x = 1, y = 5
b. x = -1, y = 1
c. x = 4, y = 4
d. x = 2, y = 1
f. x = 2, y = 8
41. One of the disadvantages of simulation is that it
a. does not allow for very complex problem solutions
b. is not very flexible
c. is very limited in the type of probability distribution that can be used
d. is a trial and error approach that may produce different solutions in different runs
e. interferes with the production systems while the program is being run
42. ABC analysis is based upon the principle that
a. all items in inventory must be monitored very closely
b. an item is critical if its usage is high
c. there are usually a few critical items, and many items which are less critical
d. the safety stock (in terms of volume) should be higher for A items than for C items
e. an item is critical if its unit price is high
43. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Forecasts become more accurate with shorter time horizons.
b. Forecasts are more accurate for individual models (Ford F-150) rather than product families (Ford trucks).
c. Regressions analysis produces more accurate forecasts than moving average.
d. A 6-month moving average forecast will always be more accurate than a 3-month moving average forecast.