a. Throughput
b. A variant
c. A subsidy
d. Inventory
ANSWER: d
18. __________is an example of a nondurable good.
a. An airplane
b. Software
c. Furniture
d. A dishwasher
ANSWER: b
19. Predictive analytics is used by organizations to:
a. analyze business policies through visual representations.
b. identify the best decisions for a particular situation.
c. understand past and current performance.
d. envisage the future by detecting patterns and relationships in data.
ANSWER: d
20. __________is an organization's commitment to maintain healthy communities and improve the quality of life.
a. Environmental sustainability
b. Economic sustainability
c. Social sustainability
d. Political sustainability
ANSWER: c
21. A__________is one that is no longer useful once it's used, or lasts for less than three years.
a. heavy-duty good
b. nondurable good
c. hard good
d. slow-moving consumer good
ANSWER: b
22. Which of the following statements is true of goods?
a. Goods-producing industries rely on machines and hard technology to perform work.
b. Goods-producing employees require stronger behavioral skills than physical skills.
c. The demand for goods is more difficult to predict than the demand for services.
d. Durable goods are those that are no longer useful once they are used.
ANSWER: a
23. Which of the following statements is true of operations management (OM)?
a. The application of the concepts and methods of OM is limited to the technology industry.
b. OM is the only function by which managers can directly affect the value provided to all stakeholders.
c. The activities involved in OM focus on creating value solely for external customers.
d. OM and its principles are exclusively applicable to firms that produce tangible products.
ANSWER: b
24. Ensuring consumer safety in using goods and services is an example of _____.
a. social sustainability
b. economic sustainability
c. political sustainability
d. environmental sustainability
ANSWER: a
25. __________is a key activity performed by operations managers that involves deciding the best way to assign people to work tasks and responsibilities.
a. Forecasting
b. Process design
c. Job design
d. Reengineering
ANSWER: c
26. Which of the following statements is true of service facilities?
a. They need to be in close proximity to customers.
b. They store their services as physical inventory.
c. They require employees with stronger technical skills than behavioral skills.
d. They rely more on hard technology than soft technology to perform work.
ANSWER: a
27. Purchasing is a key activity performed by operations managers that involves:
a. determining when resources such as employees and equipment should be assigned to work.
b. using technology to improve productivity and respond faster to customers.
c. coordinating the acquisition of materials, supplies, and services.
d. ensuring that goods, services, and processes will meet customer expectations and requirements.
ANSWER: c
28. Which of the following statements is true of a value chain?
a. The pre- and postservice framework of a value chain emphasizes that service is a critical component of traditional manufacturing processes.
b. The input-output framework of a value chain suggests that the value chain begins with inputs from customers.
c. A value chain solely focuses on the operations function of an organization.
d. A value chain is narrower in scope than a supply chain.
ANSWER: a
29. Service encounter design is a key activity performed by operations managers that involves:
a. managing the flow of materials, information, people, and money from suppliers to customers.