Ch 1: Introduction to Operations Management

Question 1

What is Operations Management?

Answer 1

Activities that relate to the creation of good and services through transformation of inputs to outputs

So really all those activities involved in transforming inputs to output.

Question 2

What is production?

Answer 2

The creation of goods and services.
(Direct)

Question 3

To create good and services, all organization perform 3 functions:

Answer 3

1. Marketing: generates demand, or at least takes the order for a product/service (nothing happens until their is a sale).
2. Production/operations: creates the product.
3. Finance/accounting: tracks how well org. is doing, pays the bills, and collects the money.

Question 4

Why study OM?

Answer 4

1. It is one of the three major functions of any organization( M,F,OM) and it is integrally related to all the other business functions.
2. We study OM because we want to know how goods and services are produced.
3. We want to understand what OM managers do.
4. It is a costly part of an organization

Question 5

What do OM Managers do?

Answer 5

The basic management process:
Planning
Organizing
Staffing
Leading
Controlling

Question 6

Where are the OM Jobs?

Answer 6

Plant Manager
Operations Analyst
Quality Management

Question 7

What are the 10 Decisions in OM

Answer 7

1. Design of Goods and Services
2. Managing Quality
3. Process and Capacity Design
4. Location Strategy
5. Layout Strategy
6. Human Resources and Job Design
7. Supply-chain management
8. Inventory, material requirements planning, and JIT
9. Intermediate and short-term Scheduling
10. Maintenance

Question 8

Name the five main contributors to OM

Answer 8

Eli Whitney-

Frederick W. Taylor

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth

Henry Ford

W. Edwards Deming

Question 9

Eli Witney (1765-1825)

Answer 9

Popularization of interchangeable parts through standardization and quality control.

Question 10

Frederick Taylor- 1856-1915

Answer 10

Father of Scientific Management

-Contributed to personnel selection, planning and scheduling, motion study and ergonomics

-Him and other colleagues develop the best way to produce

Management should take more responsibility for:
-Matching employees to the right job

-Providing the proper training

-Provide proper work methods and tools

-Establishing legitimate incentives for work to be accomplished

Question 11

Henry Ford and Charles Sorensen

Answer 11

Standardized parts with quasi-assembly lines and ultimately added the revolutionary concept of assembly line- where men stood still and material moved.

Question 12

Walter Shewart (1924)

Answer 12

Combined his knowledge of statistics with the need for quality control and provided the foundations for statistical sampling in quality control.

Question 13

W. Edwards Deming (1950)

Answer 13

Believed management should do more to improve the work environment and processes so that quality can be improved.

Question 14

Differences between goods and services

Answer 14

Services are intangible, knowledge based, frequently dispersed

Question 15

exciting new trends in OM

Answer 15

Ethics

Global Focus

Rapid Product
Development

Environmentally sensitive

Production
Mass

Customization

Empowered Employees

Supply chain Partnering

Just-in-time Performance

Question 16

Ethics and Social Responsibility

Answer 16

Ethical Challenges:
Efficiency developing safe, quality products

Maintaining a safe workplace

Maintaining a sustainable environment

Honoring stakeholder

Question 17

What are the 3 productivity variables?

Answer 17

Labour- Variables manpower
Education, diet, social costs that make labor available-transportation and sanitation.

Capital- tool
Management

Question 18

Productivity

Answer 18

the ratio of outputs divided by inputs