Chapter 2

Question 1

Business Process Reengineering

Answer 1

A management strategy that focuses on rethinking and redesigning workflows and business processes (the value chain) from the ground up to achieve dramatic performance improvements in cost, quality, speed and service.

Question 2

Business Processes

Answer 2

A set of activates and tasks that once completed, accomplish an organization goal or add value to a product or service.

Question 3

Contract Book

Answer 3

A written agreement that details product development factors such as responsibilities, resource commitments, budgets, time lines, and development timestones.

Question 4

Core Members

Answer 4

The members of a team who bear primary responsibility for the success of a project and who stay with a project from inception to completion.

Question 5

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Answer 5

A technique that uses IT to develop an ongoing relationship with customers to maximize the value an organization can deliver to them over time.

Question 6

Facilities Layout

Answer 6

The strategy of designing the machine-worker interface to increase operating system efficiency.

Question 7

Flexible Manufacturing

Answer 7

The set of techniques that attempt to reduce the costs associated with the product assembly process or the way services are delivered to customers.

Question 8

Functional-level Strategy

Answer 8

A plan of action to improve the ability of each of an organization’s functions to perform its tasks-specific activities in ways that add value to it’s goods and services.

Question 9

Incremental Product Innovation

Answer 9

The gradual improvement and refinement of existing products that occur over time as existing technologies are perfected.

Question 10

Inventory

Answer 10

The stock of raw materials, inputs, and component parts that an organization has on hand at a particular time.

Question 11

Just-in-time (JIT) Inventory System

Answer 11

A system in which parts or supplies arrive at an organization when they are needed, not before.

Question 12

Needs Analysis

Answer 12

An analytical tool that synthesizes customer data from a variety of sources to determine what customers want a value.

Question 13

Product Development Plan

Answer 13

A plan that specifies all the relevant information that managers need in order to decide whether to proceed with a full blown product development effort.

Question 14

Quality

Answer 14

A standard of excellence or superiority in a product or service.

Question 15

Quantum Product Innovation

Answer 15

The development of new, often radically different, kinds of goods and services because of fundamental shifts in technology brought about by pioneering discoveries.

Question 16

Six Sigma

Answer 16

A technique used to improve quality by systematically improving how value chain activities are performed and then using statistical methods to measure the improvements.

Question 17

Stage-gate Development Funnel

Answer 17

A planning model that forces managers to choose among competing projects so organization resources are not spread thinly over too many projects.

Question 18

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Answer 18

A management technique that focus’s on improving the quality of an organization’s products and services.

Question 19

Value Chain Management

Answer 19

The development of a set of functional level strategies that support a company’s business level strategy and strengthen its’s competitive advantage.

Question 20

Value Chain

Answer 20

A coordinated series or sequence of functional activities necessary to transform inputs into finished goods or services that customers want to purchase.

Question 21

Workflows

Answer 21

The automation of business processes by coordinating tasks between people and synchronizing data between systems.

Question 22

Four ways to accomplish low cost strategy

Answer 22

1. Achieve superior efficiency.
2. Achieve superior quality.
3. Achieve superior innovation, speed, and flexibility.
4. Attain superior responsiveness to customers.

Question 23

What is Value Chain made of?

Answer 23

1. Product Development Function
2. Marketing Function
3. Materials Management Function
4. Production Function
5. Sales Function
6. Customer Service Function
7. Feedback Function

Question 24

Three different methods for facilities layouts/arranging workstations

Answer 24

1. Product layout : organized around machines. Car assembly lines notorious. Fixed sequence.
2. Process Layout: workstations self contained. Provides flexibility but reduces efficiency.
3. Fixed Position Layout: Products in fixed position. Component parts in remote stations, brought to production area. Often occupied by self managed teams.