Class 1

Question 1

Define: Operations Management

Answer 1

The management of the processes or systems within a business that are responsible for the actual creation of goods or provision of services

Question 2

Define: Competitiveness

Answer 2

Ability and performance of an organization in the marketplace compared to other organizations that offer similar goods or services

Question 3

Define: Strategy

Answer 3

the long term plans that determine the direction an organization takes to become (or remain) competitive

Question 4

Define: Operations Strategy

Answer 4

The approach used to guide the operations function

Question 5

Define: Productivity

Answer 5

Measure of productive use of resources, usually expressed as the ratio of output to input

Question 6

Describe mission, vision, goals, strategy, and tactics

Answer 6

mission - the reason for existence of an organization
vision - a shared perception of an organizations future
goals - specific targets that provide substance to the overall mission
strategies - plans that determine the direction for achieving organizational goals
tactics - medium term objectives, methods, or actions used to accomplish strategies

Question 7

What is the difference between “order qualifiers” and “order winners”?

Answer 7

order qualifiers - purchasing criteria that customers perceive as minimum standards of acceptability to be considered for purchase
order winners - purchasing criteria that cause the organization to be perceived as better than the competition

Question 8

Name and describe the responsibilities of an operations manager

Answer 8

Planning - capacity, location, products/services, make/buy, layout, projects, scheduling
Organizing - degree of centralization, process selection
Staffing - hiring/layoff, use of overtime
Directing - scheduling incentive plans, work orders, job assignments
Controlling/Improving - inventory, quality, costs, productivity

Question 9

Equation for productivity growth

Answer 9

PG=(current productivity-previous productivity)/previous productivity

Question 10

Calculate: a) if I use 4L of gas to cut 12 lawns, what id my productivity?

b) If the lawn mower gets tuned up and now I use 2L for 8 lawns, what is the productivity growth?
c) If I pay $1.25/L for gas and labour is worth $10 per lawn, what is the multifactor productivity after tune up?
d) If total costs for grass cutting consist of gas at $1.25/L, labour at $10/lawn, and blade sharpening at $40/20 lawns, what is total productivity?

Answer 10

a) P=12 lawns/4L=3 lawns/L
b) PG= (4-3)/3= 1/3= 33%
c) MP= 8 lawns/ [(2x$1.25) + (8x$10)]= 8/$82.50= 1 lawn/$10.31
d) TP= 20 lawns/[(2Lx$1.25x2.5) + ($10x20) + $40]= 20 lawns/$246.25= $12.31/lawn