Operations Management Exam Questions Flashcards
15/10/28 Over the years, there have been many ”new” paradigms. The most important ones during the 20’s century were Scientific management (developed by Taylor), Fordism, Toyodism, and Sociotechnology.
Describe how these paradigms relate to the following aspects (2p each, total 10p):
a) Separation of work tasks
b) Material flow
c) Worker influence
d) Reward systems
e) Teamwork
Qualitative judgment of the answer. Some ideas:
a) Taylor. Divided into very small tasks, where the operator becomes expert. Ford about the same. Toyota not really as specified, but fairly limited work content but some job rotation. Sociotechnology much more work content and job rotation.
b) All but Sociotechnology favour continuous flow systems. Soc tech favour fixed position layout and teamwork in stations.
c) Taylor and Ford do not want any worker involvement in decision-making. Toyota wants workers to be involved in Kaizen activities, but otherwise they should do what they are told. In a sociotechnology system the teams are self managed and all members have lots of influence. Consensus!
d) Taylor wanted the increased profit to be equally shared between employees and owners. Ford wanted the workers to be able to buy a Ford car, fixed salary. Toyota has a company bonus system, where employees can get several more monthly salaries extra. Sociotechnology favours team bonus.
e) In a Taylor or Ford system, the workers should not have time to discuss with their colleagues. They are very specialised and should barely keep up with the pace, but no time for chatting. Almost the same at Toyota, but more focus on the teams and the result of the team. The basic idea behind Sociotechnology is the teamwork, so that is really in focus.
October 23, 2013
Frederic Winslow Taylor very much led the development of modern production philosophy, when he invented the concept of Scientific Management.
a. Describe the basic rules of Scientific Management. In what sense do they constitute “scientific”? (5 points)
b. Relate Scientific Management to Toyota Production System and describe the main similarities and differences. (5 points)
Qualitative judgment of the answer.
a. The answer should mention the following five rules:
• Science, not rule of thumb
• Harmony, not discord
• Cooperation, not individualism
• Maximum output
• The development of each man to his greatest physical capability
The first rule explains the science part, i.e. do what you know and not what you believe!
b. Qualitative judgment. Many ideas from Scientific Management can be found in TPS. Cooperation and harmony are central. Science is not that emphasized in TPS, but more to start working and then challenge the way you are doing things and continuously improve, Kaizen. Cooperation and teamwork are definitely in TPS. Maximum output is the worst kind of waste and thus totally forbidden in TPS. Personal development is one of the cornerstones of TPS.
14/10/29
Often Lean Production (or better Toyota Production System) is considered to be something new. As presented in the course, Toyota did not invent this concept on their own.
a. Describe some of the previous theories and ideas that Toyota built further on (5 p)
b. A basic idea in Lean is to postpone the Customer Order Decoupling Point, CODP. Describe why this is important. What may be the reason for having the CODP very early? (5 p)
c. The answer should relate to some of the early gurus, such as Whitney, Taylor, Gilbreth, Ford. Also the quality people Deming and Juran are relevant. Standardized work, time study/work standards, improving tolerances, creating flow, SPC, TQM etc. are important concepts.
d. By postponing the CODP we get less variation before the CODP and the customization of products does not affect more of the flow than necessary (3p). An advantage of having the CODP earlier is when the uncertainty of customer needs is very high and we cannot start production on forecast, such as ETO (2p).
October 23, 2009 / 14.00-18.00
b) In his article, Skinner talks about ”trade-offs”. Define “trade-offs” and give an example. In what way is this example a “trade-off”? (4p)
B) Suggestion: A trade-off is a negative relationship between two competitive targets. It could be e.g. flexibility aspects related to cost, or lead time vs cost in terms of WIP.
10/01/14
b) In his article, Skinner discusses the “Millstone effect”. What does he mean by that
“When companies fail to recognize the relationship between manufacturing decisions and corporate strategy, they may become saddled with seriously noncompetitive production systems which are expensive and time-consuming to change.” In other words: lack of links between manufacturing and corporate strategies.
October 22, 2010 / 14.00-18.00 b) Why was Wick Skinner upset in 1969? Develop your answer!!! (4 points)
He blamed American industry for the reduction in competitiveness by gradually having diminished the importance of production. Compare with the high status of production in the beginning of the 20th century, but in the 60ths production was not even represented in the company board rooms. USA had not taken care of talented researchers, such as Deming and Juran, who instead went to Japan and taught them how to improve production. This became more sever around 1965 when markets had become mature and industry had to go from mass production to enormous markets to competing and trying to sell over-production.
In Toyota Production System, there are some keyboards , which are central to the whole concepts Describe
a. Tack time
b. Pull System
c. SMED
d. Poka-yoke
e. Andon
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