A written agreement that details factors such as responsibilities, resource commitments, budgets, time lines, and development milestones is referred to as a _____.
product development plan
contract book
loan agreement
pay slip
company bond
...
The materials management function controls the movement of physical materials from the procurement of
inputs through production and to distribution and delivery to the customer.
True
False
...
The _____ plan specifies all of the relevant information that managers need to decide whether to go ahead with a full-blown product development effort.
product development
value chain
product positioning
process reengineering
quality control
...
According to TQM philosophy, the _____, not the _____ in quality control or engineering, define what quality is.
managers; customers
customers; managers
employees; managers
managers; employees
employees; customers
...
Product development is the management of the value chain activities involved in bringing new
or improved goods and services to the market.
True
False
...
People often respond poorly to greater autonomy and responsibility; the use of empowered self-managed teams decrease productivity and efficiency.
True
False
...
The gradual improvement and refinement of existing products over time as
existing technologies are perfected are called incremental product innovations.
True
False
...
A _____ is a plan of action to improve the ability of each of an organization's departments to perform its task-specific activities in ways that add value to an organization's goods and services.
corporate-level strategy
divisional-level strategy
functional-level strategy
business-level strategy
branch-level strategy
...
Which of the following is true about the impact of information systems and the Internet on companies in general?
It has resulted in reduced efficiency.
It has resulted in escalated costs.
It has increased the number of employees required to handle customer or supplier interactions.
It has increased the time required to handle requests or queries.
It has allowed for production scheduling to provide components on a just-in-time basis.
...
Innovation refers to producing goods and services that have attributes—such as design, styling, performance, and reliability—that customers perceive as being superior to those found in competing products.
True
False
...
The goods and products manufactured using fundamental shifts in technology as a result of pioneering discoveries are termed:
quantum process innovations.
quantum product innovations.
incremental product innovations.
incremental process innovations.
process reengineering strategies.
...
In order to design for ease of production, a company should:
adopt a challenging quality goal.
design products that have fewer component parts.
increase the average number of customer queries solved per day.
decrease the number of employees performing a particular task.
create an additional product to be supplied with a main product.
...
A technique that forces managers to choose among competing projects so functional resources are not spread thinly over too many projects is referred to as:
brainstorming.
a stage-gate development funnel.
process reengineering.
a product development plan.
a project development plan.
...
_____ is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business procedures to achieve dramatic improvements in critical measures of performance such as cost, quality, service, and speed.
Product reengineering
Product research
Process reengineering
Flexible manufacturing
Efficiency monitoring
...
According to total quality management philosophy, quality is defined by the managers involved in quality control or engineering.
True
False
...
Incremental product innovation results in the development of new, often radically different, kinds of goods and services because of fundamental shifts in technology brought about by pioneering discoveries.
True
False
...
The development of a set of functional-level strategies that support a company's business-level strategy and strengthen its competitive advantage is known as:
total quality management.
human resource management.
value chain management.
materials management.
marketing management.
...
The just-in-time view of inventory leads an organization to stockpile excess inputs in a warehouse in case it needs them to meet sudden upturns in demand.
True
False
...
Inputs from an organization's members are sufficient for successful product development.
True
False
...
Which of the following is true about total quality management?
Output goals and targets should include only numbers.
The number of steps to assemble a product should be increased.
Employees should be asked for suggestions about improvements.
Incentives such as bonus pay and promotional opportunities should be eliminated.
A just-in-case inventory system should be introduced.
...
Which of the following is true of the impact of high-quality products?
High product quality results in high operating costs.
High product quality results in high employee productivity.
High product quality lowers efficiency.
High product quality reduces profits.
High product quality lowers customer retention.
...
Attaining _____ includes all the other methods of achieving competitive advantage.
superior efficiency
superior quality
superior innovation
superior responsiveness to customers
superior speed and flexibility
...
Which of the following is the rationale behind the development of flexible manufacturing techniques?
Efficiency will increase with increase in the setup time for complex production.
Efficiency will improve with increase in setup costs.
Actual production time will reduce with decrease in setup time.
Increase in setup time will increase the actual production time.
Efficiency will increase with increase in the actual production time.
...
In a process layout, each workstation is self-contained, and a product goes to whichever workstation is needed to perform the next operation to complete the product.
True
False
...
Successful innovation gives an organization something unique about its products that can strengthen its competitive advantage.
True
False
...
The goal of Six Sigma is to improve a company's quality to only _____ defects per million by systematically altering the way all the processes involved in value chain activities are performed.
three
ten
thirty
five
three hundred
...
_____ is a management technique that focuses on improving attributes of an organization's products such as superior design, features, reliability, and after-sales support.
Effective client management (ECM)
Organizational efficiency management (OEM)
Total quality management (TQM)
Product manufacture management (PMM)
Customer relationship management (CRM)
...
Which of the following should an organization do in order to obtain a competitive advantage through superior innovation?
Reduce the number of components that go into its products
Decrease the number of product attributes and lower the price of its products
Setup a strong team to handle after-purchase support
Produce products with technologies that have not been used previously
Provide high quality products to create a brand-name reputation for its products
...
Users of Adobe Reader, created by Adobe Systems Incorporated, are prompted to provide feedback on their experiences with the software in a bid to improve the product. Adobe Systems Incorporated, in this case, is trying to gain a competitive advantage through:
superior efficiency.
superior infrastructure.
superior innovation.
superior speed and flexibility.
superior responsiveness to customers.
...
Total quality management requires the cooperation of managers of certain functions of an organization.
True
False
...
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 are called contract members.
True
False
...
Which of the following is a potential outcome when organizations offer a very high level of responsiveness to customers?
Quality of products will become low.
Customer satisfaction will decrease.
Company costs will become too high.
Customer relationship will not improve.
Production costs will decrease.
...
The stock of raw materials, inputs, and component parts that an organization has on hand at a particular time is called _____.
storage
inventory
products
stored components
holdings
...
Great cost savings can result from _____ inventory turnover and _____ inventory holding costs, such as warehousing and storage costs.
increasing; reducing
increasing; increasing
decreasing; reducing
decreasing; increasing
varying; increasing
...
The Donut House, a large donut bakery with outlets across several cities, improves the quality of the dough it uses and introduces a wide range of toppings and glazes to go with its donuts. This is an example of _____.
quantum process innovation
quantum product innovation
incremental product innovation
incremental process innovation
process structuring
...
The more steps required to assemble a product or provide a service, the more opportunities there are for making a mistake.
True
False
...
Illumin, a light bulb manufacturing company strives to improve the longevity and brightness of its bulbs by continuously changing designs and trying different combinations of materials and component parts while manufacturing them. This is an example of _____.
quantum process innovation
quantum product innovation
incremental product innovation
incremental process innovation
process reengineering
...
A high quality, well-designed product will always be
successful in the market.
True
False
...
To decrease product defects, materials managers must work closely with _____ to improve the quality of the raw materials and obtained parts.
suppliers
customers
employees
stockholders
distributors
...
Market function is the
engineering and scientific research activities involved in innovating new or improved products that add value to a product.
True
False
...
The _____ function plays a crucial role in an organization's value chain by locating customers and then informing and persuading them to buy the company's products.
production
materials management
customer service
marketing
sales
...