QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

BUCKET ONE: VALUE DRIVEN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Shell 1: Operations Management

1.      What are the two ways to define Operations Management?

2.      Identify and explain the Operations Managers different hats?

3.      What is the role of Management in Operations management?

4.      What are the future challenges facing Operations Management?

Shell 2: Value

1.      What is the relationship between needs, wants and demands?

2.      Discuss the value model.

3.      Identify the attributes used to help define quality. Explain each thoroughly.

4.      Define the following: (a) functionality; (b) quality; (c) speed; (d) timeliness; (e) flexibility; (f) cost.

5.      What is the relationship of value and technology?

Shell 3: Building the Capacity to Deliver Value

1.      Define and explain (a) capacity; (b) capability.

2.      Illustrate and explain the value driven system design process.

3.      Enumerate and discuss the three capability metrices.

4.      What role do performance measurements play in organizations.

Shell 4: Processes and Process Thinking

1.      How is process thinking used to solve problems?

2.      What is a business process?

3.      What are the three groups of business processes in a firm?

4.      What is process thinking?

Shell 5: Managing for Process Improvement

1.      What is a learning organization?

2.      What are the different categories of problems based on their traits? Define each.

3.      Enumerate and discuss the different tools in an Operations Manager’s Tool Kit.

4.      What is the link between organizational learning and corporate performance?

BUCKET TWO: VALUE DRIVEN SYSTEM DESIGN

Shell 6: Forecasting Demand

1.      What is uncertainty? Discuss the different categories of uncertainty.

2.      Differentiate Demand Forecasting, Demand Management and Demand Tracking.

3.      Discuss the five step Systems Design Process.

4.      Illustrate the Basic Forecasting process. Discuss.

5.      What is Qualitative Demand Forecasting?

6.      What is Quantitative Forecasting?

Shell 7: Long Term Capacity Management

1.      What are the two basic dimensions of the “what-type” capacity issue?

2.      Discuss the three capacity sizing issues.

3.      What are the guidelines for calculating capacity?

4.      Enumerate the three capacity expansion timing strategies.

Shell 8: Production Innovation—Services

1.      What are the attributes of the service component? Discuss.

2.      Enumerate the best practices world-class services use. Explain each.

3.      What are the future challenges for service system designers?

4.      Illustrate the service system design process.

Shell 9: Production Innovation—Manufactured Goods

1.      Illustrate the Manufactured Goods Design process.

2.      What is product architecture? Elaborate.

3.      What can a firm achieve if it resorts to the standardization of products and manufacturing?

4.      Enumerate and discuss the analytical tools for product innovation.

Shell 10: Designing Supply Chain Management Systems

1.      What are the categories of B2B (business-to-business) transactions? Discuss.

2.      What is purchasing? Discuss its role in the operations function.

3.      Discuss the activities of purchasing.

4.      Enumerate and explain the three views of the supply chain.

5.      What are the product tools for supply chain management. Explain.

BUCKET THREE: MANAGING VALUE-DRIVEN OPERATIONS

Shell 11: Short Term Operations Planning

1.      Illustrate the Operations Planning process.

2.      What is exponential smoothing?

3.      Enumerate and explain the service planning tools.

4.      What are the production planning tools? Explain.

Shell 12: Managing for Quality

1.      In your own words, give a brief history of Quality Management.

2.      Who is W. Edwards Deming? What are his contributions to quality management?

3.      What are the tools of Total Quality Management (TQM)? Explain each.

Shell 13: Managing the Flow of Materials

1.      In your own words, give a brief history of Inventory Management.

2.      What is independent demand inventory control?

3.      What is materials requirement planning.

4.      What is Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing?

Shell 14: Scheduling Work

1.      Discuss the two variants of service scheduling.

2.      What are the major business processes used by operations scheduling. Explain.

3.      Enumerate the different scheduling tools and techniques.

4.      What is the theory of constraints? Explain.