OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
11TH EDITION
Chapter No 01: Introduction to Operations and
Supply Chain Management.
Answers to Questions for Chapter 1.
1.1. The operations function involves organizing work, selecting processes, arranging layouts, locating
facilities, designing jobs, measuring performance, controlling quality, scheduling work, managing inventory,
and planning production. Operations interacts with marketing in product development, forecasting,
production planning, and customer service. Operations and finance interact in capital budgeting, cost
analysis, production and inventory planning, and expansion and technology plans. Operations and human
resources work together recruiting, training and evaluating workers, designing jobs and working with
unions. IT and operations work together daily on e-commerce, enterprise resource planning and supply
chain management systems.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 1: Describe what the operations function is and how it relates to other business
functions.
Section Reference 1: The Operations Function
Bloomcode: Knowledge
1.2. a. Operations at a bank involves transferring funds, processing funds, providing checks, cashing checks,
preparing monthly statements, reconciling statements, approving loans, loaning money, keeping track of loan
payments, approving credit cards, and more.
b. Operations at a retail store involves purchasing goods, stocking goods, selling goods, keeping track of
inventory, scheduling workers, laying out the store, locating the store, forecasting demand, and more.
c. Operations at a hospital involves preparing the rooms, scheduling doctors, nurses and other workers,
processing paperwork, ordering supplies, caring for patients, maintaining the facility, laying out the facility,
ensuring quality and more.
d. Operations at a cable TV company involves taking orders, installing equipment, maintaining equipment,
keeping the shows on the air, scheduling work, processing statements and payments, and more.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 1: Describe what the operations function is and how it relates to other business
functions.
Section Reference 1: The Operations Function
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.3. Inventions during the industrial revolution brought workers together under one roof in a factory setting
where division of labor and interchangeable parts encouraged the formation of separate worker and
management jobs. Ideas from the scientific management era made work more efficient. Human relations
,theorists emphasized the importance of the human element in operations management. The management
science era saw many advances in quantitative techniques and their application. The quality revolution
focused management on meeting customer expectations and emphasized quality over quantity. The Internet
brought numerous opportunities to do work faster and better. It also opened doors to new markets
worldwide. The era of globalization gave birth to successful global companies that competed worldwide for
both market access and production resources. As trade and globalization sped up, rapid growth was
tempered by environmental constraints and sustainability and resilience became a major issue of global
concern. Technology once again broke the impasse with the digitization of businesses, social networks and the
Internet of Things. The global pandemic slowed both the connectivity of global markets, production and
supply chains and the need for localization of markets, resources and supply chains.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 2: Discuss the key factors that have contributed to the evolution of operations
and supply chain management.
Section Reference 2: The Evolution of Operations and Supply Chain Management
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.4. Productivity is the efficiency with which inputs are transformed into outputs. It is calculated by dividing
units of output by units of input. Output can be represented by units or dollars of sales made, products
produced, customers served, or calls answered. The most common input is labor hours, although a variety of
inputs can be used, such as labor cost, labor cost + machine cost + energy cost, and so forth.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 4: Calculate and interpret productivity measures used for measuring
competitiveness.
Section Reference 4: Productivity and Competitiveness
Bloomcode: Knowledge
1.5. Student answers will vary.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 4: Calculate and interpret productivity measures used for measuring
competitiveness.
Section Reference 4: Productivity and Competitiveness
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.6. Student answers will vary.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 3: Discuss how and why businesses operate globally, and the importance of
globalization in supply chain management.
Section Reference 3: Globalization
,Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.7. Students can begin this assignment by accessing Fortune’s homepage and referring to the Fortune 500 or
Global 500 by industry. The leaders in each industry are listed and there is usually some discussion of
industry concerns. Individual data on companies can be found at Hoover’s website (www.hoovers.com).
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 5: Discuss the importance of operations and supply chain management to a
firm's strategy, and the process of developing, aligning, and deploying strategy.
Section Reference 5: Strategy and Operations
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.8. Student answers will vary.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 1: Describe what the operations function is and how it relates to other business
functions.
Section Reference 1: The Operations Function
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.9. Student answers will vary.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 2: Discuss the key factors that have contributed to the evolution of operations
and supply chain management.
Section Reference 2: The Evolution of Operations and Supply Chain Management
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.10. Student answers will vary. Accessworldbank.org.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 3: Discuss how and why businesses operate globally, and the importance of
globalization in supply chain management.
Section Reference 3: Globalization
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.11. The WTO is an international organization that works to establish and enforce rules of trade between
nations. WTO agreements are ratified by the governing bodies of the nations involved. WTO’s dispute
settlement process interprets agreements and rules on violations, thereby avoiding political or military
, conflict. The group promotes free trade and more recently, has helped developing nations enter the trade
arena on more equitable grounds. Currently, there are 147 member nations. Membership is achieved by
meeting certain environmental, human rights, and trade criteria, agreeing to abide by the rules of the
organization, and being approved by two-thirds of the existing membership. See www.wto.org
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 3: Discuss how and why businesses operate globally, and the importance of
globalization in supply chain management.
Section Reference 3: Globalization
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.12. Student answers will vary. Access www.executiveplanet.com
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 3: Discuss how and why businesses operate globally, and the importance of
globalization in supply chain management.
Section Reference 3: Globalization
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.13. Student answers will vary. Access www.transparency.org
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 3: Discuss how and why businesses operate globally, and the importance of
globalization in supply chain management.
Section Reference 3: Globalization
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.14. Student answers will vary. Access https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act
for basic information.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 3: Discuss how and why businesses operate globally, and the importance of
globalization in supply chain management.
Section Reference 3: Globalization
Bloomcode: Comprehension
1.15. Students will find a variety of answers for this question. In general, it is easy to find mission or vision
statements, but more difficult to find evidence of the mission or vision being applied.
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective 5: Discuss the importance of operations and supply chain management to a
firm's strategy and the process of developing, aligning, and deploying strategy.
Section Reference 5: Strategy and Operations
Bloomcode: Comprehension
