Operations Management
14th Edition
by Jay Heizer
Complete Chapter Solutions Manual
are included (Ch 1 to 24)
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, 1
C H A P T E R
Operations and Productivity
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The text suggests four reasons to study OM. We want to understand (1) how people organize themselves for productive
enterprise,
(2) how goods and services are produced, (3) what operations managers do, and (4) this costly part of our economy and most
enterprises.
LO 1.1: Define operations management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2. With some 40% of all jobs being in the OM field, the career opportunities are prolific. The text suggests many career opportunities. OM
students find initial jobs throughout the OM field, including supply chain, logistics, purchasing, production planning and scheduling, plant
layout, maintenance, quality control, inventory management, etc.
LO 1.3: Identify career opportunities in operations management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
3. Possible responses include: Adam Smith (work specialization/ division of labor), Charles Babbage (work specialization/division of
labor), Frederick W. Taylor (scientific management), Walter Shewart (statistical sampling and quality control), Henry Ford (moving
assembly line), Charles Sorensen (moving assembly line), Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (motion study), and Eli Whitney (standardization).
LO 1.1: Define operations management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
4. See references in the answer to Question 3.
LO 1.1: Define operations management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
5. The actual charts will differ, depending on the specific organization the student chooses to describe. The important thing is for
students to recognize that all organizations require, to a greater or lesser extent, (a) the three primary functions of operations,
finance/accounting, and marketing; and (b) that the emphasis or detailed breakdown of these functions is dependent on the specific
competitive strategy employed by the firm.
LO 1.1: Define operations management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
6. The basic functions of a firm are marketing, accounting/ finance, and operations. An interesting class discussion: “Do all
firms/organizations (private, government, not-for-profit) perform these three functions?” The authors’ hypothesis is yes, they do.
LO 1.1: Define operations management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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, 2 CHAPTER 1 O P E R A T I O N S AND PRODUCTIVITY
7. The 10 strategic decisions of operations management are product design, quality, process, location, layout, human resources, supply
chain management, inventory, scheduling (intermediate and short-term), and maintenance. We find this structure an excellent way to
help students organize and learn the material.
LO 1.1: Define operations management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
8. The 10 decisions as applied to Amazon: (1) Product design—defining the product may initiate an interesting discussion. Is the
product the over 12 million products available, or is the product the ease of order entry, convenience, and home delivery? Probably
both.
(2) Quality management—quality is built into every aspect of the Amazon culture, from item and order identification, and from the
supplier through receipt, process design, human resource training, inventory tracking, etc. Multiple checks of items are standard.
Errors in order receipts or shipment are very expensive. (3) Process strategy—receipt, movement to storage, and pulling of product
for shipment are all state of the art. Amazon’s process mimics in many ways an assembly line … where the workers stand still and the
product is brought to the worker, rather than movement of personnel up and down aisles to “pull” merchandise. (4) Location
strategy—Amazon’s facilities are strategically located worldwide to facilitate rapid delivery. (5) Layout strategy—facilities are
designed and redesigned to meet the changing state-of-the-art innovations, from Kivas (moving storage bins) to “pull to light.” (6)
Human resources—a non-union workforce has allowed continuing innovation in job design, work assignments, flexible short-term
and long-term (seasonal) work schedules, and benefits.
(7) Supply chain management—volume has given Amazon substantial negotiating flexibility. Amazon has also been willing to design
and produce its own “copycat” products when it seems advantageous. (8) Inventory management—sophisticated item receipt and
storage over multiple facilities, along with customer order tracking that facilitates shipment of orders from multiple locations to
ensure complete orders, gives Amazon a huge advantage. (9) Scheduling—the combination of inventory management, superior
software, and a great process allows Amazon to ship in 15 minutes … the time from the customer’s keyboard order click to shipment
is 15 minutes. (10) Maintenance—the facility maintenance is rather simple as factories go … it is complex, but they are not making
rockets either. However, the software for customer order entry, Kiva control, inventory, and order management—over multiple
facilities—is complex and requires ongoing development, backups, and updating.
LO 1.1: Define operations management
AACSB: Application of knowledge
9. Four areas that are important to improving labor productivity are (1) basic education (basic reading and math skills), (2) diet of the
labor force, (3) social overhead that makes labor available (water, sanitation, transportation, etc.), and (4) maintaining and expanding the
skills necessary for changing technology and knowledge, as well as for teamwork and motivation.
LO 1.8: Identify the critical variables in enhancing productivity
AACSB: Application of knowledge
10. Productivity is harder to measure when the task becomes more intellectual. A knowledge society implies that work is more
intellectual and therefore harder to measure. Because the U.S. and many other countries are increasingly “knowledge” societies,
productivity is harder to measure. Using labor-hours as a measure of productivity for a postindustrial society versus an industrial or
agriculture society is very different. For example, decades spent developing a marvelous new drug or winning a very difficult legal
case on intellectual property rights may be significant for postindustrial societies, but not show much in the way of productivity
improvement measured in labor-hours.
LO 1.8: Identify the critical variables in enhancing productivity
AACSB: Analytical thinking
11. Productivity is difficult to measure because precise units of measure may be lacking, quality may not be consistent, and
exogenous variables may change.
LO 1.8: Identify the critical variables in enhancing productivity
AACSB: Reflective thinking
12. Mass customization is the flexibility to produce to meet specific customer demands, without sacrificing the low cost of a product-
oriented process. Rapid product development is a source of competitive advantage. Both rely on agility within the organization.
Copyright ©2023
