Exam 17: International Operations Management

________ is the management of the flow of materials, parts, supplies, and other resources from suppliers to the firm; the flow of materials, parts, supplies, and other resources within and between units of the firm itself; and the flow of finished products, services, and goods from the firm to customers.

Which of the following is an essential component of total quality management?

The American Society for Quality Control developed and refined an international set of quality guidelines which are now called ISO 9000:2000.

What business strategy relies on creating goods that are clearly different from the competitors?

Explain benchmarking.

The suppliers used by Morrison Controls deliver components directly to Morrison's manufacturing center as the inputs are needed for production to minimize Morrison's inventory costs. Morrison most likely uses ________.

Buying inputs for manufacturing increases the firm's level of investment.

A firm should most likely make a product internally when there is a ________ potential for competitive advantage and a ________ degree of strategic vulnerability.

What is the relationship between operations management and productivity? What steps can a firm take to enhance its productivity?

What are the guidelines that provide the basis for quality certification called?

What is an international service business?

Seemingly simple logistics and materials management issues often become much more complex in an international context.

In the Japanese keiretsu system, contract enforcement between firms and suppliers is less problematic because of ________.

________ is the extent to which a firm either provides its own resources or obtains them from other sources.

Capacity planning is deciding how many customers a firm will be able to serve at a given time.

What is the make-or-buy decision? What factors influence the make-or-buy decisions? Why do most PC manufacturers choose to buy instead of make?

What increases the difficulty and expense for international businesses that try to enforce contracts with foreign suppliers?

________ refers to the situation when various units within the firm can be seen as suppliers to other units within the firm.

________ is the set of activities an organization uses to transform different kinds of inputs into final goods and services.

Porsche competes on the basis of product performance and status. Its production facilities need to be located where there is a skilled labor force despite the higher costs of that labor. What business strategy is affecting operations management decisions in this case?