Which of the following statements best describes the distinction between production management and operations management?

In today's quality control programs, emphasis is placed on

Mini-Case Sparky Weyer, president and CEO of Minimotors, Inc., a growing manufacturer of small (some of them downright tiny) electric motors used in a variety of power tools and appliances told potential investors, "These are exciting times for our company. We've made a lot of changes over the past two years that have really improved our operations and lowered our costs. Now we are ready to expand into new markets. Minimotors is on its way to becoming a global player." Sparky was meeting with potential financial backers in an effort to obtain funding for some expensive new machinery he wanted to purchase. "You may have heard about some of the ways we've cut costs," Sparky continued. "We've developed a new arrangement with several of our biggest suppliers. They've agreed to make more frequent deliveries tied directly to our production schedules. This will help us reduce our inventory costs dramatically. We've also greatly reduced the number of defective motors we produce by carefully keeping tabs on all of our manufacturing processes. In fact, we have set a goal of reducing our defects to 3.4 parts per million. The main purpose of my meeting with you today is because we want to install some sophisticated new machinery and software that will allow us to quickly design and produce motors to the exact specifications of our customers. The machinery is computer-controlled and can produce custom-designed products at very little increase in cost compared to our mass-produced motors. We feel this flexibility and quick response time will give us a tremendous competitive advantage and help us attract new customers. Installing the new equipment and training our workers to use it properly will be a complex project, but I'm confident that once we get everything up and running we'll be able to strengthen our position as the leading maker of high-quality electric motors." Sparky sees quality control in terms of detecting potential problems to prevent their occurrence and thus save Minimotors money. The quality control process that is most closely linked to Sparky's goal is known as

Experts in operations management for service industry businesses stress

Manufacturing output in the U.S. continues to increase. The high unemployment of skilled workers who previously worked in the manufacturing sector

A just-in-time inventory system usually reduces costs for

________ utility is the value added by the creation of finished goods and services using raw materials, components, and other inputs.

The purpose of determining the critical path on a PERT network is to

Expensive software that enables computer-aided design machines to communicate with computer-aided manufacturing machines is called

A(n) ________ puts together components to make a product.

A basic characteristic of flexible manufacturing is that it

________ standards are concerned with the best practices for managing an organization's environmental impacts.

The operations planning practice of using sales forecasts created by a computer to accurately predict the amount and timing of materials needed to complete products and projects is

Operations management becomes a(n) ________ when companies work closely together to design, produce, and ship products to customers.

Comfort Corners Home Furnishings uses labor and machinery to transform wood, plastic, metal, and cloth into comfortable chairs, sofas, and love seats for the home. This process creates

A company becomes lean by ________ its capacity to produce high-quality goods, while ________ its need for resources.

For the past two years, Mountain High Bike Company used suppliers from India, Japan, and Malaysia to provide precision parts for its custom bikes. There was only one problem: the quality of the parts from all locations lacked precision and consistency. Skilled technicians complained that as many as three out of five parts had to be discarded due to imperfections. The quality control manager convinced the owners to partner with a slightly higher-priced company in Omaha, Nebraska, which utilized ________ to test samples of product components for deviations in quality and precision, prior to sending them to Mountain High Bike Company. The bike company realized savings in both time and money.

Operations management in the service sector is focused on creating

Outdoor Adventure Industries is a U.S.-based manufacturer of sporting goods. It has recently decided to make a major push to sell its products in the EU. In order to succeed in this new market Outdoor Adventure will need to

Which of the following statements describes past processes that existed in manufacturing that negatively affected a firm's competitive advantage?