1. ANSWERS OF MID TERM EXAM

2. QUESTION TWO: Explain the reason(s) for the following:
(A)- Low utilization of equipments of fixed position layout
THE ANSWER:
Equipment utilization may be low because the equipment may be left at a location where it will be needed again in a few days rather than moved to another location where it would be productive

3. QUESTION TWO: Explain the reason(s) for the following:
(B)-Variable costs in project process technology are comparatively very high. On the other hand, fixed costs are negligible or even nonexistent.
THE ANSWER:
1- Highly skilled personnel are usually required for this type of process, as they often must work independently, with minimal guidance and supervision. In addition, workers here need to be well trained in a variety of tasks. (Labor skills and costs are generally high)
2- Using the same recourses many times

4. QUESTION TWO: Explain the reason(s) for the following:
(C)- It is always important to distinguish between operational efficiency and strategy
THE ANSWER:
It is important to understand the differences between operational efficiency and strategy. Operational efficiency is performing operations tasks well, even better than competitors.
Strategy, on the other hand, is a plan for competing in the marketplace. An analogy might be that of running a race efficiently, but it may be the wrong race.
Strategy is defining in what race you will win. Operational efficiency and strategy must be aligned. otherwise you may be very efficiently performing the wrong task. The role of operations strategy is to make sure that all the tasks performed by the operations function are the right tasks.

5. QUESTION TWO: Explain the reason(s) for the following:
(D)- Operations management often try to avoid having work-in-process, but sometimes this type of inventory will be needed to keep the work centers operating
THE ANSWER:
In the job shop system ,one of the disadvantages of this process is to accept the idea of dealing with WIP
WIP inventories are needed to keep the work centers operating during equipment setups, as well as to provide the scheduling flexibility needed to coordinate the variety of products and job processing times.

6. QUESTION TWO: Explain the reason(s) for the following:
(E)- There is a very clear relationship between satisfied workers and satisfied customers, especially in service operations
THE ANSWER:
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7. QUESTION THREE:
Facility layout is one of the main responsibilities of the operations manager. It affects the way of doing business, the efficiency and profitability of the company. There are different types of layout, each has some strengths and weaknesses, and in choosing the suitable type of layout there are many issues to take into account”. Discuss

8. QUESTION FOUR:
- Explain the importance of operations management
-Operations strategy provides a plan for the operations function so that it can make the best use of its resources.
- Operations strategy specifies the policies and plans for using the organization’s resources to support its long-term competitive.
The operations strategy relates the business strategy to the operations function
- The role of operations strategy is to make sure that all the tasks performed by the operations function are the right tasks.

9. QUESTION FOUR: IT Automation Internet - Competition Product life cycle
(B)- “Advance in technology in recent years has a significant effect on the OM function”. Discuss IT
Automation
Internet
- Competition
Product life cycle
New jobs
Robots
E-???

10. QUESTION FOUR:
(C)-“In an attempt to survive, many U.S. companies copied Japanese approaches. Merely copying these approaches often proved unsuccessful”. Why?
Why?

11. QUESTION FOUR:
(D)- What are the factors that affect the process selection?
1. The expected volume and demand pattern for the products.
2. The number of different products to be made by the system and the types of processing each requires.
3. The customer order type, which defines whether the product is made to stock (the product's characteristics are set by the producer, and the product is normal made in advance of orders), or made to order (the product is made on receiving customer's order, and its characteristics may be specified by the customer).
4. The physical characteristics of the products and the specific technologies require to produce them.

12. QUESTION FOUR:
(E)- “Globalization affects OM activities in different ways. Discuss
-Availability of the production resources (inputs)- cheap resources+ global knowledge + diversity of cultures+ fierce competition…………………

13. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(A)- Empowerment
The concept of encouraging and authorizing workers to take the initiative to improve operations, reduce costs, and improve product quality and customer service.)
Managers recognize the benefits of providing workers with better working conditions. This includes not only the work environment but also the design of the jobs themselves. Workers are now encouraged to participate in improving operations through suggestions. After all, who would know better how to do a particular operation than that person who does it every day. Managers also have learned that there is a very clear relationship between satisfied workers and satisfied customers, especially in service operations.

14. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(B)- Technology
1- A human innovation in action that involves the generation of knowledge and processes to develop systems that solve problems and extend human capabilities.
2- The machinery, tools and materials required to produce …..
3-The knowledge, tools and processes
4- The application of scientific advances to benefit humanity

15. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(C)- Work- in -process (in progress) inventory
Work in process (acronym: WIP) or in-process inventory includes the set at large of unfinished items for products in a production process. These items are not yet completed but either just being fabricated or waiting in a queue for further processing or in a buffer storage. The term is used in production and supply chain management.
Optimal production management aims to minimize work in process. Work in process requires storage space, represents bound capital not disponible for investment and carries an inherent risk of earlier expiration of shelf life of the products. A queue leading to a production step shows that the step is well buffered for shortage in supplies from preceding steps, but may also indicate insufficient capacity to process the output from these preceding steps.
Just-in-time (acronym: JIT) production is a concept to reduce work in process with respect to a continuous configuration of product. Just In Sequence (acronym: JIS) is a similar concept with respect to a scheduled variety in sequence of configurations for products.

16. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(D)- Quality
- the degree of excellence at an acceptable price and the control of variability at an acceptable cost.
- how well a product fits patterns of consumer preferences.
the totality of features and characteristics of a product that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
to produce error-free products
Fitness for use
Fitness to standards
The totality of features and other characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.

17. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(E)- Operations strategy is:
1- The means by which operations implements the firm’s corporate strategy and helps to build a customer-driven firm. It links long-term and short-term operations decisions to corporate strategy.
2- The plan that specifies the design and use of resources to support the business strategy.. The operations strategy must be aligned with the company’s business strategy and enable the company to achieve its long-term plan.
3- A long-range plan for the production of a company’s products/services, and provides a road map for the production function in helping to achieve the business strategy.

18. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(F)- Mass production
1-Mass production is "a production system characterized by mechanization, high wages, low prices, and large-volume output." Usually refers to factory processes on metalwork, not to textiles or agriculture.
The term came into use in the 1920s and referred to production approaches analogous to those of the Ford Motor Company in the US
2- Creating a high volume of products using an assembly line process in which each operator is responsible for a specific step in the process. Mass production reduces the manufacturing costs of apparel by making many items of the same size, style, and fabric. Most ready-to-wear clothing is mass produced.

19. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(G)- Production
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20. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(H)- Business -level strategy
- Once top management agrees on corporate -level strategy, they can turn their attention to the business –level
business –level strategy is the strategy that guides the operations of a single business, outlining how it will compete.
It Defines the long-range plan to compete in the marketplace+ Helps to differentiate the firm from competitors)
- It answers the question of “how do we compete” Involve:
(A)- How the firm can maintain a competitive advantage?
(B)- How each key functional department (production, human resources, marketing, and finance) can contribute to the overall effectiveness?
(C)- How resources should be allocated among these functions?

21. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(E)- Globalization
the world is becoming smaller, and countries are becoming more dependent on each other.
The world is rapidly transforming itself into a single global economy, which referred to as a global village or global landscape.
Markets once dominated by local or national companies are now vulnerable to competition from literally all corners of the world.

22. QUESTION FIVE: Define the following concepts and terms:
(F)- Batch production
1- Batch production processes are used for producing small lots of similar products
2- Products here are more standardized than job shop technology, but it is not as standardized as assembly line technology.
3- Within the wide range of products in the batch facility, several are demanded repeatedly and in large volumes.
4-These few dominant products differentiate batch facilities from job shops.
5- produce a wide variety of products in a wide variety of volumes.
6- The products are made in batches with short production runs, and the same sequence of operations is generally followed.
7- Such processes usually differ from mass (assembly )production in the materials used, machine setups, and layout. More labor skills are necessary to set up machines and perform a wider variety of tasks during production. These differences increase unit costs.
8- Each batch contains identical items but every batch is different from the others.
9- A fixed quantity or batch rather than continuous supply is required. A particular operation on a batch is performed by one group and then it is passed on to other groups for subsequent operations.
10- Batch production is popular in bakeries and in the manufacture of shoes, pharmaceutical ingredients, inks, paints and adhesives.