Test-Bank-for-Heizer-Operations-Management-9e

SHORT ANSWERS

54.Some organizations use number of beds, number of rooms, or room size to measure capacity. There's no time period in this capacity, and no "throughput." Why are these firms using such a different concept of capacity?

Student answers will vary, since the answer is not explicitly covered in text. But it is a natural extension of what students know about services. It's easy for Krispy Kreme to say they produced 40,000 doughnuts in a day. But these firms may deliver services that are hard to quantify or add up, perhaps because each service is unique. So rather than measure produced output, they focus on certain inputs that are critical to their ability to serve customers. (Capacity, difficult) {AACSB: Reflective Thinking}

55.What is the fundamental distinction between design capacity and effective capacity? Provide a brief example.

Design capacity is the theoretical maximum output of a system in a given period under ideal conditions. Effective capacity, on the other hand, is the capacity that a firm expects to achieve given the current operating constraints. Effective capacity is often lower than design capacity because the facility may have been designed for an earlier version of the product or a different product mix than is currently being produced. As an example, a restaurant might have 100 seats, but it only opens up 60 every night because it cannot find enough qualified servers. (Capacity, moderate)

56.Distinguish between utilization and efficiency.

Both are ratios, not item counts. Both use actual output in the ratio numerator. Utilization is the ratio of actual output to design capacity, so it measures output as a fraction of ideal facility usage. Efficiency is the ratio of actual output to effective capacity, so it measures output as a fraction of the practical or current limits of the facility. (Capacity, moderate)

57.Why is the capacity decision important?

The capacity decision is important for several reasons. First, capacity costs represent a large portion of fixed costs. Second, a facility of the wrong size means that costs are not as low as they could be. If a facility is too large, and portions of it remain idle, the firm's costs are too high because of the higher fixed costs. If a plant is too small, costs are again higher than they might be due to inefficiencies of working in cramped and crowded spaces. Further, a facility too small may lead to lost sales, perhaps even lost markets. (Capacity, moderate)

58.A good capacity decision requires that it be tightly integrated with the organization's strategy and investments. But there are other "considerations" to making a good capacity decision. Name them. Describe each in a sentence or two.

The four considerations are forecast demand accurately, understand the technology and capacity increments, find the optimum operating level (volume), and build for change. Without a good demand forecast, no firm can expect to build a facility of the proper size. In some cases capacity can be obtained in small amounts, but in others, to add capacity might require an entire building or production line. There is an optimum operating level, at which average unit costs are least. That volume is found through the analysis of economic cost curves. Finally, the firm needs a plan for adding capacity as demand grows; this plan can lead demand, lag demand, or straddle demand. (Capacity, moderate)

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59.A sugar mill receives sugar cane from farmers, extracts the juice, boils it into syrup, and then crystallizes the syrup into raw sugar. There has been an ongoing consolidation of sugar mills, and an increase in the capacity of those that remain. The number of mills in Louisiana was 48 in the 1960s, was 18 in 1999 and is currently 13. In 1999 the break-even point for a typical mill was 600,000 tons. But as the surviving mills have added capacity, the break-even point is now 1,000,000 tons. In 1999, the state's farmers produced 16,000,000 tons of cane, but by 2004, the crop was down to 13,000,000 tons. Analyze this situation with what you have learned about the capacity decision. Is the industry better off with fewer but larger mills, or not?

There are several possible paths students can take. The most obvious is the economic argument that economies of scale call for ever larger plants. Students may want to address the lead, lag, or straddle strategies of growing to meet demand. But demand is not growing very much —it's up from 890,000 tons per mill to 1,000,000 tons per mill over 5 years. Students may alternately try to analyze the considerations of matching capacity to demand, and describe pricing strategies or internal changes to meet demand. But the broadest view suggests that the industry (not individual mills!) operated somewhat above break-even in 1999, but is squarely at break-even now. The increased capacities do not seem much of an improvement. This question is drawn from an article in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, 30 January 2005. (Capacity, difficult) {AACSB: Reflective Thinking}

60.Identify the tactics for matching capacity to demand.

1. Making staffing changes (increasing or decreasing the number of employees), 2. Adjusting equipment (purchasing additional machinery or selling or leasing out existing equipment), 3. Improving processes to increase throughput, 4. Redesigning products to facilitate more throughput, 5. Adding process flexibility to better meet changing product preferences, and 6. Closing facilities. (Capacity, moderate)

61.Define fixed costs.

Fixed costs are those that continue even if no units are produced. (Break-even analysis, moderate)

62.Define variable costs. What special assumption is made about variable costs in the textbook?

Variable costs are those that vary with the number of units produced, linearity, or proportionality. (Break-even analysis, moderate)

63.How is break-even analysis useful in the study of the capacity decision? What limitations does this analytical tool have in this application?

Breakeven is defined as the volume for which cost equals revenue. It is useful to know the break-even point for each capacity alternative under consideration. In reality, costs may not be as linear as they are assumed to be in this model. (Break-even analysis, moderate)

64.Describe how a decision tree might be used to analyze a capacity decision.

The starting node of the tree is the capacity decision itself. There will be one branch from this node for each decision alternative (capacity choice). Each choice may have states of nature attached to it, such as whether demand is high or low. These states of nature will have probabilities assigned, and each terminal branch of the tree must be assigned a payoff. The expected value of each decision alternative is calculated, and the highest expected value chosen as the best capacity choice. (Applying decision trees to capacity decisions, moderate)

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65. What are the assumptions of the net present value technique?

The assumptions of the net present value technique are:

•Interest rates are known for the entire term of the investment.

•Payments are made at the end of each time period.

•Investments with similar net present values are similar in other respects (at least, we

make this assumption if net present value is the only method of evaluation of investment used).

(Applying investment analysis to strategy-driven investments, moderate)

PROBLEMS

66.The staff training center at a large regional hospital provides training sessions in CPR to all employees. Assume that the capacity of this training system was designed to be 1800 employees per year. Since the training center was first put in use, the program has become more complex, so that 1400 now represents the most employees that can be trained per year. In the past year, 1350 employees were trained. Calculate the efficiency and the utilization of this system.

Efficiency = 1350 / 1400 = .964 or 96.4 percent; utilization = 1350 / 1800 = .75 or 75 percent (Capacity, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

67.An executive conference center has the physical ability to handle 1,100 participants. However, conference management personnel believe that only 1,000 participants can be handled effectively for most events. The last event, although forecasted to have 1,000 participants, resulted in the attendance of only 950 participants. What are the utilization and efficiency of the conference facility?

Design Capacity = 1,100 participants Effective Capacity = 1,000 participants Actual Output = 950 participants

(Capacity, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

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68.A fleet repair facility has the capacity to repair 800 trucks per month. However, due to scheduled maintenance of their equipment, management feels that they can repair no more than 600 trucks per month. Last month, two of the employees were absent several days each, and only 400 trucks were repaired. What are the utilization and efficiency of the repair shop?

Design Capacity = 800 trucks Effective Capacity = 600 trucks Actual Output = 400 trucks

(Capacity, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

69.The local convenience store makes personal pan pizzas. Currently, their oven can produce 50 pizzas per hour. It has a fixed cost of $2,000, and a variable cost of $0.25 per pizza. The owner is considering a bigger oven that can make 75 pizzas per hour. It has a fixed cost of $3,000, but a variable cost of $0.20 per pizza.

a.At what quantity do the two ovens have equal costs?

b.If the owner expects to sell 9,000 pizzas, should he get the new oven?

(a) The crossover is where $2,000 + .25X = $3,000 + .20X. Simplifying, 0.05X = 1000, or X = 20,000 units (b) no, stay with the current oven. (Break-even analysis, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

70.A product is currently made in a process-focused shop, where fixed costs are $9,000 per year and variable cost is $50 per unit. The firm sells the product for $200 per unit. What is the break-even point for this operation? What is the profit (or loss) on a demand of 200 units per year?

BEP = 60 units; TR = $40,000, TC = $19,000, therefore Profit = $21,000. (Break-even analysis, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

71.A product is currently made in a process-focused shop, where fixed costs are $8,000 per year and variable cost is $40 per unit. The firm currently sells 200 units of the product at $200 per unit. A manager is considering a repetitive focus to lower costs (and lower prices, thus raising demand). The costs of this proposed shop are fixed costs = $24,000 per year and variable costs = $10 per unit. If a price of $80 will allow 400 units to be sold, what profit (or loss) can this proposed new process expect? Do you anticipate that the manager will want to change the process? Explain.

Old: TR = $40,000, TC = $16,000, therefore Profit = $24,000.

New: TR = $80 x 400 = $32,000, TC = $24,000 + $10 x 400 = $28,000, for a profit of $4,000. Most will say NO; the larger repetitive process is less profitable than the smaller processfocused shop. (Break-even analysis, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

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72.A firm sells two products. Product R sells for $20; its variable cost is $6. Product S sells for $50; its variable cost is $30. Product R accounts for 60 percent of the firm's sales, while S accounts for 40 percent. The firm's fixed costs are $4 million annually. Calculate the firm's break-even point.

The contribution for product R is 70 percent of selling price, or 0.70; the contribution for product S is 0.40. The weighted contribution for R is .70 x .60 = .42; the weighted contribution for S is .40 x .40 = .16. The sum of the weighted contributions is 0.58. The breakeven point is $4,000,000 / 0.58 = $6,896,552. (Break-even analysis, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

73.A firm is weighing three capacity alternatives: small, medium, and large job shop. Whatever capacity choice is made, the market for the firm's product can be "moderate" or "strong." The probability of moderate acceptance is estimated to be 40 percent; strong acceptance has a probability of 60 percent. The payoffs are as follows. Small job shop, moderate market = $24,000; Small job shop, strong market = $54,000. Medium job shop, moderate market = $20,000; medium job shop, strong market = $64,000. Large job shop, moderate market = -$2,000; large job shop, strong market = $96,000. Which capacity choice should the firm make?

The expected values for the three decision alternatives (capacities) are: small job shop = $42,000; medium job shop = $46,400; and large job shop = $56,800. The firm should choose the large job shop. (Applying decision trees to capacity decisions, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

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74.A firm produces three products in a repetitive process facility. Product A sells for $60; its variable costs are $20. Product B sells for $200; its variable costs are $80. Product C sells for $25; its variable costs are $15. The firm has annual fixed costs of $320,000. Last year, the firm sold 1000 units of A, 2000 units of B, and 10,000 units of C. Calculate the break-even point of the firm. The firm has some idle capacity at these volumes, and chooses to cut the selling price of A from $60 to $45, believing that its sales volume will rise from 1000 units to 2500 units. What is the revised break-even point?

Calculations for the original version of this problem are:

The original break-even for this firm was $320,000 / .5352 = $597,907. This is a calculatorbased result; Excel reports $597,895.

When the price of A is reduced, the revised calculations are:

The firm's breakeven point has increased to $320,000 / .5280 = $606,061. (Calculator-based; Excel reports $606,211). (Break-even analysis, difficult) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

75.Health Care Systems of the South is about to buy an expensive piece of diagnostic equipment. The company estimates that it will generate uniform revenues of $500,000 for each of the next eight years. What is the present value of this stream of earnings, at an interest rate of 6%? What is the present value if the machine lasts only six years, not eight? If the equipment cost $2,750,000, should the company purchase it?

S = R * X = 500,000 * 6.210 = $3,105,000; S = R * X = 500,000 * 4.917 = $2,458,500

The company should purchase the equipment if it believes it will last eight years, but not if it fears that it will last only six. (Applying investment analysis to strategy-driven investments, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

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76.A firm produces three products. Product A sells for $60; its variable costs are $20. Product B sells for $200; its variable costs are $120. Product C sells for $25; its variable costs are $10. Last year, the firm sold 1000 units of A, 2000 units of B, and 10,000 units of C. The firm has fixed costs of $320,000 per year. Calculate the break-even point of the firm.

Calculations for this problem are:

Break-even for this firm is $320,000 / .4931 = $648,956. Note: this result reflects calculator rounding, as students might experience at exam time. Excel reports $649, 143. (Break-even analysis, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

77.A firm is about to undertake the manufacture of a product, and is weighing three capacity alternatives: small job shop, large job shop, and repetitive manufacturing. The small job shop has fixed costs of $3,000 per month, and variable costs of $10 per unit. The larger job shop has fixed costs of $12,000 per month and variable costs of $3 per unit. The repetitive manufacturing plant has fixed costs of $30,000 and variable costs of $1 per unit. Demand for the product is expected to be 1,000 units per month with "moderate" market acceptance, but 2,000 under "strong" market acceptance. The probability of moderate acceptance is estimated to be 60 percent; strong acceptance has a probability of 40 percent. The product will sell for $25 per unit regardless of the capacity decision. Which capacity choice should the firm make?

The payoffs are as follows: small job shop, moderate acceptance = $12,000; small job shop, strong acceptance = $27,000; large job shop, moderate acceptance = $10,000; large job shop, strong acceptance = $32,000; repetitive manufacturing, moderate acceptance = -$6,000; and repetitive manufacturing, strong acceptance = $18,000. The expected value for the small job shop decision alternative is $18,000. The expected value of the large job shop alternative is $18,800. The expected value for the repetitive manufacturing alternative is $3600. The firm should choose the large job shop capacity alternative. (Applying decision trees to capacity decisions, difficult) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

78.A new machine tool is expected to generate receipts as follows: $5,000 in year one; $3,000 in year two, nothing in the next year, and $2,000 in the fourth year. At an interest rate of 6%, what is the present value of these receipts? Is this a better present value than $2,500 each year over four years? Explain.

5,000 x .943 + 3,000 x .890 + 2,000 x .792 = $8,969 using Table S7.1 ($8,971.16 using Excel). The steady stream generates NPV of 2,500 x 3.465 = $8,662.5 ($8,662.76 using Excel). The irregular stream has the higher present value because the large receipts are early. (Applying investment analysis to strategy-driven investments, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

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79.Advantage Milling Devices is preparing to buy a new machine for precision milling of special metal alloys. This device can earn $300 per hour, and can run 3,000 hours per year. The machine is expected to be this productive for four years. If the interest rate is 6%, what is the present value? What is the present value if the interest rate is not 6%, but 0%? Why does present value fall when interest rates rise?

S = R * X = 300 * 3,000 * 3.465 = $3,118,500; S = R * X = 300 * 3,000 * 3.240 = $2,916,000 NPV falls because higher interest rates create a greater discount on future receipts. (Applying investment analysis to strategy-driven investments, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

80.Suppose that the market has a 70% chance of being favorable and a 30% chance of being unfavorable. A favorable market will yield a profit of $300,000, while an unfavorable market will yield a profit of $20,000. What is the expected monetary value (EMV) in this situation?

EMV = (0.7)($300,000) + (0.3)($20,000) = $210,000 + $6,000 = $216,000. (Applying decision trees to capacity decisions, easy) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

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CHAPTER 8: LOCATION STRATEGIES

TRUE/FALSE

1.FedEx chose Memphis, Tennessee, for its central location, or "hub," primarily because of the incentives offered by the city of Memphis and the state of Tennessee.

False (Global company profile, easy)

2.Generally, the objective of the location decision is to maximize the firm's profit.

False (The strategic importance of location, easy)

3.Lists have been developed that rank countries on issues such as “competitiveness” and “corruption.”

True (Factors that affect location decisions, easy)

4.When innovation replaces cost as a firm's focus for location decisions, the presence of other state- of-the-art firms is a plus, not a negative, for the firm's competitiveness.

True (The strategic importance of location, moderate)

5.The ratio of labor cost per day to productivity, in units per day, is the labor cost per unit.

True (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate)

6.For a location decision, labor productivity may be important in isolation, but low wage rates are a more important criterion.

False (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate)

7.Unfavorable exchange rates can offset other savings in a location decision.

True (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate)

8.An example of an intangible cost, as it relates to location decisions, is the quality of education.

True (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate)

9.In location decisions, intangible costs are easier to measure than tangible costs.

False (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate)

10.Location decisions are based on many things, including costs, revenues, incentives, attitudes, and intangibles, but not on ethical considerations.

False (Factors that influence location decisions, easy) {AACSB: Ethical Reasoning}

11.Manufacturers may want to locate close to their customers, if the transportation of finished goods is expensive or difficult.

True (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate)

12.One reason for a firm locating near its competitors is the presence of a major resource it needs.

True (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate)

13.The graphic approach to location break-even analysis displays the range of volume over which each location is preferable.

True (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate)

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14.The factor-rating method can consider both tangible and intangible costs.

True (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate)

15.The center-of-gravity method finds the location of a centralized facility, such as a distribution center, that will maximize the organization's revenue.

False (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate)

16.The transportation model calculates an optimal shipping system between a central facility and several outlying customers.

False (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate)

17.Service firms choose locations based, in part, on the revenue potential of a site.

True (Service location strategy, moderate)

18.Starbucks Coffee's approach to choosing new café locations is largely based on executive intuition, not sophisticated models and site selection technology.

False (Service location strategy, easy)

19.Labor cost and labor availability often drive the location decision in the call center industry.

True (Service location strategy, moderate)

20.The location decisions of goods-producing firms will generally pay more attention to parking, access, and traffic counts than will service location decisions.

False (Service location strategy, moderate)

21.Industrial location decisions often assume that costs are relatively constant for a given area.

False (Service location strategy, moderate)

22.Starbucks Coffee's use of geocoded demographic and consumer data in site selection decisions is an example of the use of a Geographic Information System, or GIS.

True (Service location strategy, moderate)

MULTIPLE CHOICE

23.FedEx chose Memphis, Tennessee, as its U.S. hub because

a.the city is in the center of the U.S., geographically

b.the airport has relatively few hours of bad weather closures

c.it needed a means to reach cities to which it did not have direct flights

d.the firm believed that a hub system was superior to traditional city-to-city flight scheduling

e.All of the above are true.

e (Global company profile, easy)

24.Which of the following statements regarding FedEx is true?

a.Its hub in Memphis, Tennessee, was selected because of its low cost.

b.Memphis, Tennessee, is the only hub in the company's global flight network.

c.FedEx believes the hub system helps reduce mishandling and delays due to better controls.

d.FedEx uses a hub system in the U.S., but a city-to-city network in other countries.

e.Memphis is FedEx's only hub airport in the United States.

c (Global company profile, easy)

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