11. The ____ of a firm defines the strengths that are unique to that organization.
| a. |
strategy development |
| b. |
strategic mission |
| c. |
vision statement |
| d. |
core competencies |
12. ____ attributes are most likely to be experienced by the customer when using estate planning services.
| a. |
Search attributes |
| b. |
Experience attributes |
| c. |
Credence attributes |
| d. |
Order winners |
13. With regard to the three types of customer attributes in evaluating the quality of goods and services, those associated with having a meal in a restaurant such as taste of the food and courtesy of the server would best be classified as
| a. |
search attributes |
| b. |
experience attributes |
| c. |
credence attributes |
| d. |
reflect attributes |
14. With regard to the three types of customer attributes in evaluating the quality of goods and services, those associated with the features of a new laptop computer such as processor speed and hard disk capacity would best be classified as
| a. |
search attributes |
| b. |
experience attributes |
| c. |
credence attributes |
| d. |
reflect attributes |
15. In regard to ways customers evaluate services compared to their evaluation of goods, which of the following is not true?
| a. |
For services, customers seek and rely more on personal sources of information. |
| b. |
Customers normally adopt innovations in services faster. |
| c. |
Customers perceive greater results when buying services. |
| d. |
Dissatisfaction with services is often the result of a customer’s inability to properly perform or co-produce their part of the service. |
16. Which of the following does not describe how customers evaluate services in a manner that differs from the way they evaluate goods?
| a. |
Customers rely on more information from personal sources. |
| b. |
Customers perceive greater risks. |
| c. |
Customers cannot form a priori expectations of expected service quality. |
| d. |
Dissatisfaction often results from a customer’s inability to properly co-produce the service. |
18. Regarding quality, which statement is not true?
| a. |
Businesses offering premium quality goods usually have larger market share and are early entrants into their market. |
| b. |
Quality is positively and significantly related to higher return on investment for almost all kinds of market situations. |
| c. |
A strategy of quality improvement usually leads to increased market share but at a cost in terms of reduced short-run profits. |
| d. |
High goods quality producers can usually excel by charging low prices. |
19. Families of goods or services having similar characteristics or methods of creation are called
| a. |
Core competencies |
| b. |
Corporate strategy |
| c. |
Strategic business units |
| d. |
Functional strategy |
20. Which of the following would not constitute an element of operations infrastructure?
| a. |
Market segmentation |
| b. |
Workforce |
| c. |
Quality control |
| d. |
Learning and innovation systems |
21. Operations design choices include all of the following except
| a. |
Operating plans and controls |
| b. |
Type of processes |
| c. |
Value chain integration and outsourcing |
| d. |
Inventory and service capacity |
22. Professor Terry Hill has presented a four-loop framework for operations strategy through an iterative and integrated process. The initial loop is
| a. |
Operations evaluates the implications of competitive priorities in terms of process choices and infrastructure |
| b. |
Operations determines if process choice decisions and capabilities are consistent with infrastructure capabilities |
| c. |
Operations input into corporate and marketing strategy |
| d. |
Ties together corporate strategy and marketing strategy |
23. Considering the work force component of infrastructure, which term does not fit with the others in a service environment?
| a. |
Customer contact skills |
| b. |
Cross-training |
| c. |
Task-oriented |
| d. |
Empowered |
24. The text uses McDonald’s to exemplify Professor Terry Hill’s Generic Strategy Framework. The operating design choices of resource scheduling, inventory placement and control and standardized operational and job procedures relate best to the corporate objective of
| a. |
Profitable growth |
| b. |
Operational excellence |
| c. |
Leverage strengths through innovation and technology |
| d. |
Diversity |
25. Which one of the following statements best represents McDonald’s approach to global business?
| a. |
One brand cannot be all things to all people. |
| b. |
Extensive use of outside trainers |
| c. |
Using alternative technologies to make French fries |
| d. |
Use of primarily manual information systems |
26. Which one of the following statements is true with respect to McDonald’s operations and strategy?
| a. |
The #1 competitive priority is demand flexibility. |
| b. |
Prof. Terry Hill’s strategy framework cannot be applied to services such as McDonald’s. |
| c. |
There is only one standardized way (process) to make French fries in over 30,000 stores worldwide. |
| d. |
McDonald’s vision is to produce the world’s best hamburger. |
SHORT ANSWER
1. With regard to the Lawn Care Company case study, explain how the (a) physical product (i.e., grass seed and fertilizer) and (b) lawn application service life cycles are related? What are the implications? You might also want to use a graph.
2. What do managers need to understand in order to create a sustainable competitive advantage?
3. Explain the difference between an order qualifier and an order winner. Provide some examples.
4. Explain the concept of search, experience, and credence attributes.
5. How do customers evaluate services differently from manufacturing, and what implications do these have for operations?
