Operations Management - Chapter 1

Front 1

Any activity or group of activities that takes one or more inputs, transforms and adds value to them, and provides one or more outputs for its customers.

Back 1

process

Front 2

Customers who are either end users or intermediaries (such as manufacturers, wholesalers, or retailers) buying the firm's finished products and services.

Back 2

external customers

Front 3

One or more other employees who rely on inputs from earlier processes in order to perform processes in the next office, shop, or department.

Back 3

internal customers

Front 4

The concept of a process within a process.

Back 4

nested process

Front 5

The direction and control of the processes that transforms inputs into products and services

Back 5

operations management

Front 6

An operations management decision that is less structured and has long-term consequences.

Back 6

strategic decision

Front 7

An operations management decision that is more structured, routine, and repetitive which has only short-term consequences.

Back 7

tactical desision

Front 8

The value of outputs (goods and services) produced divided by the values of input resources (wages, costs of equipment, and the like).

Back 8

productivity

Front 9

An index of the output per person or hour worked.

Back 9

labor productivity

Front 10

An index of the output per machine or hours run.

Back 10

machine productivity

Front 11

An index of the output provided by more than one of the resources used in production.

Back 11

multifactor productivity

Front 12

It coordinates the firm's overall goals with its core competencies. It determines which customers the firm will serve, which new products or services it will produce, which responses it will take to changes in its business and socioeconomic environment, and which strategy it will employ in international markets.

Back 12

corporate strategy

Front 13

Categorizes a firm's customers, identifies their needs, and assesses competitor's strengths.

Back 13

market analysis

Front 14

Operating advantages that a firm's processes must possess to outperform its competitors.

Back 14

competitive priorities

Front 15

The unique resources and strengths that an organization's management considers when formulating strategy.

Back 15

core competencies

Front 16

An agreement with another firm that may take one of three forms and which is a way for a firm to open foreign markets.

Back 16

strategic alliance

Front 17

A strategic alliance that often arises when one firm has core competencies that another needs but is unwilling or unable to duplicate. These are common in buyer-seller relationships.

Back 17

collaborative effort

Front 18

A strategic alliance in which two firms agree to produce a product or service jointly. These are often used by firms to gain access to foreign markets.

Back 18

joint venture

Front 19

A strategic alliance in which one company licenses its production or service methods to another.

Back 19

technology licensing

Front 20

The process of identifying groups of customers with enough in common to warrant the design and provision of products or services that the larger group wants and needs.

Back 20

market segmentation

Front 21

Identifies the needs of each segment and assesses how well competitors are addressing those needs. It includes both tangible and intangible product attributes and features that a customer desires.

Back 21

needs assessment

Front 22

A core product or service and a set of peripheral products of services that the customer views as a whole.

Back 22

customer benefit package

Front 23

The means by which operations implements the firm's corporate strategy.

Back 23

operations strategy

Front 24

Operating advantages that are related to a firm's processes. Cost, quality, time, and flexibility are the four groups into which these are classified.

Back 24

competitive priorities

Front 25

These are the eight possible competitive priorites.

Back 25

low-cost operations
high-performance design
consistent quality
fast delivery time
on-time delivery
development speed
customization
volume flexibility

Front 26

Determination of the level of operations performance required in making a product or performing a service.

Back 26

high-performance design

Front 27

Measurement of the frequency with which the product or service meets design specifications.

Back 27

consistent quality

Front 28

The elapsed time between receiving a customer's order and filling it.

Back 28

fast delivery time

Front 29

The way industrial buyers often refer to fast delivery time.

Back 29

lead time

Front 30

Measurement of the frequency with which delivery-time promises are met.

Back 30

on-time delivery

Front 31

Measurement of how quickly a new product or service is introduced, covering the elapsed time from idea generation through final design and production.

Back 31

development speed

Front 32

The process by which managers define the steps and time needed to deliver a product or service, and then critically analyze each step to determine whether they can save time without hurting quality.

Back 32

time-based competition

Front 33

A process during which design engineers, manufacturing specialists, buyers, and quality specialists work jointly to design a product or service and select the production process.

Back 33

concurrent engineering

Front 34

The ability to satisfy the unique needs of each customer by changing product or service designs.

Back 34

customization

Front 35

The ability to accelerate or decelerate the rate of production quickly to handle fluctuations in demand.

Back 35

volume flexibility

Front 36

A competitive priority that is a requirement for doing business in a particular market segment.

Back 36

order qualifier

Front 37

The service strategy utilized by processes that provide services with little variety in high volumes.

Back 37

standardized-services strategy

Front 38

The service strategy that designs operations to include processes that produce a set of standardized services and processes that are devoted to assembling standardized offerings for a specific customer's needs.

Back 38

assemble-to-order services strategy

Front 39

A service strategy designed to provide individualized services.

Back 39

customized-services strategy

Front 40

A manufacturing strategy that involves holding items in stock for immediate delivery, thereby minimizing customer delivery times.

Back 40

make-to-stock strategy

Front 41

The approach used by firms that employ a make-to-stock strategy.

Back 41

mass production

Front 42

An approach to producing customized products from relatively few assemblies and components after customer orders are received.

Back 42

assemble-to-order manufacturing strategy

Front 43

A strategy used by manufacturers that make products to customer specifications in low volumes.

Back 43

make-to-order strategy

Front 44

An example of the assemble-to-order strategy, whereby a firm's flexible processes generate customized products or services in high volumes at reasonably low costs.

Back 44

mass customization