Operations Management: Detailed Blackboard Review and Analysis

This document provides a compilation of answers to various questions related to Operations Management, likely derived from a Blackboard review. It covers topics such as decision-making processes including decision trees, expected monetary value calculations, and different decision-making strategies like maximax and maximin. Furthermore, it delves into process and layout design, contrasting fixed-position, product, and process layouts, and also discusses cellular manufacturing and flexible manufacturing systems. The solutions address concepts like line balancing, capacity planning, automation, and the importance of flexibility in manufacturing, while also highlighting the challenges associated with cost estimation in different process environments. This resource serves as a helpful guide for understanding key concepts and problem-solving approaches in operations management.

BLACKBOARD REVIEW – OPMAN
Statement incorrect - Working forward
through the decision tree, the expected
monetary value of each event mode is
computed by first weighting possible payoffs
by their change occurrence
Statement incorrect – The maximax
approach is a pessimistic strategy
Fixed-position Layout - Type of layout in
which workers, materials, and equipment
are moved to the product as needed
Sub-optimization - result of individual
departments making the best decisions for
their own areas.
Online Banking – example of automated
services
Not common to product layout – ability to
adjust to changes in demand
Job Shop – processing system tend to
produce the most product variety
Maximin – worst payoff for each alternative
and choosing the alternative with the “best
worst”
Process control – computer-aided
manufacturing refers to the use of
computers
Repetitive production – operation likely to
see, at most, only minor variations in the
product or service being produced using the
same process and the same equipment
Laplace – average payoff for each alternative
and choosing with the highest average in the
approach
Concept of the expected value of perfect
information – expected value of perfect
information means knowing in advance
what state of nature will occur
Bounded rationality – limit imposed on
decision-making by costs, time and
technology
Continuous – type of processing system
would gasoline be produce from crude oil
Decision Tree – not an approach from
decision-making under certainty
Statement incorrect – Bounded rationality
refers to the limits imposed on decision-
making because of costs, human abilities,
time, technology, and/or availability of
information
Job Shop – estimation of cost generally most
difficult when this process has been chosen
Flexible manufacturing system – group of
machines supervisory computer control,
automatic material handling and possibly
robot
Process – type of layout which features
departments or other functional groupings
in which similar activities are performed
Line Balancing – process of assigning tasks to
workstations in such a way that the
workstations have approximately equal time
requirements
Flexibility is not always the best choice –
should recognize when an operation
strategy for process selection

Job shop tends to be small scale and flexible,
while continuous processes tend to be large-
scale and inflexible
Cellular manufacturing layout – group of
equipment by the operations needed to
perform similar work for part families
Repetitive – estimation of costs is generally
most difficult when this process has been
chosen
Decision Tree – a schematic representation
of alternative
Part families – cellular layouts are
associated
Likelihood of possible future events is
unknown – characterized decision-making
under uncertainty.
Regret – difference between a given payoff
and the best payoff for a state of nature
Flexible manufacturing system – more fully
automated version of cellular manufacturing
Layout design – use workers and space
efficiently
Cost minimization – not considered an
important factor in real layout design
Statement is correct – expected value of
perfect information represents the
maximum amount a company should be
willing to pay for any information about
events, no matter how good it is
Significantly lower fixed costs – benefits of
flexible manufacturing systems
Maximax – determine the best possible
payoff
Equation of EVPI – Expected payoff under
certainty – expected payoff under risk
Minimum possible cycle time – longest task
time
Payoff table – tabular presentation that
shows the outcome for each decision
alternative under the various possible states
of nature
Lower unit cost – not true about process
layouts when they are compared to product
layout
Certainty – relevant parameters such as
costs, capacity, and demand have known
values
Consumer satisfaction surveys – computer-
integrated manufacturing integrates all of
the ff except with manufacturing
Statement incorrect – maximin approach
involves choosing the alternative w/ the
highest payoff
Receive Feedback – not a step of the
decision process
Daily Capacity of a product layout formula –
operating time divided by cycle time
Key aspects of the process selection
challenge – capital intensity; process
flexibility
Line Balancing – task of deciding how to
assign work to specific stations
Not characteristic of layout decision in
system design – usually well received by
operatives personnel

Automation – substitution of machinery
that has sensing and control devices for
human labor
Maximum Cycle time – daily operating time
divided by desired output
Laser Technology – used in surgical
procedures is an example of technological
advances in process
Continuous – used for highly standardized
products
Risk Neutral – expected monetary value
approach is most appropriate when a
decision maker
Subcontracting – not a process type
commonly considered in making products or
delivering services