An expansionist capacity strategy is NOT indicated when
- capacity expansion is consistently ahead of demand.
- expansion will lead to economies of scale.
- expansion is made in large increments.
- a preemptive marketing strategy is used.
b
In general, a less capital-intensive industry such as a hotel chain would do well with a utilization rate of
- 30-40%.
- 60-70%.
- approximately 18%.
- 100%.
b
Waiting-line models often are used in capacity planning in order to
- evaluate different capacity expansion alternatives when demand is uncertain.
- understand why forecast accuracy declines as the forecasting horizon lengthens.
- select an appropriate capacity cushion for a high customer-contact process.
- analyze the payoff of a series of events, such as competitors' actions, which requires a sequence of decisions regarding capacities.
c
Long-term capacity planning deals with which of the following factors?
- Investment in new facilities
- Inventories
- Overtime budgets
- Workforce size
a
Waiting-line problems that cannot be studied with waiting-line models must be analyzed with which analytical tool?
- simulation
- regression analysis
- forecasting tools
- decision trees
a
Input measures of capacity are preferred when there
- are flexible flow processes.
- are service processes.
- is low customization.
- are high-volume processes.
a
When evaluating alternative capacity decisions, qualitative concerns exclude
- competitive reaction.
- cash flow.
- technology change.
- uncertainties about demand.
b
Which tool deals more formally with demand uncertainty and variability of capacity decisions?
- break-even analysis
- productivity analysis
- preference matrix
- waiting-line models
d
Anna's landscaping business has a capacity gap; which alternative can best be described as "simply to do nothing"?
- Follow-the leader strategy
- Expansionist strategy
- Wait-and-see strategy
- Base-case strategy
d
Using input measures of capacity is least appropriate in which of the following situations?
- significant learning effects are expected
- the product or service mix is changing
- productivity rates are expected to change
- product variety and process divergence is low
d
Capacity planning requires demand forecasts for an extended period of time. Forecast accuracy tends to _______ as the forecasting horizon _______.
- remain unchanged; lengthens
- increase; lengthens
- decline; shortens
- decline; lengthens
d
A diseconomy of scale is realized when
- the average cost per unit decreases as the facility's size increases.
- it becomes cheaper to produce fewer items per production period.
- the average cost per unit increases as the facility's size decreases.
- the average cost per unit increases as the facility's size increases.
d
Which of the following is a principal reason that explains why economies of scale can drive costs down when output increases?
- costs of purchased materials are cut
- construction costs are reduced
- process advantages are found
- All of the above.
d
Chang and Chang observe that the competition is increasing the size of its warehouses. They have decided to do the same. They are following _______ strategy.
- a follow the leader
- a wait-and-see
- an expansionist
- a Theory of Constraints
a
A measure of the reserve capacity a process has to handle in unexpected increases in demand is the
- capacity utilization rate.
- capacity bottleneck.
- capacity cushion.
- capacity constraint limit.
c