EIB 518/523: Operations Management

Department of International Business

EMBA Program Fall 2021 Semester

Name: Ruel Orvil Samaddar

ID # 801929025

EIB 518/523: Operations Management

Mid Term Examination
Full Marks 15

Instructions:
1. Answer each and every question. There are 10 questions. Every
question has 1.5 marks.
2. You must write/enter your answers to the questions in this document
under the corresponding question in the blank/white space provided.
3. This is an open book examination. This allows you to use any book or
other sources to complete your examination.
4. Its duration is 1.5 hours. You must return this written/typed script no later
than 8:00 pm on 18 October 2021 by email to the following address. No
script shall be accepted after 8:00 pm.

ahrhibdepclass@yahoo.com
5. In the return mail, enter “OM Mid Term 1 Examination” as the subject.
6. Once the writing is complete, save your script as a PDF file and return it
as an attachment with the return email retaining the original document or
file name.
7. If you are unable to save in PDF format, return the script in WORD
format.
8. It is recommended that you use a computer or laptop to attend the
examination. The mobile phone is not a suitable device for this exam.
9. Sorry in advance that no excuse should be considered as the cause for not
sending the script on time or for not completing the exam due to network
or equipment failures.

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1. What is operations management, and why is supply chain is an integral part of contemporary
operations management?
Operations Management the direction and control of the process that transform inputs into products
and services.

 The systematic design, direction, and control of processes that transform inputs into
services and products for internals, as well as external, customers
 Processes can be linked together to form a supply chain - interrelated processes within a
firms and across different firms that produce a service or product to the satisfaction of the
customers

Operations management is the process, which combines and transforms various resources used in
the operations subsystem of the organization into value added product/services in a controlled
manner as per the policies of the organization.

Therefore, it is that part of an organization, which is concerned with the transformation of a range
of inputs into the required (products/services) having the requisite quality level.

Supply chain management is an integral part of contemporary operations management because it

can help achieve several business objectives. For instance, controlling manufacturing processes can
improve product quality, reducing the risk of recalls and lawsuits while helping to build a strong
consumer brand. At the same time, controls over shipping procedures can improve customer
service by avoiding costly shortages or periods of inventory oversupply.

 Boost Customer Service

 Reduce Operating Costs

 Improve Financial Position

Overall, supply chain management provides several opportunities for companies to improve their
profit margins and is especially important for companies with large and international operations.

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2. “ Every process and every person in an organization relies on suppliers.” – Explain why and
how.

n a similar fashion, every process and

every person in an organization
relies on suppliers. External suppliers
may be other
businesses or individuals who provide
the resources, services
n a similar fashion, every process and
every person in an organization
relies on suppliers. External suppliers
may be other
businesses or individuals who provide
the resources, services
In a similar fashion, every process and every person in an organization relies on suppliers. External
suppiers maybe other businesses or individuals who provide the resources, services, products and
materials for the firm’s short-0term and long-term needs. Processes also have internal suppliers,
who maybe employees that supply important information or materials.

Inputs and outputs vary depending on the service or product provided, inputs at a jewelry store
include merchandise, the store building, registers, the jeweler and customers, outputs to external
customers are services, machines, the plant, workers, managers and services provided by outside
consultants, outputs are clothings abd supporting services. The fundamental role of inputs
processes and customer outputs holds true for processes at all organizations. Thus we can say “
Every process and every person in an organization relies on suppliers.

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3. Discuss how service and manufacturing processes are similar and different.

Service process: A valuable action, deed, or effort performed to satisfy a need or to fulfill a
demand.
Manufacturing process: Manufacturing can be defined as the process of covering raw materials,
components, or parts into finished goods that meet customer satisfaction.

The similarities between service and manufacturing processes are given bellow:

 Manufacturers do not just offer products, and service organizations do not just offer
services. Both types of organizations normally provide a package of goods services.
 Generally, service organization cannot inventory their outputs, but manufacturing firms
that make customized product also cannot inventory their output.
 Everyone in an organization has some customers, whether in service or manufacturing.
 Both of the organizations require hard labor.
 Both have a very good return on investment.
 Both have huge marketing potential.
 Both have forecasting and capacity planning to match supply and demand.

The differences between service and manufacturing processes are given bellow:

 Degree of customer contact

 Uniformity of input

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 Labor content of jobs

 Uniformity of output
 Measurement of productivity
 Production and delivery
 Quality assurance
 Amount of inventory
 Evaluation of work
 Ability to patent design

4. Describe the four core processes of the supply chain.

There are four major elements of supply chain management: integration, operations, purchasing
and distribution. Each relies on the others to provide a seamless path from plan to completion as
affordably as possible.

Integration: As with any project, planning is essential to long-term success. Part of good
planning is setting up integration, which means that everyone involved in the manufacturing
process communicates and collaborates. Instead of functioning in separate divisions, or silos,
integrated teams work together to make sure the product gets to the distribution phase. This
improved communication reduces errors that cost time and money. Since everyone is working
together, leaders can also monitor the entire operation and easily identify areas along the supply

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chain that can be improved.

Operations: As important as strategy is to keeping a strong supply chain, day-to-day operations

are the backbone of the work manufacturers do. Managers monitor the work being performed and
make sure everything remains on track. Many of today’s manufacturers operate using lean
manufacturing strategies, which means that processes are constantly evaluated to identify where
things can be done more efficiently. Whether it’s monitoring equipment to make sure you’re
getting the most out of it or cutting back work hours when production slows down, the operations
team can bring major improvements to the supply chain.

Purchasing: You can’t make something from nothing. The purchasing area of supply chain
management makes sure a company has everything it needs to manufacture products, including
materials, supplies, tools and equipment. This means often staying ahead of the process so that
you have everything you need on hand well before you actually need it. Without the right
purchasing personnel, you could find that you end up running out of the materials you need,
delaying production, or that you overbuy and strain the company’s budget.

Distribution: The supply chain ends when the product lands on store shelves where customers
can buy them or their front door (if they purchase them online). But getting products there means
having a well-planned shipping process. Most companies today use logistics software to manage
their shipments, whether they handle it on their own or source shipping to a third-party provider.
When handled correctly, products are moved expeditiously from the warehouse to the customer.

5 What do you understand by the core competency of an organization? Why may workforce and
facilities be core competencies of a service organization?

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6 “A firm cannot have any order winner criterion without the set of order qualifier criteria.” –
Explain this statement.

Terry Hill, a professor at the London Business School, invented the words "order winners" and
"order qualifiers" to describe the process of converting firm's internal skills into criteria that might
lead to superior performance and commercial success.
Hill stressed the relationships and cooperation between operations and marketing in his
publications. The operations team is in charge of supplying the order-winning and order-qualifying
criteria that enable items to win orders in the marketplace, as determined by marketing.

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8 Why time is a competitive priority of an organization?

Delivery speed

On-time delivery

Development spe

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9 How can you identify gaps between competitive priorities and capabilities?

The process of identifying gaps between competitive priorities and capabilities are given bellow:

 Once managers determine the competitive priorities for a process, it is necessary to assess
the competitive capabilities of the process.
 The gap between a competitive priority and capability to achieve that competitive priority
must be closed by an effective operations strategy.

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10 What are different types of productivity? How can you measure factor productivity?

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1. Partial Productivity
Partial productivity is the ratio of output to partial input. It measures the productivity of each input.
It determines the contribution of each factor in producing and generating output. It can be measured
as follows. 
PP = O/PI

Where,

PP = Partial Productivity

O = Total Output

PI = Partial Input

Different partial inputs can be Labor, Capital, Energy, Machinery and materials, etc.  

Some examples of partial productivity measurements are given below: 

Labor Productivity = Total Output / Labor Input

Capital Productivity = Total Output / Captial Input
Material Productivity = Total Output / Total raw material used
Energy Productivity = Total Output / Total energy used
Machinery Productivity = Total Output / Total machine hour used

2. Total Factor Productivity

This is the ratio between total output on the one hand and labor and capital on the other hand. It can
be expressed as: 

TFP = O/L+C

Where,

TFP = Total factor productivity

O = Total Output

L = Labor

C = Capital

Total factor productivity has the benefit of easy calculation and more useful form economic view
points.

3. Total Productivity
Total productivity is the ratio of total output to the sum of all inputs.  Thus, total productivity
measures reflect the joint impact of all the inputs in producing and generating output. 

TP = O/I

Where,

TP = Total Productivity

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O = Total Output

I = Total Input

The total productivity considers all quantifiable factors and output.

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