Chapter 10 Review Questions: 1

Chapter 10 Review Questions:

1. What is utility? How does production create utility?

2. Why is production such an important business activity? In what ways does it create value for the company and its customers?

3. Why are firms now moving more toward flexible production and customer-driven production instead of mass production? Describe a product that you think would be better suited to flexible production or customer-driven production than mass production. Explain your choice.

4. Identify which production system-analytic or synthetic-applies to each of the following products:

5. SeaWorld has facilities in Florida, Texas, and California. What specific factors might have contributed to those choices?

            Some of the factors that contributed to SeaWorld’s facilities are location, transportation, and physical factors like water supply, hazardous materials, taxes, community living conditions, and local zoning regulations.

6. What would be the best facility layout for the following?

7. What might be the factors involved in the selection of suppliers for a steakhouse restaurant?

8. What is inventory control? Why is the management of inventory crucial to a company’s success?

9. What is benchmarking? How can it help a firm improve the quality of its goods and services?