DAO2703
Tutorial 1 Questions
Semester 2 AY2023/2024
1.
Define operations management.
2.
What are the major ways in which services operations differ from manufacturing operations?
3.
Discuss the operations objectives for:
a.
b.
c.
A fast-food restaurant (e.g., MacDonald’s, Burger King, Jollibee)
A university (e.g., NUS, NTU, SMU)
A computer company (e.g., ASUS, Dell Technologies, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo)
4.
What are the three classic functions that must be performed in all organizations? How are they
interrelated? Which is more important?
5.
If inputs increase by 35% and outputs increase by 10%, what is the percent change in
productivity?
6.
Basic Text: Chapter 2, Problem 3 on page 65 (Chocolate Bars Production).
7.
Basic Text: Chapter 2, Problem 4 on page 65 (Shopping Carts for Supermarkets).
8.
Basic Text: Chapter 2, Problem 9 on page 66 (ID Theft Protection).
9.
A crate manufacturer has been able to produce 240 crates per 100 logs with his current
equipment. He currently purchases 100 logs per day, and each log requires 3 labor-hours to
process. He believes that he can hire a professional buyer who can buy a better-quality log at the
same cost. If this is the case, he can increase his production to 260 crates per 100 logs and his
labor-hours will increase by 8 hours per day.
a.
b.
What will be the impact on productivity (measured in crates per labor-hour) if the buyer
is hired?
Suppose that he has decided to look at his productivity from a multifactor perspective and
he has determined the additional input requirements as follow:
Material:
Capital:
Energy:
Current System
100 logs per day = $1,000
$350
$150
System with Professional Buyer
Material: 100 logs per day = $1,000
Capital:
$350
Energy:
$150
If he pays an average of $10 per hours, what will be the impact on productivity?
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10.
Suppose that a US manufacturer is considering opening a plant in Vietnam, and the current
exchange rate is 23,745 Vietnamese Dong per dollar, i.e., VND23,745/USD. Also, the wage rate
is VND30,660 per hour. Suppose further that U.S. workers are 11 times more productive than
Vietnamese workers.
a.
b.
What is the “relative” wage rate (in dollars) of operating in Vietnam, after taking
productivity differences into account?
If the U.S. wage rate is USD15.94 per hour, are labor costs (relatively) cheaper in the U.S. or
Vietnam?
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