Final Exam
Operations Management
QSO 600 Operations Management
The final exam consists of five essay and five problem questions. Answer all the
questions.
Essay Questions:
There is no set length for answers; students may be as verbose or brief as they feel
necessary to cover the question. Use this same exam document for your answers,
placing them below each question. This portion of the exam is worth 75 points
Problem Questions:
Make sure to show all your work to get full credit. The instructor needs to know the
formulas and calculations you used to get to your final answer. You can do part of the
exam in Excel and Paste your Excel work into this document. This portion of the exam is
worth 75 points.
File Convention:
File name for the exam attachment to be
studentlastname-finalexam (Be sure there are no spaces)
Be sure to put your name on the exam paper.
Note: You may use the text and any other materials. You are NOT to work with anyone
else including other students in completing the exam nor discuss it with them.
QSO 600 Final Exam Essay Questions
Question 1: What is operations management? Why is it important? Is a good knowledge
of operations management more important in service or manufacturing industries?
Explain your answer.
Question 2: Discuss the use of PERT/CPM techniques for managing projects. Describe
what PERT/CPM does. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of using it. What other
techniques might you choose to manage your project?
Question 3: What are economies of scale in a manufacturing plant? Do they continue
forever? What are diseconomies of scale? How might you decide the optimal size of a
plant?
Question 4: What, in your opinion, are the three most important issues in supply chain
management? Discuss why you think these are the key issues.
Question 5: Discuss why (or if) inventories are necessary. What are the benefits of
inventories? What are the disadvantages of holding inventories?
QSO 600 Final Exam Problem Questions
Problem 1.
Arsenal Electronics is going to construct a new $1.2 billion semiconductor plant and has
selected four towns in the Midwest as potential sites. The important location factors and
ratings for each town are as follows:
Scores (0 to 100)
Location Factor
Weight Abbeton Bayside Cane Creek Dunnville
Work ethics
0.18
80
90
70
75
Quality of life
0.16
75
85
95
90
Labor laws/unionization
0.12
90
60
60
70
Infrastructure
0.10
60
50
60
70
Education
0.08
80
90
85
95
Labor skill and education
0.07
75
65
70
80
Cost of living
0.06
70
80
85
75
Taxes
0.05
65
70
55
60
Incentive package
0.05
90
95
70
80
Government regulations
0.03
40
50
65
55
Environmental regulations
0.03
65
60
70
80
Transportation
0.03
90