Chapter 5: Process Focus
Chapter 5: Process Focus
Chapter 5: Process Focus
TRUE/FALSE
1. A process is a sequence of linked activities that is intended to achieve some result, such as producing a
good or service for a customer within or outside the organization.
2. The design aspect of process management focuses on continually seeking to achieve higher levels of
performance, such as reduced variation, higher yields, fewer defects and errors, and smaller cycle
times.
3. Processes must be measurable and repeatable in order to apply the techniques of process management.
4. Support processes generally require a higher level of attention than do value-creation processes.
7. Projects generally cut across organizational boundaries and require the coordination of many different
departments and functions.
10. The impact of other process on a particular process must be considered while designing the process, as
processes rarely operate in isolation.
11. Flowcharts enable management to study and analyze processes prior to implementation.
12. The outputs of service processes are not as well defined as manufactured products.
13. Services that emphasize on professional judgement of the employees often succeed in providing good
solutions to customer problems.
14. Identifying potential defects and errors and stopping a process before they occur is the best approach
to avoid mistakes in a process.
15. Process control is the responsibility of those who directly accomplish the work.
16. Control is the activity of ensuring conformance to the requirements and taking corrective action when
necessary to correct problems and maintain stable performance.
18. Reduction in cycle time of a process leads to improvement in quality of products as it reduces the
potential for mistakes and errors.
19. The Kaizen philosophy requires a significant cultural change from all employees in the organization
including the top management.
20. A kaizen blitz is an improvement initiative that is gradual and continuous and is performed on a
part-time basis.
21. Breakthrough improvement refers to discontinuous change, as opposed to the gradual, continuous
improvement philosophy of kaizen.
23. Reengineering focuses on improving the existing procedures rather than eliminating them and
reinventing the process.
24. Suppliers include only those companies that provide materials and components that are required for
manufacturing a product.
25. The materials supplied by a certified supplier do not require manufacturers to conduct routine testing
on all the lots supplied.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is a reason why process management is important for organizations?
a. It assists organizations in recruiting the most suitable employees whose values match the
culture of the organization.
b. It helps organizations to segment customers into natural groups in order to customize
products that are better able to meet customers’ needs.
c. It assists organizations in identifying opportunities for improving quality and operational
performance.
d. It helps organizations to increase employee morale and commitment to the organization.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Management
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension
3. Which of the following is one of the three major activities in process management that focuses on
maintaining consistency in output by assessing performance and taking corrective action when
necessary?
a. Design
b. Improvement
c. Process mapping
d. Control
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Management
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
4. Which of the following is one of the three major activities in process management that focuses on
achieving higher yields of products with reduced variation and fewer defects and errors?
a. Design
b. Control
c. Improvement
d. Process mapping
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Management
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
7. The quality team at Nigre, a cosmetics company, is continuously involved in monitoring the
production process to ensure that the products are meeting specifications. They are also responsible for
taking corrective measures when they identify variations in the products. In the context of the three
major activities involved in process management, the quality team at Nigre, is engaged in the _____
activity of process management.
a. improvement
b. design
c. mapping
d. control
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking TOP: A-head: Process Management
KEY: Bloom's: Application
8. The management team at Kyra Electronics, is looking for ways to achieve higher levels of
performance. It is trying to obtain higher yields and reduce cycle times. In the context of the three
major activities involved in process management, the management team at Kyra, is engaged in the
_____ activity of process management.
a. mapping
b. improvement
c. design
d. control
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking TOP: A-head: Process Management
KEY: Bloom's: Application
11. In the case of a manufacturing company, which of the following is an example of a value-creation
process?
a. Product designing
b. Human resource services
c. Public relations
d. Legal services
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Identifying Processes and Requirements
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
12. For a manufacturing company, which of the following is an example of a support process?
a. Product designing
b. Legal services
c. Testing of products
d. Product manufacturing
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Identifying Processes and Requirements
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
13. Value-creation processes differ from support processes in that value-creation processes:
a. provide the infrastructure for production or deliver processes to create or deliver the actual
product.
b. rarely align with the organization’s core competencies and strategic objectives.
c. generally do not add value directly to the product or service.
d. are driven by external customer needs.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Identifying Processes and Requirements
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension
14. A _____ is a temporary work structure that starts up, produces products or services, and then shuts
down.
a. kaizen program
b. poka-yoke program
c. project
d. quality circle
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Identifying Processes and Requirements
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
16. Which of the following is the first step involved in designing a manufacturing process?
a. Defining the sequence of steps that need to be performed
b. Documenting the procedures and requirements in a flowchart
c. Analyzing the processes prior to implementation to improve quality
d. Conducting a detailed technical analysis of the characteristics of the product
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension
17. A(n) _____ is a design tool that enables management to study and analyze processes prior to
implementation in order to improve quality and operational performance.
a. Likert’s scale
b. flowchart
c. quality manual
d. affinity diagram
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
18. The organizations that emphasize more on the behavior of the employees rather than the processes and
procedures involved are aiming to:
a. improve the efficiency and timing of their service.
b. improve the reliability of their service.
c. provide a friendly and personable environment to their customers.
d. minimize variations in their service standards.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension
19. When a service ranks low on the dimensions of customer contact, labor intensity, and customization,
the service providers need to emphasize on _____ to provide a high quality service to the customers.
a. training provided to the employees
b. employee behavior
c. professional judgement of the employees
d. physical facilities and procedures
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
20. As customization of services increases, _____ become(s) a bigger factor in the ability to provide high
quality service to the customers.
a. professional judgement of the employees
b. processes and procedures
c. employee behavior
d. physical facilities
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
21. Which of the following is regarded as the best approach to prevent mistakes in a process because of its
ability to avoid rework and wastage of time and resources?
a. Identifying potential defects and errors and stopping a process before they occur
b. Conducting a cost-benefit analysis to determine the impact of stopping a process
c. Designing potential defects and errors out of the process
d. Identifying defects and errors soon after they occur and quickly correcting the process
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
22. _____ is an approach for mistake-proofing processes, developed by Shigeo Shingo, that involves using
automatic devices or simple methods to avoid human error.
a. Kaizen
b. Poka-yoke
c. Process mapping
d. Job enrichment
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
23. Which of the following is true of the poka-yoke approach used for mistake-proofing processes?
a. It was developed by Kaoru Ishikawa.
b. It is ineffective in providing immediate feedback to the employees regarding the error in
the process.
c. It helps to engage workers in continuous improvement activities.
d. Most of the techniques of poka-yoke are expensive and extremely complex to implement.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension
24. Which of the following can be regarded as a task error in a service process?
a. Lack of courteous behavior
b. Failure to acknowledge a customer
c. Unclean facilities
d. Working on the wrong order
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
25. In the context of service errors, which of the following is an example of a treatment error?
a. Working on the wrong order
b. Unclean facilities
c. Lack of courteous behavior
d. Doing work incorrectly
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
26. After using an ATM machine, Deborah forgets to remove her card from the machine. This is an
example of:
a. a treatment error between the server and the customer.
b. a customer error in preparation.
c. a customer error at the resolution stage of a service.
d. a customer error during an encounter.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Application
27. Which of the following is a type of customer error that results during an encounter?
a. Failure to follow the instructions provided
b. Failure to signal service inadequacies
c. Failure to bring the necessary materials for the encounter
d. Failure to understand the role in the service transaction
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
28. Strategically placed tray-return stands and trash receptacles remind customers to return trays in
fast-food facilities. This is an example of a poka-yoke technique designed to prevent:
a. customer errors in preparation.
b. customer errors during an encounter.
c. customer errors at the resolution stage of a service.
d. treatment errors between the server and the customer.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Design
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension
29. After-action review or debrief is a process control approach used by organizations to:
a. reduce the cost of conducting a process.
b. improve the process by increasing the efficiency of the manufacturing systems.
c. decrease the time required for completing a process.
d. prevent the errors in a process from occurring again in the future.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Moderate
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Control
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension
32. The process of measuring a company’s performance against best-in-class companies and using that
information as a basis to define the company’s targets, strategies, and implementation is known as
_____.
a. total quality management
b. process mapping
c. benchmarking
d. reengineering
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Improvement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
33. _____ is defined as the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve
dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality,
service, and speed.
a. Process mapping
b. Total quality management
c. Reengineering
d. Benchmarking
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: A-head: Process Improvement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
ESSAY
1. Define process management and list the major activities involved in process management.
ANS:
Process management involves planning and administering the activities necessary to achieve a high
level of performance in key organizational processes, and identifying opportunities for improving
quality and operational performance, and ultimately, customer satisfaction.
Process management consists of three major activities: design, control, and improvement.
1) Design focuses on ensuring that the inputs to the process, such as materials, technology, work
methods, and a trained workforce are adequate; and that the process can achieve its requirements.
2) Control focuses on maintaining consistency in output by assessing performance and taking
corrective action when necessary.
3) Improvement focuses on continually seeking to achieve higher levels of performance, such as
reduced variation, higher yields, fewer defects and errors, smaller cycle times, and so on.
ANS:
Value-creation processes are those most important to running the business and maintaining or
achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. They drive the creation of products and services, are
critical to customer satisfaction, and have a major impact on the strategic goals of an organization.
Value-creation processes typically include product design and production/delivery processes. In
addition, value-creation processes include other critical business processes such as research and
development, technology acquisition, supply chain management, mergers and acquisitions, and project
management.
Support processes are those that are most important to an organization’s value-creation processes,
employees, and daily operations. They provide infrastructure for value-creation processes, but
generally do not add value directly to the product or service. Support processes might include
processes for finance and accounting, facilities management, legal services, human resource services,
public relations, and other administrative services. Value-creation processes generally require a higher
level of attention than do support processes; however, failure to adequately manage support processes
can certainly impede the functioning of value-creation processes.
3. Why do organizations focus on improving the agility and flexibility of their processes?
ANS:
Agility is a term that is commonly used to characterize flexibility and short cycle times. As customer
needs and expectations change, organizations must design processes that are increasingly agile.
Electronic commerce, for instance, requires more rapid, flexible, and customized responses than
traditional market outlets. Flexibility refers to the ability to adapt quickly and effectively to changing
requirements.
Organizations need to focus on making their processes flexible in order to rapidly respond to changing
demands, to quickly changeover from one product to another, and to produce a wide range of
customized services. Agility helps organizations to provide personalized, custom-designed products to
meet individual customer preferences at prices comparable to mass-produced items.
ANS:
Any control system has four elements:
1) A standard or goal: Goals and standards are defined during planning and design processes. They
establish what is supposed to be accomplished. These goals and standards are reflected by measurable
quality characteristics, such as product dimensions, service times, or employee behavior.
2) A means of measuring accomplishment: Measuring quality characteristics may be accomplished
through some sort of inspection activity.
3) Comparison of results with the standard to provide feedback: By comparing results with the
standards or goals, one can determine whether corrective action is needed. Many companies use
statistical process control as a means of signaling when deviations from standards require corrective
action.
4) The ability to make corrections as appropriate: Corrective action might entail adjusting machine
settings or retraining employees to provide effective service.
ANS:
A supplier certification process help organizations to manage their supply chain. These processes are
designed to rate and certify suppliers who provide quality materials in a cost-effective and timely
manner.
Supplier certification helps companies to avoid routine testing on each lot of the stock received from a
certified supplier. Certification also provides recognition for high-quality suppliers, which motivates
them to improve continuously and attract more business.
CASE
2. Which of the following is considered during the design/redesign process in K&N's comprehensive
system for process management framework?
a. Cycle time
b. Operating procedures
c. Measuring to specifications
d. Auditing to specifications
ANS:
A
3. In K&N's process management framework, which of the following is considered during process
control and improvement?
a. Equipment needs
b. Training team members
c. Operating procedures
d. Design of workstations
ANS:
B
ANS:
B
ANS:
K&N uses a comprehensive system for process management that incorporates design, control, and
improvement. Design of work processes is linked to product offerings; as new or improved products
are designed, redesign of work processes may be necessary. First, equipment needs are analyzed,
based on the equipment capability requirements selection characteristics. Next, workforce needs are
determined, including the design of workstations and the capabilities needed in the workforce. Design
of the operations addresses quality requirements, process efficiency, and operating procedures.
Because the restaurant industry experiences seasonal fluctuations, K&N designs work processes to
meet varying levels of demand. Cycle time, productivity, and cost control factors are considered
during the design/redesign process. Process control and improvement are addressed in the remaining
steps of the process. This includes mapping and documenting the process, training team members,
replicating the process to all applicable areas, measuring and auditing to specifications, and evaluation
and improvement.
ANS:
Operational steps are a set of behaviors and methods that if performed to standard will result in the
product meeting standards.
ANS:
Each operation is designed so the team members are in a state of self-control, meaning that they know
the standards, have the skills to check to see if the process output meets the standards, and are
empowered to correct it or stop the product unless it meets 100 percent of the standards. Team
members are given the necessary coaching, materials, and knowledge of, and access to, equipment.
They are provided with an understanding of the process, standards, and expectations for results. They
are empowered with the ability to not only carry out the process, but to stop the process if anything is
found to be less than 100 percent compliant with the standards.
ANS:
At K&N, data that indicate the need for work process improvements come from operations
inspections, process audits, team members, and guest feedback.
9. How does K&N deal with a formal new process or a process change?
ANS:
If a new process or a process change is approved, the standard is changed, and it is rolled out to all
applicable locations. After the change is implemented, an audit is performed using the new standard
and discrepancies are corrected.
PTS: 1 DIF: Difficulty: Easy NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic
TOP: A-head: Summary of Key Points and Terminology KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
ANS:
When the cause of a problem is not known, a special problem-solving process is used at K&N. This
includes finding the root cause of the problem, determining the best solution, designing an
improvement and implementing it, determining if the results are positive, and if so, standardizing the
solution. The problem-solving process has assisted K&N in reducing variability in processes across the
organization, improving production and service processes, and achieving better performance.
11. How is the kaizen philosophy implemented at the Lexus plant in Cambridge, Ontario?
ANS:
Teamwork at Cambridge starts with teaching workers about every stage of the production process, and
about the duties of other team members. Not only does this reinforce the idea that each job is
important, but it increases motivation: Each team member does his/her job better if he/she understands
how other jobs are done and how one job affects another. This is all part of the kaizen philosophy,
which at Cambridge is all about the many small inventions masterminded by team members on the
line. Most are simple ideas that would occur only to a person doing the job—a clip to hold a part, say,
or a jig or template to protect a part from damage, or the replacement of several parts by one. (These
inventions are themselves called kaizens.)
12. How does the cleanliness process at the Lexus plant in Cambridge support the achievement of high
product quality?
ANS:
In order to foster the kaizen philosophy, engineers and managers created an environment like a clean
room, brightly lit like a pharmaceutical laboratory, with a place for everything and everything in its
place. Traditional automobile factories are dark and noisy places, filled with flying sparks and the
pounding of metal stamping machines. The Cambridge plant, by contrast, is painted in light colors and
boasts a spotless floor—the result of constant sweeping up with small brooms and dustpans. These
come from “5s” stations, a key element of lean production. Cleanliness plays such a large role because
at a typical automobile plant most defects are caused by the process of manufacturing itself, by bumps
and scrapes from workers. That is why there are no rings or watches on the line at Cambridge, no jeans
with rivets to scratch bodies, and why fragments of metal are swept up before they can infiltrate the
paint system. The Lexus philosophy is based on the fundamental insight that quality must be built into
each part of the production process, not applied as an afterthought through inspections or fixes.
13. Explain the concept of "quality gates" at the Cambridge plant of Lexus with an example.
ANS:
At the Cambridge plant, Lexus has taken quality control to a new level, with the introduction of
“quality gates”: checkpoints where items found to be of particular concern to customers (such as
flawless vertical paint surfaces and the fit of headlights into the body of the vehicle) are noted and
evaluated. At the welding area’s quality gate, for example, welds are tested with hammer and chisel
and alignments measured with jigs. Team members certify each vehicle’s weld integrity by applying
their initials in bright colors. These personal testimonials to care and quality will ride with the vehicles
for their lifetimes, albeit under coats of paint or hidden away from the customer’s eye. Then, at the end
of the welding process, the bodies receive an even closer inspection, distinguished by that special
human touch that makes Lexus so rare among car companies. Under an angled roof made up of light
tubes, team members sweep their hands carefully across every inch of the vehicles’ exteriors. With
small, black abrasive squares in their gloved hands, they smooth out any remaining spots or
irregularities.
14. What are shipping quality audits at the Lexus plant in Cambridge?
ANS:
At the end of the production line at the Lexus plant, on a typical day, one vehicle sits in a steady
rainstorm, undergoing weatherproof testing. Two vehicles are installed in bays for what are known as
“shipping quality audits”—where random vehicles are chosen for an extra-close, no-holds-barred,
semi-surgical inspection.