DT3sO/S1D
DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
AUNGIER STREET
MSc in International Business
DT35O
Semeste1r Examination
January 2014
International Operations Management & Information System
ExternalE xaminer(s): Dr RobertoP alaciosR odrigues
Internal Examiner(s): Dr. Waleed Abo Hamad
Ms. Audrey Jennings
Tuesday, 7th January 2014
2pm – 5pm
Instructions: Pleasea nswerT HREE (3) questionso, nef rom eachS ectiona nd one
other question from either Section A or B.
All questionsc arry equalm arks.
Please use separate answer books for Section A & Section B.
SectionA InternationaOl perationsM anaeement
Instructions:
– You answera nyT HREE questionso f the following.
– All questioncsa rrye qualm arks.
– Mark clearlyo n the answers heet he questionn umbert haty ou are
answering.
Ouestion I
a) What are the typical benefits of ERP?
b) List the sevento olso f TQM.
c) Explain the strategicim portanceo f forecasting.
d) Considerth e processfl owcharti n the figureb elow.
DT35O/ISD
(20 marks)
(20 marks)
(20 marks)
The estimateda veragep rocessingt imes for eacha ctivity in the processa re shown in
the table below.
Activitv hocessing Timc (in min)
Whati s the averagec yclet ime for the process?
ouestion 2
(40 marks)
a) Cycle time andc apacitya nalysisp rovidev aluablei nformationa boutp rocess
performance.
l. Mentionf ive approachetso reducec yclet imest hroughp rocessre design.
2. Explaint wo fundamentawl ayst o increasep rocessc apacity.
(40 marks)
4
10
6
5
9
)
AB
C
D
EF
DT35O/ISD
b) A defencec ontractoirn Londonh ass ixj obs awaitingp rocessingP. rocessingtim e and
due dates are given in the table.
Jon h,ocEsslNc Jon Dur D.lrr
Jon Tnrm, (Dnvs) (TINTE)
A
B
c
DE
F
06
t 2
14
02
10
o4
22
l 4
30
l 8
25
34
1. Sett hep rocessinsge quencaec cordingto SPTr ule.
2. Evaluateth e aboves equencbey computing:
i. Averagec ompletionti me
ii. Average number ofjobs in system
iii. Averagejo b lateness
iv. Utilisation
ouestion3
‘ (6omarks)
a) Managerso f both servicea ndm anufacturingo rganisationms ustw eigh many
factors when locating new facilities. Identifu the factors that affect location
decisionsre garding:
1. Countryd ecisions.
2. Region/C ommunityd ecisions.
3. Site decisions.
(30 marks)
b) The presidenot f Hill EnterprisesT,e rri Hill, projectsth e firm’s aggregatdee mand
requirementso vert he next 8 monthsa s follows:
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
May
June
July
2,200
2,200
1,800
1,400
Her operationsm anageirs consideringa new plan,w hichb eginsin Januaryw ith 200
unitso n hand.S tock-ouct osto f lost salesis €100p er unit. Inventoryh oldingc osti s
€20 per unit per month.
Evaluateth e followingp lansb y computingth e costsf or Januaryth roughA ugust.
1. Vary the workforcel evelt o executea “clrase”s trategyb y producingth e
quantityd emandedin thep rior month.T heD ecembedr emanda ndr ateo f
productiona reb oth 1,600u nitsp er month.T he costo f hiringa dditional
workersis €5,000p er 100u nits.T hec osto f layingo ff workersis €7,500p er
100 units.
1,400
1,600
1,800
DT35 O/S1 D
2. Producea t a constanrta teo f 1,400u nitsp erm onth,w hich will meetm inimum
demandsT. henu ses ubcontractingw, ith additionalu nits at a premiump rice of
€7 5 per unit.
(70 marks)
Ouestion4
a) Whati s Six Sigma?H ow areS ix Sigmat oolsr eflectedin the DMAIC process?
(40 marks)
b) Montoya-WeisEs ngineering(M WE) is a Dallase ngineerinfgir m that produces
customisedin strumentationfo r the aerospacien dustry.M WE is thinking about
outsourcingth e productiono f a particularc omponentto a Fort Worth manufacturer.
The Fort Worth manufacturehr aso fferedt o maket he componentsfo r a price of $25
each,b asedo n an annuavl olumeo f 32,000M. WE managemenhta sd evelopedth e
following figures:
Current manufacturing operations Fort Worth manufacturer
Fixed Costs:
Plant and overhead: $800,000 per year
Variable Costs:
Price per component $25
Other costs:
$8.5p eru nit Administrativeco sts:
$5 per unit
$50,000p ery ear
$65,000p ery ear
$1.50p eru nit
In additiont o cost,M WE managemenhta si dentifiedt wo otherd imensionsto
considerq: ualitya ndo n-timed elivery.M WE managemenhta se stablisheidm portance
weightso f 0.2,0.5,a nd0 .3f or cost,q uality,a ndo n-timed eliveryr,e spectively.
Finally, purchasinge xpertsa t MWE haver atedt he performanceo f current
manufacturinga ndF ort Worth manufacturewr ith regardt o theset hreed imensions.
Theirr atings( 1 : “poor”t o 5 – “excellent”a) rea sf ollows:
Dimension Current manufacturing operations Fort Worth Manufacturer
Cost
Quality
On-time delivery
Calculateth e total costso f eacho ption,a sw ell ast he overallp referencesc ore.
(60 marks)
Ouestion 5
a) Simulationis the imitationo f the operationo f a real-worldp rocesso r systemo ver
time by meanso f analogousi tuationw, ith the purposeo f gainingi nformationm ore
convenientlyin ordert o enhanceth e systemp erformance.
1. Describeth em ainp haseos f developinga simulationm odel?
5
4
J
a
J
5
J
DT35O/ISD
2. Whata ret he maino bjectiveso f usings imulationm odelsi n businessp rocess
analysis?
(40 marks)
b) An electronicsm anufacturemr uste xpandb y buildinga secondfa cility. The
searchis narrowedto fourl ocationsa, ll of whicha rea cceptablteo managemenint
termso f dominanfta ctorsA. ssessmenotf theses itesi n termso f sevenlo cation
factors is shown as following:
Location Factor Weight
Factor Score for Each Location
France Germany ltaly England
l. Labour climate
2. Qualityo f life
3. Transportatiosny stem
4. Proximity to markets
5. Proximity to materials
6, Taxes
7. Utilities
0.2a
0.16
0.16
0. t4
0.12
0 . t 2
0.10
445
341
432
344
334
554
433
l .
2.
Which sites houldt he managemencth oosefo r the secondfa cility?
If thew eightsf or Qualityo f life andU tilitiesa rer eversedh, ow wouldt his
affect the decision?
(60 marks)
SectionB
Question 6
DefineS trategicA lignmenta nd seto ut your understandinogf the purposeo f Strategic
InformationS ystemsP lanning.I dentify,d escribea ndo utlinet he activitiesf or each
componenot f the SISPp rocessa ndt he role methodologiepsl ay in the planningp rocess.
Strategicp lanningf or GlobalI S/IT hasg reaterc hallengesd, iscussth is statement.M ake
referenceto organisationyso u aref amiliarw ith.
Question 7
In ordert o understandth e scopeo f InformationS ystemsi n organisationsw, e outlinedt he
variouss ystemsa t differentl evelso f an organisationu singa ‘Pyramid’.W e identifiedh ow
IS/IT had spannedth e Enterprisea nde nabledo rganisationtso seamlessliyn tegrateth eir IS/IT
solutionsD. escribet he variouss ystemsth atc anb e implementedto enablec ross-functional
andi nter-organisationianlt egrationa ndt he outlinet he challengesa ndb enefitso f such
implementationisn a globalo rganisation.
Question 8
Traditionals trategicfr ameworksh aveb eena daptedto be usedi n identifyingt he strategic
role of IS/IT in enablinga sustainablceo mpetitivea dvantage.D iscusst his statemenbt y
outliningt he importantr ole of threes trategicfr ameworksi n identifyingt he IS/IT
contribution.D ata is beingi dentifieda sa differentiatorin gaininga competitivea dvantage
for manyo rganisationso,u tlineh ow the Valuec hainf rameworkh ase volvedt o embraceth is
advancea nda lsor efert o the role of enablingt echnologiesin its implementation.

DT3sO/S1D
DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
AUNGIER STREET
MSc in International Business
DT35O
Semeste1r Examination
January 2014
International Operations Management & Information System
ExternalE xaminer(s): Dr RobertoP alaciosR odrigues
Internal Examiner(s): Dr. Waleed Abo Hamad
Ms. Audrey Jennings
Tuesday, 7th January 2014
2pm – 5pm
Instructions: Pleasea nswerT HREE (3) questionso, nef rom eachS ectiona nd one
other question from either Section A or B.
All questionsc arry equalm arks.
Please use separate answer books for Section A & Section B.
SectionA InternationaOl perationsM anaeement
Instructions:
– You answera nyT HREE questionso f the following.
– All questioncsa rrye qualm arks.
– Mark clearlyo n the answers heet he questionn umbert haty ou are
answering.
Ouestion I
a) What are the typical benefits of ERP?
b) List the sevento olso f TQM.
c) Explain the strategicim portanceo f forecasting.
d) Considerth e processfl owcharti n the figureb elow.
DT35O/ISD
(20 marks)
(20 marks)
(20 marks)
The estimateda veragep rocessingt imes for eacha ctivity in the processa re shown in
the table below.
Activitv hocessing Timc (in min)
Whati s the averagec yclet ime for the process?
ouestion 2
(40 marks)
a) Cycle time andc apacitya nalysisp rovidev aluablei nformationa boutp rocess
performance.
l. Mentionf ive approachetso reducec yclet imest hroughp rocessre design.
2. Explaint wo fundamentawl ayst o increasep rocessc apacity.
(40 marks)
4
10
6
5
9
)
AB
C
D
EF
DT35O/ISD
b) A defencec ontractoirn Londonh ass ixj obs awaitingp rocessingP. rocessingtim e and
due dates are given in the table.
Jon h,ocEsslNc Jon Dur D.lrr
Jon Tnrm, (Dnvs) (TINTE)
A
B
c
DE
F
06
t 2
14
02
10
o4
22
l 4
30
l 8
25
34
1. Sett hep rocessinsge quencaec cordingto SPTr ule.
2. Evaluateth e aboves equencbey computing:
i. Averagec ompletionti me
ii. Average number ofjobs in system
iii. Averagejo b lateness
iv. Utilisation
ouestion3
‘ (6omarks)
a) Managerso f both servicea ndm anufacturingo rganisationms ustw eigh many
factors when locating new facilities. Identifu the factors that affect location
decisionsre garding:
1. Countryd ecisions.
2. Region/C ommunityd ecisions.
3. Site decisions.
(30 marks)
b) The presidenot f Hill EnterprisesT,e rri Hill, projectsth e firm’s aggregatdee mand
requirementso vert he next 8 monthsa s follows:
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
May
June
July
2,200
2,200
1,800
1,400
Her operationsm anageirs consideringa new plan,w hichb eginsin Januaryw ith 200
unitso n hand.S tock-ouct osto f lost salesis €100p er unit. Inventoryh oldingc osti s
€20 per unit per month.
Evaluateth e followingp lansb y computingth e costsf or Januaryth roughA ugust.
1. Vary the workforcel evelt o executea “clrase”s trategyb y producingth e
quantityd emandedin thep rior month.T heD ecembedr emanda ndr ateo f
productiona reb oth 1,600u nitsp er month.T he costo f hiringa dditional
workersis €5,000p er 100u nits.T hec osto f layingo ff workersis €7,500p er
100 units.
1,400
1,600
1,800
DT35 O/S1 D
2. Producea t a constanrta teo f 1,400u nitsp erm onth,w hich will meetm inimum
demandsT. henu ses ubcontractingw, ith additionalu nits at a premiump rice of
€7 5 per unit.
(70 marks)
Ouestion4
a) Whati s Six Sigma?H ow areS ix Sigmat oolsr eflectedin the DMAIC process?
(40 marks)
b) Montoya-WeisEs ngineering(M WE) is a Dallase ngineerinfgir m that produces
customisedin strumentationfo r the aerospacien dustry.M WE is thinking about
outsourcingth e productiono f a particularc omponentto a Fort Worth manufacturer.
The Fort Worth manufacturehr aso fferedt o maket he componentsfo r a price of $25
each,b asedo n an annuavl olumeo f 32,000M. WE managemenhta sd evelopedth e
following figures:
Current manufacturing operations Fort Worth manufacturer
Fixed Costs:
Plant and overhead: $800,000 per year
Variable Costs:
Price per component $25
Other costs:
$8.5p eru nit Administrativeco sts:
$5 per unit
$50,000p ery ear
$65,000p ery ear
$1.50p eru nit
In additiont o cost,M WE managemenhta si dentifiedt wo otherd imensionsto
considerq: ualitya ndo n-timed elivery.M WE managemenhta se stablisheidm portance
weightso f 0.2,0.5,a nd0 .3f or cost,q uality,a ndo n-timed eliveryr,e spectively.
Finally, purchasinge xpertsa t MWE haver atedt he performanceo f current
manufacturinga ndF ort Worth manufacturewr ith regardt o theset hreed imensions.
Theirr atings( 1 : “poor”t o 5 – “excellent”a) rea sf ollows:
Dimension Current manufacturing operations Fort Worth Manufacturer
Cost
Quality
On-time delivery
Calculateth e total costso f eacho ption,a sw ell ast he overallp referencesc ore.
(60 marks)
Ouestion 5
a) Simulationis the imitationo f the operationo f a real-worldp rocesso r systemo ver
time by meanso f analogousi tuationw, ith the purposeo f gainingi nformationm ore
convenientlyin ordert o enhanceth e systemp erformance.
1. Describeth em ainp haseos f developinga simulationm odel?
5
4
J
a
J
5
J
DT35O/ISD
2. Whata ret he maino bjectiveso f usings imulationm odelsi n businessp rocess
analysis?
(40 marks)
b) An electronicsm anufacturemr uste xpandb y buildinga secondfa cility. The
searchis narrowedto fourl ocationsa, ll of whicha rea cceptablteo managemenint
termso f dominanfta ctorsA. ssessmenotf theses itesi n termso f sevenlo cation
factors is shown as following:
Location Factor Weight
Factor Score for Each Location
France Germany ltaly England
l. Labour climate
2. Qualityo f life
3. Transportatiosny stem
4. Proximity to markets
5. Proximity to materials
6, Taxes
7. Utilities
0.2a
0.16
0.16
0. t4
0.12
0 . t 2
0.10
445
341
432
344
334
554
433
l .
2.
Which sites houldt he managemencth oosefo r the secondfa cility?
If thew eightsf or Qualityo f life andU tilitiesa rer eversedh, ow wouldt his
affect the decision?
(60 marks)
SectionB
Question 6
DefineS trategicA lignmenta nd seto ut your understandinogf the purposeo f Strategic
InformationS ystemsP lanning.I dentify,d escribea ndo utlinet he activitiesf or each
componenot f the SISPp rocessa ndt he role methodologiepsl ay in the planningp rocess.
Strategicp lanningf or GlobalI S/IT hasg reaterc hallengesd, iscussth is statement.M ake
referenceto organisationyso u aref amiliarw ith.
Question 7
In ordert o understandth e scopeo f InformationS ystemsi n organisationsw, e outlinedt he
variouss ystemsa t differentl evelso f an organisationu singa ‘Pyramid’.W e identifiedh ow
IS/IT had spannedth e Enterprisea nde nabledo rganisationtso seamlessliyn tegrateth eir IS/IT
solutionsD. escribet he variouss ystemsth atc anb e implementedto enablec ross-functional
andi nter-organisationianlt egrationa ndt he outlinet he challengesa ndb enefitso f such
implementationisn a globalo rganisation.
Question 8
Traditionals trategicfr ameworksh aveb eena daptedto be usedi n identifyingt he strategic
role of IS/IT in enablinga sustainablceo mpetitivea dvantage.D iscusst his statemenbt y
outliningt he importantr ole of threes trategicfr ameworksi n identifyingt he IS/IT
contribution.D ata is beingi dentifieda sa differentiatorin gaininga competitivea dvantage
for manyo rganisationso,u tlineh ow the Valuec hainf rameworkh ase volvedt o embraceth is
advancea nda lsor efert o the role of enablingt echnologiesin its implementation.