What is intellectual stimulation?

Which of the following is associated with the transformational leader's use of the component of individualized consideration?

a.	Individual differences are embraced and rewarded to enhance creativity and innovation.
b.	Followers and colleagues are encouraged to develop to successively higher levels of their potential.
c.	Both of these are associated with the use of individualized consideration.
d.	Neither of these are associated with the use of individualized consideration.

ANS:  C                 

   33.   Within the transformational leadership model, ____ refers to the encouragement given to followers to be innovative and creative.

a.	inspirational motivation
b.	synergy
c.	intellectual stimulation
d.	vision

ANS:  C                  

   34.   If followers question aspects of their leaders’ ideas or vision, transformational leaders are likely to ____.

a.	make changes only as long as the most fundamental cornerstones of their position remain in place
b.	abandon systems and practices that are no longer useful
c.	look for someone to blame for any resulting problems
d.	criticize the followers for lacking team spirit

ANS:  B                   

   35.   Followers are likely to be urged to question assumptions, explore new ideas and methods, and approach old situations with new perspectives, by ____ leaders.

a.	transformational
b.	transactional
c.	charismatic
d.	none of these types of leader would be likely to do this

ANS:    A

Transformational leadership model that primarily relates to followers

Which of the following is not one of the basic components of the transformational leadership model that primarily relates to followers?

a.	idealized influence
b.	intellectual stimulation
c.	individualized consideration
d.	transactional motivation

ANS:  D                   

   29.   Which of the following is not one of the basic components of the transformational leadership model that primarily relates to followers?

a.	idealized influence
b.	extrinsic motivation
c.	individualized consideration
d.	all of these are among the basic components of the transformational leadership model

ANS:  B                        

   30.   Which of the following is (are) among the basic components of the transformational leadership model that primarily relate to followers?

a.	intellectual stimulation
b.	inspirational motivation
c.	both of these are among the basic components
d.	neither of these are among those basic components

ANS:  C                   

   31.   ____ is the special attention paid by a transformational leader to each follower's needs for achievement and growth.

a.	Inspirational motivation
b.	Intellectual stimulation
c.	Individualized consideration
d.	Idealized influence

ANS:    C

Difference between continuous loss and discrete loss

Realistically, units are lost in a production process at a specific point. However, accounting for lost units requires that the loss be specified as being either continuous or discrete. For example, the weight loss in roasting coffee beans and the relatively continual breakage of fragile glass ornaments can be considered continuous losses because they occur fairly uniformly throughout the production
process.

In contrast, a discrete loss is assumed to occur at a specific point. Examples of discrete losses include adding the wrong amount of vinegar to a recipe for salad dressing or attaching a part to a motor upside down. The units are only deemed lost and unacceptable when a quality check is performed. Therefore, regardless of where in the process the units were truly “lost,” the loss point is always deemed to be an inspection point.

Thus, units that have passed an inspection point should be good units (relative to the specific characteristics inspected), whereas units that have not yet passed an inspection point may be good or may be defective/spoiled. Control points can be either built into the system or performed by inspectors.

Difference between Traditional and Modern manufacturing philosophy

Traditional manufacturing philosophy

(a) Labor and manufacturing equipment are so valuable they should not be left idle.
(b) Resulting inventory not needed should be stored
(c) To increase efficiency and reduce production cost per unit, batch sizes and production runs should
be as large as possible.
(d) Concerned with balancing production run costs and inventory holding costs.

Modern manufacturing philosophy

(a) Smooth, steady production flow (throughput)
(b) Flexibility, providing the customer with exactly what is wanted, exactly when it is wanted , so as to achieve competitive advantage.
(c) Volume versus variety
(d) JIT

5 steps to solve assignment problem in LLP

The Assignement Problem is another special case of Linear Programming (LLP). It occurs when n jobs are to be assigned to n facilities on a one-to-one basis with a view to optimising the resource required.
 

THE ASSIGNMENT ALGORITHM

The assingment problem can be solved by applying the following steps :

Step 1: Subtract the minimum element of each row from all the elements in that row. From each column of the matrix so obtained, subtract its minimum element. The resulting matrix is the starting matrix for the following procedure.

Step 2: Draw the minimum number of horizontal and vertical lines that cover all the zeros. If this number of lines is n, order of the matrix, optimal assignment can be made by skipping steps 3 and 4 and proceeding with step 5. If, however, this number is less than n, go to the next step.

Step 3: Here, we try to increase the number of zeros in the matrix. We select the smallest element out of these which do not lie on any line. Subtract this element from all such (uncovered) elements and add it to the elements which are placed at the intersections of the horizontal and vertical lines. Do not alter the elements through which only one line passes.

Step 4: Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 until we get the minimum number of lines equal to n.

Step 5 (A) Starting with first row, examine all rows of matrix in step 2 or 4 in turn until a row containing exactly one zero is found. Surround this zero by () , indication of an assignment there. Draw a vertical line through the column containing this zero. This eliminates any confusion of making any further assignments in that column. Process all the rows in this way.

(B) Apply the same treatment to columns also. Starting with the first column, examine all columns until a column containing exactly one zero is found. Mark () around this zero and draw a horizontal line through the row containing this marked zero. Repeat steps 5A and B, until one of the following situations arises:

(i) No unmarked () or uncovered (by a line) zero is left,
(ii) There may be more than one unmarked zero in one column or row. In this case, put around one of the unmarked zero arbitrarily and pass 2 lines in the cells of the remaining zeros in its row and column. Repeat the process until no unmarked zero is left in the matrix.

What is MRP-II (Material requirements planning)?

A material requirements planning (MRP) system is a computer based inventory information system which is used to plan and control raw material and component parts inventories.

 Pre-requisites for successful operation of MRP:

1. Strict adherence to the schedule : The successful operation of MRP system requires a strict adherence to the latest production and purchasing schedules. Workers must be educated to understand the importance of schedule adherence, and controls should be in place to ensure this adherence.
2. Accurate data base : Data accuracy is vital to the system. If a plan is based on inaccurate data it may be impossible to adhere to the schedule. For example, if the bill of materials file is not updated to reflect any changes in product composition it will be impossible to adhere to the schedule.

MRP II is the extension of MRP I

When the scope of MRP-1 is developed further which includes
1. Planning of raw material
2. planning of component & sub- assemblies
3. Compute the other resources e.g. machine or labour capacity
4. to create a full integrated plan for management

then it is known as Manufacturing resources planning ( MRP-II)

MRP II (also written MRP-2 ) adds the MRP schedule into a capacity planning system and then builds the information into a production schedule. It is also seen as a link between strategic planning and manufacturing control. The sequence of events is as follows :

A manufacturing, plan is developed based upon inputs from purchasing & production. Adjustments may be necessary to allow for production rates. Possible inventory levels in seasonal trades & the size of the workforce. The manufacturing plan leads into a detailed master production schedule which is akin to the original philosophy of MRP already outlined.

If correctly applied, MRPII provides a common data base for the different function units such as manufacturing, purchasing and finance within a firm.

What are needed to operate MRP successfully?

A material requirements planning (MRP) system is a computer based inventory information system which is used to plan and control raw material and component parts inventories. Like all computer-based information system, MRP systems can be divided into following:
i) Pre-requisite information
ii) System input
iii) System processing,
iv) System output.

 

Data requirements to operate material requirement planning system:

1. The master Production schedule: This schedule specifies the quantity of each finished unit of products to be produced, and the time at which each unit will be required.
2. The Bill of material file: The bill of material file specifies the sub-assemblies, components and materials required for each finished good.
3. The inventory file: This file maintains details of items in hand for each sub-assemblies, components and materials required for each finished goods.

4. The routing file: This file specifies the sequence of operations required to manufacture components, sub-assemblies and finished goods.
5. The master parts file: This file contains information on the production time of subassemblies and components produced internally and lead times for externally acquired items.

Material Requirement Planning ( MRP-I )

It is a part of production operation system. Management has to develop a lot of strategies for production plan. In early 1960’s a material acquisition plan was first introduced known as Material Requirement Plan ( MRP-I ). MRP-2 is latest all-round development of that plan. 

A brief history of MRP –1

Material requirement planning is a computerized production scheduling system which takes the forward schedule of final product requirements (the master production schedule) and translates it progressively into the numbers of sub-assemblies, components and raw materials required at each stage of the manufacturing cycle.

It is a management information system providing a basis for production decisions when what is manufactured has a composite structure and when lead items are important features. Obviously, the ability of the system to deliver what is required in the correct place at the correct time will be dependent on the quality of information which is put into the computer model.

 Aims of material requirement planning:

1. Determine for final products namely, what should be produced and at what time.
2. Ascertaining the required units of production of sub-assemblies.
3. Determining the requirement for materials based on an up-to-date bill of materials file (BOM).
4. Computing inventories, WIP, batch sizes and manufacturing and packaging lead times.
5. Controlling inventory by ordering bought-in components and raw materials in relation to the orders received or forecast rather than the more usual practice of ordering from stock-level indicators.

Benefits : Detailed forecast of the inventory position is highlighted period by period.

7 principles of synchronous manufacturing

This concept of ‘synchronous manufacturing’ was started in 1984. It has been defined as: an all-encompassing manufacturing management philosophy that includes a consistent set of principles, procedures, and techniques where every action is evaluated in terms of the common global goal of the organisation.

A set of seven ‘principles’ are associated with synchronous manufacturing:

1. Do not focus on balance idle capacities; focus on synchronizing the production flow.

2. The marginal value of time at a bottleneck resource is equal to the throughput rate of the products processed by the bottleneck.

3. The marginal value of time at a non-bottleneck resource is negligible.

4. The level of tilization of a non-bottleneck resource is controlled by other constraints within the system.

5. Resources must be utilized, not simply activated.

6. A transfer batch may not, and many times should not, be equal to the process batch.

7. A process batch should be variable both along its route and over time.

According to synchronous manufacturing principles 2 and 3, the return on improvements at a bottleneck resource is very high. But the return on improvement made at non-bottlenecks is marginal at best. The synchronous manufacturing philosophy required managers to focus on those areas of operations where there exist potential global improvements.