Q&A Hero

Q: The marketing department for a major manufacturer tracks sales and advertising expenditures each month. Data from the past nine months and regression output appear in the following table. Interpret the equation coefficients and the values for the coefficient of determination and the correlation coefficient. Month Sales (units) Advertising ($1,000) 1 86,010 25 2 134,697 40 3 202,025 65 4 141,180 45 5 217,086 70 6 178,399 55 7 156,975 50 8 113,155 35 9 191,901 60 Created by POM-QM for Windows

Q: The ________ measures the amount of variation in the dependent variable about its mean that is explained by the regression line.

Q: A(n) ________ measures the direction and strength between the independent variable and the dependent variable.

Q: ________ are assumed to "cause" the results that a forecaster wishes to predict.

Q: The ________ variable is the variable that one wants to forecast.

Q: ________ is a causal method of forecasting in which one variable is related to one or more variables by a linear equation.

Q: Which one of the following is an example of causal forecasting technique? A) weighted moving average B) linear regression C) exponential smoothing D) Delphi method

Q: Table 8.4 The Furniture Super Mart is a furniture retailer in Evansville, Indiana. The Marketing Manager wants to prepare a media budget based on the next quarter's business plan. The manager wants to decide the mix of radio advertising and newspaper advertising needed to generate varying levels of Weekly Gross Revenue. The manager has collected data for the past five weeks, and has recorded the following average Weekly Gross Revenues and expenditures for Weekly Radio (X1) and Newspaper (X2) advertising: WEEK AVERAGE WEEKLY GROSS REVENUE ($000) AVERAGE WEEKLY RADIO ADVERTISING ($000) AVERAGE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING ($000) 1 60 6 1 2 45 3 3 3 55 4 2 4 70 5 3 5 40 2 1 The Manager uses the multiple regression model in OM Explorer and obtains the following results: Use the information provided in Table 8.4. What is the estimated Weekly Gross Revenue if $4,000 is spent on Radio Advertising (X1) and $7,000 is spent on Newspaper Advertising (X2)? A) $52,250 B) $26,250 C) $72,750 D) $20,500

Q: Table 8.3 A textbook publisher for books used in business schools believes that the number of books sold is related to the number of campus visits to decision makers made by their sales force. A sampling of the number of sales calls made and the number of books sold is shown in the following table. NUMBER OF SALES CALLS MADE NUMBER OF BOOKS SOLD 25 375 15 250 25 525 45 825 35 550 25 575 25 550 35 575 25 400 15 400 Use the information provided in Table 8.3. In order to realize the sale of 700 books, how many sales calls will the sales representative have to make? A) 40.4 B) 45.9 C) 32.7 D) 37.6

Q: Table 8.2 The Agricultural Extension Agent's Office has tracked fertilizer application and crop yields for a variety of chickpea and has recorded the data shown in the following table. Their staff statistician developed the regression model and computed the performance statistics displayed below the data. Use the information in Table 8.2. If the correlation coefficient were negative, which of these statements would be true? A) The coefficient of determination would also be negative. B) An increase in fertilizer would result in a decrease in crop yield. C) Applying no fertilizer would mean a negative crop yield. D) The standard error would also be negative.

Q: The number of #2 pencils the bookstore sells appears to be highly correlated with the number of student credit hours each semester. The bookstore manager wants to create a linear regression model to assist her in placing an appropriate order. In this scenario: A) the dependent variable is student credit hours. B) there are two independent variables. C) there are two dependent variables. D) the independent variable is student credit hours.

Q: A linear regression model is developed that has a slope of -2.5 and an intercept of 10. The sample coefficient of determination is 0.50. Which of the following statements is true? A) The sample correlation coefficient must be 0.250. B) The sample correlation coefficient must be -0.707. C) The sample correlation coefficient must be -0.250. D) The sample correlation coefficient must be 1.00.

Q: A linear regression model results in the equation Y = 15 - 23X. If the coefficient of determination is a perfect 1.0, the correlation coefficient must be -1.

Q: The closer the value of the sample correlation coefficient is to -1.00, the worse the predictive ability of the independent variable for the dependent variable.

Q: The causal method of forecasting uses historical data on independent variables (such as promotional campaigns and economic conditions) to predict the demand of dependent variables (such as sales volume).

Q: Your team has been asked to develop a forecast for the need for storage in the company's communication devices ten years from now. What method would develop the best forecast? Why? How would you execute this method?

Q: Which forecasting technique would you consider for technological forecasts?

Q: ________ is a systematic approach to determine consumer interest in a product or service by creating and testing hypotheses through data-gathering surveys.

Q: The ________ is a process of gaining consensus from a group of experts while maintaining their anonymity.

Q: It would be most appropriate to combine a judgment approach to forecasting with a quantitative approach by: A) having a group of experts examine each historical data point to determine whether it should be included in the model. B) combining opinions about the quantitative models to form one forecasting approach. C) adjusting a forecast up or down to compensate for specific events not included in the quantitative technique. D) developing a trend model to predict the outcomes of judgmental techniques in order to avoid the cost of employing the experts.

Q: The manufacturer developed and tested a questionnaire, designed to assist them in gauging the level of acceptance for their new product, and identified a representative sample as part of their: A) salesforce estimate. B) market research. C) executive opinion. D) Delphi method.

Q: The Delphi method of forecasting is useful when: A) judgment and opinion are the only bases for making informed projections. B) a systematic approach to creating and testing hypotheses is needed and the data are usually gathered by sending a questionnaire to consumers. C) historical data are available and the relationship between the factor to be forecast and other external or internal factors can be identified. D) historical data is available and the best basis for making projections is to use past demand patterns.

Q: The judgment methods of forecasting are to be used for purposes of: A) making adjustments to quantitative forecasts due to unusual circumstances. B) generating data for use in time-series approaches. C) providing the calculations necessary for quantitative forecasts. D) calculating the forecast error for quantitative methods.

Q: Using salesforce estimates for forecasting has the advantage that: A) no biases exist in the forecasts. B) statistical estimates of seasonal factors are more precise than any other approach. C) forecasts of individual sales force members can be easily combined to get regional or national sales totals. D) confusion between customer "wants" (wish list) and customer "needs" (necessary purchases) is eliminated.

Q: What options do project managers have to alleviate resource problems? Briefly describe each method.

Q: A project tracking system should collect information on three topics for the project manager. What are these topics, why are they important, and what actions can the manager take to address any concerns that surface?

Q: The project manager and team can step back and examine how the project work was accomplished during the ________ phase of the project.

Q: ________ is an attempt to reduce the peaks and valleys in resource needs by shifting the schedules of conflicting activities within their earliest and latest start dates.

Q: The phase of project management that takes the most resources is the ________, during which managers focus on activities that pertain to deliverables.

Q: The savvy project manager knew there would be a high demand for finish carpenters in late October, so she started a crew early on one section of the house so they would be available to help elsewhere later on. This project manager is engaging in: A) resource allocation. B) resource acquisition. C) resource scheduling. D) resource leveling.

Q: A project manager hires a few new coders to help speed up the new software project and deliver the package on time to an important client. The manager has engaged in: A) resource leveling. B) resource allocation. C) resource acquisition. D) resource enhancement.

Q: Which of these steps comes first in the project life cycle? A) close out B) definition and organization C) execution D) planning

Q: In addition to finishing the work, the project close out phase should include recording some lessons-learned to carry forward to future projects.

Q: The phase of project management that takes the most resources is the execution phase.

Q: A(n) ________ identifies the key threats to a project and prescribes ways to work around them.

Q: To find the standard deviation of the critical path, you must first add the ________ of all activities on the critical path.

Q: The ________ is the shortest time in which an activity can be completed if all goes exceptionally well.

Q: If the sum of the variances on the critical path (and all other network paths) is equal to zero, what is the probability that the project will be completed by its earliest expected completion date? A) 50 percent B) 95 percent C) 100 percent D) It cannot be determined.

Q: The probability that a project will be completed by its earliest expected completion date is: A) 50 percent. B) 95 percent. C) 100 percent. D) impossible to determine.

Q: Assuming a beta distribution is being used, if the most pessimistic time for an activity increases by six weeks, what will happen to the expected time for that activity? A) It will increase by one week. B) It will decrease by one week. C) It will increase by six weeks. D) It will remain the same.

Q: Table 7.14 You are responsible for managing a project with the following activities (times are given in weeks). Task Predecessor Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic A -- 5 8 10 B A 7 10 12 C B 8 10 14 D -- 11 15 20 E D 12 14 18 Using Table 7.14, if the expected time for activity C is changed to 12 weeks, by how many weeks will the project's expected completion time increase? A) It will not change. B) It will increase by one week. C) It will increase by two weeks. D) It will increase by three weeks.

Q: Table 7.13 All activity times for the project are in weeks. Activity Predecessor Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic A -- 12 16 25 B -- 7 14 22 C -- 5 10 14 D A 15 18 25 E C 8 12 18 F B 9 12 15 G F 18 22 29 H D, E, G 15 19 27 Using Table 7.13, if the expected time for activity H is changed to 25 weeks, by how many weeks will the project's expected completion time increase? A) It will increase by one week. B) It will increase by three weeks. C) It will increase by two weeks. D) It will increase by four weeks.

Q: Table 7.3 Using Table 7.3, if the project manager wants at least a 98% probability that the project will be completed on or before the due date, what is the shortest project due date that will satisfy the manager? A) fewer than or equal to 28 days B) greater than 28 days but fewer than or equal to 30 days C) greater than 30 days but fewer than or equal to 32 days D) greater than 32 days

Q: Table 7.3 Using Table 7.3, if the project is due to be completed in 28 days, what is the probability that the project will be completed on or before the due date? A) less than or equal to 75% B) greater than 75% but less than or equal to 85% C) greater than 85% but less than or equal to 95% D) greater than 95%

Q: Table 7.3 Using Table 7.3, which activity is on the critical path? A) Activity D B) Activity F C) Activity G D) Activity K

Q: Table 7.3 Using Table 7.3, what is the earliest expected time of completion of the whole project? A) fewer than or equal to 21 days B) greater than 21 but fewer than or equal to 22 days C) greater than 22 but fewer than or equal to 23 days D) greater than 23 days

Q: Table 7.2 Using Table 7.2, if the expected times for activities A, G, and H increased by 2, 3, and 4 weeks, respectively, by how many weeks would the project's earliest expected time of completion increase? A) fewer than or equal to 2 weeks B) greater than 2 weeks but fewer than or equal to 4 weeks C) greater than 4 weeks but fewer than or equal to 6 weeks D) greater than 6 weeks

Q: Table 7.2 Using Table 7.2, which activity will have the largest amount of slack? A) Activity F B) Activity C C) Activity H D) Activity A

Q: In making an estimate of the most pessimistic time for an activity, a manager deliberately estimates this time too high (i.e., longer than it should be). What is the result of this action, assuming the beta distribution is being used to make time estimates? A) The most likely time for this activity will be larger than it should be. B) The variance of the activity will be smaller than it should be. C) The beta distribution will be symmetric around its mean. D) The expected time for this activity will be larger than it should be.

Q: To calculate the probability of completing a project by a certain date: A) the expected completion time of the project is taken to be the sum of the activity times on the shortest path. B) the variance of the distribution of project completion times is taken to be one-sixth the difference between the latest finish time and the earliest finish time of the last activity in the project. C) we assume that the activity durations are independent of each other so that the normal distribution can be used. D) we need only the parameters of the beta distribution for the finish node of the diagram.

Q: Following are four sets of most optimistic, most likely, and most pessimistic times (in weeks) for an activity. Which one of the four sets will have a mean estimated time equal to the most likely time? A) 1, 9, 9 B) 1, 5, 9 C) 1, 1, 9 D) 1, 5, 5

Q: When using the beta distribution for estimating activity times: A) an advantage is that the mode of the distribution is always equidistant from the end points of the distribution. B) the most likely time estimate can be positioned anywhere between the optimistic and pessimistic time estimates. C) we assume that the standard deviation is one-third the range between the optimistic and pessimistic time estimates. D) the most likely time estimate becomes the mean of the distribution.

Q: Information accuracy relative to the completeness of the work breakdown structure and communication of timely information affect the: A) strategic fit risk of a project. B) operations risk of a project. C) service/product attribute risk of a project. D) cost/benefit risk of a project.

Q: Which of these is not one of the four categories of project risk? A) cost/benefit B) operations C) strategic fit D) project team capability

Q: A plan that identifies key threats to a project and prescribes ways to circumvent them is called a: A) project plan. B) contingency plan. C) backup plan. D) risk management plan.

Q: A good risk management plan will contain which of these elements? A) the project manager's tolerance level for risk B) the number of acceptable outcomes C) a prediction of the impact of each risk on the project D) the number of unacceptable outcomes

Q: A risk-management plan contains all identified risks to a project plus the ways that they can be circumvented.

Q: The optimistic time is the probable time required to perform the activity.

Q: Risk is a measure of the probability and consequences of not reaching a defined project goal.

Q: The following table contains a list of activities, with early- and late-start and finish times and crash costs for the network shown in the figure. All start and finish times and crash costs are on a per-week basis. Each activity can be reduced by one week at the most. a. Determine the uncrashed activity lengths for activities A though K. b. Determine the minimum completion cost for this project if each week carries a fixed cost of $1,000. Activity ES EF LS LF Crash Cost/week A 0 5 0 5 $1,100 B 5 9 13 17 $250 C 5 11 5 11 $1,200 D 0 6 1 7 $350 E 6 10 7 11 $900 F 9 14 17 22 $875 G 11 17 16 22 $1,500 H 11 18 11 18 $500 I 18 26 18 26 $300 J 17 21 22 26 $625 K 26 34 26 34 $750

Q: Describe how time–cost tradeoffs for project activities should be identified and analyzed.

Q: The ________ is determined by starting with the normal time schedule and crashing activities along the critical path in such a way that the costs of crashing do not exceed the savings in indirect and penalty costs.

Q: The ________ is the shortest possible time to complete the activity.

Q: If a project has exactly one critical path, which of the following statements is true? A) Crashing an activity on the critical path will always result in an increase in total project profits. B) Activities on the critical path cannot be crashed. C) Crashing an activity on the critical path will always result in a reduced total project completion time. D) The best schedule is one in which all activities are crashed as much as possible.

Q: A company could add $10,000 per week in revenues if the project depicted in Table 7.10 could be shortened. Table 7.10 Activity Immediate Predecessor(s) Time (weeks) A -- 7 B -- 9 C A 8 D A, B 8 E B 9 F C 10 G D, E 5 H E 10 I F, G 5 Four possible options exist to crash activities: crash A by one week at a cost of $6,000; crash C by two weeks at a cost of $15,000; crash E by one week at a cost of $2,000; and crash I one week at a cost of $7,000. What is the maximum amount of additional profit that can be made by crashing an option (or options)? A) less than or equal to $4,000 B) greater than $4,000 but less than or equal to $8,000 C) greater than $8,000 but less than or equal to $12,000 D) greater than $12,000

Q: You are given the following information about activity F: Normal time = 16 weeks Crash time = 10 weeks Crash cost = $45,000 Cost to crash per week = $2,000 What is the normal cost for activity F? A) greater than or equal to $55,000 B) less than $55,000 but greater than or equal to $47,000 C) less than $47,000 but greater than or equal to $40,000 D) less than $40,000

Q: You are given the following information about activity B: Normal time = 9 weeks Crash time = 5 weeks Cost to crash per week = $2,000 Crash cost = $41,000 What will it cost to complete activity B in 6 weeks? A) less than or equal to $34,000 B) greater than $34,000 but less than or equal to $36,000 C) greater than $36,000 but less than or equal to $38,000 D) greater than $38,000

Q: You are given the following information about activity A: Normal time = 9 weeks Crash time = 7 weeks Normal cost = $20,000 Crash cost = $30,000 What will it cost to complete activity A in 8 weeks? A) less than or equal to $24,000 B) greater than $24,000 but less than or equal to $27,000 C) greater than $27,000 but less than or equal to $30,000 D) greater than $30,000

Q: A project is currently scheduled to be finished on its normal earliest completion date. The project manager has the opportunity to earn a bonus if the project can be completed three weeks ahead of schedule. The increase in project direct costs related to crashing activities would be $40,000. Also, project indirect costs are $15,000 per week. What is the smallest bonus that the project manager should accept if he or she wants to avoid increasing overall project costs? A) less than or equal to $5,000 B) greater than $5,000 but less than or equal to $10,000 C) greater than $10,000 but less than or equal to $15,000 D) greater than $15,000

Q: Table 7.9 Using Table 7.9, if the project's normal earliest completion time is to be reduced by two weeks, what is the minimum additional cost that will be incurred in achieving this two-week reduction? A) less than or equal to $1,000 B) greater than $1,000 but less than or equal to $1,500 C) greater than $1,500 but less than or equal to $2,000 D) greater than $2,000

Q: Table 7.9 Using Table 7.9, what is the difference, in dollars, between the minimum-time schedule and the schedule created by crashing all activities to their limits? Assume that there are no indirect or penalty costs. A) less than or equal to $1,000 B) greater than $1,000 but less than or equal to $2,000 C) greater than $2,000 but less than or equal to $3,000 D) greater than $3,000

Q: Table 7.9 Using Table 7.9, if the project completion time has to be reduced by one week, which of the following activities should be crashed to minimize the extra cost of earlier completion? A) Activity B B) Activity E C) Activity H D) Activity J

Q: Table 7.9 Using Table 7.9, what is the minimum time schedule for this project? A) fewer than 8 weeks B) 8 weeks C) 9 weeks D) more than 9 weeks

Q: Table 7.9 Using Table 7.9, what is the earliest completion time of this project if normal times are used for all activities? A) fewer than 13 weeks B) 13 weeks C) 14 weeks D) more than 14 weeks

Q: Table 7.8 Activity Predecessor Normal Time (days) Crashing Time (days) Crashing Cost/day A -- 5 1 $200 B -- 7 1 $500 C -- 5 1 $200 D A 10 2 $300 E B 6 1 $400 F A, C 7 2 $650 G B 4 1 $500 H E, D, G 6 1 $350 Using Table 7.8, what is the earliest possible completion time for activity E after crashing? A) day 11 B) day 13 C) day 15 D) day 17

Q: Table 7.8 Activity Predecessor Normal Time (days) Crashing Time (days) Crashing Cost/day A -- 5 1 $200 B -- 7 1 $500 C -- 5 1 $200 D A 10 2 $300 E B 6 1 $400 F A, C 7 2 $650 G B 4 1 $500 H E, D, G 6 1 $350 Using Table 7.8, what is the latest start time for activity E? A) day 7 B) day 8 C) day 9 D) day 10

Q: Figure to accompany Table 7.7 Table 7.7 ACTIVITY NORMAL TIME CRASH TIME NORMAL COST ($000s) CRASH COST ($000s) AVAILABLE WEEKS OF CRASHING CRASHING COST / WEEK A 4 2 8 14 B 3 2 9 11 C 4 4 10 10 D 5 3 10 15 E 4 1 11 14 F 1 1 6 6 Which activity should be crashed first for the project shown in Table 7.7? A) A B) B C) C D) D

Q: Table 7.6 Activity Immediate Predecessor(s) Time (weeks) A -- 3 B -- 4 C -- 2 D A 4 E A, B 5 F A, B, C 2 G D, E 1 H E 6 I E, F 2 J G, H, I 4 K H, I 3 L I 6 Using Table 7.6, what is the latest start time for activity A? A) day 0 B) day 1 C) day 2 D) day 3 or later

Q: Table 7.5 Activity Predecessor Time (days) A -- 8 B -- 6 C -- 3 D A,B 10 E C 8 F A 5 G D,E 3 H G 4 Using Table 7.5, how many days can activity C be delayed without changing the whole project's earliest completion time? A) 0 days B) 2 days C) 5 days D) 7 days

Q: Table 7.5 Activity Predecessor Time (days) A -- 8 B -- 6 C -- 3 D A,B 10 E C 8 F A 5 G D,E 3 H G 4 Using Table 7.5, every day the construction crew is on-site costs $1000. What activities would you consider crashing to reduce the project completion cost? A) Activity E B) Activity F C) Activity G D) All of these activities would be candidates for crashing.