Chapter 8 Location Strategies Multiple Choice

MULTIPLE CHOICE 23. FedEx chose Memphis, Tennessee, as its U.S. hub because a. the city is in the center of the U.S., geographically b. the airport has relatively few hours of bad weather closures c. it needed a means to reach cities to which it did not have direct flights d. the firm believed that a hub system was superior to traditional city-to-city flight scheduling e. All of the above are true. e (Global company profile, easy) 24. Which of the following statements regarding FedEx is true? a. Its hub in Memphis, Tennessee, was selected because of its low cost. b. Memphis, Tennessee, is the only hub in the company's global flight network. c. FedEx believes the hub system helps reduce mishandling and delays due to better controls. d. FedEx uses a hub system in the U.S., but a city-to-city network in other countries. e. Memphis is FedEx's only hub airport in the United States. c (Global company profile, easy) 25. Industrial location analysis typically attempts to a. reduce costs b. maximize sales c. focus more on human resources d. be environmentally friendly e. none of the above a (Strategic importance of location, easy) 26. Governmental attitudes toward issues such as private property, intellectual property, zoning, pollution, and employment stability may change over time. The term associated with this phenomenon is a. bureaucratic risk b. political risk c. legislative risk d. judicial risk e. democratic risk b (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) 27. A location decision for an appliance manufacturer would tend to have a(n) a. cost focus b . labor focus c. revenue focus d. environmental focus e. education focus a (Strategic importance of location, moderate) 28. A location decision for a traditional department store (Macy's) would tend to have a(n) a. cost focus b. labor focus c. revenue focus d. environmental focus e. education focus c (Strategic importance of location, moderate) 191 29. Globalization of the location decision is the result of all of the following except a. market economics b. higher quality of labor overseas c. ease of capital flow between countries d. high differences in labor costs e. more rapid, reliable travel and shipping b (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) {AACSB: Multiculture and Diversity} 30. In location planning, environmental regulations, cost and availability of utilities, and taxes are a. global factors b. country factors c. regional/community factors d. site-related factors e. none of the above c (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) 31. A manufacturing firm finds a location that has a significant cost advantage over alternatives, but rejects that location because the educational infrastructure was insufficient to train the firm's workers in its special production technologies. The firm's action illustrates the link between __________ and location. a. innovation b. clustering c. tax incentives d. globalization e. proximity a (The strategic importance of location, easy) 32. Which of the following is usually not one of the top considerations in choosing a country for a facility location? a. availability of labor and labor productivity b. exchange rates c. attitude of governmental units d. zoning regulations e. location of markets d (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) {AACSB: Multiculture and Diversity} 33. When making a location decision at the country level, which of these would be considered? a. corporate desires b. land/construction costs c. air, rail, highway, waterway systems d. zoning restrictions e. location of markets e (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) {AACSB: Multiculture and Diversity} 34. Which of these factors would be considered when making a location decision at the region/community level? a. government rules, attitudes, stability, incentives b. cultural and economic issues c. zoning restrictions d. environmental impact issues e. proximity to raw materials and customers e (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) 192 35. When making a location decision at the region/community level, which of these would be considered? a. government rules, attitudes, stability, incentives b. cultural and economic issues c. cost and availability of utilities d. zoning restrictions e. air, rail, highway, waterway systems c (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) 36. Which of these factors would be considered when making a location decision at the site level? a. government rules, attitudes, stability, incentives b. cultural and economic issues c. zoning regulations d. cost and availability of utilities e. proximity to raw materials and customers c (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) 37. Tangible costs include which of the following? a. climatic conditions b. availability of public transportation c. taxes d. quality and attitude of prospective employees e. zoning regulations c (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) 38. Intangible costs include which of the following? a. quality of prospective employees b. quality of education c. availability of public transportation d. all of the above e. none of the above d (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) 39. Operations managers will need to consider ethical and social responsibility issues when location decisions involve a. child labor issues b. sweatshop conditions c. allegiance to the firm's current location d. corruption e. all of the above e (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) {AACSB: Ethical Reasoning} 40. A firm is seeking a new factory location, and is considering several countries worldwide. In some of these countries, child labor is prevalent; in others, working conditions and worker safety are inferior to conditions in the U.S. An operations manager paying attention to __________will factor these issues into the location decision. a. ethical and social responsibility issues b. critical success factors c. factor rating systems d. geographic information systems e. regression models a (Factors that influence location decisions, easy) {AACSB: Ethical Reasoning} 193 41. Which of the following statements regarding "proximity" in the location decision is false? a. Service organizations find that proximity to market is the most critical primary location factor. b. Manufacturers want to be near customers when their product is bulky, heavy, or fragile. c. Perishability of raw materials is a good reason for manufacturers to locate near the supplier, not the customer. d. Reduction in bulk is a good reason for a manufacturer to locate near the supplier. e. Clustering among fast food chains occurs because they need to be near their labor supply. e (Section, easy) 42. Which of the following is the best example of the proximity rule that, for service firms, proximity to market is the most important location factor? a. Soft drinks are bottled in many local plants, where carbonated water is added to proprietary syrups that may have been shipped long distances. b. Few people will travel out-of state for a haircut. c. Patients will travel very long distances to have their hernia surgeries performed at Shouldice Hospital. d. Furniture makers choose to locate near the source of good hardwoods, even though it means locating near other furniture manufacturers. e. Metal refiners (smelters) locate near mines to accomplish significant weight reduction near the metal's source. b (Factors that affect location decisions, moderate) 43. Which of the following worker characteristics would likely be least important for U.S. firms looking to open up call centers in different countries? a. willing to accept low wages b. have a high level of education c. speak English d. possess an in-depth knowledge of American popular culture e. are young e (Service location strategy, moderate) {AACSB: Multiculture and Diversity} 44. Community attitudes, zoning restrictions, and quality of labor force are likely to be considered in which of the following location decision methods? a. transportation method b. locational break-even analysis c. center-of-gravity method d. simulation e. factor rating method e (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 45. Which of the following methods best considers intangible costs related to a location decision? a. crossover methods b. locational break-even analysis c. factor rating analysis d. the transportation method e. the assignment method c (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 194 46. Evaluating location alternatives by comparing their composite (weighted-average) scores involves a. factor rating analysis b. cost-volume analysis c. transportation model analysis d. linear regression analysis e. crossover analysis a (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 47. A clothing chain is considering two different locations for a new retail outlet. They have identified the four factors listed in the following table as the basis for evaluation, and have assigned weights as shown on the left. The manager has rated each location on each factor, on a 100-point basis, as shown on the right. Factor 1 2 3 4 Factor Description Average community income Community growth potential Availability of public transportation Labor cost Weight .40 .25 .15 .20 Barclay 30 40 20 10 Chester 20 30 20 30 What is the score for Chester? a. 10.00 b. 24.50 c. 25.75 d. 27.00 e. 100.00 b (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills} 48. An approach to location analysis that includes both qualitative and quantitative considerations is a. locational cost-volume b. factor rating c. transportation model d. assignment method e. make or buy analysis b (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 49. On the crossover chart where the costs of two or more location alternatives have been plotted, the quantity at which two cost curves cross is the quantity at which a. fixed costs are equal for two alternative locations b. variable costs are equal for two alternative locations c. total costs are equal for all alternative locations d. fixed costs equal variable costs for one location e. total costs are equal for two alternative locations e (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 195 50. A full-service restaurant is considering opening a new facility in a specific city. The table below shows its ratings of four factors at each of two potential sites. Factor Affluence of local population Traffic flow Parking availability Growth potential Weight .20 .40 .20 .20 Gary Mall 30 50 30 10 Belt Line 30 20 40 30 The score for Gary Mall is _____ and the score for Belt Line is ______. a. 120; 120 b. 22; 24 c. 18; 120 d. 34; 28 e. none of the above d (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills} 51. A firm is considering two location alternatives. At location A, fixed costs would be $4,000,000 per year, and variable costs 0.30 per unit. At alternative B, fixed costs would be $3,600,000 per year, with variable costs of $0.35 per unit. If demand is expected to be 10 million units, which plant offers the lowest total cost? a. Plant A, because it is cheaper than Plant B for all volumes under 8,000,000 units b. Plant B, because it is cheaper than Plant A for all volumes over 8,000,000 units c. Plant A, because it is cheaper than Plant B for all volumes d. Plant B, because it has the lower variable cost per unit e. neither Plant A nor Plant B, because the crossover point is at 10 million units b (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, easy) {AACSB: Analytic Skills} 52. The center-of-gravity method does not take into consideration the a. location of markets b. volume of goods shipped to the markets c. value of the goods shipped d. combination of volume and distance e. center-of-gravity method considers none of the above c (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 53. The center-of-gravity method is used primarily to determine what type of locations? a. service locations b. manufacturing locations c. distribution center locations d. supplier locations e. call center locations c (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 196 54. A regional bookstore chain is about to build a distribution center that is centrally located for its eight retail outlets. It will most likely employ which of the following tools of analysis? a. assembly line balancing b. load-distance analysis c. center-of-gravity model d. linear programming e. all of the above c (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 55. East Texas Seasonings is preparing to build one processing center to serve its four sources of seasonings. The four source locations are at coordinates shown below. Also, the volume from each source is provided. What is the center of gravity? Athens, Texas Beaumont, Texas Carthage, Texas Denton, Texas X-coordinate 30 20 10 50 Y-coordinate 30 10 70 50 Volume 150 350 100 200 a. X = 28.125; Y = 31.25 b. X = 22000; Y = 24000 c. X = 27.5; Y = 40 d. center of gravity = 28 e. none of the above a (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills} 56. A county wants to build one centrally-located processing facility to serve the county's four recycling drop-off locations. The four drop-offs have characteristics as given in the table below. What is the approximate center of gravity of these four locations? Location Drop-off point A Drop-off point B Drop-off point C Drop-off point D X-coordinate 1 6 6 4 Y-coordinate 8 7 2 7 Tonnage 10 35 25 50 a. 4.75, 6.04 b. 17, 24 c. 33.5, 135.4 d. 6, 4.25 e. 570, 725 a (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills} 197 57. Production and/or shipping costs are always considered in which of the following location decision methods? a. factor rating method b. transportation method c. locational break-even analysis d. center-of-gravity method e. crossover analysis b (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 58. The transportation method, when applied to location analysis a. minimizes total fixed costs b. minimizes total production and transportation costs c. minimizes total transportation costs d. maximizes revenues e. minimizes the movement of goods b (Methods of evaluating location alternatives, moderate) 59. Which of the following is not among the eight components of revenue and volume for a service firm? a. quality of the management b. shipment cost of finished goods c. purchasing power of the customer-drawing area d. uniqueness of the firm's and the competitor's locations e. competition in the area b (Service location strategy, moderate) 60. Which of the following is among the eight components of revenue and volume for a service firm? a. uniqueness of the firm's and the competitor's locations b. quality of the competition c. quality of management d. purchasing power of the customer-drawing area e. all of the above e (Service location strategy, moderate) 61. Traffic counts and purchasing power analysis of drawing area are techniques associated with a. an industrial location decision b. a manufacturing location decision c. a retail or professional service location decision d. the factor rating method e. the transportation method c (Service location strategy, moderate) 62. Which of the following statements regarding Starbucks Coffee is false? a. The firm plans to open three new cafes per day around the world. b. The firm uses GIS to evaluate every site decision. c. The firm's cafes are exclusively in traditional settings: malls, tourist areas, and airports. d. The firm places cafes into ever more innovative locations. e. The firm put cafes in Japan, even though that country had no GIS data available. c (Methods of evaluating location decisions, easy) 198 63. LaQuinta Motor Inns has a competitive edge over its rivals because it a. uses regression analysis to determine which variables most influence profitability b. picks better locations than its rivals c. picks larger locations than its rivals d. builds only along interstate highways e. all of the above a (Service location strategy, moderate) 64. Traffic counts and demographic analysis of drawing areas are associated with a. industrial location decisions b. manufacturing location decisions c. service location decisions d. the transportation method e. none of the above c (Service location strategy, moderate) 65. What describes a system that stores and displays information that can be linked to a geographic location? a. AIS b. LOC c. GLOC d. LIS e. GIS e (Service location strategy, moderate) {AACSB: Use of IT} 66. Location analysis techniques typically employed by service organizations include a. factor rating method b. center-of-gravity method c. purchasing power analysis of area d. traffic counts e. all of the above e (Service location strategy, moderate) 67. Which of the following is most likely to affect the location decision of a service firm rather than a manufacturing firm? a. energy and utility costs b. attitude toward unions c. parking and access d. cost of shipping finished goods e. labor costs c (Service location strategy, moderate) 199 68. Which of the following is a location analysis technique typically employed by a service organization? a. purchasing power analysis b. linear programming c. queuing theory d. crossover charts e. cost-volume analysis a (Service location strategy, moderate) 69. A jewelry store is more likely than a jewelry manufacturer to consider __________ in making a location decision. a. transportation costs b. cost of raw materials c. parking and access d. climate e. taxes c (Service location strategy, moderate) 70. Which of the following is a location analysis technique typically employed by a manufacturing organization? a. transportation method b. queuing theory c. correlation analysis and traffic counts d. simulation e. demographic analysis a (Service location strategy, moderate) 71. Which of these assumptions is not associated with strategies for goods-producing location decisions? a. Most major costs can be identified explicitly for each site. b. Focus on identifiable cost. c. High customer contact issues are critical. d. Intangible costs can be evaluated. e. Location is a major determinant of cost. c (Service location strategy, moderate) 72. Which of the following is most likely to affect the location strategy of a manufacturing firm? a. appearance/image of the area b. utility costs c. purchasing power of drawing area d. competition in the area e. parking availability b (Service location strategy, moderate) 200 73. Geographic Information Systems can assist the location decision by a. automating center-of-gravity problems b. computerizing factor rating analysis c. combining geography with demographic analysis d. updating transportation method solutions e. giving good Internet placement for virtual storefronts c (Service location strategy, moderate) {AACSB: Use of IT} 201