A 21-year-old client with narcissistic traits is noted to continuously disrupt the group by speaking while others are speaking. It becomes evident that the client is purposely disrupting the group and decreasing the group’s productivity. What does the PMHNP identify as a cause of the client’s behavior?

A. The client has a fear of losing his or her identity. B. The client prefers one-to-one interactions.

C. The client wants to be the leader of the group. D. The client lacks effective communication skills.

Question 2

Members of a therapy group have been meeting for several weeks. While a member named Margaret is talking about how her spouse ignores her when she tries to tell him what to do, another member named Nicole interrupts and says, “Maybe he thinks you are being bossy.” Margaret replies by saying, “At least I’m not an alcoholic like you are!” What is an appropriate response by the PMHNP?

A. Stop the conversation and intervene

B. Ask Nicole how she feels about the incident

C. Remind members about important group norms D. All of the above

Question 3

During the “mid-group debrief” the clinical supervisor focused on the following areas with the two counselors except:

A. What they did well in engaging the group members.

B. The mistakes that they made in the group and how they can fix them.

C. Observations on how the group members overcame uncertainty with activities. D. Feedback from each of the counselors who participated in the group.

Question 4

The PMHNP recognizes that hostility is unavoidable in a group and acknowledges that a frequent source of hostility can be parataxic distortions. Which situation is likely to present a parataxic distortion within the group?

  1. Peggy, a 54-year-old woman, acting as a surrogate to Susan, who is a younger and newer member of the group
  2. Jerry, a Mexican medical doctor who denies his heritage and Carlos, a proud Mexican warehouse employee
  3. Spencer, a Caucasian politician with a history of substance abuse, and a Caucasian therapist
  4. A successful entrepreneur and an aspiring spoken-word poet

Question 5

A PNHNP is holding a group therapy session for a father and his 10-year-old son, whom the father explains has been acting out lately. The son says, “He is always telling me what to do and never listens when I have an idea.” Which solution would the PMHNP most likely suggest as an approach to the problem?

A. Role-playing exercises

B. Intrapersonal skills training C. Psychological testing

D. Individual therapy

Question 6

The PMHNP is working with an older adult woman and her adult children. The children report that the mother was diagnosed with dementia, and they are all concerned about her welfare. The plan is for the mother to move in with one of the children, but they are still worried about how the mother will manage during the day when she is left alone. What does the PMHNP identify as the focus of the family therapy?

  1. Helping the patient and children understand the skills for daily living
  2. Educating the patient and children about how to maintain a meaningful relationship
  3. Teaching the patient and children concrete suggestions for managing anxiety related to dementia
  4. A and B

Question 7

A patient in group therapy for people dealing with panic disorder is describing a recent panic attack. He says, “During this attack, I felt like I was dying.” What is an appropriate response by the PMHNP using didactic instruction?

A. “Would other members please share your experiences?”

B. “I’m going to discuss the physiological cause of panic attacks.”

C. “I would like to ask everyone to keep a journal of their panic attacks.” D. All of the above

Question 8

When discussing the role of the consultant in the parenting group session, Dr. Carlson explains that the consultant should use several skills in order to help keep the group going and should enable group members to become very engaged with one another. The consultant should use all of the following skills to achieve this, except:

A. Addressing structure by being clear about what the group will and will not do

B. Establishing links with the commonalities shared by group members

C. Achieving the pre-determined agenda by manipulating questions and session content D. Helping others see that they are not alone and that others may share their concerns

Question 9

The anticipation of the first meeting among psychotherapy group attendees may cause feelings of dread and uneasiness among clients. How does the PMHNP demonstrate awareness and promote the success of this first psychotherapy meeting?

A. By conducting a standardized evaluation for the clients participating in this group B. By assigning roles for each member at the beginning of the first meeting

C. By calling clients who will be attending to remind them of the group a week prior D. By asking each member what his or her fears are as he or she joins the group

During therapy, a patient named Maria states she is unhappy that other members did not express missing her while she was away the previous week. She confronted the PMHNP by saying, “Nobody here cares about this stupid group!” What might the PMHNP say to increase group cohesiveness?

A. “Everyone cares about the group except for you.” B. “That is insulting to everyone, including myself.” C. “I believe you owe us all an apology, Maria.”

D. “This group is important to many people here.”

Question 11

A PMHNP is treating a 7-year-old child exhibiting signs of aggression and attention problems. Before suggesting an intervention using a common elements approach, what may the PMHNP consider?

A. The therapist’s own characteristics B. The child’s goals for treatment

C. How willing the child is to change D. None of the above

Question 12

A group member who suffers from depression and anxiety says during the session, “I don’t see how any of this is going to help. I am still too anxious to leave the house and do the things I want to do.” What is an appropriate response by the PMHNP?

A. “Don’t forget about the progress you made last week by joining a yoga class.”

B. “We just heard from another member about his improvement from being in the group.” C. “Remember the power of positive expectations to help you deal with your goals.”

D. All of the above

The leader begins a group meeting by doing the “names activity.” At the completion of the activity, the leader explains that the activity is useful for all of the following reasons, except:

  1. To help individuals see how unique they are and how they “personalize” themselves through unique variations of their name.
  2. To help groups members stay connected to one another while remaining their own unique people.
  3. To help members see how connected they are to their parents by understanding how their names came about.
  4. To provide at least one explanation for one of the things members would like to achieve in group.

Question 14

During a group session, a member turns to the PMHNP and says, “I need some advice. My manager asked me to take on an extra project, and now I’m overwhelmed. I don’t want to seem incompetent, so I agreed to the extra work. What do you recommend I do?” What is the best response by the PMHNP in order to shape group behavior?

  1. “I am sorry to hear you feel overwhelmed, and I have several suggestions that you might find helpful.”
  2. “Let’s ask the group what they think. Does anyone have feedback about this situation?”
  3. “Before I give recommendations, please explain why turning down the project might make you seem incompetent.”
  4. All of the above

Question 15

The social microcosm theory is a theory that relates to group composition. In accordance with this theory, the PMHNP is aware that the group must consist of which of the following?

  1. Males and females of different ages, education levels, socioeconomic statuses, and professions
  2. Males and females of similar ages, backgrounds, diagnoses, and social status
  3. Males and females with an attraction to the group, aiming for a cohesive and socially compatible group
  4. All males or all females with an ability to offer consistent group interactions

Question 16

Following the PMHNP’s cancellation of a group session, he or she notices a decrease in compliance and attendance within the group. What does the PMHNP identify as the group’s reason for noncompliance?

  1. The group did not expect to have time off, so it may take up to a month to get back into a routine.
  2. The group members may believe that the group is not important to the PMHNP.
  3. The PMHNP’s absence gave the members a reason to also be absent.
  4. The group members feel let down, because the PMHNP cancelled a meeting.

Question 17

A PMHNP is leading a group therapy session for patients with substance abuse problems. After one member shares a problem, other members offer support, concern, and observations. The PMHNP points out that the group is offering many truthful reactions and helpful feedback. Which principle does this illustrate?

A. Direct advice

B. Imitative behavior C. Installation of hope D. Altruism

Question 18

A PMHNP is meeting with parents and their 10-year-old child. The child is having trouble paying attention at school and has been getting easily frustrated at home when doing homework, which often results in everyone arguing. What step might the PMHNP take as part of a family- centered, solution-oriented approach?

A. Listen carefully and elicit each family member to tell their narrative

B. Ask the family for their ideas in bringing about a change to the problem C. Have the family draw pictures of their lives after they reach their goal D. All of the above

Question 19

Jane has been attending group therapy for the past year; she and the therapist have determined that she has met her goals. Jane has been arriving to group late or not coming to group at all. How does the PMHNP correctly interpret Jane’s behavior?

  1. Jane is depressed and could benefit from individual therapy.
  2. Jane is being rebellious, because she no longer needs help from the group.
  3. Jane is showing signs of independence, because she will no longer be attending group soon.
  4. Jane is showing signs of regression due to the termination phase.

Question 20

One group member is identified by the PMHNP as the monopolist of the group. Which behavior does the PMHNP believe this member is most likely to display?

  1. Avoiding certain discussions that bring back painful memories, because the client prefers to process these thoughts alone
  2. Talking excessively and inserting him- or herself into conversations even when they do not involve him or her
  3. Participating in several different groups due to the belief that one group will be ineffective
  4. Engaging in therapeutic communication with individuals who the client perceives to be just like him or her because they are able to relate to each other

Question 21

During an initial meeting, a patient who has been discussing suicide says to the PMHNP, “I’m so depressed that I don’t want to leave my house. All I want to do is stay in bed.” What type of therapy would the PMHNP most likely recommend to this patient?

A. An interactionally focused heterogeneous therapy group B. A structured homogeneous group for chronic suicidality C. A short-term cognitive therapy addiction group

D. None of the above

Question 22

During a first group therapy session, a member is outgoing and participates actively. Based on this information, what is an appropriate prediction about this group member by the PMHNP?

A. The member is covering up insecurities.

B. The member may be influential in the group. C. The member may not be popular in the group. D. The member may be envied by others.

Question 23

During an initial screening session, the PMHNP is considering a patient for group therapy. The patient is recently divorced and says he is lonely and depressed. What is the best referral by the PMHNP?

A. A long-term heterogeneous interactional group B. Inpatient cognitive analytic group therapy

C. Brief, problem-oriented group therapy

D. A short-term group for chronic depression

Question 24

A patient in group therapy, Monique, describes another member, Anna, as bossy and selfish; however, the PMHNP does not notice this behavior at all. In addition, other members have expressed how thoughtful and caring Anna is to them. Based on this information, what is an appropriate observation by the PMHNP?

A. Monique has interpersonal distortions of Anna.

B. Monique is uncomfortable in large social situations. C. Anna is not showing her true personality to the group. D. The therapist has a distorted perception of Anna.

Page 8 of 25

Question 25

During a group therapy session, a member comments that another member named Ted had no compassion. Ted replies, “Why does it matter if I care one way or another. I can’t solve their problems.” The other member starts crying and blames Ted for this. He shrugs and answers, “I don’t understand why you are crying.” Based on this information, what is the most likely determination the PMHNP can make about Ted?

A. He is a help-rejecting complainer.

B. He suffers from depression.

C. He is protecting himself from group behaviors/emotions. D. He has borderline personality disorder.

Question 26

A client is observed discussing many problems and complaints during group therapy. However, when other group members attempt to offer advice, the client does not accept it. Based on this observation, what can the PMHNP determine about the client?

  1. The client believes they are all there to get help and cannot accept advice from someone who the client believes is just like him or her.
  2. The client does not really have these problems or complaints; he or she is doing this in an attempt to get attention.
  3. The client is a help-rejecting client and will continue to present problems and then refuse the help of others.
  4. The client has so many problems and complaints that he or she is unable to focus on just one to address.

Question 27

In a group therapy session for patients with anxiety problems, a patient named Eve was afraid to disclose to the other members that she was a victim of sexual abuse. She kept the secret for months, although she hinted at it to other members. During a meeting, another member tried to pressure Eve to disclose her secret, but she was flustered and not ready to share. What is an appropriate response by the PMHNP?

A. Encourage Eve to share her secret by showing authority and empathy B. Remain quiet and allow the group to take charge of the meeting

C. Have group members conduct a role play to get Eve to self-disclose D. Tell the group it is OK that Eve does not yet feel safe enough to share

Question 28

A PMHNP is putting together a heterogeneous, interactional therapy group. During an initial screening, a patient explains that he is unemployed because he keeps getting fired from new jobs after several months. The therapist asks, “Why do you think those companies let you go?” The patient’s reply is, “Those companies are all terrible. They don’t know how to treat employees.” After asking the patient if he thought about his role in getting fired, the patient says, “Why should I? I am not part of the problem.” Based on this information, what is an appropriate observation by the PMHNP?

A. The patient is able to participate in the group task and would benefit from it. B. The patient is able to participate in the group task but may be harmed by it. C. The patient should decide if he would feel comfortable joining group therapy. D. The patient will likely not benefit from group therapy and should not join.

Question 29

Harold Wyman is a 74-year-old man who is trying to mend a relationship with his adult daughter. Based on his intake assessment, the PMHNP believes that the father has depression. The daughter and Harold meet with the PMNHP, and the daughter explains that her father always appears mopey and withdrawn and refuses to do anything about it. When asked, the father reports feeling sad all the time. Which action will the PMNHP employ with Harold using the interpersonal psychotherapy approach throughout the various sessions?

A. Asking Harold to quantify his feelings of sadness on a scale from 1 to 10

B. Teaching Harold about more effective ways to communicate with his daughter

C. Having Harold think about the link between his sadness and other areas in his life D. All of the above

Question 30

A patient in group therapy named Ted shares personal information for the first time. He seems nervous but continues to talk. How might the PMHNP use nonverbal positive reinforcement to support Ted’s feeling more comfortable?

A. Staring intently at Ted while raising an eyebrow

B. Looking at other members rather than directly at Ted C. Leaning forward and nodding as Ted shares his story D. Ignoring any members who are not listening to Ted

Page 10 of 25

Question 31

A narcissistic patient was unhappy that other members did not seem concerned about his or her dating problems, which the patient spent half the session talking about. The patient confronted the group by saying, “All of you are rude and uncaring!” When group members ignored this comment, the patient said, “And no one said anything nice about my new haircut either!” What is an appropriate response by the PMHNP?

  1. Assuring the patient that the group is concerned and complimenting the haircut
  2. Encouraging other group members to tell the patient how this behavior makes them feel
  3. Asking members to spend the rest of the session helping the patient with his or her problems
  4. Allowing group members to continue to ignore the patient’s rant, because it is inappropriate

Question 32

During an initial meeting, a PMHNP spends time speaking with a patient who suffers from social anxiety. The therapist finds the patient extremely loud and overbearing. The PMHNP’s negative feelings continue no matter how hard he or she tries to feel differently toward the patient. What is the most appropriate next step by the PMHNP?

A. Recommend the patient join the PMHNP’s therapy group for anxiety disorders B. Suggest the patient see the PMHNP for individual therapy before group therapy C. Refer the patient to another therapist who has a suitable therapy group

D. Ask another therapist for impartial advice regarding treating the patient

Question 33

A PMHNP is leading a group therapy session for patients with substance abuse problems. After a productive session in which all members participated, the following week was not as productive. In order to help the group members assume responsibility for evaluating the meeting, what is an appropriate comment for the PMHNP to make?

A. “How would you compare today’s meeting with last week’s?” B. “Can you see that today’s meeting was not that productive?” C. “I wonder why everyone was so reluctant to work hard today.” D. “Next week, we will try to have a more intensive interaction.”

Question 34

A patient in group therapy discloses her concern about feeling suicidal again in the future. Using the principle of universality, what is an appropriate step by the PMHNP?

A. Encourage other members who have similar concerns to share their feelings B. Tell the patient to believe that she will continue to make progress in the future C. Explain to the patient the mental health benefits of group therapy

D. Have the patient work to correctively relive early familial conflicts

Question 35

A patient who has been depressed is seeing a PMHNP for individual therapy. The patient explains that he has been avoiding most social activities for the past few months. He is divorced and has joint custody of his 10-year-old daughter. Based on this information, what recommendation by the PMHNP would most benefit the patient?

A. Couples therapy B. Group therapy

C. Family therapy

D. None of the above

Question 36

A client diagnosed with depression has begun to feel despair and expresses a desire to leave the group because he or she does not believe it is helpful. Which action by the PMHNP will most likely contribute to the client staying in the group?

  1. Encouraging the client to attend one more group meeting to see how much he or she is needed
  2. Conducting an individual interview to discuss stressors within the group
  3. Telling the client that everyone has those feelings and must “stick it out” for things to get better
  4. Referring the client to a different group because he or she obviously will not do well within this one

Question 37

Members of a therapy group have been meeting for several months. During group therapy, a patient is bossy and controlling. During this week’s session, she is confronted by another group member about her behavior and replies, “This is not how I normally act. You are not my family and friends. I don’t act the same way around them.” What can the PMHNP deduce from her behavior?

A. She is only bossy and controlling with the group. B. She is displaying her true interpersonal behavior. C. Her mother or father is bossy and controlling.

D. She is actually shy and meek outside of the group.

Question 38

Self-disclosure is a very important part of group therapy. Which of the following conditions does the PMHNP identify in his or her own life as a possible hindrance to self-disclosure?

A. The PMHNP has a 5-year-old daughter, and the client is a convicted pedophile. B. The PMHNP has been employed in this field for less than a year.

C. The PMHNP had to cancel a meeting two months ago.

D. The PMHNP monitors what is disclosed to ensure that too much is not disclosed.

Question 39

The homogenous mode of composition involves a theory that relates to group composition. When applying this theory, the PMHNP is aware that the group will most likely consist of which of the following?

  1. Males and females of different ages, education levels, socioeconomic statuses, and professions
  2. Males and females of similar ages, backgrounds, diagnoses, and social status
  3. Males and females with an attraction to the group, aiming for a cohesive and socially compatible group
  4. Males and females with an ability to offer consistent self-reflection and group interactions

Question 40

A member in group therapy named Tom asked others for suggestions to a problem he was having. He did not think a suggestion by a member named Steve would work, and for the rest of session, the group took sides arguing why the idea would work or would not work. The session ended with Tom agreeing to try the suggestion and report back to the group the following week. Based on this session, what is an appropriate step by the PMHNP?

A. Help the group reduce conflict and disagreement

B. Have a structured intervention to improve cohesiveness

C. Praise the group for their open expression and supportiveness D. All of the above

Question 41

One member of a therapy group had been quiet for the first several sessions. The member revealed to the other members feeling of depression and emptiness. This week, the member was full of energy and talking very quickly. The member became irritated with another member tried to interrupt, started yelling, and then broke into a fit of laughter. Based on the situation, what can the PMHNP determine about the member?

A. The member is simply having a bad day.

B. The member is exhibiting bipolar behaviors. C. The member is a habitual monopolist.

D. The member has narcissistic tendencies.

Question 42

In the parent consultation session, the parent discusses her son “Blake” who has changed since his 13th birthday. Dr. Carlson discusses the power conflict that the parent appears to be getting into with her son. When they discuss approaches they can use to help Blake experience increased responsibility, Dr. Carlson explains that the parent must make a commitment with her son by agreeing to:

A. “Think through” B. “Do it”

C. “Weigh options” D. “Try again”

Page 14 of 25

Question 43

The PMHNP is meeting with an adult woman and her father, who is 85 years old. The father stays quiet most of the session. The daughter explains he is mad at her for “bringing him to a see a shrink.” The daughter reports that things have been tense in the house since her father moved in. The father has a history of depression, though he does not take any medication for it. In addition, lately the father seems to never sleep. “I hear him rummaging around in the kitchen, the garage, the living room, at all hours of the night. Sometimes he’ll nap during the day, but not much. This is putting a strain on my marriage, because my husband can’t sleep with all of this going on.” Which therapeutic approach does the PMHNP identify as most appropriate for the 85- year-old father?

A. Cognitive behavioral therapy

B. Complementary and alternative therapies C. Reminiscence and life review therapy

D. Interpersonal psychotherapy

Question 44

During his second group therapy session, a member, who was quiet the previous week, becomes very judgmental. He criticizes another member by saying, “Mary, you are always late because you don’t respect our group.” Then he adds, “In fact, all of you are disrespectful and uncaring.” What is an appropriate step by the PMHNP?

A. To learn the underlying meaning of the statements B. To ask about his actual motivations and aspirations C. To help reveal the impact of the behavior on others D. All of the above

A PMHNP notices that adolescents in a therapy group have not been getting along. They are divided into two main groups and each automatically dislikes members of the other group. What is an appropriate step for the PMHNP to take?

A. Remind the group about the importance of being supportive

B. Give the group an activity to complete as a whole group

C. Have a co-therapist join the group to help resolve the problems D. Suggest that the leaders of each clique come to individual therapy

Question 46

A PMHNP is evaluating a patient who has problems with authority and has trouble accepting criticism. The patient is aware of these problems and wants to change. Based on this, what is an appropriate action by the PMHNP?

  1. Treat the patient in individual therapy rather than in group therapy
  2. Accept the patient for inclusion as a group therapy member
  3. Have the patient start group therapy if he or she can resolve problems with authority
  4. Ask the patient to start group therapy if he or she takes full responsibility for the problems

Question 47

The PMHNP conducts a specialized individual interview with a patient named Sandy. During this interview, Sandy expresses her want of the other members to like her, and she has a deep dread for the first group meeting. How does the PMHNP correctly interpret Sandy’s interpersonal circumplex?

A. Sandy is likely to resist engagement and devalue the group.

B. Sandy is likely to view members of the group as friendly.

C. Sandy is likely to be passive aggressive during group.

D. Sandy is likely to prematurely view members of the group as hostile.

Question 48

A client has attended five group therapy sessions yet has not engaged verbally with others in the group. The PMHNP has identified the client as a “silent member.” Which statement is true about silent members as related to group therapy?

  1. Silent members can progress as much as others in the group if they are able to process vicariously through other members in the group.
  2. Silent members are silent because they have attended group therapy before and most likely have lost trust in self-disclosure to others.
  3. Silent members have learned to observe the behaviors of others; this allows them to make effective contributions and promote growth within the group.
  4. Silent members usually will hinder the group while hindering their own growth within the group.

Question 49

A patient has attended three group therapy sessions and has remained silent throughout each. The patient has, however, been listening to the other members. When the therapist makes eye contact with the patient, he or she forces a smile but has clenched fists. What is the most appropriate response by the PMHNP to help the patient?

A. “Your clenched fists indicate that you might be tense or angry about something.”

B. “If you do not feel comfortable speaking, I think it would be best if you just listen.” C. “Today, we are all going to focus on what you want to get out of group therapy.”

D. “Since it is our fourth therapy session, I expect everyone to join in the conversation.”

Question 50

Two PMHNPs are in charge of a therapy group that has experienced several maladaptive interpersonal dramas lately. One of the patients has been described by other members as argumentative. After a particularly awkward session, one of the therapists feels that his own interpersonal distortion of the session may be clouding his observation. What is an appropriate step by that PMHNP?

A. Be candid with members of the group about his personal dilemma

B. Take a leave from the co-therapy group until the problem is resolved

C. Compare his reaction to the session with the other therapist’s reaction

D. Suggest that the argumentative group member come to individual therapy

Question 51

During the first group meeting, a client states, “I am here because I am very shy. I don’t mesh well with others and I rarely get invitations to go anywhere.” Which statement about the client’s reason for seeking help and treatment best applies?

  1. The client is using the ego defense mechanism of “projection,” which must be addressed to get to the root of the problem.
  2. The client may benefit from individual therapy, because he or she is shy and this could hinder group therapy.
  3. The client is aware of his or her current issue and will do very well in group therapy.
  4. The client suffers from boredom, which is a serious condition that must be addressed and treated.

Question 52

A patient has had a problem with substance use and has been receiving treatment for addiction. Which additional step might the PMHMP suggest to help the patient maintain abstinence from drugs during and after treatment?

A. Narcotics Anonymous

B. Primary care monitoring C. Inpatient hospital services D. Workplace screenings

Question 53

The PMHNP explains during a discussion that subgrouping has the potential to make group therapy more complicated and less rewarding. Tara, a member of the group, angrily states, “Well, Jack and I have been meeting outside of the group for weeks now.” What is the PMHNP’s most appropriate response?

  1. “I understand, Tara. If you two have not had any problems, and group therapy has been effective for you, it’s possible that you are an exception to the rule.”
  2. “Tara, you and Jack have to be very careful not to get involved sexually. In group, you both should only focus on yourselves.”
  3. “Subgrouping can cause issues with loyalty. For example, what if Jack told you something that made you feel uncomfortable. Would you be able to address that in group?”
  4. “I apologize if my statement upset you. Who initiated your and Jack’s subgroup?”

Question 54

A PMHNP is treating a patient in individual therapy and thinks the patient may be a good

 
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Chapter 2 true/false questions?

At its height, the city of Athens had more slaves than citizens. Answer True False .5 points

Question 2 ThePelopponesian War demonstrated the positive effects of unity among the Greek cities, reduced class tensions and created an enhanced appreciation of both democracy and traditional elites. Answer True False .5 points

Question 3 Freedom in Periclean Athens was based both upon individualism, as it is today in America, as well as an emphasis on achieving both social and economic equality.Answer True False .5 points

Question 4 Empiricism, whose greatest champion was Aristotle, is a philosophy rooted in the physical observation of the natural world.Answer True False .5 points

Question 5 During the Hellenistic period, the great city of Alexandria in Egypt became the cultural center for Greek art, science and scholarship in the known world.Answer True False .5 points

Question 6 In confronting the advancing armies of Persia, Greek city states did not weigh their own local interests first, but were primarily motivated by patriotism and love of freedom.Answer True False .5 points

Question 7 The Cynics (cynically) thought that materialism was the source of happiness and that by working hard and earning material things, that a responsible individual could achieve greater personal freedom and have more choices in life.Answer True False .5 points

Question 8 Athenian imperialism made possible for Athens to become extremely wealthy and powerful. But this was accomplished at the cost of her allies, who were themselves denied the same political freedoms and rights and economically and militarily exploited by their democratic Athenian ‘protector’.Answer True False .5 points

Question 9 In terms of science, the Hellenistic period was a disappointment with few new ideas or inventions that may have enhanced our knowledge or appreciation of the natural world.Answer True False .5 points

Question 10 The Athenian victory at Marathon confirmed that the hoplite phalanx was the finest infantry formation in the Mediterranean world.Answer True False .5 points

Question 11 To Plato, it was best that philosophers rule over others in society because unlike common ignorant and deluded citizens, philosophers are the only ones capable of understanding reality.Answer True False .5 points

Question 12 According to the Stoics, there is no divinely ordered universe, that people must deal with the reality of natural anarchy, and that evil is a consequence of people becoming locked into delusional concepts about ‘their place in the ‘divine plan’.p.79Answer True False .5 points

Question 13 The real goal of the Epicureans was not so much the emphasis on seeking pleasure, but on reducing needless desires to just those that were simple and attainable.Answer True False .5 points

Question 14 The reason why Xerxes retreated back to Persia after the Battle of Salamis was because his land army had been completely destroyed, he failed to attract any Greek allies, and his fighting techniques were not as effective as the Greek hoplite phalanx.Answer True False .5 points

Question 15 Because Athenian democracy was pretty much run by amateurs, public life was dominated by the most effective speakers, the demagogues, who could sway crowds (and votes) with their rhetoric even though they held no elected office.Answer True False .5 points

Question 16 Hellenism combined the eastern aspects of centralized governments ruled over by kings together with traditional Greek urban cultural life to produce a hybrid system with features of both civilizations.Answer True False .5 points

Question 17 The life of a female in classical Greece resembled little the life of a woman in America today because females then were required to be under the constant protection of a male guardian and spend most of their social lives confined to restricted parts of the home.Answer True False .5 points

Question 18 Alexander of Macedon, is remembered more as a conqueror than as a ruler probably because he died at the age of 32, after having proven just what a terrible ruler he was likely to be given his alcoholic binges, homosexual lifestyle and cruel and racist treatment of the Persians at all levels of society.Answer True False .5 points

Question 19 The only people who could legally own land in Attica were the metoikoi, or metics.Answer True False .5 points

Question 20 The first true history, because it sought to explain things such as motives and circumstances, was Herodotus’ history: historia, about the origins and events surrounding the conflict between the Greeks and the Persians. Answer True False

chap 3

Question 1 Contributing greatly to Rome’s initial success was a combination of ruthlessness in war combined with a relative generosity in victory towards the defeated peoples of the Italian Peninsula.Answer True False .5 points

Question 2 The Roman Senate was much like the US Senate, an assembly of elected officials, mostly quite young, elected for limited terms by an enfranchised electorate.Answer True False .5 points 

Question 3 In the Roman republic, power was shared at every level by two or more equals who were elected for fixed terms, and at the top were two consuls each selected for one-year terms.Answer True False .5 points

Question 4 Religion in Rome was about a personal relationship with the gods and was an essentially private activity carried out wherever the numina required worship.Answer True False .5 points

Question 5 In the end, Rome won its wars over Carthage because they were able to bury class differences, retain the loyalty of most of their allies, and because they had gifted commanders such as Scipio Africanus.Answer True False .5 points

Question 6 The Etruscan civilization began to weaken after they lost control of the sea, and on land were challenged by the growing populations of Celts to the North and Romans to the South.Answer True False .5 points

Question 7 The two basic social classes in Roman society were the plebes and the equites.Answer True False .5 points

Question 8 Sometime around 800 B.C. E. the Italic peoples were moving onto and settling the Italian Peninsula. At the same time, the Phoenicians began arriving and building their own cities on the coast of North Africa and on Sicily.Answer True False .5 points

Question 9 The foundation for Roman republican government originated in Etruscan assemblies that had combined in order to prevent any one individual from taking power.Answer True False .5 points

Question 10 Based upon Roman foundation myths, we know that Rome was actually settled by the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, who became the clan fathers of all the Roman gentes.Answer True False .5 points

Question 11 In Rome, to ‘exercise the imperium’ meant to deploy Roman forces beyond the traditional boundaries of the Roman state.Answer True False .5 points

Question 12 “Greater Greece” refers to the collection of Greek colonies that populated the lower half of the Italian Peninsula and on the Island of Sicily.Answer True False .5 points

Question 13 Because Etruscan women played, like Greek women, a very passive and hidden role in society, Greeks generally considered Etruscan women to be much more civilized that either Roman or Carthaginian women who they thought were rather lewd.Answer True False .5 points

Question 14 Each of the Roman gentes was headed by a paterfamilias who had the authority of life or death over every member of the family.Answer True False .5 points

Question 15 Rome won the First Punic War after 20 years of slugging it out with Carthage, mostly because they had already destroyed Greece and could do so without worrying about their eastern flank.Answer True False .5 points

Question 16 For Romans, the ideal soldier was a farmer who served the state and then returned to work his farm.Answer True False .5 points

Question 17 Roman mothers were never legally related to their children, and wives and mothers were not fully a part of their husband’s families.Answer True False .5 points

Question 18 The Etruscan civilization was the first to develop into a centralized empire on the Italian Peninsula, and it was this highly organized and tightly knit empire that was able to project its power to defeat Carthage.Answer True False .5 points

Question 19 Carthage depended upon its vast land-based empire for protection of its commercial empire and because of their complete inability to compete at sea, was unable to become either stable or prosperous.Answer True False .5 points

Question 20 In second century Rome, the corruption of extortion, bribe-taking and dishonest contractors symbolized the decline of Roman republican virtues.Answer True False

chap 4

Question 1 Romans, by and large, were generally more interested in human behavior and character than they were in the sciences, though they supported the work of the Greek scientists of Alexandria.Answer True False .5 points

Question 2 Emperor Augustus felt that Rome’s declining birth rate and corruption could be blamed on the bad influence of foreigners, especially the growing popularity of Greek homosexual practices.Answer True False .5 points

Question 3 Octavian’s power was supported by his huge wealth, the loyalty of the upper class and his control over the armies of Rome.Answer True False .5 points

Question 4 By the end of the first century, Christian authority was claimed to derive from the bishops’ status as miracle workers who roamed around converting pagans with numerous feats of unexplainable healing, bringing people back to life, and so on.Answer True False .5 points Question 5 About the the reign of the Antonines, it has been said that it was,’the period in the history of the world during which the human race was the most poor and miserable.’Answer True False .5 points

Question 6 Romans considered Christians to be a dangerous and subversive cult because they worshiped a Jewish and therefore unpopular and suspicious foreign god p.125Answer True False .5 points

Question 7 Roman emperors, acting in the role of tribunes to the people, brought them, free grain handouts, water-filled aqueducts, and theaters and Colosseum-style entertainments.Answer True False .5 points

Question 8 As the Christian church grew and became more organized, women, were excluded from positions of authority as the Christian community came increasingly to resemble the Roman patriarchal household.Answer True False .5 points

Question 9 The reason that Julius Caesar was assassinated was that he had previously killed the brother of Marcus Brutus who had spoken against his becoming pontifexmaximus.Answer True False .5 points

Question 10 Among the Hasidim of Jewish society in occupied Judea, the Pharisees and Zealots disagreed strongly over whether or not they should fight the Roman occupation.Answer True False .5 points

Question 11 When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, he set in motion a civil war against the Roman forces of Pompey that would end with Caesar taking power in Rome.Answer True False .5 points

Question 12 The Roman imperial government was supported by a combination of taxes, rents, forced labor, military service, requisitions and outright extortion.Answer True False .5 points

Question 13 Paul’s theological message of the suffering of Jesus as a redemptive sacrifice for original sin offered salvation for those who believed, prayed and were baptized.Answer True False .5 points

Question 14 Around the first century B.C.E. the slave population of Italy was negligible, probably only around 10% of the population, but they were treated so well, sometimes as family, that they never attempted to revolt against their owners.Answer True False .5 points

Question 15 The Tribunes Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus were murdered by the Senators of Rome because they attempted to undo the needed land reforms put in place by the Roman Senate.Answer True False .5 points

Question 16 Augustus’ long rule ushered in a period of conflict in the empire known as the Bellum Romana in which Rome was constantly at war with some neighbor or another, draining the imperial coffers of gold and raising the price of wheat throughout the empire.Answer True False .5 points

Question 17 Christianity began as a small Jewish sect based upon the martyrdom of its leader Joshua ben Joseph at the hands of the local Roman procurator.Answer True False .5 points

Question 18 Paul of Tarsus, a Roman citizen, saw Christianity as an entirely new Hellenistic, non-Jewish mystery religion that adapted well to Roman paternalism, and so denied that Christianity was in any sense a fulfillment of Judaism or of the Old Testament.Answer True False .5 points

Question 19 Official Roman religious cults were challenged in the first century C.E. by mystery cults that promised eternal life and a personal relationship with a god.Answer True False .5 points

Question 20 After the Roman conquests of the Mediterranean region, Roman wealth became concentrated in the hands of a few, the optimates.Answer True False

chap 5

Question 1 Monasticism began as a rejection of worldly civilization and a return to a life of religious contemplation.Answer True False .5 points

Question 2 The wholesale settlement of barbarians in the empire as useful allies was not the major factor in the eventual transformation of the western Roman empire. The most important factor was the loss of pagan faith in their gods and the resulting loss of prosperity and Roman self-confidence and strength that came, as they believed, from their gods.Answer True False .5 points

Question 3 Under the tetrarchy, Diocletian divided Rome into quarters, and each quarter was ruled by its own king serving under Diocletian, who then retired to his estate.Answer True False .5 points

Question 4 The Goths were different from other Germanic tribes in the sense that their kings were military rather than religious leaders.Answer True False .5 points

Question 5 According to Augustine, God granted salvation to an elect, and that salvation could not simply be earned by leading a virtuous life.Answer True False .5 points

Question 6 Wergeld was a Germanic custom of payment by the offender to the victim which began because trials by combat and clan feuds were so destructive to life and limb.Answer True False .5 points

Question 7 Over the centuries, the Christian religion was transformed from a persecuted minority into a privileged majority within the empire, and this discontinuity with the biblical call to poverty led many to become religious hermits and to join in the growing monastic movement.Answer True False .5 points

Question 8 In the third century, the vast territory of the Roman Empire experienced a strain on both labor and resources, as capital for investment and existing levels of taxation failed to keep up with the reality that the empire was overextended.Answer True False .5 points

Question 9 The origins of European serfdom began under the reforms of Diocletian in which the coloni became bound to their lands and could not leave the villages in which they were registered to pay taxes.Answer True False .5 points

Question 10 Rome’s huge military expenditures were expensive to support, but the rest of Roman society was able to shoulder the cost of empire because it was able to tax across a broad spectrum of Roman society and so managed to escape the spiraling inflation usually associated with bloated military-dominated states.Answer True False .5 points

Question 11 The Great Persecution against the evolving Christian religion began in 303 when Christians were blamed for poisoning the water supply that ran by aqueducts into the center of Rome and filled all the baths and water fountains.Answer True False .5 points

Question 12 It would be far more accurate to describe the western half of the Roman Empire as having been transformed rather than having fallen.Answer True False .5 points

Question 13 At the Battle of Milvian Bridge, clearly pagans and Christians saw the same symbol of the Chi Rho that Constantine had painted on the soldiers’ shields, and interpreted this symbol to mean the rise of Christianity and the defeat of paganism.Answer True False .5 points

Question 14 The humiliores in Roman society were poorer than the rich honestiores class but they were not completely disadvantaged because tax collectors squeezed the wealthy more more efficiently than they did the poor.Answer True False .5 points

Question 15 Theological controversies in the early centuries of the church were settled typically by calling an assembly (synod) of bishops, such as the one at Nicea in 325 C.E. and having the Pope come from Rome and educate the assembled bishops what the true doctrine of the church was going to be.Answer True False .5 points

Question 16 The Gothic peoples and their leaders were distrusted by the orthodox Christian clergy, because, though they were tolerable allies, they never converted to Christianity.Answer True False .5 points

Question 17 The Visigoths defeated Emperor Valens at Adrianople in 378 C.E. as a direct result of the Roman state having treated the tribe as brutally when they sought assistance as the Huns did in warring against them.Answer True False .5 points

Question 18 The eastern Roman empire was able to survive the age of barbarian invasions by returning to its Hellenistic traditions, keeping its administration in civilian hands, and by reaffirming the strength of the imperial government. p. 151Answer True False .5 points

Question 19 Christianity grew rapidly in the fourth century solely as a result of the many miracles and uplifting preaching of the early church fathers and their representatives.Answer True False .5 points

Question 20 In the third through the fifth centuries, Christians argued, often violently, on the nature of Christ as either entirely human (Arians) or entirely god (Gnostics and Monarchians).Answer True False

chap 6

Muslims pray to and worship Muhammad who they consider the voice of Allah.Answer True False .5 points

Question 2 According to Muslims, the Qur’an (Koran) is the final revelation from God to mankind and that Muhammad was the last and the greatest prophet.Answer True False .5 points

Question 3 The Abbasid Caliphate attempted to govern according to the Islamic principles found in the Qur’an (Koran) and in the Hadith (which promulgated the Sunnah, the practices of the Prophet as preserved from oral tradition.Answer True False .5 points

Question 4 In Byzantium, the Iconoclast Dispute revolved around the appropriateness of using painted images of saints, icons, as holy protective armor for Byzantine soldiers in combat against Islamic forces.Answer True False .5 points

Question 5 A formal split between the churches of Rome and Constantinople was avoided in 1054 C.E. when the Legate of the former met with the Patriarch of the latter and they agreed that the Pope in Rome was infallible, but only when it concerned the doctrine, not the customs of the church.Answer True False .5 points

Question 6 The term ‘Byzantine Empire’ is essentially used to describe the Eastern Roman Empire, a centralized Greek-speaking bureaucratic state but still ruled according to the principles of Roman law.Answer True False .5 points

Question 7 The political and religious sect known as Shia Islam believes that the only legitimate leadership of the Umma and of Islam was someone who had to have been born of the Quraish tribe, within the holy city of Mecca, and during the holy month of Ramadan.Answer True False .5 points

Question 8 By uniting the Mediterranean world with Arabia and India, the ‘Abbasid Empire created the greatest trade network that had ever been seen.Answer True False .5 points

Question 9 The Umayyad Caliphate, with its capital city in Damascus, failed because it tried to rule over the growing Islamic empire through the leftover model of the Byzantine secular government, and failed to base its rule on Islamic spirituality and principles.Answer True False .5 points

Question 10 Most of Europe’s legal systems today have as their foundation the Justinian Code which was a revised version of existing Roman legal traditions.Answer True False .5 points

Question 11 The reason that eunuchs became so powerful at the Byzantine court was that the Byzantines believed that these men were purified of the sin of lust and so pure enough of thought to be in the company of God’s representative on Earth, the Emperor of Byzantium.Answer True False .5 points

Question 12 In Byzantium, soldiers were given a farm with which to support their families, and on the soldier/farmer’s death, his military obligation was passed to his son.Answer True False .5 points

Question 13 In the seventh century, the center of Orthodox Christianity was Rome because the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) had long been considered the senior bishop to his brother bishops in Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch and Constantinople, and so his word was considered infallible.Answer True False .5 points

Question 14 Islamic scientists were not generally interested in the works of Plato and Aristotle because they had been pagans; they were however much interested in the advanced scholarship of European universities and in the literary output of Christian monasteries.Answer True False .5 points

Question 15 In 1453, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, but not before this great city, the largest Christian city in the world, had been pillaged by Christian crusaders in 1204 in the Fourth Crusade.Answer True False .5 points

Question 16 After the Hijra in 620 B.C., the Umma grew in power in Medina, finally capturing Mecca in 629 C.E., and then grew to become a ‘supertribe’ open to all people who would submit to Allah (God) and accept the words of His prophet.Answer True False .5 points

Question 17 Byzantium was undivided and was centrally governed by an efficient bureaucracy. Without anything resembling provinces, military districts were governed by satraps, subordinate local kings, as was the case with the Persian Empire.Answer True False .5 points

Question 18 The basic element of the Byzantine imperial system were the thousands of villages throughout the empire. These handled legal affairs and taxation, and the villages dealt directly with the imperial bureaucracy.Answer True False .5 points

Question 19 It could be fairly be said that the entire eastern Roman empire was more divided than unified by its Christianity.Answer True False .5 points

Question 20 Under Muhammad, females saw their status in society decreased, as they now had to wear ‘modest’ clothing such as Arab women still wear today, nor could they own property, enter into contracts, divorce their husbands or save their children from the still-allowed infanticide.Answer True False .

chap 7

In the sixth and seventh centuries, a plague killed as much as one-third of Europe’s population.Answer True False .5 points

Question 2 By the ninth century, the basic unit of Western economy was the large Roman latifundia that dotted the European landscape, surrounded by walls and overpopulated by immense numbers of the descendants of slaves, and ruled over by armed comes and their armed and violent retinue of tonsured monastics.Answer True False .5 points

Question 3 France and England are both named after Germanic tribes: Franks and Angles.Answer True False .5 points

Question 4 Emperor Charlemagne wanted to replace pagan art forms with Christian representational art so that he could use the images to frighten and terrorize pagans into converting.Answer True False .5 points

Question 5 The last Merovingian king was deposed by Pippin III in a conspiracy with Pope Zacharias who legitimized the overthrow of the last of the anointed kings of the Merovingian Dynasty, marking the first union of royal legitimacy and ecclesiastical sanction in European history.Answer True False .5 points

Question 6 During the late ninth and tenth centuries, all the powers of government, the courts and military force became the private possession of the Catholic Church that now had absolute spiritual and physical coercive power over all levels of society, especially kings who ruled with the permission and blessing of the Pope.Answer True False .5 points

Question 7 The Synod of Whitby in 664 was called in order to iron-out the differences in the way that pagans would be treated by the church in its conversion doctrines. The Romans converted by the sword, giving potential converts the choice of conversion or decapitation, while the Celtic church followed a policy of peaceful conversions.The Synod of Whitby mandated that peaceful methods be followed up if necessary by methods such as slow boiling or the popular ‘water torture’.Answer True False .5 points

Question 8 The real power in the Frankish kingdom was held by regional strongmen called dukes.Answer True False .5 points

Question 9 In the early Middle Ages the peasantry of Europe gradually became Christian, as bishops founded parish churches in the villages of large estates and the faith gradually radiated into the countryside.Answer True False .5 points

Question 10 England was transformed into Britain, the ‘land of the Britons’ by an invasion of Celtic tribes from Brittany, and so the Roman traditional urban life of exploitation and brutality was replaced by the values of peace, quietude and Irish monastic Christianity.Answer True False .5 points

Question 11 The main goal of members of the Frankish aristocracy was wealth and power.Answer True False .5 points

Question 12 Cluniac monks thought of themselves as God’s spiritual ‘shock troops’ and so they fought against evil, with their prayers as their armed cousins did with their swords.Answer True False .5 points

Question 13 Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) was unable to fill the power vacuum left by receding Byzantine forces, was unable to feed the desperately hungry Roman population during periods of famine or to comfort them through the dark years of plague and warfare as most were still pagan, and so laid the foundations for a very weak and pusillanimous medieval papacy.Answer True False .5 points

Question 14 Clovis the leader of the tribe of Salian Franks, converted to Christianity in the hopes that God would help him smite his enemies, and also with the expectation that the local Gallo-Roman aristocracy would support him, which they did.Answer True False .5 points

Question 15 In 613, in Visigothic Spain, all Jews were commanded either to accept Christian baptism or leave the kingdom, and Jews were often happy in 711 when Muslims conquered the Visigothic kingdom and brought some measure of religious toleration.Answer True False .5 points

Question 16 Was it really possible to crown Charlemagne emperor in the year 800 because Byzantium was being ruled by a mere female?Answer True False .5 points

Question 17 The aristocratic lifestyle of the early Middle Ages focussed on study of the classics, sartorial display, romantic intrigue and riding to the hounds.Answer True False .5 points

Question 18 The kingdom of the Franks was the ancestor of both France and Germany.Answer True False .5 points

Question 19 Aristocrats during the early Middle Ages considered themselves more as partners rather than the subjects of their kings.Answer True False .5 points

Question 20 In the early Middle Ages, kings were considered the absolute source of law, which was no longer tribal tradition or custom, but was based entirely upon the sometimes cruel whims of each tribal chieftain.Answer True False .

chap 8

In the 11th century most people were serfs but in spite of their low economic status, they led secure and peaceful lives, working on their lords’ estates, and receiving a free, basic education at the local parish school run by the local parish priest.Answer True False .5 points

Question 2 Thomas Aquinas’s major contribution to theology was his division of Christian doctrine from Aristotelian philosophy, in which he argued that reason and faith could never be reconciled as each one was derived from a different way of knowing the world.Answer True False .5 points

Question 3 The typical peasant’s diet in the Middle Ages, was composed of: wild boar, wild turkey, potatoes, tomatoes, corn and beans. p. 202Answer True False .5 points

Question 4 In the eleventh century, Flanders, dealing with a population explosion as well as a lack of grazing land, opted to invest in the production of wagon wheels and metal tools of all varieties, and soon this became Europe’s first major industry.Answer True False .5 points

Question 5 Duke William of Normandy sailed with an army in 1066 from France to conquer England because he needed ‘lebensraum’ for the exploding French population and needed more land to accommodate the demands of a growing military elite.Answer True False .5 points

Question 6 It was during the pontificate of Pope Innocent III that the papacy reached the low mark of its power, with corrupt popes having mistresses, illegitimate children, homosexual affairs, and owned slave galleys and led military forces as if they were common princes. Slowly, the papacy would regain power until the sixteenth century when popes no longer displayed the bourgeois materialism of their predecessors..Answer True False .5 points

Question 7 The warrior aristocracy justified its privileges in society through its training as a Latin-educated elite, that could not only fight but compose poetry, sing ballads, write legal documents and peacefully resolve disputes.Answer True False .5 points

Question 8 The crusades were religious wars of conquest authorized by popes and generally directed primarily against Europe’s Muslim enemies.Answer True False .5 points

Question 9 By the twelfth century, commerce was considered by everyone to be a completely dishonorable occupation, these ‘bourgeois’ as they were called because they lived in the ‘bourgs’ or towns, were thought to be men driven by profit over either honor or faith. Churchmen condemned their greed; nobles condemned their cowardice.Answer True False .5 points

Question 10 The rise of centralized monarchies and the decline of the age of independent warriors whose violence was seen as wasteful and futile, led to a decline in the brutal and vicious holy crusades against Muslims and ‘heretical’ Christians.Answer True False .5 points

Question 11 A ‘youth’ in medieval aristocracy was a young noble who had received his sword of knighthood, yet had not married, nor acquired lands.Answer True False .5 points

Question 12 The institution of the English Parliament may have come from the custom under King Edward I, of seeking consensus (and funds) by summoning his barons, bishops and representatives of the towns and shires to participate in a “parley”.Answer True False .5 points

Question 13 The great significance of the Magna Carta, in demanding royal respect for the rights of vassals and of London burghers, was that the pope, speaking through his Archbishop and assembled noble supporters, was more important than the king.Answer True False .5 points

Question 14 The church disliked lay investiture because it considered that it had the right to determine who was chosen as bishop and not some local king or even the emperor.Answer True False .5 points

Question 15 A woman’s domestic tasks in the Middle Ages might include: wool carding, spinning, weaving, gardening, watching children and brewing beer.Answer True False .5 points

Question 16 In only 300 years, from the 11th to the 14th century, the population of Europe actually almost doubled from 38 to 74 million people.Answer True False .5 points

Question 17 King John of England lost his lands to Phillip II, King of France, because he failed to appear when summoned, as required by feudal custom, as he was a vassal of the King of France for the lands of Normandy, Anjou, Maine and Touraine.Answer True False .5 points

Question 18 The titanic battles begun between Emperor Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire, and Pope Gregory VII, eventually resulted without any kind of compromise between the empire and the church and this rift eventually ended with a complete separation of church and state and banishment of the Pope from the Holy Roman Empire.Answer True False .5 points

Question 19 Because of the Frankish custom of dividing up land between the surviving males, in medieval days, noble women were expected to have a small number of children, and often women used traditional and effective, though dangerous, methods of birth control bought from ‘wise women’ to avoid being constantly pregnant.Answer True False .5 points

Question 20 A fief, complete with serfs, was something that a vassal might expect from his lordi

 
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1.6 Research questions

The research questions for the study will be following.

  • What are the supply chain management processes adopted by the local food manufacturers?
  • What are the challenges faced by the companies in food manufacturing in the implementation of supply chain management?
  • What are the effects of these supply chain management challenges?

1.7 Significance of the study

The results from the study will assist supply chain management professionals in the food manufacturing industry to understand their supply chain management challenges and use such information to develop solutions on eliminating these challenges and transform them into productive elements for organizations. The study will assist customers to get quality products, superior service and competitive prices should the companies successfully implement supply chain management. Other companies in the supply network of the local food manufacturers will have sustainable business as the success of these food manufacturers will mean their success in terms of continuous business.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

The food products that end up consumed get to final customers by the way of food supply chains through which it moves from producers to consumers. The flow is a two way such that producers get the money paid for the products and consumers get the products in return. All the stages involved in the supply chain, requires human and natural resources. Should one part of the food supply chain gets affected, such issues are then seen through price changes of the products produced. 

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze literature on supply chain management in the food manufacturing sector, looking at the supply chain management processes at disposal for companies to implement, and the literature on some challenges the industry faces when implementing supply chain management. This chapter will also look at the effects these challenges have on the industry.

2.1 The history of the food manufacturing industry

Food supply can be referred as the processes that describe how raw materials from the farms are transformed to food products that get consumed (Fantazy, Kumar, & Kumar, 2010). The processes that facilitate the transformation of the raw materials include production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal (Apaiah, Linnemann, & KOOI, 2011). The food manufacturing sector has seen developments due to the dependency on energy at the industrial manufacturing stage.

The food manufacturing industry is said to be made up of companies that are in manufacturing and processing of raw materials and semi-finished products from primary activities which are supported by logistics and operations (Cousins & Scoones, 2010). Food manufacturing plays a major role when it comes to meeting consumer demands and contributes to the economy, including that of Eswatini. The largest production sectors of food processing industry are brewing, milling, baking, confectionery, animal and vegetable oils, sugar, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, soft drinks, fish and meat processing, ethyl alcohol distillation, sprit blending, wines, bottling of natural spring and mineral waters, among others (Beske, 2012).

Food safety, environmental and social standards have become key features in the Eswatini food processing. The Eswatini Standards Authority was established in 2003 to safeguard the interests of people and that of government when it comes to compliance of products. There has also been a drive by the international standards organizations to ensure companies conform to food safety. International organizations, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, corporations and industrial associations behind the formulation of these standards were originally defensive of efforts aimed at critically observing their impacts in diverse areas (Cummins, 2004).

2.1.1 Contribution of the Food Manufacturing industry

Food manufacturing companies find themselves dealing with a number of competing pressures alongside the challenges of sustainable production especially energy consumption reduction (Boiral, 2006). The industry has seen changes brought by the purchasing power, the necessity of packaging and extensive mechanization and factory processes development. In the past, consumers were buying and consuming fresh products and had no preferences of canned, pre-cooked or frozen products (Kepe & Tessaro, 2014).

Recent changes have seen people shunning away to fresh products and they are more likely to buy pre-prepared products due to the shelf life of these products as compared to fresh products although they also likely to be more expensive. Timing and availability of these products are now driving the choices and taste preferences of consumers. Companies are now putting more effort into presenting consumers with products that require less preparation time and less cognitive energy expended on deciding what to cook. Food specialists in the world markets have developed awareness including a wide variety of knowledge when it comes to waste management and disposal, food safety regulations and packaging (Johari, Ahmed, Hashim, Alkali, & Ramli, 2012).

2.2 Conceptual framework

The term supply chain management as it is widely known today, can be traced back to the early 1980s and first appeared in a financial times article by Oliver and Webber in 1982 where they were describing the range of acts performed by a company in procuring and managing supplies (S. Li, Ragu-Nathan, Ragu-Nathan, & Rao, 2006). The early publications on supply chain management in the 1980s were focusing on purchasing and cost reduction related activities. Its major development and significant increase of publication in the areas of supply chain integration and supplier-buyer relationship came in 1990s when the concept as we know it today was gradually established (Zhou & Benton Jr, 2007). The interest in supply chain management has seen a steady increase since the 1980s after companies started recognizing the importance of integrating and aligning with their suppliers.

Supply chain management has been defined by a number of authors. According to (Wisner, Tan, & Leong, 2014) they identified that the common themes within the definitions relate to the coordination and integration between supply chain partners that are involved in the different activities related to products and services. It is no longer sufficient for companies to compete in isolation, they need to compete as an interacting web of supply chain.

(Chow et al., 2008) defined a supply chain as a network consisting of all stakeholders that are involved directly or indirectly in producing and delivering products or services to its ultimate customers. (Boyer & Hult, 2005) further identified manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and customers as the key stakeholders of a supply chain who are involved in the physical distribution, flow of information and finances. (Hofmann, 2013) came with a perspective that supply chain management involves sets of practices that integrate with suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers to improve the long-term business performance and the performance of their supply chain.  As such, supply chain management can be seen as a holistic approach to demand, sourcing and procurement, production and logistics process management (Mentzer et al., 2001).  Supply chain management is said to include procurement of materials, transforming them into intermediate goods and final products and delivering a product or service to the final customers (Swink, Melnyk, Hartley, & Cooper, 2017).

(Hong & Jeong, 2006) see supply chain management as composed by approaches that are applied to efficiently and effectively enhance collaboration of suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses and retailers. This collaboration ensures products are produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations and at the right time, which assists in terms of reducing costs incurred by companies in the process of satisfying customers. Supply chain management considers the supply network and the companies in it as a single entity. It comes with a system that assist in understanding and managing the different activities needed to coordinate the flow of products and services to best serve the ultimate customer (Lee & Billington, 1995).

2.3 Supply chain management theories

Supply chain management theories includes sets of processes and practices that effectively integrate with stakeholders involved in a supply network in order to improve businesses operations (Linhares, 2009). Companies utilize a number of theories in the application or implementation of supply chain management. Some of the theories include Just in Time (JIT), the theory of constraints (TOC), total quality management (TQM), and lean manufacturing. These theories are briefly discussed below.

2.3.1 Just in Time

The Just-in-Time (JIT) concept is a Japanese management philosophy that they apply in manufacturing which requires having the right items of the right quality and quantity in the right place and the right time (Lou, Wang, Chen, Vatjanasaregagul, & Boger II, 2015). It is a concept that strives to minimize and possibly eliminate waste that can come from time, storage space, inventory and labour (Singh, Lai, & Cheng, 2007). It is basically a concept that enforces companies to produce what is required as and when it required.

2.3.2 Theory of Constraints

The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is all about the procedure for managing factors, production processes, company decisions and situations in which they present constraints to the current state of affairs (Widodo, et al., 2006). It links or connects all procedures involved in manufacturing. All companies are most likely to have at least one critical constraint that hinders production capacity (Reimers, 2014). A constraint is any restriction that occurs in a system and potentially prevents it from achieving optimal performance (Orlek, 2013). Through the application of TOC, companies can control the contribution margin and the product’s unit production cycle regarding its critical resources. 

The TOC can be applied in all stages of the supply chain to reduce inventory holding costs, improve production efficiencies and increase the responsiveness to changing customer needs (Watson, et al., 2007). The ultimate goal of TOC is to improve company performance throughout the whole system by ensuring that the system’s constraint is used to control the entire flow of materials and price from the beginning to the end of the production cycle. 

2.3.3 Total Quality Management

The total quality management (TQM)involves all stakeholders involved in the production of a product to meet or even exceeds customer expectations. The most common TQM practices include cross-functional product design, process management, supplier quality management, customer involvement, information and feedback, committed leadership, strategic planning, cross functional training, and employee involvement (Swink et al., 2017). All companies need to acknowledge the impact of quality it can have on the existence of a business; as such companies need to continuously work towards improving their standards to remain in business. A quality product is as a result of a quality process, thus quality should be imbedded in the production process (Medori & Steeple, 2000). 

2.3.4 Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing can be referred to as the process of minimizing waste during the production process. A number of benefits are realized with the implementation of lean manufacturing which include reduction of labour costs and lead times. It can reduce the level of wastage and defects, and ensure production of products that do not cause harm to the consumer and the environment. It can also improve customer satisfaction by ensuring that companies produce quality products.

For the purpose of this study, the theory of constraints (TOC) will be adopted as the research concept. The theory was first developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt in the 1980s (Stump & Badurdeen, 2012). It stresses the role played by constraints in hindering how a company performs and further suggests that these constraints should be identified and logically solved to improve the performance of the system (Esterhuizen & Stroebel, 2011). The food manufacturing industry includes companies that transform livestock and agricultural products into products used for intermediate or final consumption. There are a number of dynamics that support the growth of the industry, there are significant challenges that if not addressed they can derail the growth prospects of the food industry (Zeimpekis & Giaglis, 2006). This study seeks to identify the challenges companies in the food manufacturing industry encounter as they implement supply chain management and the TOC as a theory that will present ways in which these challenges can be dealt with for an effective implementation of supply chain management in food manufacturing.

2.4 Supply Chain Management processes

The Global Supply Chain Forum (GSCF) identified eight key supply chain management processes that companies need to implement across the supply chain networks. These processes were said to be the foundation of the success of supply chain management. The eight processes are discussed below; customer relationship management, customer’s services management, demand management, order fulfillment, manufacturing flow management, supplier relationship management, product development and commercialization and returns management. For the purpose of the study the below will be discussed.

2.4.1 Customer relationship management

Customer relationship management provides the structure for how relationships with customers are developed and maintained. It is the process that companies use to learn more about customers’ needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. This process has been a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects (Dadwal & Malik, 2018) including in the food manufacturing industry. Effective customer relationship management in food manufacturing, enables companies to secure and strengthen their brand values by ensuring that all trade promotions, campaigns and sales activities are executed with the right brand messages at all times (Dadwal & Malik, 2018).

The process of customer relationship management has become a critical business process as a result of: competitive pressures; the need to achieve cost efficiency in order to be a low-cost, high-quality supplier; a recognition of the fact that customers are not equal in terms of their profitability; and, knowledge that customer retention can significantly affect profitability (Lambert, Knemeyer, & Gardner, 2010).

2.4.2 Order fulfilment

Order fulfilment is one of the processes in supply chain management that food manufacturers can use. Customers’ orders are what start set the supply chain in motion. Order fulfilment has been recognized as an essential process to an organization success and a customer order is the catalyst that starts the order fulfilment order process and puts the supply chain in motion (Christopher, 2016) .In manufacturing it will be the customers that will demand a certain product which manufacturers would need to produce that particular product. It then becomes the company’s responsibility to ensure that the product is produced and supplied to the customers efficiently and effectively.

However, the order fulfilment process involves more than just filling orders. It is about designing a network and a process that permits a firm to meet customer requests while minimizing the total delivered cost. Order fulfilment can be described as the process that includes activities required to receive an order and delivering that order to the customer (Lambert et al., 2010). Food manufacturers considering the competitive environment they operate in, fulfilling customer demands remains key to their survival because failure to supply, customers will buy from competition.

2.4.3 Manufacturing flow management

Food manufacturers face a number of challenges that includes producing a product that would provide a solution to customer needs. Traditionally, food manufacturers have been producing products that they believe customers need. However, that has changed given the interest in innovative management theories such as total quality management, just-in-time operations, and continuous improvement that have been implemented by companies (Jacobs, Chase, & Lummus, 2014). Effective coordination of demand and production of products have presented an opportunity to save costs by companies. This is to say food manufacturing companies that have integrated procurement of raw materials, manufacturing and logistics activities are in a better position to save costs.

The manufacturing flow process is said to coordinate all activities food manufacturing companies undertake as they manufacture the products. The activities include obtaining, implementing, and managing the flexibility in the manufacturing process and also moving the products to the final customers (Lambert et al., 2010).

2.4.4 Product development and Commercialisation

Food manufacturers’ ability to successfully introduce new products is critically for their survival. There has been an increase in the importance of knowledge creation and its use to the companies’ global competitiveness has produced considerable experimentation with organizational designs for product development and commercialization over the last three decades, and this is more prevalent in food industry (Snow, Fjeldstad, Lettl, & Miles, 2011) This is so because customers are demanding new products that would satisfy their needs and food manufacturers’ needs to constantly seek ways to produce products that would comply with the market demand.

Product development and commercialization is the supply chain management process that provides structure and direction for developing and bringing to market new products jointly with customers and suppliers (Lambert et al., 2010). This is said to enhance the successful coordination movement of introduced products across the supply chain and also assists supply chain practitioners to properly coordinate manufacturing, logistics, marketing and other related activities to support the commercialization of the product (Lambert et al., 2010). This process requires effective planning and execution throughout the supply chain, and if managed correctly it can provide a competitive advantage for companies to successfully compete in the market. The development and commercialization of products from a supply chain management angle should integrate both customers and suppliers into the process in order to reduce the time a product spends in the market.

2.4.5 Supplier relationship management

The Global Supply Chain Forum (GSCF), which is a group of non-competing firms and a team of academic researchers, defines supplier relationship management as the supply chain management process that provides the structure for how relationships with suppliers are developed and maintained. Through the cross functional coordination, information from both the suppliers and customers are provided to the supplier relationship management activities (Handfield, Monczka, & Guinipero).

Supplier relationship management assists to have organized efforts to maintain a network of qualified suppliers. The effort includes activities that enhance and improve the current performance of suppliers which will in turn have a positive impact on the organizations supply chain. Supplier relationship management emphasizes on direct relationship and long term and encourages mutual planning and coordinates efforts to resolve problems along the supply chain. (Pavico, 2016) emphasize that a strategic partnership stresses on long-term relationship between suppliers and “promotes mutual planning and problem-solving efforts”. Supplier relationship management has grown to be a critical business process as a result of competitive pressures from other organizations. Organizations have seen the need to achieve cost efficiency in order to be cost competitive and also to develop closer relationships with key suppliers who can provide the expertise necessary to develop innovative new products and successfully bring them to market (Lambert et al., 2010).

2.5 Supply Chain Management challenges

Supply chain management professionals constantly face unique challenges as they try to align supply chain management strategies with the overall corporate business strategies, and seamless coordination is, therefore, rarely achieved in practice (Awad, 2010). Normally, the supply chain management related problems come from either uncertainties or an inability to co-ordinate several activities and partners (Otchere, Annan & Anin, 2013:132). On the other hand, customers have become more demanding in terms of better quality products, higher levels of service and reduced prices, (Sweeney, et al., 2011).

A number of studies on supply chain management challenges have discovered some can really hinder smooth implementation of supply chain management. (Groznika & Trkman, 2012) identified information sharing as one of the major challenge that faces food manufacturers. Information sharing in the industry is very important as it may lead to products not getting to the customers on time or the food products can get to the market by the wrong market. A study by (Hoffmann, Schiele, & Krabbendam, 2013) identified risk management as a source for the challenges. The risks can emanate from the suppliers, changing regulations and internal operational inefficiencies.

A study conducted by (Ian Stuart, Verville, & Taskin, 2012) highlighted the lack of trust amongst the supply chain network and supplier competency as other major challenges facing food manufacturers in the implementation of supply chain management. The question then that remains is that are these challenges generic to all companies in all sectors (Raut, Narkhede, & Gardas, 2017).

A study by (Pillay & Mafini, 2017) identified inadequate supply chain management skills and qualifications, procurement malpractices, ineffective supply chain integration, poor supply chain relationships and industry structure as some of the challenges prevalent in supply chains in developing countries, which Eswatini is part of those countries.

(Badenhorst-Weiss & Ambe, 2011) on their study when investigating the trends and challenges in the supply chain management in the South African automotive sector, they debated on various challenges such as technological, infrastructural, market, skills, cost, and relationships challenges. Road freight volumes, port delays, unreliability of rail transport, high fuel costs, high operating costs, high port charges and high prices of materials were also some of the challenges they face. These challenges were beyond the control of the manufacturers and they concluded that some of the challenges to some extent they can be viewed as opportunities for the manufacturers to exerts their efforts to become more competitive, such as replacing outdated assembly/manufacturing tools, finding new markets, dealing with the cancellation of customer orders, and improving service levels.

(Simpson & Havenga, 2010) touched on the costs involved in supply chains and how efficient those are allocated throughout the overall process in their study. Eswatini food manufacturers are also faced by the ever increasing costs of production which make it difficult to compete in the markets.

Poor infrastructure is another challenge experienced in supply chain management. It limits the size of the market and hinders trading internationally which has a potential of providing a viable opportunity for the food manufacturers to open new market segments (Linnemann, Benner, Verkerk, & van Boekel, 2006). Transit time is another factor that is increasingly being considered because it impacts on inventory carrying costs and inventory cycle time in supply chain management.

A study carried out by (Naude & Badenhorst-Weiss, 2011) explored the concept of the bullwhip effect in supply chains and illustrated empirically the presence of its effect in automotive supply chains. The study revealed that the automotive component manufacturers are dependent on demand-forecasting information from their customers. In the process they are faced with long lead times, inconsistent orders, customers canceling orders, excess and slow moving inventory and a lack of integration with suppliers and customers.  The manufacturers also experienced challenges when it comes to relationships and had a silo mentality. These challenges posed a potential of having major impact on companies’ costs, and knowing where to invest effort and resources should be the key strength for supply chain managers.

2.6 The effect supply chain management challenges

Challenges that emanate as the food manufacturers implement supply chain management, can affect the performance when it comes to competitiveness of the companies. When companies are faced with implementation challenges, the competitiveness of the companies may end up becoming dismal if the challenges are not adequately addressed.

Supply chain challenges are among the challenges that can adversely affect the performance of an organization and may even lead to closure of companies. These challenges if not attended to can also make it impossible for the companies to realize the six rights of a supply chain that is; right place, right product, right quality, right time, right cost and right delivery.

Food supply chain is the network of companies that are involved in the production and selling of fresh or processed products from vegetables, crops or animals (Van der Vorst & Beulens, 2002). For a smooth flow of materials, information and financials amongst the supply chain network, supply chains must be dynamic and flexible, built on cooperation, coordination, control and trust (Naspetti, Lampkin, Nicolas, Stolze, & Zanoli, 2011). Supply chains are vital in the drive to attain sustainability (Ageron, Gunasekaran, & Spalanzani, 2012) through changing buying practices and impacts on the natural environment (Wolf, 2011).

A supply chain has a strong and deep impact on the natural environment because it deals with the resources needed for the production in the food processing industry (Min & Mentzer, 2004). The food industry faces difficulties that includes limited shelf life, perishability, weather variability, risk of infestation, rigid food quality and safety requirements, demand and price variability (Widodo, Nagasawa, Morizawa, & Ota, 2006);(Van Der Vorst, Tromp, & Zee, 2009).  The lack of information sharing amongst the supply chain networks coupled with the difficulties in the right choice of supply chain partners is a further significant element that affects the food supply chain (Hommes & Holmner, 2013).

Food safety is critical in the food industry and a major concern as the food supply chain network grows bigger. Incidents that have been reported in the past including the recent one of Listeriosis outbreak experienced on precooked food have highlighted the concerns over food safety. Despite being specifically regulated, the food industry still experience safety issues. The final consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to the origin and conservation of the products they buy (Kolk & Van Tulder, 2002). The supply chains around this industry must show responsiveness, precision and transparency in order for consumers to have confidence on the products they distribute. The appearance of labels, continuous changes in international regulations as well as technological innovations have influenced and transformed the food supply chain and established principles like product traceability, cold supply chain control or hygiene and quality (Liu et al., 2012).

From the above studies that have been conducted, there were common challenges that companies encounter when implementing supply chain management in their businesses. This study will look at exploring the challenges companies encounter as they implement supply chain management. From the above literature it can be deduced that companies that have effectively implemented supply chain management they are in a better position to compete in the markets. Flexibility and dynamic supply chain remain key to the success of companies.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research is based on underlying different assumptions that establish a valid research and method that is appropriate for the development of knowledge in each investigation. This chapter will focus on the research design, the methodology and procedures to be used in the study. The chapter will highlight the method to be used for data collection to be used for primary data collection, the target population and the sampling. This will shed some light on how the actual research will be conducted to ensure authentic results are generated after data collection.

3.1 Research Approach

The research approach is about the method used to conduct a study. It is the strategy of enquiry, which moves from the underlying assumptions to research design and data collection. There are a number of distinctions in research approaches with the most common classification of research being the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative research is used to help understand how people feel and why they feel as they do. It deals with phenomena that are difficult if impossible to quantify mathematically such as beliefs, meanings, attributes and symbols and may involve content analysis (Babbie, 1998). According to (Walsh, Domegan, & Fleming, 2012) qualitative research aims to explore and to discover issues about the problem in hand, because very little is known about it. 

On the other hand, quantitative research utilizes questionnaires, surveys and experiments to gather data that is revised and tabulated in numbers, which allows it to be characterized by using statistical analysis (Neuman, 2013). Quantitative researchers involve the measurement of variables on a sample of subjects and express the relationship between them by using effect statistics such as correlations, relative frequencies, or differences between means; focusing mainly on the testing of theory. This approach is based on the approach known as logical positivism, a common paradigm in the social sciences (Babbie, 1998). In quantitative research, normally a deductive theory approach is used to guide the design of the study and the interpretation of the results (Neuman, 2013).

For this study, the quantitative research approach will be used. The study will involve many respondents hence the quantitative approach is deemed as the most appropriate approach, unlike the qualitative approach, which focuses on smaller sample sizes when examining any context. Also the quantitative is considered appropriate because it is clearer, more reliable, less time consuming and objective. Its use, will allow the researcher to make reliable deductions from the primary data to be collected during the study.

3.2 Research design

A research design is defined as the framework of a research (Pallant, 2011). It is referred to as the blueprint or the way in which a study is structured to conduct it successfully. It can also be described as the overall plan to which the respondents of a proposed study are selected, as well as the means of data collection or generation. It aims to highlight the methods and tools that are used during the research process. 

The descriptive survey design will be employed for the study. This type of design is used to collect information concerning the current state of the phenomena to describe “what exists” with respect to conditions in a situation as well as

 
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“Read the case study ‘WilKins, A Zurn Company: Material requirements planning’ and answerthe following questions:1. Evaluate the current level of safety stock.2. Calculate the safety stock for the ball valve (34-850).3. Complete the MRP table for the selected components in case Exhibit 8.4. As Gerpheide, what changes would you recommend?Prepare a short powerpoint presentation to discuss your recommendation in class.”

For the exclusive use of R. DAVIS S w906D05 WILKINS, A ZURN COMPANY: MATERIAL REQUIREMENTSPLANNING Renée Reid prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Carol Prahinski and Eric O. Olsen solely toprovide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffectivehandling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifyinginformation to protect confidentiality.Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its writtenpermission. This material is not covered under authorization from CanCopy or any reproduction rightsorganization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, IveyManagement Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London,Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail .ca.Copyright © 2005, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2006-09-13 On the morning of Monday, August 29, 2005, Jim Gerpheide, the materialsmanager at the Wilkins plant located in Paso Robles, California, was still stunnedthat the auditors had insisted that the plant undergo a second annual physicalinventory count, after an inventory count had been completed two weekendsearlier. In addition, Chris Connors, the general manager at the plant andGerpheide’s direct supervisor, had repeatedly expressed his concern about the highinventory level. Gerpheide knew that changes were needed, and he wonderedwhat alternatives he should consider.BACKGROUND In 1971, Zurn Industries acquired Wilkins Regulator Company, which commencedoperations in 1906, and in 1998, it merged with U.S. Industries Bath & PlumbingProducts Co. (later known as Jacuzzi Brands, Inc.). Wilkins manufacturedproducts for four markets: general plumbing, agricultural irrigation, commercialbuilding and municipal water works. Wilkins used more than 14,000 differentcomponents for its production and stored them at the plant. The finished productswere stored at the plant and 52 other stocking locations.Gerpheide started employment at Wilkins in 1989. Prior to working at Wilkins, hehad earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry and a Masters in Business This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 2 9B06D005 Administration from California Polytechnic State University. At an entry-levelposition for a small electronics company, he commenced his career in materialsmanagement in 1978, and implemented its material requirement planning (MRP)system in 1982. Four years later, a syndicated store that sold lighting fixtureshired him to manage inventory and its MRP system. When Wilkins hiredGerpheide, he became involved with his third MRP system installation.Gerpheide’s position at Wilkins had changed over the years from negotiatingfreight contracts, shipping product, organizing the warehouse and budgeting, tocurrently managing 400 projects in Asia, where 70 per cent of his time was spentsourcing materials.The Materials Department The materials department consisted of four employees. Gerpheide, as the materialsmanager, supervised three employees and was responsible for the purchase of allparts for the manufacturing plant. The purchasing manager, Cyd Lane, reporteddirectly to Gerpheide and had been at Wilkins for 11 years. Lane directlysupervised two purchasing agents, Tammi Keyes and Vivian Matthews, and wasresponsible for the purchase of castings and screw machine products. Keyes, whohad been at Wilkins for nine years, purchased gate valves, plastic parts andsprings. Matthews, who had worked at Wilkins for eight years, was responsiblefor the purchase of fasteners (such as bolts, nuts and screws), packaging, fittings,machine shop supplies and tooling. See Exhibit 1 for the Wilkins’ plantorganization chart.THE MATERIAL REQUIREMENT PLANNING (MRP) SYSTEM In 1990, Wilkins selected Manfact as the software for its financial system.Gerpheide commented:We actually did not buy the Manfact system for the MRP system;we bought it for the financial system and it happened to offer anMRP package as part of that system. We purchased the systemwith no consideration for the MRP package.After purchasing Manfact, we noticed several major systemproblems with the MRP software, which I mentioned to thecompany who created Manfact. Amazingly, the programmers wereunaware of how the MRP system was suppose to work. When Iquestioned them further, the company said that only two customerswere attempting to use the MRP program, one of which was us. Ihelped the programmers rewrite part of the software to correctseveral errors so that we could use the MRP system. As of thistime, we are not experiencing any problems with the MRP system. This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 3 9B06D005 We are actually not utilizing it to the extent that we could be usingit right now — we are using it at a basic level.The materials department was the only group at Wilkins that used the MRPsystem. Their purpose in using the MRP system was to determine the timing andquantity to purchase components needed to produce the finished goods accordingto the schedule.The MRP system was usually regenerated, or exploded, daily or weekly dependingon the number of changes entered into the system. During the annual physicalinventory count, the MRP system might not be regenerated for up to three weeks.The system changes were usually related to the receipt of raw materials, theproduction and sale of finished goods, or an update in the monthly sales forecast.Occasionally, changes were also made if new information became available, suchas inventory corrections, product design changes that required modifications to thebill of materials, revised raw material lead-times, lot size requirements from thesupplier and changes in managerial policy regarding the safety stock requirements.The system required only about two to five minutes to regenerate.At the start of each quarter, the inventory manager, Bernie Barge, created theforecast master by determining the anticipated weekly sales by product family forthe upcoming six to eight quarters. From the forecast master, Connors wouldgenerate the required production volumes for the major product families. Afterreceipt of this email, Gerpheide would update the production volumes in the MRPsystem, which would then generate a materials plan report. At the same time, theproduction department would also use Connors’ information to create a productionplan for each production cell.To update the production volumes in the MRP system, Gerpheide first had toconvert the average weekly production volumes by multiplying the number offiscal weeks in each month to determine the monthly production volumes for theproduct family. The plant used a four/four/five system representing that the firstand second month of the quarter contained four weeks whereas the third monthcontained five weeks. Gerpheide then entered the anticipated monthly productionvolumes into the MRP system.Connors updated the production volumes quarterly but sometimes sooner if therewere any significant changes, such as unexpected demand. Besides updating theMRP system, Gerpheide compared the actual production rates to the anticipatedproduction plan from Connors’ email to determine whether the materialsdepartment had enough material. Gerpheide explained:In most cases, the actual monthly volumes produced by theproduction department are the same as Connors’ productionvolumes and so the materials plan is on track with the production This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 4 9B06D005 plan. In some cases, it is not. We plan that we will have enoughinventory to meet Connors’ production volumes, and if there isn’tenough inventory, something is wrong. So, I’ll investigate thesituation. If my department made a mistake, we’ll try to expedite toget the materials into the plant in time for production, or if thatcan’t be done, we’ll ask the production department to delay theproduction schedule for that product. The production departmentdoes not have the same constraints as the materials department.Sometimes they will produce as much as they can as fast aspossible with no consideration as to the amount of material that isavailable.If the production department is overproducing and we have a lowlevel of raw materials, I notify Connors of the discrepancy andrequest a clarification on the true production plan. If Connorsrevises the production volumes, I would update the production planin the MRP system and try to get those materials quickly. IfConnors had not officially revised the production volumes, I wouldnot make any MRP system changes even though materialsinventory is running precariously low. Connors then follows upwith the production department to make necessary corrections in itsschedule.Prior to this process of updating the MRP system, we had somecostly delays and lots of confusion within the materials andproduction departments. Frequently, I faced dilemmas, such aswhen the materials department planned to produce 10,000 units of aparticular product for a specific month, while the productiondepartment planned to make 12,000. When the productiondepartment ran out of materials, I had to figure out how to getenough components to meet the production department’srequirements, or how to convince them to modify their productionschedule based on the amount of materials available.INVENTORY SYSTEM Wilkins used a periodic review system for inventory control. All finished goodshipments, materials receipts and production quantities were periodically updatedin the inventory records.Wilkins used backflushing to update the inventory records. Backflushing wasdescribed as the update of the component inventory balances when the finished This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 5 9B06D005 goods are received into stock.1 At Wilkins, the backflush method relied on datafrom the production activity report of the previous day’s production to determinethe quantities of raw materials used. Gerpheide commented about this approach:It [the back flush method] works fine if everyone remembers toreport his or her production activity. People are motivated to reporttheir output because we use piece-rate bonus incentives. However,sometimes the production isn’t reported or there were componentchanges that were not adequately communicated on the productionreports. We relieve inventory based on what we say we’ve built,not on what we actually produced. That can cause us problems.We have also been experiencing some problems since the bill ofmaterials is not always correct or the production department hasmistakenly used the wrong part number, which may happen sincesome of our parts can be interchanged. It is a never-ending battlebecause we continue to have new products that are designed andcustomers who request some customization. Eventually it alwaysgets fixed because we wonder why the materials run out. After welook at the bill of material, we realize the mistake — we have usedthe wrong part number or the bill of material is incorrect.The current inventory system is not completely accurate and itneeds to be 100 per cent accurate in order for the MRP system towork correctly.THE GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES The Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) required Wilkins to haveestablished inventory controls.The GAAP and the Security ExchangeCommission (SEC) required that each facility conduct a physical inventory onceper year in the last quarter of the fiscal year. At Wilkins, since the fiscal year endson September 30, the physical inventory process began on July 28 when Wilkins’in-house auditors counted the inventory. External auditors visited the plant duringthe year to ensure that Wilkins was following the proper accounting principles.During the past year, Wilkins had six different groups of auditors, both internaland external, visit the plant.The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which was passed by the U.S. legislature in July2002, was generally considered the most significant piece of legislation to changefinancial disclosure, corporate governance and public accounting practice since the 1 T.E. Vollmann, William L. Berry, D. Clay Whybark, and F. Robert Jacobs, Manufacturing, Planning andControl Systems, 5th ed., Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2005, p.304. This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 6 9B06D005 early 1930s when U.S. securities laws were passed.2 As a result of this Act,Wilkins and other American public companies (including wholly ownedsubsidiaries), private companies that were preparing their initial public offeringand non-American companies that performed business in the United States wererequired to reveal their internal financial auditing controls to the Securities andExchange Commission (SEC) annually.3Gerpheide remarked on the physical inventory count:Ten years ago, we had about half of the current level of inventory.It would take us five days of counting with 30 to 40 peopleinvolved. Now, with about twice the inventory, we can completethe counts in about one-and-a-half to two days.To help make the physical count go more smoothly, we pre-countthe materials to speed up the process. These items are stored in abox and we will put a “do not move, do not touch” tag on the box.We use the same system at our other stocking locations.THE INVENTORY MANAGER Although Wilkins followed the accounting principals and standards, the plantcontinued to experience problems with the accuracy of inventory records.Gerpheide commented:I spend most of my time putting out fires. Eighty per cent of theparts have good inventory accuracy while the remaining 20 per centare problematic. Inventory inaccuracy causes so many problemsthat ripple through the plant and it seems like every single errorends up coming back to haunt our sales/marketing manager, RickFields or me.Three and a half years ago, Rick and I decided that we needed tohire someone to focus on the inventory issues. We proposed toChris that we get an inventory manager for several reasons.We had the finished good inventory available in the U.S., but itwasn’t in the right place. For example, there were finished goodslocated at a stocking location that had never previously sold thatproduct before. The sales force had an incentive to hold onto anyfinished good inventory that they could get because they werecommissioned based on sales and they were not penalized for2 http:// October, 2005..3http:// accessed October 2005. This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 7 9B06D005 holding extra inventory. We needed an inventory manager todetermine where the finished goods inventory should be stored.The inventory manager should decide how to stratify the country sothat we can have inventory in the right location or very nearby sothat if an order comes in we can meet a short lead-time.A second major concern was that our inventory inaccuracy caused arippling effect throughout the plant, our customers and oursuppliers. We were, and still are, spending too much timecorrecting errors or trying to expedite materials because of theerrors.After about three-and-a-half years of asking for an inventorymanager, Chris promoted Bernie to the position. In most plants, theinventory manager would report to the materials manager, alongwith the purchasing, logistics, transportation and other functions.However, at our plant, Bernie reports directly to Chris.This job hasn’t been here before and there is no real job description.Bernie needs to respond like water — addressing all of the issuesthat don’t have enough inventory and flooding the holes by givingit attention.Rick and I hadn’t realized this at the time, but another reason forcreating the inventory manager position was to have a front-personto handle all of the complaints. It is really nice not to be involvedas heavily in fighting the fires.Barge provided some details about the inventory inaccuracy:There are dozen of reasons for the discrepancies and we’ve goneover them again and again in our meetings. One reason for thediscrepancies is the timing of transactions; we don’t enter the datainto the computer until that night or the next morning. Anotherreason is a modification on the products; the product wasredesigned but the bill of materials system wasn’t updated or thecustomer requested a customized product and we didn’t notice itwhen we entered the production. In addition, we might use thewrong components. I’ve seen the production guys use the wrongcomponents simply because they couldn’t find the right ones to use.Sometimes we don’t input the transactions for the rightcomponents, such as with data entry errors. Finally, we have somepart commonality, using the same part in multiple finished goods;part commonality creates some confusion in the real quantity ofparts needed by production. This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 8 9B06D005 Because of our inaccuracy, we had to have a second inventorycount. We’ve been doing the inventory count the same wayforever. Perhaps SOX has caused the auditors to be pickier. Withthe second physical inventory audit, the external auditors randomlyselected items to test-count. We did four test-counts for each item.There were many teams because the inventory process had to becompleted as quickly as possible. As it was, it still took two fulldays to count everything in the plant. The procedure used in theinventory process had teams conducting the initial count. Then, anin-house auditor verified the teams’ counts.THE 720 PRODUCT The 720, a backflow preventer in the pressure vacuum breaker (PVB) valvefamily, was one of many standard products at Wilkins. The PVB was installed inpotable water lines to protect the quality of water. The device would stop the flowof substances or the reverse flow of water into the potable water distributionsystem. Gerpheide considered it a popular and reliable product in a verycompetitive market, and that Wilkins had produced and sold it for more than 25years. The 720 was available in six different models based on the dimensions ofthe in-feed pipes, ranging from the ½- to 2-inch diameter. A diagram of the 720,its dimensions and weights are shown in Exhibit 2. The installation diagram ofthe PVB is shown in Exhibit 3.The 34-720 was a PVB valve with a ¾-inch diameter in-feed pipe. The assemblyprocess of the 34-720 was as follows: three bolts were placed into the canopy,which was then connected to the bonnet, plastic washer and o-ring. Once theseparts were connected, the subassembly was then joined to the poppet assembly(load nut, load washer, upper disc and poppet) and spring. The next step consistedof attaching these parts to the spider assembly, which consisted of a screw, lowerdisc, guide spider and nut. This subassembly was then connected to the body.Previously, the body had undergone machining and was attached to two test cocksand two ball valves. These components are listed and diagramed in Exhibit 4.Wilkins sold a 720 repair kit directly to customers. Due to extreme weatherconditions, the PVB occasionally failed to function properly. Some contractorspreferred to service the 720 product instead of replacing the PVB. Thecomponents of 720 repair kit are listed in Exhibit 5. Gerpheide planned to sell400 to 500 720 repair kits per month and kept a safety stock of 400 units on hand.He could make the product within five business days. The sales forecast for the34-720 and the 720 repair kit are shown in Exhibit 6. This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 9 9B06D005 MRP SYSTEM INPUTS The primary purpose of the MRP system was to develop a detailed time-phasedplan for when to place purchasing orders for raw materials and to determine howmuch material to order. To operate effectively, the system required information onthe purchasing and materials inventory policies associated with each component,the bill of materials and the demand requirements for finished goods andcomponent. The following are some MRP inputs, specifically focused on the 34720.Bill of Materials The bill of materials (BOM) lists each of the components required to make thefinished good, the required quantity of each component and the sequencedependence associated with the parent-component relationships, where level 0represents the finished good. Wilkins’ BOM for the 34-720 PVB is shown inExhibit 4.Production Schedule The MRP system required the production schedule for all products. For theproducts that were sold directly to customers, Gerpheide’s calculation of thescheduled monthly production volumes was input into the system as the grossrequirements. The forecasted demand in Exhibit 6 was used for the productionschedule in the MRP planning inquiry.According to Gerpheide, the calculation of the gross requirements could becomerather complex. Some components were used in a variety of products, which wascalled part commonality. Other raw material components might also be soldindependently as replacement parts, such as the 34-850, a ¾-inch ball valve. Thecalculation of the gross requirements needed to ensure that the requirements for alldemand were included. Exhibit 7 shows the gross requirements for severalselected 34-720 components. (Note that the gross requirements in Exhibit 7excluded the 34-720 and RK1-720 demand).Scheduled Receipt Scheduled receipts represented orders that had been placed with the supplier orproduction that had been scheduled but the product had not yet been received orcompleted. The materials department had placed several orders with its suppliers,and these scheduled orders were called scheduled receipts in the MRP system.The scheduled receipts for the ½-inch plastic washer, 721A-12, was 55,000 unitsin September. The scheduled receipts for the instruction sheet, IS720, were 49,500 This document is authorized for use only by Renata Davis in Production Planning and Scheduling taught by Davisfrom January 2011 to May 2011. For the exclusive use of R. DAVISPage 10 9B06D005 units for September; 49,500 units for October; 54,900 units for November; 9,000units December and 12,600 units for January.On-Hand Inventory The on-hand inventory for 34-720 components was higher than normal because thePVB sales to the agricultural irrigation market were hampered due to the long andwet winter of 2004. The inventory for several 34-720 components on September5, 2005 is shown in Exhibit 8.Planning Lead Times The expected lead time for each of the 34-720 components is shown in Exhibit 4.For items produced at the Wilkins plant, the expected lead times were themanufacturing lead times, which included processing time, setup time, transit timeand wait time. For the purchased items, the lead times varied predominantly dueto the distance that the material had to travel to reach the Paso Robles plant. Somecomponents were domestically sourced from California, Illinois, Wisconsin andMassachusetts. Other components were internationally sourced from Taiwan andChina. Gerpheide explained:If we were to order valves from our supplier, for instance, we couldexpect that the supplier would have some backlog or materials leadtime and may not be able to schedule our product immediately in itsplant. Once the supplier has processed our order, it would takethem approximately four weeks to schedule the production and thenanother four weeks to produce the product. For domesticcomponents, we would receive the components in about eightweeks from the time we placed t…

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