What are the two fundamental components of business?
Costs & prices
Investment and profits
Investment & risk
Seller & buyers
Profit is related to investment through ...
accumulation
risk
costs & prices
accumulation and risk
A high risk project should have a return which is ...
less than 40% per annum
over 40% per annum
at least 60% per annum
greater than 60% per annum some time in the future
Which of the following can you control in a business?
Your prices
Your costs
Your profits
Your investments
The effect of a cost over-run is ...
increased profit per unit
reduced profit per unit
reduced costs per unit
reduced rate of return
Successful projects are ...
independent of one another
timescale independent of one another
investment independent of one another
Time over-runs ...
are inevitable
can be eliminated by careful planning
can eliminate returns
can be partially recovered over the next project
How do you find the best technology for a new product?
By considering several possible technological approaches
By taking expert advice
By completing the project
By taking expert advice and considering several possible technological approaches
Costs are divided into fixed and variable costs. Which of the following are correct?
The fixed costs are the integral of the cost/unit
The variable cost/unit is the differential of the variable costs
The curve of the unit cost is asymptotic to zero
The curve of the unit cost is asymptotic to the fixed cost/unit
Which of the following have variable cost elements?
-Assembly Labour -Component costs -Local Taxes -Burn-in Tests -Utilities
Field service is arguably partly independent of volume.
Burn-in tests
Assembly labour
Local taxes
Field Service
Component costs
Utilities
Which of the following have fixed cost elements?
-Rent -Building maintenance -Shipping: Maybe if volume is reduced by losing customers giving fewer customers to service -Software -Device qualification tests
Rent
Device qualification tests
Building maintenance
Shipping
Software
Scrap
Which of the following is correct?
A decrease in fixed cost should be associated with increased cost/unit
An increase in profits must be associated with lower cost/unit and higher fixed cost
A decrease in profits must be associated with lower cost/unit and lower fixed cost
An increase in fixed costs should be associated with reduced cost/unit
None of the above
In which way is the simple 'fixed and variable' cost picture inaccurate?
Because it assumes that fixed costs are fixed
It requires every change in fixed costs to be accompanied by an opposite change in variable cost
Because the relationship between cost and volume is non-linear
Because fixed cost increases in steps
All of the above
Reduced time to market means ...
you will be first in the field
reduced risk of missing the market
lower overall investment
getting a better product
Product differentiation ...
results in more opportunities to be first in a field
reduces project launch costs
will usually result in a better product
increases competition
The most successful ASIC projects are ...
existing products redesigned to use ASICs
existing products redesigned and with added functions using ASICs
all new products
The success of a business is gauged by ...
the current yield on its shares
its penetration of export markets
the stability and quality of its returns over a period
its use of advance technology
The best thing to do if a project is going to over-run or overspend is to ...
pour in resources
look for alternative specifications which could be met faster and more cheaply
follow a pre-planned recovery path within the planned program
Which of the following have a major impact on project success?
Choice of technology
Market intelligence
User interface
Product Specification
Procurement
Which of the following is the issue on which a project stands or falls?
Marketing and product definition
Technical content
Provision of adequate resources
Project management
Market segmentation