Some of the main differences of the production of goods and services are as follows:
• Systems that produce tangible goods usually rely more heavily on raw materials inputs than do service systems.
• Goods usually can be stored for later use and transported over space before the ultimate use, whereas services usually cannot.
• Consumers of goods have little, if any, direct involvement with the production of the goods. In contrast, most services require close involvement of the customer with the production process and in many cases actual physical contact is essential.

Key components of the TQM philosophy: continuous improvement; participation;
customer satisfaction.

Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer,
and consumer. Supply chain management coordinates and integrates these flows both within and among companies.

Contributed capital is the amount that the owners have invested in the company.

A balance sheet or statement of financial position is a financial statement that reports a business’s assets, liabilities, and equity on a specific date.

Segmentation is the task of dividing this population into sub-groups in a way that can meaningfully separate consumers in terms of their consumption patterns.

Internal users of accounting include marketing managers, production supervisors, finance directors, and company officers. The correct answer is D.

The 5 C's of credit are the following:

• Character. Banks evaluate the experience and track record of the business owners and managers
in the industry.
• Capacity. Capacity refers to considering your other debts when determining the ability to repay
the loan.
• Capital. Capital refers to the value of your assets less your liabilities. In simple terms, capital
reflects to how much you own (for example, car, real estate, cash, and investments) minus how
much you owe.
• Collateral. Collateral refers to any asset of a borrower a lender can use to pay the debt if the borrower is unable pay back the loan.
• Conditions. Banks may evaluate the industry and competition as well as general economic conditions.

"Contract" is not one of these 5 C's.

Production management involves the application of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the production process.

Market risk is "the risk that the value of an investment to fluctuate due to general market conditions."

Following strategy options are frequently used to compete in foreign markets:

• Exporting

• Licensing

• Franchising

• Global Strategy

In order to talk about a useful segmentation, the following conditions must be met: 1. People in the same group should be homogenous, i.e. similar to each other in one way of another. This is in fact the basis of effective segmentation: each segment must be similar in terms of needs or chosen characteristics. 2. People in different groups should be heterogeneous. Together with the first point, this would demonstrate that consumers are effectively divided into sets of different needs. 3. Some data should be available for each segment so that measurements can be made as regards to the size of the market, the general characteristics of consumers constituting that market, details of their buying behavior, and thus, the overall attractiveness of the segment. 4. The segments should be substantial either in terms of number (sales potential) or in terms profit per unit sold (profit potential). Each company islikely to have a “minimum” requirement to be profitable. 5. The segments should also be accessible so that an effective distribution and communication strategy can be established.

Informational: in communication.

During the transformation process, the production function in the company involves four specific sub-functions which are design, scheduling, operation, and transformation control.

Psychological; in entertainment.

Advantages of the flow processes: Operations are efficient; workers can benefit from repetition of a narrow range of tasks; material handling can be simplified; work-in process inventories are small; space utilization is efficient; quality conformance is easier to achieve; and production scheduling and coordination are relatively easy. Disadvantages of the flow processes: Initial costs are high; work can become tedious and boring; and the production system is extremely vulnerable.

Supply chain management is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, and consumer. The correct answer is E.

The best mix of debt financing and equity financing depends on the type of the industry in which the company operates and general economic conditions as well. Moreover, it depends on the following factors:
• Level of risk that management can be assumed in case of unpredicted events.
• Level of earnings to cover the interest payments associated with debt financing and dividend payments associated with equity financing.

• Level of control that management seeks to maintain as issuing new shares of stock brings new shareholders to the company who have voting rights as owners of the company.
• Costs of debt financing and equity financing at the time of capital structure decisions.
• Conditions in the financial markets.