12 - Production, productivity and efficency

Question 1

job production

Answer 1

production of single unique items such as a house extension

Question 2

benefits and negatives of job production

Answer 2

+flexible and bespoke
+high profit margins
-high cost per unit
-labour intensive

Question 3

batch production

Answer 3

standardised components can be made in relatively large quanitires but the system can be modified to make different items such as colour or size
like in a bakery

Question 4

benefit of batch production

Answer 4

flexible but can still utilise economies of scale and automation

Question 5

flow production

Answer 5

a highly automated production process. it is standardised and continuous to achieve economies of scale, such as in car manufacturing

Question 6

benefits and drawbacks of flow production

Answer 6

+low unit costs
+high levels of productivity
-huge start up costs
-low motivation in workers
-breaks in production can be expensive

Question 7

cell production

Answer 7

teams fo workers work togetehr to produce an entire product or parts of the product such as in fast food

Question 8

benefits of cell production over flow production

Answer 8

more flexible
movement of resources and waste are minimised
workers are more motivated when working in teams

Question 9

productivity

Answer 9

the amount that can be produced with a given amount of resources in a givena mount of time

Question 10

labour producivity

Answer 10

measures how producitve teh workforce is - measures the output per employee in a certain time period

Question 11

labour productivity =

Answer 11

total output (in a time period)/number of employees

Question 12

factors that effect productvity

Answer 12

specialisation
capital intensity
education and training
motivating workers
working practises

Question 13

specialisation

Answer 13

when an employe becomes specialised and askilled in a certain role

Question 14

capital intensity

Answer 14

introducing automation to to increase output

Question 15

working practises

Answer 15

the layout of production, the team work and the quality of managment

Question 16

trade off with increased producitvity

Answer 16

increases in labour producitvity may leasd to a depletion in quality, customer service and limited creativity

Question 17

efficiency

Answer 17

making the best use of resources of a business. there may be minimal waste and average unit costs will be at their lowest if a business is operating efficiently

Question 18

unit costs =

Answer 18

total costs/total output

Question 19

relationship between producitvity and efficiency

Answer 19

producitvity means that the workforce is acting more effiicenty and efficiency allows more resources to be devoted to production

Question 20

benefits of improved efficiency

Answer 20

• unit costs fall
• profit mnargins increase
• labour producitvity increases
• imporves flexbility in the business
• • can charge lower prices to imporve competitivness

Question 21

waste

Answer 21

anything that doesnt add value to a product - has control over the efficiency of a busibness

Question 22

ways to reduce waste

Answer 22

inventory - too much stock
transport - unecessary moevemnt of products,materials or staff
overproduction -making products that cant be sold easiily
* overprocessing -adding things that dont add value