2.4 Operations strategies

Question 1

What are 6 performance objectives in operation?

Answer 1

• Highest quality or services
• Faster speed and productivity
• Being more dependable
• Being more flexible than its rivals
• Offering customization
• Production at lower cost

Question 2

What is the idea of a new product or service design development?

Answer 2

• Redesign product/ services, add features to extend its product life cycle.

Question 3

What is the supply chain?

Answer 3

• The flow of goods and services to customer.

Question 4

What is 3 supply chain management?

Answer 4

• Logistics, E-commerce, global sourcing.

Question 5

What is logistics?

Answer 5

• Distribution of goods and services but include transportation, use of storage, warehousing and distribution centres, materials handling and packaging.

Question 6

What is E - commerce ?

Answer 6

• The use of internet to sell and buy products

Question 7

What is global sourcing ?

Answer 7

• Is where business source from international market to enable access resources that were beyond business reach

Question 8

What is out sourcing and provide 2 advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 8

• Is the use of external providers such as contractors to perfoem a business activities.
• Adv :+ Access to expertise knowledge because that is their core function
  + Increased quality of outputs
• Disadv : + Breakdowns in outsourced business, which affects the entire operations
  + Lower lead time and respond to the market

Question 9

What is technology in operations?

Answer 9

• Is the equipmen, materials and knowledge available to help business perform certain function

Question 10

What are 3 aim of technology?

Answer 10

• To save time and money
• To introduce new products or services
• To giive business a better control of operations, especially in quality.

Question 11

What is leading edge and how its help?

Answer 11

• Provide better operations as business have lastest technology and force competitors to follow

Question 12

What is established technology and how its help?

Answer 12

• Software , hardware show operations in business, such as Gantt chart or CPA, help operation more efficient and effective.

Question 13

What is inventory and why inventory control is important?

Answer 13

• Is where stocks are held, it is important because business must have enough stock to provide customers demand while not too much which will lead to inefficient and costly to operation

Question 14

What is holding stock strategies and 2 advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 14

• Holding stock is the method of keeping stock as reserve to cover for interruption or unexpected increase
• Adv : + Stock ready for sell
  + Opportunity to discount when ordering stock in bulk
• Disadv : +Stock may become obselete
  + More cost for security and storage

Question 15

What is FIFO, LIFO , JIT inventories management strategies?

Answer 15

• First in First out (foods in supermarket)
• Last in First out (machiery parts )
• Just in Time (any)

Question 16

What does quality management involve?

Answer 16

• Control quality of products or services that business offer to customers

Question 17

3 main approach to quality management

Answer 17

• Quality control
• Quality assurance
• Quality improvement

Question 18

What is quality control?

Answer 18

-Checking, inspection at various points of the production process to check for problem and defects

Question 19

What is quality assurance?

Answer 19

• Involve the use of a system to ensure that the set standards of production are achieved.

Question 20

What is quality improvement?

Answer 20

• Improve business’s good and services, Total quality management can achieved through bench marking, continuous improvement

Question 21

What are driving forces?

Answer 21

• Are factors that push business towards the need for change.

Question 22

What are retaining forces?

Answer 22

• Are factors that hold business back and resist changes

Question 23

What are 5 ways to overcoming resistance to change?

Answer 23

( * Notes: these ways of change is resist by the cost of it to do these change )

• Purchasing new equipment
• Redundancy payments
• Retraining
• Reorganising plant layout
• Inertia

Question 24

What are 4 global factors?

Answer 24

• Global sourcing
• Economies of scale
• Scanning and learning
• Research and development

Question 25

What is global sourcing, difficulties have to take account of and solution?

Answer 25

-Global sourcing is sourcing inputs oversea to get low-cost materials. Things must consider:
+ Language and cultural business
+ Less control over quality and reliability of inputs
+ Possibilities of competitors use the same supplier
- To overcome this, manager can outsourcing experts in the field of global sourcing solution

Question 26

What is economies of scale and what might happen as business grow too big and solution?

Answer 26

• Is the increased size of the business, expanding its operations by locating facilities closer to materials or deliver services to a larger market, therefore costs of production will spread out and cost is reduced.
• If a business grow too big, its operations will be more complex and be inefficiency and difficult to control by operation managers.
• To overcome this, business can join venture or alliance with other companies in the same industry, share workload.

Question 27

How do a business scan and learn?

Answer 27

By having the operation manager the opportunity to scan the global environment to identify and learn about the critical trends.

Question 28

What global developments do business have to scan and learn about?

Answer 28

• Global demand, what parts of world are rising, parts are shrinking.
• The emergence of new competitors
• Labour and environmental protection laws
• Supplier of transformed and transforming resources with low cost source.

Question 29

What is research and development?

Answer 29

Is an innovation strategy for the creation of new products or improvements of existing ones.

Question 30

2 advantages and disadvantages of Research & Development??

Answer 30

Adv: - Extend product cycle
- Give the business a reputation as a leading innovator
Disadv : - Can be wasteful, some innovation never make to market
- May have ethical issues involve