2.4.1 Production, Productivity,

Question 1

What is producitivty?

Answer 1

output per unit of input per time period

Question 2

What is efficiency?

Answer 2

production at minimum average cost

Question 3

What are the 4 methods of production?

Answer 3

Job
Batch
Flow
Cell

Question 4

What is Job production?

Answer 4

Individual bespoke item produced one at a time

Question 5

What is Batch Porduction?

Answer 5

Groups of similar items produced

Question 6

What is Flow Porduction?

Answer 6

Thousands of identical items produced on a production line

Question 7

What is Cell Production?

Answer 7

Production line split into a number of self-contained specialised teams

Question 8

What are some advantages of Job Production?

Answer 8

Product usually high quality
Producer meets individual customer needs
Greater job satisfaction – involved in all stages of production

Question 9

What are some advantages of Batch Production?

Answer 9

Making in batches reduces unit costs
Can still address specific customer needs (e.g. size, weight, style)
Use of specialist machinery & skills can increase output and productivity

Question 10

What are some advantages of Flow Production?

Answer 10

Efficient process due to
Specialisation of workers
Division of labour
Use of machinery
Low cost per unit
Consistent quality
Continual output leading to less need to hold stock

Question 11

What are some advantages of Cell Production?

Answer 11

Closeness of cell members should improve communication, avoiding confusion arising from misunderstood or non-received messages
Workers become multi-skilled and more adaptable to the future needs of a business
Greater worker motivation, arising from variety of work, team working (social needs) and more responsibility
Quality improvements as each cell has ‘ownership’ for quality on its area

Question 12

What are some DISADVANTAGES of Job production?

Answer 12

Cost of producing one unit or job is higher
Labour –intensive
Requires investment in skills and training

Potentially de-motivating for staff as usually not working in a big team (social needs)

Question 13

What are some DISADVANTAGES of Batch production?

Answer 13

Time lost switching between batches – machinery may need to be reset
Need to keep stocks of raw materials. Cash also invested in work-in-progress
Potentially de-motivating for staff as don’t get to see the job through or usually not working in a big team (social needs)

Question 14

What are some DISADVANTAGES of Flow production?

Answer 14

High initial costs

Mistakes or problems can shut down whole process

Repetitive work leading to low motivation

Standardised products only

Potentially de-motivating for staff as don’t get to see the job through

Question 15

What are some DISADVANTAGES of Cell production?

Answer 15

The company culture has to encourage trust and participation, or workers can feel that they are being constantly pushed for more and more output with no respite
The company may have to invest in new materials handling and ordering systems suitable for cell production
Cell production may not allow a firm to use its machinery as intensively as in traditional flow production
Some small scale production lines may not yield enough savings to make a switch cell production economically worthwhile
The allocation of work to cells has to be efficient so that they have enough work, but not so much that they are unable to cope
Recruitment and training of staff must support this approach to production

Question 16

What is Capital Intensive?

Answer 16

Capital intensive which uses a relatively high proportion of capital such as machinery in the production of a good or service

Question 17

What is Labour Intensive?

Answer 17

Labour intensive which uses a relatively high proportion of labour i.e. workers in the production of a good or service

Question 18

What are some advantages of Capital Intensive?

Answer 18

Increased productivity

Improved quality and speed

Reduced labour costs

Greater opportunities for economies of scale

Question 19

What are some disadvantages of Capital Intensive?

Answer 19

High investment outlay

Lack of human initiative

Greater resistance to change by workforce e.g. retraining to use new equipment

Question 20

What are some advantages of Labour Intensive?

Answer 20

Often cheaper, especially when produced in low wage locations

Workforce can easily adapt to change, if multi-skilled

Continuous improvement through workforce can benefit the firm

Government funding often available to protect

Question 21

What are some disadvantages of Labour Intensive?

Answer 21

Industrial relations can be a problem e.g. strikes

Lack of skilled workers in some industries

HRM costs can be very high e.g. recruitment, selection and training