2.4.1 Production, Productivity and Efficiency Flashcards
Define Production
the Transformation of Resources into Goods or Services
Land, Labour Capital and Enterprise, Factors in Production are Used in Production Process
State the 4 Methods of Production
- Job
- Batch
- Flow
- Cell
Explain what Job Production is
- firms Producing Items that Meet the Specific Requirements of Customer
- often One-Off
- Unique Items e.g. wedding dressmaker
State 3 Advantages of Job Production
+ Products usually Higher Quality
+ Producer Meets Individual Customer Needs
+ Greater Job Satisfaction - Involved in All Stages of Production
State 2 Disadvantages of Job Production
- Requires Investment in Skills and Training
- Labour Intensive
Explain what Batch Production is
- when Many Similar Items are Produced Together
- Each goes Through One Stage of Production process Before Moving Onto Next Stage
- e.g. baker uses batch production when baking bread
State 3 Advantages of Batch Production
+ making Batches Reduces Unit Costs
+ Use of Specialist Machinery and Skills can Increase Output and Productivity
+ can Adress Specific Customer Needs
State 3 Disadvantages of Batch Production
- time Lost Switching Between Bacthes - Machinery may Need to be Reset
- Need to Keep Stocks of Raw Materials
- potentially Demotivating for Staff
Explain what Flow Production is
- Large Scale Production of Standard Product, where Each Operation on a unit is Performed Continuously One After the Other, Usually on Production Line
e.g. manufacture of cars
State 2 Advantages of Flow Production
+ Very Low Unit Costs due to EOS
+ Output can be Produced Very Quickly- is Capital Intensive - means a High Proportion of Machinery in Relation to Workers
State 2 Disadvantages of Flow Production
- work Motivation can be Very Low - Repetitive Boring Tasks
- Very Difficult to Alter the Production Process due to So Much Machinery -> Makes Production Inflexible -> All Products have to be Very Similar or Standardised
Explain Cell Production
- Producing a Family of Products in a Small Self-Contained Unit (cell) Within a Factory
- Each Team (cell) is Responsible for a Significant Part of the Finished Article, Members are Skilled at Number of Roles -> provides Means for Job Rotation
State 2 Advantages of Cell Production
+ Closeness of Cell Members should Improve Communication, Avoiding Confusion Arising from Misunderstood or Non-Received Messages
+ Greater worker Motivation, Arising from Variety of Work, Team Working and More Responsibility
State 2 Disadvantages of Cell Production
- May Not Allow firm to Use its Machinery as Intensively as traditional Flow Production
- Recruitment and Training of Staff must Support this Approach to Production
Explain Productivity in terms of Output
Productivity is Amount of Output that can be Produced with a Given Input of Resources
