3.4

Question 1

Operational objectives

Answer 1

Quality
Costs
Flexibility
Efficiency
Innovation
Environmental
Speed of response
Dependability

Question 2

Internal factors

Answer 2

Nature of product
Availability of resources
Department objectives
Corporate objectives

Question 3

External factors

Answer 3

Competitors performance
Market conditions
Demand for product
Customer needs
Technology

Question 4

Labour productivity

Answer 4

output per worker
influences efficiency- can be improved through training, division of labour, and tech

Question 5

unit costs

Answer 5

UC= TC/Unit output
increase efficiency= decrease cost per unit
more units helps spread cost across units therefore decreases

Question 6

capacity utilisation

Answer 6

The % of the total capacity actually used​
Output/capacity x100​
90% is better than 100% as it allows for margin of error, reduces stress and ensures customer orders are met

Question 7

Lean production

Answer 7

Just in time
Kaizan

Question 8

J.I.T

Answer 8

Just in time- keeps stocks low, order more often- when needing more stock
best for perishable goods and saving costs on storage

Question 9

Kaizan

Answer 9

constantly looking for ways to improve, do taskd better quicker and more efficiently

Question 10

capital intensive

Answer 10

machinery over employees
ad- cheaper manual labour, precision
24/7 no breaks
easier to manage
disad- High set up costs​
Can be inflexible with regard to what is produced​
Machines break down​
Introduction can cause demotivation among employees

Question 11

labour intensive

Answer 11

more workers than machinery
ad-people are flexible and retrainable, cheaper for small scale productions, workers can solve problems, handmade usp
dis-Harder to manage people than machines​
People can be unreliable​
People want breaks and holidays, could be off sick

Question 12

Importance of quality

Answer 12

Quality is important to avoid dissatisfaction and a bad reputation​
Quality needs to match the expectations of consumers, premium price should have premium quality​
Quality can create a reputation that can act as a USP​

Question 13

outsourcing

Answer 13

Risk on quality but can be cheaper and easier (using a pre-existing mail system instead of making your own)

Question 14

Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in operations

Answer 14

Advantages
-Increase productivity and qualtiy
-Reduce waste
-Efficient delivery
-Better communications

Disadvantages
-Initial high costs
-Requires maintenance and updating
-Requires staff training
-Lead to redundancies which demotivates other employees, fear for job security

Question 15

Stock/Inventory graph

Answer 15

\/\/\/\
Maximum stock
Re-order level
Buffer stock
lead time (time between re-order and delivery)