4.1/4.2/4.3/4.4/4.5 Operations Flashcards
What is operations management?
Managing the process of converting inputs into output
What are some operation decisions?
- Level of output
- Range of products offered
- How best to produce good (labour/capital intensive)
- How best to provide good/service
What is labour intensive?
A higher proportion of labour is being used in comparison to capital
What is the supply chain?
Series of activities involved in taking the initial resources to providing the final product
What are the stages of operations?
Raw materials Manufacturing Transportation Retail Disposal
How do you categorise operations?
Visibility (how many workers you interact with/see what goes on)
Variability of demand
Variety
Volume
What is the operational decision making process?
Set operations objectives Analyse operations data Make operation decisions Implement decisions Review
What are some operational objectives?
Costs Quality Flexibility Speed Dependability
What is a competitive advantage?
A way in which a business offers superior value to its competitors
How do you calculate labour productivity?
output / number of employees
How do you calculate unit cost?
total cost / total output
What is capacity utilisation?
The use that the business makes from its resources.
How do you calculate capacity utilisation?
current output / maximum output x 100
What do managers consider when making operational decisions?
Costs Profits Risk Impact of competitiveness Effects on stakeholders
What is efficiency?
Getting more output from a given level of inputs
How can efficiency be improved?
- Using factors of production
- Choosing optimal mix of resources
- Improving labour productivity
- Introducing lean production
- Using technology