5 Business operations Flashcards
Ch40. 336. Scale
Size of a business
- Economies of scale
Financial advantages (falling average costs) of producing something in very large quantities
- Diseconomies of scale
Rising average costs when a firm becomes too big
- Internal economies of scale
Cost benefits that an individual firm can enjoy when it expands
- External economies of scale
Cost benefits that all firms in the industry can enjoy when the industry expands
Ch41. 345. Production
Transformation of resources into a final product
- Job production
Method of production that involves employing all factors to complete one unit of output at a time
- Batch production
Method that involves completing one operation at a time on all units before performing the next
- Flow production
Large-scale production of a standard product, where each operation on a unit is performed continuously one after the other, usually on a production line
- Process production
Form of flow production where materials pass through a plant where a series of processes are carried out in order to change the product
- Labour-intensive production
Production methods that make more use of labour relative to machinery
- Capital-intensive production
Production methods that make more use of machinery relative to labour
- Productivity
Rate at which goods are produced, and the amount produced, especially in relation to the work, time and money needed to produce them
- Labour productivity
Output per worker in a given time period
- Flexitime
System in which people work a fixed number of hours each week or month, but can change the times at which they start and finish each day
- Downsizing
Process of reducing capacity, usually by laying off staff
- Outsourcing
Contracting out of work that might otherwise have been performed within the organisation to other businesses
Ch42. 354. Lean production
Approach to production aimed at reducing the quantity of resources used
- Just-in-time
Production technique that is highly responsive to customer orders and uses very little stock holding
- Tailor-made
Where a product has been designed so that it is exactly right for someone’s needs
- Stockpile
Large supply of goods and so forth that are being kept for use or possible use in the future
- Quality circles
Small group of factory workers who meet regularly to discuss ways to improve working methods and to solve problems
Ch43. 362. Computer aided design (CAD)
Use of computers to design products
- Computer numerically controles machines (CNC’s)
Machines that carry out the instructions fed by computers
