5.2 Production methods

Question 1

What is job production? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 1

Job production involves customizing an individual product from start to finish, tailor made to meet the specific requirements of the client.
\+ high quality 
\+ motivation of workers 
\+ flexibility 
\+ uniqueness
\+ customisation of job production creates a variety of choice 
- time consuming 
- labour-intensive 
- long working capital cycle 
- few economies of scale 
- irregularity of orders

Question 2

What is batch production? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 2

involves simultaneously producing a limited number of identical products (known as a batch).
\+ economies of scale 
\+ specialisation 
\+ variety of products 
\+ reduce risks 
- storage 
- boredom 
- inflexibility 
- high production costs

Question 3

What is mass production?

Answer 3

the manufacturing of large amounts of a standardized product.

Question 4

What is flow/process production? How is it different to mass production?

Answer 4

focuses on a continuous production process of manufacturing products that are standardized (or homogeneous) in large quantities.
Flow production differs from mass production in that production occurs on a much larger scale, with production assembly lines often kept running 24 hours a day, seven days a week to maximise output and to eliminate waste (the extra costs of starting and stopping the production process).

Question 5

What are the advantages and disadvantages of mass and flow production?

Answer 5

\+ capital intensive so output is produced on a large scale 
\+ cost-effective methods 
\+ products are of standardised quality 
\+ low labour costs 
- boring work 
- inflexibility 
- huge set-up costs

Question 6

What is cellular production? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 6

a modern adaptation of assembly line production whereby sets of tasks are completed by teams (or cells’) by splitting the production process into a number of self-contained units.
+ autonomy in decision-making
+ collective responsibility for production targets
+ positive impacts on motivation
+ specialisation
- lower output compared to mass and flow production
- capital-intensive
- conflict in teams
- higher fixed costs

Question 7

What factors decide the appropriate method of production for a given situation?

Answer 7

The relative cost of labour and capital
The size of the market
The aims and objectives of the organization