Chapter 3 - The operations management function

Question 1

Operations management

Answer 1

consists of all the activities in which managers engage to produce goods or services

Question 2

Tangibles

Answer 2

are goods, which can be touched

Question 3

Intangibles

Answer 3

include services, which cannot be touched

Question 4

Operations manager

Answer 4

is an area of management concerned with designing, and controlling the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or services

Question 5

Inputs

Answer 5

are resources used in the process of production. e.g. machinery, equipment

Question 6

Transformation

Answer 6

is the conversion of inputs (resources) into outputs (goods or services). e.g. Sony - takes plastic, metal, glass and electronic parts and transforms them through design, manufacturing and assembly into numerous electronic products

Question 7

Outputs

Answer 7

refer to the end result of an organisation’s efforts - the service or product that is delivered or provided to the consumer e.g. car

Question 8

Productivity

Answer 8

is a measure of efficiency - the amount of output produced compared to the amount of input required in production

Question 9

Business competitiveness

Answer 9

refers to the ability of an organisation to sell products in a market

Question 10

Facilities design and layout

Answer 10

involves planning the layout of workspace to streamline the production process

Question 11

Fixed position layout

Answer 11

deals with large-scale processes, such as the construction of bridges, ships, aircraft or buildings

Question 12

Product layout

Answer 12

deals with the manufacturing of goods in mass volume using an assembly line

Question 13

Process layout

Answer 13

deals with high varieties of products by grouping activities, equipment and machinery of similar function together

Question 14

Retail layout

Answer 14

is the design of a store’s floor space and the placement of items within that store

Question 15

Office layout

Answer 15

is the design of a office’s floor space and the placement of items within that office

Question 16

Lean manufacturing

Answer 16

aims to eliminate waste at every stage of production. It involves analysing each stage of the production process, detecting where inefficiencies are and correcting them

Question 17

Materials management

Answer 17

is the strategy that managers the use, storage and delivery of materials to ensure the right amount of inputs is available when required in the operations system

Question 18

Inventory

Answer 18

is the goods and materials held as stock by an organisation

Question 19

Materials handling

Answer 19

is the physical handling of goods in warehouses and at distribution points

Question 20

Production plan

Answer 20

is an outline of the activities undertaken to combine resources (inputs) to create goods or services (outputs)

Question 21

Master production scheduling

Answer 21

details what is to be produced and when

Question 22

Materials requirements planning

Answer 22

involves developing an itemised list of all materials involved in production to meet the specified orders

Question 23

Inventory control

Answer 23

ensures that costs are minimised and that the operations system has access to the right amounts of inputs when required

Question 24

Just in time

Answer 24

is a materials management strategy that ensures that the exact amount of material inputs will arrive only as they are needed in the operations process

Question 25

Supply chain

Answer 25

is the range of suppliers from which the organisation purchases materials and resources

Question 26

Quality

Answer 26

refers to the degree of excellence of goods or services and their fitness for a stated purpose

Question 27

Quality control

Answer 27

involves the use of inspections at various points in the production process to check for problems and defects

Question 28

Quality assurance

Answer 28

involves the use of a system so that an organisation achieves set standards in production

Question 29

Total quality management

Answer 29

is an ongoing, organisation-wide commitment to excellence that is applied to every aspect of the organisation's operations

Question 30

Quality circles

Answer 30

are groups of workers who meet to solve problems relating to quality

Question 31

Continous improvement

Answer 31

involves an ongoing commitment to achieving perfection

Question 32

Customer relationship management

Answer 32

a computerised system for identifying, targeting, acquiring and retaining the best mix of customers.

Question 33

Robotics

Answer 33

are highly specialised forms of technology capable of complex tasks

Question 34

Computer aided design

Answer 34

is a computerised design tool that allows a business to create product possibilities from a series of input parameters

Question 35

Computer aided manufacture

Answer 35

is software that designs and controls manufacturing processes

Question 36

Computer integrated manufacturing

Answer 36

is a method of manufacturing in which the entire production process is controlled by a computer

Question 37

Six sigma

Answer 37

is a quality management approach that seeks to identify and remove the causes of problems in the operations process, achieving virtually defect-free production

Question 38

Ethical management

Answer 38

refers to the process of abiding by moral standards and doing the 'right' thing in the interests of all stakeholders

Question 39

Social responsibility

Answer 39

is the obligations a business has over and above its legal responsibilities to the wellbeing of employees and customers, shareholders and the community as well as the environment