Chapter 6 Flashcards
What is process technology?
appliance of science to any operatoins process (either product or process technology)
What is the distinction between direct and indirect process technology?
direct - act on resources being transformed
indirect - help control and coorinate direct processes
What are the factors governing the adoption of process technology?
- technical feasability (is it possible to do what we want to with the technology?)
- enhancement of strategic capabilities ( how willing are we to face risks?)
- operations benefits (mainly cost saving)
- labor market dynamics (existence of skilled/inexpensive labor)
- social and regulatory acceptability
How are process technologies characterized?
1) material processing technology
2) information processing technology
3) customer processing technology
What are the primary capabilities of process technology?
- thinking/reasoning
- communicating/ connecting
- moving physical objects
- materials processing
- seeing/sensing
What are scale, automation and coupling?
Scale: high - few, large units; low - many, small units
Automation: high - low acruity; low - high acruity
Coupling: high - technology integrated; low - technology seperated
Describe the product process matrix.
Left side: coupling, automation, scale (low - high)
top: market requirements (low volume, high variety - high volume, low variety)
matrix (horizontal - cost (high - low); vertical - flexibility (high - low)
What would happen if you deviate towards the lower left-hand corner in the product-process matrix?
insufficient capabilites & high costs
What would happen if you deviate towards the upper right-hand corner in the product-process matrix?
redundant capabilites & high costs
How would you evaluate process technology?
1) Feasibility - How difficult is it?
2) Acceptability - How worthwhile is it?
3) Vulnerability - What could go wrong? (market, resources, financial)
