Chapter Three: The Operations Management Function Flashcards
Tangibles
Goods, which can be touched.
Operations management
All the activities in which managers engage to produce goods or services.
Intangibles
Services, which cannot be touched.
Operations manager
Some
Inputs
Resources used in the process of production.
E.g: materials, capital equipment, labour, information from a variety of sources, time and money.
Transformation
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.
Outputs
The end result of an organisations efforts - the service or product that is delivered or provided to the consumer.
E.g: building product or delivery of financial services to the customer.
Productivity
A measure of efficiency - the amount of output produced compared to the amount of input required in production.
Business Competitiveness
The ability of an organisation to sell products in a market.
Facilities Design and Layout
Planning the layout of workspace to streamline the production process.
Fixed Position Layout
Layout that deals with large-scale processes, such as the construction of bridges, ships, aircrafts or buildings.
Product Layout
Layout that deals with the manufacturing of goods in mass volume using an assembly line.
Process Layout
Layout that deals with a wide variety of products by grouping activities, equipment and machinery of similar function together.
Retail Layout
Exposure is a critical consideration to the layout of retail stores. Stores such as Kmart and Big W guide customers through departments or sections.
Supermarkets uses approaches such as:
- locating high-impulse or high-margin products in prominent locations.
- locating ‘power items’ at intervals throughout a series of aisles.
Office Layout
Efficient movement of information and proximity to resources are priorities for the layout of an office. Locating workstations together in departments that are required to communicate constantly may also beimportant.
Office layout is often open plan or in pods. Wig staff working closely together, a code of conduct is often adopted called ‘cubicle etiquette’.
Lean Manufacturing
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.
Materials management
The strategy that manages use, storage and delivery of materials to ensure the right amount of inputs is available when required in the operations system.
Inventory
The goods and materials held as stock by an organisation.
Materials Handling
The physical handling of goods in warehouses and at distribution points.
Production Plan
An outline of the activities undertaken to combine resources (inputs) to create goods or services (outputs).
Master Production Scheduling
Scheduling that details what is to be produced and when.
Materials requirements planning
Developing an itemised list of all materials involved in production to meet specified orders.
Inventory control
A method of ensuring that costs are minimised and that the operations system has access to the right amounts of inputs when required.
Just In Time
An inventory control approach that ensures that the exact amount of material inputs will arrive only as they are needed in the operations process.
Supply Chain
The range of suppliers from which the organisation purchases materials and resources.
Quality
The degree of excellence of goods or services and their fitness for a stated purpose.
Quality Control
Using inspections at various points in the production process to check for problems and defects.
Quality Assurance
Using a system so that an organisation achieves set standards in production.
Total Quality Management
An ongoing, organisation-wide commitment to excellence that is applied to every aspect of the organisation’s operation.
Quality Circles
Groups of workers who meet to solve problems relating to quality.
Continuous Improvement
An ongoing commitment to achieving perfection.
Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management is a system for managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers. It often involves using technology to organise, automate, and synchronise sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support.
Robotics
Highly specialised forms of technology capable of complex tasks.
Computer Aided Design
A computerised design tool that allows business to create product possibilities from a series of input parameters.
Computer Aided Manufacture
Software that designs and controls manufacturing processes.
Computer Integrated Manufacturing
A method of manufacturing in which the entire production process is controlled by computer.
Six Sigma
A quality management approach that seeks to identify and remove the causes of problems in the operations process, achieving virtually defect-free production.
Ethical Management
Abiding by moral standards and doing the ‘right’ thing in the interests of all stakeholders.
Social Responsibility
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.
