Chapter Three: The Operations Management Function

Question 0

Tangibles

Answer 0

Goods, which can be touched.

Question 1

Operations management

Answer 1

All the activities in which managers engage to produce goods or services.

Question 2

Intangibles

Answer 2

Services, which cannot be touched.

Question 3

Operations manager

Answer 3

Some

Question 4

Inputs

Answer 4

Resources used in the process of production.

E.g: materials, capital equipment, labour, information from a variety of sources, time and money.

Question 5

Transformation

Answer 5

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 6

Outputs

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Productivity

Answer 7

A measure of efficiency - the amount of output produced compared to the amount of input required in production.

Question 8

Business Competitiveness

Answer 8

The ability of an organisation to sell products in a market.

Question 9

Facilities Design and Layout

Answer 9

Planning the layout of workspace to streamline the production process.

Question 10

Fixed Position Layout

Answer 10

Layout that deals with large-scale processes, such as the construction of bridges, ships, aircrafts or buildings.

Question 11

Product Layout

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Process Layout

Answer 12

Layout that deals with a wide variety of products by grouping activities, equipment and machinery of similar function together.

Question 13

Retail Layout

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

Office Layout

Answer 14

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’.

Question 15

Lean Manufacturing

Answer 15

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 16

Materials management

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

Inventory

Answer 17

The goods and materials held as stock by an organisation.

Question 18

Materials Handling

Answer 18

The physical handling of goods in warehouses and at distribution points.

Question 19

Production Plan

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Master Production Scheduling

Answer 20

Scheduling that details what is to be produced and when.

Question 21

Materials requirements planning

Answer 21

Developing an itemised list of all materials involved in production to meet specified orders.

Question 22

Inventory control

Answer 22

A method of ensuring that costs are minimised and that the operations system has access to the right amounts of inputs when required.

Question 23

Just In Time

Answer 23

An inventory control approach that ensures that the exact amount of material inputs will arrive only as they are needed in the operations process.

Question 24

Supply Chain

Answer 24

The range of suppliers from which the organisation purchases materials and resources.

Question 25

Quality

Answer 25

The degree of excellence of goods or services and their fitness for a stated purpose.

Question 26

Quality Control

Answer 26

Using inspections at various points in the production process to check for problems and defects.

Question 27

Quality Assurance

Answer 27

Using a system so that an organisation achieves set standards in production.

Question 28

Total Quality Management

Answer 28

An ongoing, organisation-wide commitment to excellence that is applied to every aspect of the organisation’s operation.

Question 29

Quality Circles

Answer 29

Groups of workers who meet to solve problems relating to quality.

Question 30

Continuous Improvement

Answer 30

An ongoing commitment to achieving perfection.

Question 31

Customer Relationship Management

Answer 31

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.

Question 32

Robotics

Answer 32

Highly specialised forms of technology capable of complex tasks.

Question 33

Computer Aided Design

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Computer Aided Manufacture

Answer 34

Software that designs and controls manufacturing processes.

Question 35

Computer Integrated Manufacturing

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Six Sigma

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Ethical Management

Answer 37

Abiding by moral standards and doing the ‘right’ thing in the interests of all stakeholders.

Question 38

Social Responsibility

Answer 38

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.