Definitions

Question 1

Operations

Answer 1

are those activities concerned with the acquisition of raw
materials, their conversion into finished products and the supply of that
finished product to the customer.

Question 2

Operation management

Answer 2

is the activities involved in designing, producing
and delivering products and services that satisfy the customer’s
requirements.

Question 3

Processes

Answer 3

All operations consist of a collection of processes. These are
the building blocks of operations and connect with one another to form a
network. The processes transform the input resources into output
products/services.

Question 4

Volume of inputs and outputs

Answer 4

Operations differ in the volume of inputs they process. High-volume operations
are likely to be more capital-intensive than low-volume operations, and there is
likely to be a greater specialisation of labour ski

Question 5

Variety of inputs and outputs

Answer 5

Some operations handle a wide range of different inputs, or produce a wide
range of output products or services. Others are much more restricted in the
range of inputs they handle or outputs they produ

Question 6

Variation in demand

Answer 6

With some operations demand might vary significantly from one season of the
year to another or from one time of the day to another, with some periods of
peak demand and some periods of low demand. Other operations might handle
a fairly constant volume of demand at all times.

Question 7

Visibility to customers

Answer 7

Visibility refers to the extent to which an organisation is visible to its customers.
When an operation is highly visible, the employees will have to show good
communication skills and interpersonal skills in dealing with customers.

Question 8

Porter’s value chain

Answer 8

The value chain model is based around activities rather than traditional
functional departments (such as operations or finance).
It considers the organisation’s activities that create value and drive costs and
therefore the organisation should focus on improving those activities

Question 9

Primary activities

Answer 9

Concerned with the creation or the delivery of a product/service

Question 10

Support activities

Answer 10

Help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of primary activities.

Question 11

Process design

Answer 11

the method by which individual specialists seek to
understand business processes and ensure that these processes are
designed to be as efficient and effective as possible

Question 12

process map

Answer 12

provides a visual representation of the steps and
decisions by which a product or transaction is processed.

Question 13

Adv of process maps

Answer 13

• management and understanding
• Role understanding
  -standardization
• highlight inefficiencies
• supports corporate initiatives

Question 14

Products and services development process

Answer 14

1. consider customer’s needs
2. concept screening
3. design process
4. market time for product/service
5. Product testing

Question 15

Procurement

Answer 15

placing and following up on orders.