igcse business section 4

Question 1

a typical manufacturing business will have

Answer 1

-a factory manager: responsible for quantity and quality
-purchasing manager: provides material required
-research and development manager: design and testing

Question 2

productivity

Answer 2

the output measured against the input used to create it
output/quantity of input

Question 3

labour productivity

Answer 3

output/number of employees

Question 4

how to increase productivity and efficiency

Answer 4

-improve quality of product and inventory control to reduce waste
-automation
-replace employees with machines
-motivate employees effectively
-new tech

Question 5

benefits of increasing efficiency/ productivity

Answer 5

-reduced input needed for the same output level
-high wages paid, to increase motivation
-fewer workers, lower costs
-lower costs per unit

Question 6

buffer inventory level

Answer 6

the inventory level held to deal with uncertainty in customer demand and deliveries of supplies

Question 7

lean production

Answer 7

those techniques used by businesses to cut down on waste and therefore increase efficiency

Question 8

types of wastes

Answer 8

-overproduction
-unnecessary inventory
-transportation
-waiting
-motion
-defects
-overprocessing

Question 9

benefits of lean production

Answer 9

-less storage
-better use of eq
-quicker production
-cuts on processes
-improved health and safety
-no need to repair defects and replace
-less money tied up to inventory

Question 10

kaizen

Answer 10

japanese term meaning continues improvement through the elimination of waste

Question 11

adv of kaizen

Answer 11

-improved layout for employees
-work in progress reduced
-reduced space needed
-increased productivity

Question 12

just in time

Answer 12

production method that involves reducing or virtually eliminating the need to hold inventory of raw materials or unsold inventories of unfinished product

Question 13

adv of JIT

Answer 13

-warehouse is not needed
-reducing cost of holding inventory
-sold quick so money will come back more often

Question 14

job production

Answer 14

a single product is made at a time

Question 15

batch production

Answer 15

a quantity of one product is made then a quantity of another item will be produced

Question 16

flow /mass production

Answer 16

where large quantities of a product are produced in a continuous process

Question 17

adv of job prd

Answer 17

-increase employee motivation
-varied job
-suitable for personal services
-meets exact requirment
-flexible and used for high quality goods and services so higher prices

Question 18

disadv of job prd

Answer 18

-skilled labour so higher costs
-labour intensive
-production takes long time
-errors are expensive
-special materials, higher costs

Question 19

adv of batch prd

Answer 19

-flexible way of working
-somd variety
-gives consumers choices
-production is not affected if machinery breaks down

Question 20

disadv of batch prd

Answer 20

-machines have to be reset so there is a delay
-warehouse space is needed
-can be expensive, needs moving

Question 21

adv of flow prd

Answer 21

-capital intensive, reduced labour costs
-business may require only relatively unskilled workers, little training
-high output of standarised products
-operate 24/7
-EOS
-low costs, low prices, high sales
-saves time

Question 22

disadv of flow prd

Answer 22

-boring system, lacks motivation
-high storage requirements
-capital costs of production line is high
-if machines break, all production is stopped

Question 23

factors affecting which method

Answer 23

-nature of the product
-nature of demand
-size of business
-size of market

Question 24

how tech keeps costs and prices low and improves production

Answer 24

-automation (controlled by computers)
-mechanisation (operated by people)
-computer aided design
-computer aided manufacture
-computer integrated manufacturing (cad and cam)

Question 25

how tech improved electronic payments

Answer 25

-EPOS: operators scans barcode individually
-EFTPOS: all info read from card and sent to bank
-contactless payments

Question 26

adv of new tech

Answer 26

-high tech products
-greater info available
-quicker communication and less paperwork
-higher productivity and efficiency, reduces costs
-not boring greater job satisf
-must offer training so more motivation
-better quality products

Question 27

disadv of new tech

Answer 27

-unemployment rise
-employees may reject changes
-may become outdated and needs to be replaced
-expensive

Question 28

why managers need to think abt costs

Answer 28

-could be compared with revenue to calculate whether the business is making a loss or profit
-costs of diff locations compared and decide whats best
-help decide on prices

Question 29

fixed/overhead costs

Answer 29

costs which do not vary in the short run with the number of items sold or produced

Question 30

variable costs

Answer 30

costs that change directly with the number if items sold or produced

Question 31

total costs

Answer 31

fixed and variable costs combined
ave costs x output

Question 32

average costs per unit/ unit cost

Answer 32

total cost of the production divided by total output