Increasing Efficiency & Productivity Flashcards
What is productivity measured as?
Output per worker in a given time period
What is efficiency about?
Getting more output from a given amount of inputs
What does labour productivity measure?
How much each employee produces
How do you calculate labour productivity?
Output per period divided by number of employees
What can improving productivity improve?
Efficiency of a business
What are 3 ways to increase labour productivity?
Improving motivation
Training
New technology
What can encouraging workers to produce more by offering bonuses do?
Motivate - inc productivity
What will businesses base their decision of labour productivity on?
Value added and efficiency
What is lean production?
An efficient form of production that keeps waste to a minimum
What can inefficient production methods increase?
Costs
What does lean production methods include?
JIT, JIC and Kaizen
What does JIT mean?
Just in time
What does JIT production keep stock levels like?
Very low
What does JIT production aim to do?
Reduce waste of materials and productions by having as little stock as possible
What is JIT based on?
Very efficient stock control
What is Kanban?
The JIT system of triggering repeat orders
What are 2 disadvantages of JIT production?
Customers can’t be supplied during production and suppliers have to be reliable
What are 2 advantages of JIT production?
Storage costs reduced
Cash flow improved
What does time-based management mean for companies?
Have to be flexible
What does the time-based management approach aim to do?
Reduce wasted time in the production process
What does time-based management depend on?
Flexible production facilities
What are 3 advantages of time-based management approach?
Reduces lead times
Machinery with more than 1 function offers a varied range
Drive innovation
What are lead times?
The time between a customer placing an order and taking delivery
What are 3 advantages of technology?
Increased productivity and quality
Reduced waste
What are 2 disadvantages of technology?
Initial costs are high
Updates
What does a capital-intensive firm use?
More machinery and few workers
What are 2 advantages of Capital-intensive production?
Cheaper than manual labour
Easier to manage
What are 3 disadvantages of Capital-intensive production?
High set up costs
Breaking down
Fear of being replaced
What does a labour intensive firm use?
More workers and less machinery
What are 2 advantages of labour-intensive production?
People can be retrained
Cheaper
What are 3 disadvantages of labour-intensive production?
Harder to manage
Unreliability
Labour costs as a % of turnover are high
