miss duddigan-resource management Flashcards
what are the 4 methods of production
job
batch
flow
cell
job production
-used for one-off times produced by skilled workers
-e.g wedding dress
disadvnatges of job production
-each product take long time to make
-means productivity is lower
-skilled workers will need to be payed high wages
-means increased costs
-less chance of economies of scale as products need to be made individually rather then in bulks
-higher unit costs means higher prices must be charged
advantages of job production
people will get a unique product hand made
so customers are more willing to pay higher prices
flow production
use of an assembly line to produce identical products
e.g chocolate bars
ech worker does there task then passed on
like a flow
advantages of flow production
most efficient
can be continious, no stoppages
can use machines
can operate 24 hours
allows a benefit for economies of scale to be achieved as can buy raw materials in bulk
alllows for more competitive/lower prices charged
mass market most liekly tp use as sell large volumes of identical products
batch production
makes small batches of differnt products
products in each small batch are identical to one another
one batch made, production stopped and equipment is adjusted e.g cleaned
then next batch of products are made
advantages of batch production
higher production then job production as each batch consists of identical products
however
lower production than flow production as have to clean/ adjust q=equipment between each batch as not identical to the batch before
can buy raw materials in bulk so can achieve economies of scale
disadvantages of batch production
might have to store these raw materials
stoppage between each batch to adjust equipment
disadvnatges of flow production
machinery may stop working
as producting identical products workers may get bored and leave meanign absentissm is higher
repitiive tasks can be boring
cell production
flow divided into a set of tasks
each task completed by work group
e.g for cars each gorup may be responsible for assembiling each part of a car
advantages of cell production
may cause increase in pride as workers feel more accomplished by doing something with group of people
advantages of machinery with levels of productivity
-can operate 24 hours
-can carry out tasks quicker then humans
-work for more hours in day, dont need rest breaks
-
disadvantages of machinery on productivity
-may break down
-to alter production, may need to install whole new software
-for humans, they would be much easier to alter production
efficiency
when production happens at an overall minimum average cost
ways in which a business can increase efficiency
increasing productivity
-cutting costs involving production of a product
-
labour intensive firms
uses more people rather then machinery
e.g NHS as need more people rather then machinery to solve problems
labour intensive countries e.g China where labour is cheap
advantages of labour intensive firms
dont havr to buy expensive machinery
humans can be retrained to carry out new task wheras for machinery, it will need to be brought/replaced
can suggest ways to imporve quality
disadvanatges of labour intensive firms
harder to manage people then amchines e.g emotions feelings
people can be unreliable (call in sick)
wont work without rests/breaks
capital intensive firm
firm that uses more machinery rather then people
larger firms tend to be more capital intensive as need more to be produced
advanatges of capital intensive firms
operate 24 hours
dont need breaks
easier to manage
more precise
no chnace of human error
disadvnatages of capital intensive firms
very expensive to buy
only usually suited for one task wheras humans can do multiple differnt tasks
machine breaks down, can lead to long production delays
risks sales being missed and repuation decreasing
if machine replaces workers, workers may feel unmotivated
capacity utalisation
how much capacity a business is using