Operations

Question 1

What is labour intensive work?

Answer 1

Labour intensive work is products mainly produced by human work, showing human creativity

Question 2

Why is quality important? (4)

Answer 2

• want happy customers- if quality isn’t good then customers will return their product, loss of sales
• you will get skilled staff, high quality goods attract high quality staff
• creates good reputation- if quality is low then goods aren’t meeting the safety standard which would produce bad PR
• good quality means high sales and profits, highest quality goods can be sold for premium prices

Question 3

What are advantages of labour intensive work? (3)

Answer 3

• customised product, workers can use their own unitive and problem solve
• workers are more motivated, can charge a higher higher price for specialisation
• more responsive to change, flexibility due to human skill, can make one of products

Question 4

What is capital intensive?

Answer 4

Products mainly produced my machines and robots

Question 5

What are some disadvantages of labour extensive work?

Answer 5

• expensive, skilled workforce, expensive to recruit pay and train
• additional quality control- measures may be required due to human error
• loss of production, workers require breaks like holidays which may result in a halt in production

Question 6

What are some reasons for choosing labour or capital intensive (3)

Answer 6

• finance available- large amount of capital needed start for capital intensive, some businesses may not be able to afford that which is why there choose labour intensive
• amount of quantity needed- if large amount of of identical goods then go for capital intensive but need low quantity then go for labour intensive
• any limitations in technology- if not enough technology is available then would have to resort to labour intensive

Question 7

What are some disadvantages of capitals intensive (3)

Answer 7

• cause residencies and make employees demotivated
• difficult to adapt to change- only suitable for standardised products
• halt in production- technology mishaps and breakdowns maybe costly

Question 8

What is some advantages of capital intensive (3)

Answer 8

• isn’t hazardous towards human- machines can do dangerous work and reduce accidents
• machines can work 24/7- high volume of goods can be produced
• machines create same product- repetitive tasks humans would find boring

Question 9

What are the differences between labour and capital intensive (5)

Answer 9

• capital has a high start up cost with machinery whereas labour is inexpensive as little machinery is used
• capital is standardised, products are the same whereas labour intensive is specialised and adapt easily
• capital has no human error and always high quality whereas labour intensive can cause human error but errors can be resolved as innovative
• capital has high costs to repair whereas has little/ no maintenance but high wage cost
• capital works 24/7 whereas labour needs holidays and sickness

Question 10

What is Just in time

Answer 10

It is a system that involves receiving inventory as it is just being used in production
-often goods are not produced unless an order is placed from a customer

Question 11

What are advantages of Just in time (4)

Answer 11

• lean- there is no wastage and is eco friendly and there is less chance of things not being used
• cost effective as little space needed so no need for warehouses
• responsive to change, no money tied up to stock
• good quality goods- perishable goods are fresher

Question 12

What are some disadvantages of just in time (4)

Answer 12

• chance of late delivery- under-stocking which may halt production
• no room for production errors- may not have enough stock
• need a lot of managing and planning- need for careful budgeting and forecast
• may be more costly- need admin costs for regularly ordering and no bulk buying discounts

Question 13

What is fair trade

Answer 13

• Fair trade is when suppliers of raw materials receive a guaranteed and fair price for their goods
• fair trade employees are treated fairly
• organisations are encouraged to use suppliers that are part of of a fair trade foundation

Question 14

What are some advantages of fair trade

Answer 14

• good reputation- can attract customers as guaranteed quality and is easier to recruit employees
• loyalty- happy to buy from business with fair trade mark as feel good that employees are treated fairly
• competitive advantages- can be used as a marketing tool
• shows business is ethically aware- shines a good light on business as are fair to raw material suppliers
• good supply chain relationship- positive impact on raw materials and means the business can rely on suppliers

Question 15

What are disadvantages of fair trade (3)

Answer 15

• transported a long way-creates environmental issues and makes a higher carbon footprint
• limited choice for suppliers- only so many people to buy from a suppliers may not be good ones
• may result in bad press- bad publicity if loose fair trade mark

Question 16

Factors that may affect choice of production

Answer 16

Finance available- can’t afford Hugh set up of being capital intensive then would have to go lower set up cost which would be labour intensive

Quantity needed. High quantity may resort to capital intensive as masses of products are being made but if low quantity then labour intensive

Technology available- business located in a area with bad technology then capital intensive woukd not be reliable and go with labour intensive

Question 17

Advantages of computer aided design (3)

Answer 17

• easier to test and arrange designs- designs can be viewed from all angles and ranges of materials
• cost effective- testing and consumers feedback can be done before costly production takes place
• Time efficient- ideas can be drawn and developed quickly

Question 18

Disadvantages of computer aided design (3)

Answer 18

• expensive to set up- need a higher wages skilled workforce
• technology blips- computers can fail which could halt production
• hard to keep up- difficult to keep up with PESTEC factors and keep up with the newest technology

Question 19

What is computer aided design

Answer 19

Use of computer software to design new products in 3D

Question 20

What are uses of technology in operations (4)

Answer 20

Internet- The Internet can be used by the operations department to find suppliers and compare prices.

Email- Email can be used by the operations department to contact suppliers and place orders.

EPOS track levels of stock and re order when below minimum stock level

CAD- use of computer software to designs new products in 3D

Question 21

What is quality control?

Answer 21

Quality control is inspection of raw materials at the end of production

Question 22

Advantages of quality control 2

Answer 22

• reduces chance of poor quality products reaching the end users
• less wage costs - only some employees need to be trained as inspectors look for the faults

Question 23

Disadvantages of quality control 3

Answer 23

• slows down production if quality isn’t good enough - faults only found at the end of production
• High wastage costs- everything thrown out if quality isn’t good enough
• time consuming- reworking faulty products and creating a better product

Question 24

What is benchmarking

Answer 24

Benchmarking is comparing your organisations to the industries leaders and using industries leaders as the lowest acceptable quality

Question 25

What are some advantages of bench marking

Answer 25

Motivating staff- make organisation more competitive in the market which sets employees a goal

Indentifies the best practice in the market- improve performance if these methods are adopted by the organisation

Question 26

What are some disadvantages of benchmarking 3

Answer 26

The competitors may of used field research- May be difficult to gather information from competitors

time consuming - study techniques used by other companies and adapting the quality

Impact of internal factors- lack of finance may prevent the adoption of competitors practices

Question 27

What is quality assurance

Answer 27

It is the checking of products at differing stages throughout the process

Question 28

Advantages of quality assurance 2

Answer 28

• mistakes identifies quickly- process is checked throughout the process
• save costs for company- less chance of wastage meaning raw materials are going towards production

Question 29

Disadvantages of quality assurance 2

Answer 29

Costly- regular checks throughout the production process

-lower productivity- regular checks meaning production may be slowed down

Question 30

Differences between quality control and assurance (3)

Answer 30

Quality control will check the inputs and outputs from the production process whereas quality assurance will check the product regularly throughout production.

Quality assurance reduces waste as faulty products are identified early in the production process whereas quality control will wait till the end of production to check if the products Hugh quality resulting in wastage

Quality assurance will have costs such as training employees to check the products quality and having a slower production whereas quality control would save the company time as production is quicker and costs as less employees are required to be qualified to check the product.

Question 31

Advantages of quality circles2

Answer 31

Valued within the company- everyone’s opinions are respected and managers and employees mix together meaning everyone’s voice is heard

Keeps the employees motivated- See improvements form their suggestions and create good morale as they feel that their voice is heard

Question 32

What is quality circles

Answer 32

Quality circles are small groups of workers of different levels in the firm who come together to discuss and solve problems in production

Question 33

Disadvantage of quality circles

Answer 33

halt production- employees meeting with managers