Operations , finance and influences on business (yr11) Flashcards
What is the purpose of production?
So that a business can “ add value” to its product
What does adding value mean
This means ensuring sales revenue is greater than the costs of production
What are the methods of production?
Job production
Batch production
Flow production
What is job production?
A product is made individually from start to finish, it is likely to meet a customers individual specifications / requirements
Advantages of job production?
High quality products / services
Skilled labour used - highly motivated workers
Each item can be different - meet individual customers specifications - high selling price
Disadvantages of job production ?
Output cost may be high
Expensive labour (high wage costs , labour intensive , skill)
Difficult to speed up production
What is batch production?
A group of identical products are produced then the production process is stoped and re-organised to then produce another “batch”
Products produced in bulks but production is not continuous
Advantages of batch production?
Making in batches reduces unit costs
Can still address specific customer needs ( e.g size , weight, style )
Use of specialists machinery & skills can increase output and productivity
Disadvantages of batch production?
Potentially de-motivating for staff
Time lost switching between batches-machinery May need to be reset
Storage costs
Need to keep stocks of raw materials
What is flow production?
Production is continuous and does not stop
Mass production of a product
Advantages of flow production?
Production is much quicker than job/ batch production - more can be produced in one day
Uses a high proportion of machinery in relation to workers ( can continue at night)
Disadvantages of flow production?
Becomes boring for employees involved. Keeping staff motivated is an important issue
Production is inflexible- can’t be tailored to individual tastes
With sm machinery v.difficult to alter production process
What does the choice of production depend on?
How many of the products are being made
Whether the product is unique
How complex the product is
The size of the business making it
Automation( in production )
refer to the the process of production used in a factory
The role of workers is to oversee the use of the computers and that production is taking place correctly
An example of automation used in a business ?
The pilot in an aircraft will check the computer controlling the take off , flight and landing is working safely
