Production processes Flashcards
What is job production?
a product is supplied to meet the exact requirements for a customer eg wedding dress and personal trainers
Advantages of job production
satisfaction and increased loyalty
higher prices can be charged
unique product, one off
motivated workers as making products start to finish
Disadvantages of job production
requires highly skilled workers
need a wide range of tools
hard to speed up it demand increases
What is flow production?
involves continuous production, each item moves continuously from one stage of the process to another eg coca cola
Advantages of flow production
allows firms in o produce huge volumes so able to sell in large numbers
allows for specialisation
good quality products as produced by machinery
Disadvantages of flow production
expensive to buy machinery
if machinery breaks production stops
not flexible to make changes
What is lean production?
aims to reduce the amount of water in a business if a business can reduce waste it can reduce costs
What does lean production do?
uses as few resources as as possible
make maximum output
use just in time
What is efficiency?
the ability of a firm to produce goods or services at the lowest possible cost given the level of output
When is a business regarded as efficient?
if it produces its output using relatively few inputs
When is a business regarded as inefficient?
if it uses a high level of inputs to produce an output
Benefits of Lean production
reduced waste
lowered production costs
What is kaizen?
a japanese technique for business that means continuous improvement. Employees are encouraged to regularly think about ways production prices can be improved
What is economies of scale?
as a business grows, it can experience economies of scale which is when the average unit cost of a product falls
What is purchasing economies of scale?
as a business gets bigger it is able to buy in bulk and will be given bulk discounts which will reduce the unit cost of each product
