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Business A-level > Production, Productivity and efficiency > Flashcards

Production, Productivity and efficiency Flashcards

1
Q

What is job production?

A

involves making one off items to suit each customers individual requirments

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2
Q

benefits of job production?

A
  • can charge higher price

- work is more interesting for staff

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3
Q

Drawbacks of job production?

A
  • cost per unit is very high, low levels of production

- finding staff with enough skill is hard, pay will be high

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4
Q

What is batch production?

A

makes a group of products to one specification at a time, allowing some variation in products, yet some specialisation

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5
Q

benefits of batch production?

A
  • allows variation in product made

- faster then job production as making a batch speeds up production

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6
Q

Drawbacks of batch production?

A
  • more costly to set up then job production due to machinery
  • cost per unit will be higher then flow as machinery will need to be adjusted
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7
Q

What is flow production?

A

continuous production of a single standardised product

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8
Q

benefits of flow production?

A
  • unit labour costs are extreamly low

- huge volumes allow huge demand in mass markets to be met

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9
Q

Drawbacks of flow production?

A
  • high initial costs of installing machinery

- products need to be identical

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10
Q

What is cell production?

A

involves organising workers into small groups or cells that can produce a range of differant products more quickly then job production

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11
Q

Benefits of cell productio?

A
  • group working allows ideas to be shared for improvements

- small, highly skilled cell can adjust products to suit customers needs

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12
Q

Drawbacks of cell production?

A
  • costs still high as heavily relies on people

- production volume wont be as high as flow production

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13
Q

What is productivity?

A

measure of efficiency of the production process. output per worker per time period

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14
Q

productivity equation?

A

total output / number of workers

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15
Q

What are the key factors influencing productivity?

A
  • quality and age of machinery
  • skills and experience of workers
  • level of employee motivation
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16
Q

How do productivity and competitiveness link?

A
  • higher levels of productivity lead to lower unit costs, can sell for lower price, more competative
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17
Q

What is effeciency?

A

measure the extent to which the resources used in a process generate output without wastage

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18
Q

What factors influence production and efficiency?

A
  • quality and age of machinery
  • skills and experiance of workers
  • level of employee motivation
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19
Q

How does quality and age of machinery effect productivity?

A
  • new machiners works faster, breaks down less
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20
Q

How does quality and age of machinery effect efficiency?

A

fewer breakdowns mean fewer faults and newer machinery may produce with less variation

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21
Q

How do skills and experiance of workers effect productivity and efficiency?

A

productivity - more skilled can produce quicker, more experiance brings knowledge of how to complete tasks quicker

efficiency - skilled staff make fewer mistakes, experianced staff can spot problems

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22
Q

How can level of employee motivation effect productivity and efficiency?

A

productivity - motivated staff more focused, quicker

efficiency - more motivated, more care and less errors

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23
Q

What is labour intensive production?

A

means that a production process relies heavily on human input with little use of automation

24
Q

What is capital intensive production?

A

uses high levels of automation, reducing the role of humans as much as possible, replacing them with machines

25
Q

What are the key issues with labour intensive production?

A
  • labour costs will be very high

- managaing labour costs will be critical, may force firm to move abroad

26
Q

Key issues with capital intensive production?

A
  • initial costs will be very high, with the need to invest specialist machinery
  • low running costs
27
Q

What is capacity?

A

term used to describe the maximum possible output of a business

28
Q

What is capacity utilisation?

A

the proportion of maximum capacity being used by the business

29
Q

Capacity utilisation formula?

A

current output / maximum possible output. x100

30
Q

What can under-utilisation of capacity do?

A
  • lead to fears of job security, demotivating
  • cause poor morale among managers
  • create poor reputation for the business
31
Q

What are the problems with over utilisation?

A
  • firm may not be able to accept new orders, turning away new customers
  • little or no time to cary out maintenance on machines
32
Q

What are the ways of improving capacity utilisation?

A
  • increase current output (through marketing)

- reduce maximum capacity (selling off assets or laying off staff)

33
Q

What is stock or inventory?

A

is the materials, partially made products and finished goods owned by a business that have not been sold

34
Q

What are buffer stocks used for?

A

a minimum level of stock or raw materials used in production and finished goods at all times

35
Q

What are the reasons for keeping buffer stocks of raw materials ?

A
  • if deliveries are delayed, buffer stock allows production to continue
  • if a batch of supplies is faulty the buffer stock can be used to continue production
36
Q

Reasons for keeping buffer stock of finished goods?

A
  • helps to ensure businesses can always supply customers

- allows firm to accept rush orders

37
Q

problems with too much stock?

A
  • opportunity cost: ties up capital and prevents money being spent in other ways
  • Cash flow problems: cash has been spent on the stock but the stock has not yet turned into cash
  • increased storage costs: takes up space
  • increased financing costs: if stock purchased with borrowing money, interest will need to be repaid
  • increased wastage: some stock may go off and wasted
38
Q

Problems with too little stock?

A
  • lost customers : if supply doesn’t meet demand, customers will be lost
  • delays in production: if no materials standing then machinery cant run
  • Loss of reputation: if word gets around that business doesnt have enough stock then loss of customers
39
Q

What is just in time stock management”

A

with no buffer stock, relies entirely on frequent small deliveries of materials from suppliers being delivered without delay and without any quality problems

40
Q

Key points about JIT production?

A
  • suppliers must be willing to deliver frequently

- deliveries must be absolutely reliable

41
Q

How does JIT help with waste minimisation?

A
  • less stock held, less likely to be waste
  • cash not tied up in stock
  • removing buffer stocks helps to highlight problems in production process
42
Q

What is lean production?

A

a collective term for a range of japanese techniques designed to eliminate waste from business processes

43
Q

How can lean production improve how businesses are run?

A
  • more input from staff
  • a focus on quality
  • fewer wasted resources
  • focus on reducing wasted time
44
Q

What are the three main methods of managing quality?

A
  • quality control
  • quality assurance
  • total quality management
45
Q

Explain quality control>

A

involves checking output to find any faults in a production system

46
Q

What is quality assurance?

A

focuses on producing methods of preventing quality problems arising. checklists or procedures that are part of company policy

47
Q

What is total quality management?

A

members of staff having the mindset of getting things right the first time

48
Q

Pros of TQM?

A
  • should become deeply rooted into company culture

- once all staff think about quality it should show through design and manufacture

49
Q

cons of TQM?

A
  • staff sceptical of management initiatives

- to get TQM into business may be expensive, requires training

50
Q

pros of QC?

A
  • can gurantee no defective item leaves factory

- requires little staff training

51
Q

cons of QC?

A
  • leaving quality for the inspectors to sort out may mean poor quality is built into product
  • QC cannot be trusted if based on sampling
52
Q

QA advantages?

A
  • makes sure quality is tested at every stage

- some customers like the reasurance of keeping records

53
Q

QA disadvantages?

A
  • does not promise a high quality product

- may encourage complacency, suggests quality is sorted

54
Q

Explain qaulity circles?

A

a group of staff who meet regularly to find quality improvements

55
Q

What does quality management lead to?

A
  • allows a premium price to be charged
  • helps gain distribution, retailers know they wont need to return
  • it creates brand loyalty and repeat purchases
  • can help build a brand reputation that spreads to other products
56
Q

Explain continuous improvement (kaizen)?

A
  • encourages staff to make a stream of small ideas on how to do things better
  • small but frequent changes
  • help to improve productivity

Business A-level (29 decks)

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