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Business Theme 2 > Production, productivity & Efficiency (2.4.1) > Flashcards

Production, productivity & Efficiency (2.4.1) Flashcards

1
Q

What is production?

A

The transformation of resources (e.g. raw materials) into finished goods or services

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2
Q

What is the difference between goods and services?

A

Goods are physical products, such as bicycles and T-shirts whereas Services are non-physical items such as hairdressing, tourism and manicures

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3
Q

What are the four types of Production?

A

Job Production
Batch Production
Flow Production
Cell Production

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4
Q

What is Job Production?

A

-One-off bespoke Products
-High quality products made by experienced staff

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5
Q

What are the advantages of Job Production?

A

-Premium Price can be charged
-Easy to differentiate from competition

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6
Q

What are the disadvantages of Job Production?

A

-Staff require higher wages and process is slow
-Unit costs tend to be higher

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7
Q

What is Batch Production?

A

-Batches of similar products
-More flexible production than flow

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8
Q

What are the advantages of Batch Production?

A

-Standardized process make it cheaper than job
-Use of Technology make it cheaper than job

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9
Q

What are the disadvantages of Batch Production?

A

-Batch less varied than job so staff morale may be lower
-Downtime between batches make it less efficient than flow

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10
Q

What is Flow Production?

A

-Large-scale,24/7 production of standardized product
-Specialist machinery designed for production line

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11
Q

What are the advantages of Flow Production?

A

-Lots of Technology/low staff leads to low Unit Cost
-Consistent, standard quality

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12
Q

What are the disadvantages of Flow Production?

A

-Production Process inflexible to change
-Very high initial set-up cost

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13
Q

What is Cell Production?

A

-Production line split into self-contained teams
-Team carries out a process and checks the quality

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14
Q

What are the advantages of Cell Production?

A

-Teamwork improves motivation and quality
-Multiskilling within teams takes place

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15
Q

What are the disadvantages of Cell Production?

A

-Not as automated as batch or flow
-Cell workload has to be managed closely

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16
Q

What does Standardization mean?

A

The more standardized production is, the more you can bulk buy and you can cut costs

17
Q

What does Automation mean?

A

The amount of technology you use in your production process

18
Q

What does Downtime mean?

A

The amount of time workers or technology are NOT producing goods or services

19
Q

What are Economies of Scale?

A

The more you buy, the cheaper you get each unit so the lower your Unit Costs

20
Q

What are Business Operations?

A

The method a business will use to produce and deliver a product or a service to the customer

21
Q

What is Productivity?

A

The amount of units produced by a given number of employees. Output per person or machine per hour

22
Q

What does labour productivity mean?

A

It’s a measure of the output per worker during a specific period of time

23
Q

What is the equation for Labour Productivity?

A

Total Units of Output/ Number of Employees

24
Q

What does Capital Productivity mean?

A

It’s a measure of the output of capital employed (machinery) during a specific period of time

25
Q

What is the equation for Capital Productivity?

A

Total Units of Output/ Number of Machines

26
Q

What are the ways in which you can improve productivity?

A

-Specialization and the Division of Labour
-Motivate staff
-Education and Training
-Working Practices
-Labour Flexibility
-Technology

27
Q

What does Efficiency mean?

A

Maximizing your output from your inputs to minimize cost per unit. Being as cost-effective as possible

28
Q

What is efficiency often measured in terms of?

A

Average cost per unit

29
Q

How is Average Cost per unit worked out?

A

Total costs/Number of Units

30
Q

When is maximum efficiency achieved?

A

When the cost per unit is at its lowest

31
Q

How can you improve efficiency?

A

-Lean Production
-Standardization
-Outsourcing/Offshoring
-Downsizing/Delayering
-Technology
-Just-In-Time Production

32
Q

What is Lean Production?

A

It focuses on eliminating waste, improving efficiency, and maintaining quality.

33
Q

What is Kaizen?

A

Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning change for the better or continuous improvement. It is a Japanese business philosophy that concerns the processes that continuously improve operations and involve all employees. Kaizen sees improvement in productivity as a gradual and methodical process.

34
Q

What are the Benefits of using Kaizen?

A

-Increased Productivity
-Reduced Waste
-Better management of resources
-Improved quality
-Better safety
-Lower costs
-Higher Customer Satisfaction
-Improved cooperation and communication
-Higher employee satisfaction and morale

35
Q

What are the Drawbacks of using Kaizen?

A

-Difficult to implement in existing businesses
-Resistance to change
-Time and effort required to see results
-Costly
-Management involvement is a must
-Slow process of improving workers skills and so can demand higher wages

36
Q

What is Capital Intensive and Labor Intensive Production?

A

-Labor Intensive Production predominately uses physical labor in the production of goods/services
-Capital-Intensive Production predominately uses machinery and technology in the production of goods and services

37
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Labor Intensive Production?

A

Advantages:
-Low-cost production where labor costs are low
-Provides opportunities for workers to be creative
-Workers are flexible

Disadvantages:
-Workers may be unreliable and need regular breaks
-Incentives may be needed to motivate staff
-Training costs can be significant

38
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Capital Intensive Production?

A

Advantages:
-Low-cost production where output is high
-Machines are usually consistent and precise
-Machines can run without breaks

Disadvantages:
-Significant set-up and maintenance costs
-Breakdowns can severely delay production
-May not provide flexibility in production

Business Theme 2 (23 decks)

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