UNIT 4 Flashcards
whats operations involved in?
organises, produces and delivers the goods of a business
3 benefits of operations existing
- adds value
- controls cost of production
- helps become a ‘green’ business
internal influences within operational objectives
employee skills
nature of product
availability of resources
external influences on operational objectives
PESTLE
COSTS ( operational obj )
• decrease cost of production
• maximise profit and capacity
QUALITY ( operational obj )
• quality checks
• meeting standards
SPEED OF RESPONSE ( operational obj )
• time costs loyalty
• decrease waiting time
ENVIRONMENT ( operational objectives )
• reduce pollution
• recycling , adds targets
DEPENDABILITY ( operational objectives )
• can provide when customer demand is high
capacity utilisation
% of business capacity thats actually bring used
calculations for capacity utilisation
actual output / maximum output
all times 100
benefits and negatives of working at a high capacity
✅lower unit costs
❌cant meet surges in demand
❌rushed production
❌strain on resources
name 4 ways to improve capacity utilisation
- reduce total produced, relocate or redundant
- inc usage, discounts etc
- outsourcing
- redeployment, branch when needed
whats the difference between capital intensive and labour intensive
capital intensive focuses on having mass production and lots of machinery, however labour intensive focuses on specialised, personalised skills
whats the ideal level of capacity utilisation
90%
define productivity
output per worker, measures production of each worker over time
how do i calculate productivity
total output/ no. employees
4 ways to increase productivity
- specialisation
- motivation
- more capital intensive
- training
one disadvantage of increasing productivity
could lead to…
- stress
- decreased quality
- bad reputation
define economies of scale
reducing production costs, therefore output increases
this leads to selling more
how to calculate efficiency
total costs
total output
4 ways to improve efficiency
- reward systems
- outsourcing
- relocating
- new technology
- training
- lean production
define lean production
where a business uses as few as resources as possible
such as:
staff, suppliers, storage ?
define just in time (JIT) production
producing the exact amount of product at the exact time a customer needs it
relies on communication
define kaizen production
the workers of the business focus on creating small adaptations that will drive the business forward
the workers take ownership for their work
less capital investment
disadvantages of using lean production
over reliant on suppliers
resistance from employees if they dont agree
pressure on workforce
whats the goal of lean production
to minimise waste
define quality
quality is when a product or service meets standards set by customers
advantages of a product having good quality
- can charge premium prices
- strengthens brand
- competitive average
disadvantages of a product not having good quality
- product recall expensive
- damage brand reputation
- sued
difference between quality control and quality assurance
qc focusses on checking a product at the end of the production process.
qa is where a product is checked thoroughly during each stage of the production process
1 advantage
3 disadvantages
quality control
✅ Only some employees need to be trained as inspectors to look for faults
❌ too late to correct
❌products destroyed if wrong
❌wastes funds
3 advantages
2 disadvantages
quality assurance
✅errors spotted early
✅encourages re purchase and loyalty
✅not paying for inspectors
❌time consuming
❌cost to train staff
whats innovation
process of creating new ideas for business
difference between product and process innovation
product innovation refers to creation of a good or service that is new to the market.
process innovation implements a new or improved production or delievery method
name the types of objectives within operational
costs, quality, speed of response, flexibility, dependability and environmental objectives
3 advantages of just in time production
eliminates waste
reduced lead time
ability to respond to demand
disadvantages of JIT x3
reliant on suppliers
training costs
expensive to implement
disadvantages of JIT x3
reliant on suppliers
training costs
expensive to implement
3 important factors of changing supplier
price, payment terms, quality
