unit 4 - decision making to improve operational performance Flashcards
four functions of a business
-marketing
-finance
-operations
-human resources
operations management
describes the activities, decisions and responsibilities of the managing productions and delivery of products and services
labour intensive
is an operations process that involves a high proportion of labour in the productuction is used compared to capital equipment, for example hairdressing
capital intensive
is a process that uses relatively high proportion of capital equipment relative to labour, for example a bottling process
supply chain
the supply chain is the series of activities involved in taking the initial resources to proving the final product
operations objective
an operations objective is a target set for the operations function to improve such as improve the proportion of deliveries on time by 5 %within two years. all objectives should be SMARTER
competitive advantage
a competitive advantage is a way in which a business offers superior value to its competitors
total costs(formula)
total costs = fixed costs + variable costs
unit costs(formula)
unit costs = total costs / output
labour productivity (formula)
total output / number of employees
unit costs
unit costs are the cost per unit, that is total cost / number of units
capacity
is the maximum output of a business at a moment in time given its resources
labour productivity
labour productivity is the amount of output per employee
capacity utilisation
capacity utilisation measurse the existing output over a given period as a percentage of the maximum output
efficiency
efficiency is measured by the inputs to generate output. If a process becomes more efficient it used few inputs to produce a given output and the unit cost decreases
lean production
lean production occurs when managers reduce waste and therefore operations become more efficient
kaizen
an approach which emphasis the value of continuous improvement
quality
quality is measured by the extent to which an operation meets its customer requirements. A quality goodd or service is ‘fit for purpose’
quality assurance
quality assurance is the maintenance of target quality by attention to detail at every stage of the process
quality control
quality control is a system of maintaining standards by testing or inspecting the output against standarsd
mass customisation
mass customisation is the term for producing on a large scale while still enabling individual customer preferences to be met
inventory
a company’s inventory is the good or stock it holds
vertical integration
vertical integration is the combination of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate companies
corporate social responsibility
corporate social responsibility refers to the extent to which a business takes into account its stakeholder views and accepts its obligations to society over and above the legal requirements
