unit 4 - decision making to improve operational performance

Question 1

four functions of a business

Answer 1

-marketing
-finance
-operations
-human resources

Question 2

operations management

Answer 2

describes the activities, decisions and responsibilities of the managing productions and delivery of products and services

Question 3

labour intensive

Answer 3

is an operations process that involves a high proportion of labour in the productuction is used compared to capital equipment, for example hairdressing

Question 4

capital intensive

Answer 4

is a process that uses relatively high proportion of capital equipment relative to labour, for example a bottling process

Question 5

supply chain

Answer 5

the supply chain is the series of activities involved in taking the initial resources to proving the final product

Question 6

operations objective

Answer 6

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

Question 7

competitive advantage

Answer 7

a competitive advantage is a way in which a business offers superior value to its competitors

Question 8

total costs(formula)

Answer 8

total costs = fixed costs + variable costs

Question 9

unit costs(formula)

Answer 9

unit costs = total costs / output

Question 10

labour productivity (formula)

Answer 10

total output / number of employees

Question 11

unit costs

Answer 11

unit costs are the cost per unit, that is total cost / number of units

Question 12

capacity

Answer 12

is the maximum output of a business at a moment in time given its resources

Question 13

labour productivity

Answer 13

labour productivity is the amount of output per employee

Question 14

capacity utilisation

Answer 14

capacity utilisation measurse the existing output over a given period as a percentage of the maximum output

Question 15

efficiency

Answer 15

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

Question 16

lean production

Answer 16

lean production occurs when managers reduce waste and therefore operations become more efficient

Question 17

kaizen

Answer 17

an approach which emphasis the value of continuous improvement

Question 18

quality

Answer 18

quality is measured by the extent to which an operation meets its customer requirements. A quality goodd or service is ‘fit for purpose’

Question 19

quality assurance

Answer 19

quality assurance is the maintenance of target quality by attention to detail at every stage of the process

Question 20

quality control

Answer 20

quality control is a system of maintaining standards by testing or inspecting the output against standarsd

Question 21

mass customisation

Answer 21

mass customisation is the term for producing on a large scale while still enabling individual customer preferences to be met

Question 22

inventory

Answer 22

a company’s inventory is the good or stock it holds

Question 23

vertical integration

Answer 23

vertical integration is the combination of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate companies

Question 24

corporate social responsibility

Answer 24

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

Question 25

outsourcing

Answer 25

outsourcing is when business uses an outside supplier