Unit 4 - Operational Management Flashcards
Operational management
Describes the activities, decisions and responsibilities of the managing production and delivery of products and services
Labour intensive
A … operation process means a relatively high proportion of labour is used compared to capital equipment, in the production process, for example hairdressing
Capital intensive
A … process uses a relatively high proportion of capital equipment relative to labour, for example a bottling process
Supply chain
Is the series of activities involved in taking the initial resources to providing the final product
Operational objective
Is a target set for the operations functions such as to improve the proportion of deliveries ok time by 5% within two years. Like all objectives these should be SMARTER
Competitive advantage
Is a superiority that a business possesses over its rivals that may allow it to achieve objectives, such as increased market share or profitability
Labour productivity
Measures the output per employee in a given time period
Efficiency
Measured how well inputs are used to generate output. If a process becomes more efficient it uses fewer inputs to produce a given output and the unit cost should fall
Capacity
Is the maximum output of a business at a moment in time given its resources
Capacity utilisation
Measures the existing output over a given period as a percentage of the maximum output
Labour productivity
Is the amount of output per employee, in a given time period
Efficiency
Measures how well inputs are used to generate output. If a process becomes more efficient it uses fewer inputs to produce a given output and the unit costs should fall
Lean production
Occurs when managers reduce waste and therefore operations become more efficient
Quality
Is measured by the extent to which an operation meets its customer requirements. A quality good or service is ‘fit for purpose’
Quality assurance
Is the maintenance of target quality by attention to detail at every stage of the process
Quality control
Is a system of maintaining standards by tests or inspecting the output against standards
Part time staff
Work less than a full working week for example 29 hours per week
Temporary staff
Work for a limited period of time, for example the summer only
Supply chain
Is the series of activities involved in taking the initial resources to providing the final product
Vertical integration
Occurs when one business joins together with another business at a different stage of the same production process
Outsourcing
Occurs when an organisation uses a separate business or businesses to complete part of its work - for example , a business may outsource cleaning its premises
