2.4 Resource Management

Question 1

What are the 4 Methods of production?

Answer 1

1)Job production
2)Batch production
3)Flow production
4)Cell production

Question 2

What is job production?

Answer 2

Producing one item at a time, bespoke to the customer.

Question 3

What are the three advantages of job production?

Answer 3

1)High quality product
2)Motivated and highly skilled workers
3)products can be sold at a high price

Question 4

What are the two disadvantages of job production?

Answer 4

1)Production is slow
2)Labour costs are high

Question 5

What is batch production?

Answer 5

Groups of the same product are produced, before moving on to a group of different products.

Question 6

What are the three advantages of batch production?

Answer 6

1)production can be changed to meet customer needs or fluctuations in demand
2)employees specialise so become good at their job
3)lower skilled workforce, require lower wages

Question 7

What are the three disadvantages of batch production?

Answer 7

1)small batches carry higher average unit costs.(EOS)
2)workers may be less motivated with repetitive work.
3)idle time between batches needs to be managed as this is wastage.

Question 8

What is flow production?

Answer 8

Continuous manufacturing of standardised products, usually on a production line.

Question 9

What are the three advantages of flow production?

Answer 9

1)Low unit costs due to economies of scale
2)Rapid production
3)Usually highly automated(improved quality)

Question 10

What are the three disadvantages of flow production?

Answer 10

1)low staff motivation due to repetitive tasks
2)Capital equipment can be expensive to purchase
3)Break downs can be costly as it interrupts the whole production line.

Question 11

What is cell production?

Answer 11

Workers being organised into multi-skilled teams, with each team responsible for a particular part of the production process.

Question 12

What are the two advantages of cell production?

Answer 12

1)more efficient than other methods as workers share their skills and expertise
2)motivation is usually high as employees work as a team

Question 13

What are the three disadvantages of cell production?

Answer 13

1)tension in the cell or between cells if work gets competitive.
2)teams efficiency may be reduced by weaker workers
3)huge investment in machinery for each cell.

Question 14

What is the formula for labour productivity?

Answer 14

Output/Number of workers

Question 15

What is the formula for capital productivity?

Answer 15

Output/Number of machines

Question 16

What are the four factors that influence productivity?

Answer 16

1)Employee motivation
2)Skills, education and training staff
3)Business organisation
4)Investment in capital equipment

Question 17

What is the formula for efficiency?

Answer 17

Total costs/Number of units

Question 18

What are the factors affecting efficiency?

Answer 18

1)relocation or downsizing
2)Investment in capital equipment
3)Outsourcing
4)adoption of lean production techniques(reduced waste)

Question 19

What is labour intensive production?

Answer 19

The use of physical labour in the production of goods.

Question 20

What is capital intensive production?

Answer 20

The use of machinery and technology in the production of goods or services.

Question 21

What are the three advantages of capital intensive production?

Answer 21

1)low cost production where output is high
2)machines are consistent and precise
3)machines can run without waste

Question 23

What are the three disadvantages of capital intensive production?

Answer 23

1)significant maintenance costs
2)Breakdowns can severely delay production
3)may not provide flexibility in production

Question 24

What are the three advantages of labour intensive production?

Answer 24

1)Low cost production where labour costs are low
2)provides opportunities for workers to be creative
3)workers are flexible

Question 25

What are the three disadvantages of labour intensive production?

Answer 25

1)Workers may be unreliable and need regular breaks 2)Incentives may be needed to motivate staff 3)training costs can be significant

Question 27

What is capacity utilisation?

Answer 27

The measure of the level to which a businesses assets are being used to produce output?

Question 28

What is the formula for calculating capacity utilisation?

Answer 28

Current output/Maximum possible output x 100

Question 29

What is under utilisation of capacity?

Answer 29

When firms are not maximising the use of their resources?

Question 30

What is over utilisation of capacity?

Answer 30

Overproduction of one good so may not have the flexibility to respond to new consumer preferences.

Question 31

What are the five ways of improving capacity utilisation?

Answer 31

1)Outsourcing 2)Increase usage 3)Increase sales 4)Redeployment 5)Reduce capacity

Question 32

What is lead time on a stock control diagram?

Answer 32

The length of time from the point of stock being ordered from supplier to it being delivered.

Question 33

What is buffer stock?

Answer 33

A quantity of goods/raw materials kept in case of stock shortages.

Question 34

What are the four advantages of holding buffer stocks?

Answer 34

1)Stability in supply 2)Price stabilisation 3)Raw materials security 4)Competitive advantage

Question 35

What are the three disadvantages of holding buffer stock?

Answer 35

1)Cost 2)Risk of obsolescence 3)Opportunity cost

Question 36

What is ‘just in time’ (JIT) stock management?

Answer 36

A process in which raw materials are not stored onsite.

Question 37

What are the four advantages of just in time stock management?

Answer 37

1)Stockholding costs minimised 2)relationships are developed with suppliers 3)Cash flow is improved 4)Unused storage space is available

Question 38

What are the five disadvantages of just in time stock control?

Answer 38

1)Bulk buying is generally not possible 2)ability to change to respond to unexpected changes in demand decreases 3)Unreliable suppliers 4)Administrative cost of ordering frequently increases

Question 39

What is perishable stock?

Answer 39

Stock that can deteriorate overtime and will need to be thrown away if so.(food and medicines)

Question 40

What is lean production?

Answer 40

The minimisation of resources used in production.

Question 41

What are the 4 methods of quality management?

Answer 41

1)Quality control 2)Quality assurance 3)Quality circles 4)Total quality management

Question 42

What is quality control?

Answer 42

Inspecting the quality at the end of the production process?

Question 43

What are the 2 advantages of quality control?

Answer 43

1)specialists are employed to check standards? 2)it is inexpensive and simple

Question 44

What are the 2 disadvantages of quality control?

Answer 44

1)The rejection of finished goods is a waste of resources 2)there is little focus on the cause of defects

Question 45

What is quality assurance?

Answer 45

Inspecting the quality of production throughout the production process?

Question 46

What are the advantages of quality assurance?

Answer 46

1)Issues are identified early so products may be reworked rather than rejected 2)the cause of defects is the focus so future quality issues may be prevented

Question 47

What are the two disadvantages of quality assurance?

Answer 47

1)Staff training and a skilled workforce is required so labour costs may increase 2)reworking may lengthen the production process

Question 48

What are quality circles?

Answer 48

Groups of workers meet regularly to solve quality problems identified in the production process.

Question 49

What are the 2 advantages of quality circles?

Answer 49

1)workers may be motivated as they are involved in decision making 2)relevant and focussed solutions are likely as workers are familiar with processes

Question 50

What are the 2 disadvantages of quality circles?

Answer 50

1)Management need to have trust in workers views and solutions 2)Meetings and structures must be organised regularly

Question 51

What is total quality management?

Answer 51

The organisation of the business with quality at its core and with every worker responsible for quality.

Question 52

What are the 2 advantages of total quality management?

Answer 52

1)quality in all aspects of the business improves efficiency 2)a culture of constant improvement exists within the business

Question 53

What are the 2 disadvantages of total quality management?

Answer 53

1)all workers must be committed and receive significant continued training 2)careful monitoring and control is required

Question 54

What is Kaizen?

Answer 54

A business taking continuous steps to improve reductive through the elimination of all types of waste in the production process.