Business 4 Flashcards
(47 cards)
Define production
Total numebr of products produced over a period of time
Define productivity
A measure of efficiency-units of outputs are compared to units of input. The measure that most often used is labour productivuty
How to increase efficiency
Increasing productivity by automation and technology
Improved labour skills
Benefits of increasing efficiency
Reduce costs
Raise competitiveness
Lower costs per unit
Fewer workers may be needed
Higher wages
What are inventories
Inventories are raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods held as stock
Why businesses hold inventories
To ensure that there is always enough inventory to satisfy demand, inventory levels must be carefully controlled
Define lean production
A philosophy that reduces the amount of a business key resources with in production
How to achieve lean production
Just-in-time inventory control
Kaizen
Define the kaizen method
Small changes to production process on a continual basis rather than large one-off changes that take time to introduce and implement
Define Just-in-time inventory control
Ordering or manufacturing the amount of stock that is required by customers. This reduces the need of hold a lot of stock
State the main methods of production
Job production
Batch production
Flow production
Define job production
When one-off or hand made items are produced, normally to meet the need of the customer specification
State the benefits and limitations of job production
B: High quality, highly skilled workers and customised products
L: Production is slow, labour costs are high
Define batch production
Production method where similar items are produced together. A whole batch moves through the different stages of production together
State the benefits and limitations of batch production
B: Workers can specialise
L: Requires careful coordination, money is tied up in stock and completed products need to be stored
Define flow production
When a item is mass produced using a production mine-large quantities of an item can be made
State the benefits and limitations of flow production
B: Benefied due EOS, rapid production and usually highly automated (capital intensive)
Define capital intensive
A business that uses a large amount of capital in its production process, rather than relying heavily on labor
How technology has changed production methods
Using computers in design and manufacturing
Define CAM
Computer-aided-manufacture. To allow consistent quality
Define CAD
Computer-aided-design. To help produce better designs for products
Impact on the changing production methods
Technology uses minimal labour costs
Quick production
Production of complex shapes and designs
Often long lead times
Define fixed costs
Costs that dont change with level of output
Define variable costs
Costs that change with level of output
