Operations

Question 1

What is operations management?

Answer 1

the planning, organising and coordination of activities involved in the production process

Question 2

what decisions does operations management include?

Answer 2

• where to produce
• what scale facilities are needed
• the production method
• where to get supplies form

Question 3

the difference in operations systems can be categorised using Slacks 4 v model. What is this?

Answer 3

volume
variety
variation in demand
visibility

Question 4

what are the 7 operational objectives

Answer 4

• volume targets
• quality targets
• environmental targets
• efficiency targets
• dependability targets
• flexibility targets
• ethical targets

Question 5

what are 7 ways of measuring the effectiveness of operations management

Answer 5

• productivity
• unit costs
• the number of defects
• the speed of production
• the flexibility of production
• the amount of waste generated
• the amount of energy used

Question 6

how does the marketing and operations function work closely together?

Answer 6

marketing tells them what customers want, what they are willing to pay and what needs producing by when

Question 7

How does the finance and marketing functions work closely together?

Answer 7

finance tells operations how much they can spend on machinery and supplies

Question 8

how does operations help HR?

Answer 8

They tell them what employees are needed with what skills

Question 9

What 2 things influence the operational objectives

Answer 9

the corporate objectives

the other functions of the business

Question 10

what 4 things will a business consider to become more efficient in production

Answer 10

• labour productivity
• the nature of the production process
• capacity utilisation
• lean approaches to production

Question 11

Describe the 3 types of economies of scale

Answer 11

purchasing - negotiating better deals with suppliers so they get cheaper resources
specialisation - as firms grow they can employ people to specialise in certain areas
technical - as firms expand they can get production techniques that reduces the cost

Question 12

what is capacity?

Answer 12

the maximum a firm can produce at any given time

Question 13

what is capacity utilisation?

Answer 13

the amount you are using compared to how much you can use

Question 14

what are diseconomies of scale?

Answer 14

when a firm expands and the cost per unit increases

Question 15

what are the 3 types of diseconomies of scale?

Answer 15

communication
coordination
motivation

Question 16

how do you calculate capacity utilisation?

Answer 16

present out put/ maximum output x100

Question 17

what does choosing the right resource mix depend on? (5 points)

Answer 17

• the price of resources
• the availability of resources
• the nature of the product
• the ethics
• the technology you have

Question 18

what is capital and labour intensive

Answer 18

having more machines/people on the production process

Question 19

What is a knowledge economy?

Answer 19

people in skilled jobs who add value to the products e.g architects, authors

Question 20

what is innovation?

Answer 20

turning an idea into a product or service

Question 21

what is the first stage of innovation?

Answer 21

research and development

Question 22

why is R&D risky

Answer 22

time consuming and expensive yet rare to be successful so a waste of money

Question 23

How can you protect innovative ideas?

Answer 23

patents - last 20 years
copyright
trademark

Question 24

what is an innovative business culture?

Answer 24

encourage workers to try new ideas and rewarding them even if they fail

Question 25

advantages of innovation

Answer 25

- USPO - can charge a higher price - market leader - more demand

Question 26

disadvantages of innovation

Answer 26

- expensive - long term - risky as low success rate - you need skilled workers

Question 27

what are the benefits of being in the best location?

Answer 27

- lower costs - close to customers and suppliers - overcoming trade barriers - it may add to the brand image

Question 28

factors affecting location decisions

Answer 28

- the cost - close to suppliers - close to customers - close to raw materials - good brand image - ethical issues - quality of life - political stability - infrastructure - exchange rates - location of the market (competitors) - availability of government grants

Question 29

what 2 categories can the location decisions be put into?

Answer 29

qualitative and quantitative factors

Question 30

what is offshoring?

Answer 30

moving production overseas

Question 31

what is a multi site location?

Answer 31

operating in different locations e. g manufacturing in different areas or having multiple shops

Question 32

what are the 2 advantages of having multi site locations?

Answer 32

- closer to different customers | - spreading the risk

Question 33

what are the 2 disadvantages of having multi site locations?

Answer 33

- harder controlling it | - diseconomies of scale

Question 34

what is a multinational?

Answer 34

- locating in more than one country

Question 35

the 6 advantages of being a multinational?

Answer 35

- lower costs overseas - less regulation - cheaper labour - more raw materials - closer to overseas customers - overcome exchange rate problems

Question 36

what is lean production?

Answer 36

it aims to reduce all waste from the production process e.g labour time and resources

Question 37

what country was lean production developed in

Answer 37

Japan

Question 38

what are the 6 techniques involved in lean production?

Answer 38

- kaizen - benchmarking - cell production - critical path analysis - just in time - time based management

Question 39

what is time based management?

Answer 39

it is about producing more quickly so the product is the first on the market and beats the competition

Question 40

What is simultaneous engineering in time based management

Answer 40

all the engineers and designers work on a project at the same time, instead of it being passed down a production line

Question 41

what is kaizen?

Answer 41

employees constantly have to try and improve everything they do

Question 42

what is benchmarking?

Answer 42

when one business measures its performance against another so that you can learn from them

Question 43

what is cell production?

Answer 43

organising production around teams. Each team is given the responsibility for a stage in the process.

Question 44

what is just in time production?

Answer 44

firms produce products to order, they don't hold lots of stock. Components are only bought when needed.

Question 45

What does JIT productin depend on?

Answer 45

- the relationship with suppliers - reliable employees - a flexible workforce so production can respond to demand

Question 46

4 Benefits of JIT

Answer 46

- reduces costs as you don't have to store stock - you know you will sell all your stock - it doesn't break or expire while in stock - more flexible so can change quickly

Question 47

4 Disadvantages of JIT

Answer 47

- suppliers could let you down - natural disasters could affect suppliers getting to you on time - industrial action by employees stops all production and they have no products to sell - parts are ordered much more frequently so economies of scale are lost

Question 48

REMEMBER TO LOOK UP CRITICAL PATH ANALYSIS

Answer 48

NOW!