Operations

Question 1

breakeven point

Answer 1

the level at which a firm matches total costs and total revenues

Question 2

carbon footprint

Answer 2

the amount of carbon produced and entering the environment from operations processes

Question 3

carbon pricing

Answer 3

putting a price on carbon

Question 4

compliance costs

Answer 4

expenses associated with meeting the requirements of legal regulations i.e. abiding by all laws

Question 5

corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Answer 5

open and accountable business actions based on respect for people, society and the broader environment

Question 6

cost-based competition

Answer 6

derived from determining

breakeven point and then applying strategies to create cost advantages over competitors

Question 7

environmental sustainability

Answer 7

the idea that business operators should be shaped around practices that consume resources today without compromising access to those resources for future generations

Question 8

fiduciary

Answer 8

a person in a position of financial trust with respect to others’ money

Question 9

fixed costs

Answer 9

costs that do not change regardless of the level of business activity

Question 10

globalisation

Answer 10

the removal of barriers of trade, increasing integration and a high degree of transfer of capital, labour and resources between nations

Question 11

global web

Answer 11

the network of suppliers a business has chosen on the basis of lowest cost, lowest risk and maximum certainty in quality and timing of supplies

Question 12

innovation

Answer 12

when a business creates novel (new) products and in doing so leads the market

Question 13

offshore outsourcing

Answer 13

the use of overseas businesses as the outsourcing provider

Question 14

onshore outsourcing

Answer 14

the use of domestic businesses as the outsourcing provider

Question 15

outsourcing

Answer 15

the use of outside specialists to undertake one or more key business functions

Question 16

quality

Answer 16

how well designed, made and functional goods are, and the degree of competence with which services are organised and delivered

Question 17

reverse engineering

Answer 17

a process that involves taking an existing product, taking it apart and then producing an imitation version using different materials at a lower cost

Question 18

supply chain

Answer 18

the range of suppliers a business has and the nature of its relationship with those suppliers

Question 19

technology

Answer 19

the design, construction and/or application of innovative devices, methods and machinery upon operations processes

Question 20

variable costs

Answer 20

costs that vary in direct relationship to the level of business activity (level of production)