Operations Management Flashcards
1
Q
What are the different business functions/departments?
A
- Marketing
- Production/Operations (inc logistics)
- Accounting and finance
- Human Resources
- Customer service (inc sales)
2
Q
What is the main role of marketing function?
A
- Showcasing company in a positive light
- Why customers should purchase
- Drawing in target audience
(Promotion and Research)
3
Q
What is the main role of production/operations function?
A
Planning, organising and directing all of the activities in an organisation which helps convert raw materials into valuable goods and services
4
Q
What is the main role of accounting function?
A
To perform financial functions (recording and analysing) which monitor spending, sales and other financial relations
5
Q
What is the HR function responsible for?
A
- Hiring/firing
- Training workers
- Maintaining interoffice relationships
- Dealing with employment laws
6
Q
What is the main role of the customer service function?
A
Taking care of the customers needs by providing and delivering a professional and helpful service
7
Q
What are logistics?
A
Involves getting the people and resources for something to be able to take place
8
Q
What are the factors which indicate business size?
A
- No. of employees
- Amount of capital invested
- Sales turnover
- Share value
- Market share
- Assets
- Brand name and history
9
Q
What advantages might arise from being a large business?
A
- More revenue/profits
- Economies of scale
- More opportunities for investment/growth
- More established - greater access to funding
10
Q
How do businesses increase their size and become more successful?
A
- Continuously seek to improve
- Become efficient and productive
- Respond to market changes
- Provide a good service
11
Q
How might a small business compete with a larger one?
A
- Develop good customer service and relationships
- Focus on a particular market (niche)
- Be more flexible to customer needs
12
Q
What are the main criticisms of the UK being in the EU?
A
- More competition for businesses
- Free movement of people causes social issues
- Pay a membership fee
- Fund EU foreign aid
13
Q
What are the reasons for being an EU member?
A
- Access to single market
- Free movement of people, more employees
- More opportunities
- No conflict between nations
14
Q
What are some of the common problems UK firms face when trading internationally?
A
- Difficulty finding/understanding overseas customers
- Costly
- Fluctuating exchange rates
- Cultural issues (Ikea,India)
15
Q
What assistance does the government give to UK business trading internationally?
A
- Finds customers and markets overseas
- Helps to promote via the internet
- Sets them up with contacts
- Provides export insurance (reclaiming losses)
16
Q
What are multinationals?
A
Businesses which have activities and operations in more than one country
17
Q
What benefits might multinationals bring to a country and its economy?
A
- Creates more jobs
- Improves standard of living
- MNCs work with charities
18
Q
What limitations might multinationals bring to a country and its economy?
A
- Tax avoidance
- Exploitation
- Threat to local business
- Risk of monopoly
- Environmental threat
19
Q
What are the effects of globalisation on a business?
A
- Increased competiton
- Hypercompetitive
20
Q
What is hypercompetition?
A
The disruption of existing markets by flexible and fast moving business into new markets
21
Q
What is a joint venture?
A
When 2 or more business pool their resources and expertise to achieve a particular goal. The risks and rewards of the enterprise are also shared
22
Q
Why might a business form a joint venture?
A
- Business expansion
- Development of new products
- Moving into new markets
23
Q
What possible problems are there with joint ventures?
A
- No better off then if done independently
- Could lead to legal issues post venture
- Difficult to properly co-ordinate
24
Q
What is a strategic alliance?
A
An arrangement between two companies that have decided to share resources to undertake a specific and mutually beneficial project. A strategic alliance is less involved and less permanent than a joint venture
25
What do the production department (function) do?
- Manufacture the product
- Buy raw materials
- Monitor quality
- Packaging
- Storage
- Shipping
- Monitors productivity of staff
26
What are the benefits of using technology in production?
- Technology makes less mistakes
- Faster and better quality output
- Less costly in long term
27
What might the limitations be of using technology in production?
- Boring
- Redundancy of workers
- Health and safety issues
- Expensive to buy and repair
28
What are the objectives of production/operations?
- Increase output
- Cut costs to help break even and increase profit margins
- Improve quality
29
What factors need to be considered when setting objectives in production/operations?
- Size and type of business
- Other (possibly conflicting) objectives
- Current economy
- Performance of competition
- Laws and legislation
30
What is adding value?
An improvement to something that makes it worth more
31
How might a business add value to a product?
- Improve quality
- Greater speed of service
- Branding
- USP
- Better design
- More convenience
32
What is added value?
The increased worth a business creates for a product
33
How is added value calculated?
The difference between how much it costs for a business to produce a product and how much the product is then sold for is the added value
34
What are the benefits of using technology in business?
- More skilled labour force
- Increased output/production
- More sales and profits
- Cost effective in the long term
- Better quality
35
What are the 3 main types of production?
Job
Batch
Flow/Mass
36
What is job production?
Making a unique and specific product the a customer order
37
What is batch production?
Making a specific quantity of a product, products might slightly differentiate.
38
What is mass/flow production?
Making very large quantities of the same product on one machine
39
What are some advantages of job production?
- Motivates staff, less repetitive
- Better quality
- Meets customer needs
40
What are some disadvantages of job production?
- More costly
| - Labour costs also increase because of skill required
41
What are some advantages of batch production?
- Lower labour costs
- Production is faster
- Economies of scale
42
What are some disadvantages of batch production?
- Less interesting for staff
| - One stage of production has to be completed before next can begin, losing time
43
What are some advantages of flow production?
- Continuous, fast production
- Large amounts can be made
- Automation helps to cut costs
44
What are some disadvantages of flow production?
- Expensive to set up
- Increased costs and storage due to large amounts of stock needed
- Boring for staff
45
What is meant by specialisation?
Where a firm focuses on the production of a specific and small range of products (car manufacturing)
46
What is meant by division of labour?
The main process of production is split into many simple parts and each part is taken by different workers who are specialised in the production of that particular part
47
What are the advantages of specialisation/division of labour?
- Improved quality from specialist knowledge
- Higher customer satisfaction
- More motivated/productive workers
- Charge higher prices
48
What are the disadvantages of specialisation/division of labour?
- Boredom from repetitive tasks
- High labour costs for high skill level
- Business becomes increasingly dependent on staff (strike)
- Harder to recruit specialised staff
49
What is cell production?
When the flow production line is split up into units; each team or 'cell' is responsible for a significant part
50
How does cell production provide a means for job rotation?
Team members are skilled at a number of roles therefore they can swap
51
What is an advantage of cell production?
Job rotation, team working and increased worker commitment
52
What are 3 main methods of selling?
1. E-commerce
2. Face to face
3. Telesales
53
What is meant by customer service?
The methods used by a business to look after its current and future customers
54
How might a business provide good customer service?
1. Welcoming, friendly staff
2. Good presentation of products
3. Help customers out with knowledge
55
What are 3 benefits a business might receive from giving good customer service?
1. Better reputation, more customers
2. Helps boost revenue and profits
3. Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty
56
What might the problems be with customer service in businesses?
1. Costs more to train staff
2. Creates a need for more staff
3. Gives customers a sense of entitlement beyond what is reasonable
57
Why might good customer service improve stakeholder relationships?
- More motivated staff
- Better relationship with supplier
- Better dividends
- Builds a good relationship with the community
58
What are the key areas a project manager would need to consider when planning a project?
- Feasibility
- Project plan + timescale
- Finance
- Resources
- Risk assessments
- Contingency planning
59
What might the risks be of a project?
- Poor leadership
- Poor planning
- Failing to manage change
- Lack of resources
- Poor communication within project
60
What might influence task priority within a project?
- Customer requests
- Resources only being available at certain times
- One job being critical to another
61
How might a project manager decide how to complete the project in the most efficient way?
Critical path analysis
62
What are the advantages of using critical path analysis?
- Reduces risk
- Encourages careful assessment of the project requirements
- Helps to identify tasks which have some flexibility
63
What are the disadvantages of using critical path analysis?
- Less reliable, estimate based
- Does not guarantee the success of a project
- Resources may not be as flexible as management think
64
How do you calculate the estimated duration of a project?
(Optimistic Time)+(4 x Likely Time)+(Pessimistic Time)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
65
What does PERT stand for?
Program evaluation review technique
66
What things can productivity be measured according to?
- Wages to Revenue
- Output per employee
- Output per machine
67
How can a business improve their productivity?
- Monitor staff
- Invest in technology
- Invest in training
- Motivation techniques
- Division of Labour
68
What is the importance of productivity for a business?
- Creates a drop in costs per product
- Faster production
- Better quality
- More revenue
- Competitive
69
What is the theory of economies of scale?
The more you buy, the cheaper each item is to sell/produce
70
What are the 2 types of costs?
Fixed and Variable
71
What are the 6 types of internal economies of scale?
1. Purchasing
2. Production/Technology
3. Marketing
4. Financial
5. Risk bearing
72
What is purchasing economies of scale?
Getting a discount for buying in bulk
73
What is production/technology economies of scale?
Spreading the cost of production over more output
74
What is marketing economies of scale?
Promoting the brand name
75
What is managerial economies of scale?
Employing the best specialist managers and staff members
76
What is financial economies of scale?
Borrowing at cheaper rates of interest
77
What is risk bearing economies of scale?
Spreading the risk over a range of products
78
What are the advantages of economies of scale?
- Allows a better profit margin per product
- Prices can be reduced, increasing demand and becoming more competitive
- Means business is more efficient
79
What is meant by diseconomies of scale?
When a business gets TOO BIG, average costs start to rise
80
What are the characteristics of diseconomies of scale?
- Poor staff morale
- Staff working poorly in a big team
- Communication problems
- Lack of co-operation between departments
- Office politics
- Impersonal relationships with customers
81
What are external economies of scale?
When the average costs all for the industry and not just the individual business
82
What are 2 examples of external economies of scale?
- Government grants
| - Better transport links saving time and money
83
What is the break even point?
The amount of products that a business needs to sell in order to cover/balance out total costs
84
What is meant by quality control?
Checking the quality once the product has been made
85
What is meant by quality assurance?
Putting systems in place in advance to guarantee the quality whilst the product is being made
86
Why is quality important to a business?
- Increases customer satisfaction
- Improves reputation
- Less complaints=less hassle
- Competitive advantage
- Result in increased revenue/profits/market share
- Add value to the product
87
What problems might there be for businesses with quality systems?
- Staff training costs
- Slows down production
- Considered excessive and unnecessary
88
What are 3 examples of quality systems?
- Just in Time
- Total Quality Management
- Kanban
89
What is just in time? (JIT)
Keeping stock to a minimum, and the raw materials are ordered only when they are needed
90
What are the benefits of JIT?
- More time and cost efficient
- Helps with budgeting and improves cash flow
- Less wastage
- Reduces storage costs
91
What are the problems with JIT?
- If deliveries are late, this could disrupt business and they could be understocked
- More pressure for the business
- Lack of flexibility
- No economies of scale
- Unable to meet increased demand
92
What is lean production?
Eliminating waste and therefore using less labour, materials, space and time; thus costs are reduced
93
What is total quality management?
When everybody is involved in checking the quality where they work, the product will only move down the line if it passes quality checks
94
What are the benefits for TQM?
- Produces better quality products which will boost customer loyalty and satisfaction
- Higher revenue and profits
- Long term cost reduction
- Decrease in waste
95
What are the problems for TQM?
- Cost benefits may not be seen for several years
- Boring and demotivating for staff
- Slows down production
- Training cost
- Makes product more expensive which is passed on to the customer
96
What is continuous improvement?
Staff attend a review meeting where they look at output mistakes and put in place measures to improve it
97
What is capacity utilisation?
The use that a business makes of its resources, the % of the capacity used
98
What is the formula for capacity utilisation? (%)
Actual output
---------------------- x 100
Potential output
99
What are the benefits of operating at a high capacity?
- Increase efficiency
- Increase workforce hours
- Measures productivity
- More products, sales and profits
- Make use of economies of scales
100
What are the problems of operating at a high capacity?
- Less flexibility
- Added workload and stress
- Less opportunity to increase output without having to invest in an expansion
- Less time for quality control
- Demotivation/tired, ineffective staff
- If the supply doesn't meet demand, money is wasted
101
What is efficiency?
How well input (raw materials, labour, capital) can be changed into output (goods and services)
102
How is productivity measured?
No. of products
--------------------------------------
Av. number of employees
103
What are the ways to improve productivity?
- Motivation techniques
- Targets
- Better machinery
- Training
- Factory layout
- Work staff harder
104
How is wastage calculated?
Wastage
--------------- x 100. = Wastage Rate %
Output
105
What are the 3 external quality standards that a business should comply with?
1. British Standards
2. European Standards
3. International Standards
106
What are the benefits of complying with external standards?
- Better reputation
- Improves quality
- Helps with marketing
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Better systems within the business
107
What are the problems of complying with external standards?
- More costly
- Bigger need for staff training
- Less time efficient, less productive
- Costs may be passed on to the customer as higher prices
108
What is benchmarking in business?
Identifying who is the best company in the industry and they are used as a model for setting a standard
109
What is useful about benchmarking for businesses?
- Helps the business stay competitive
- Raises the standards of service which leads to improvements
- Improves quality
110
What do logistics do?
Logistics plans, implements and controls the effective flow and storage of goods between the point of origin and consumption
111
What is supply chain management/procurement?
Selecting suppliers who you can buy from, establishing the payment terms and negotiating the contracts and actual purchasing of goods
112
What are the factors that need to be considered in logistics?
```
Time - how quickly do you need stock?
Reliability of supply
Length of supply chain - how many distributors?
Costs - how expensive?
Customer service
```
113
What is transport design and modelling?
Improving and optimising transport operation to enhance the overall efficiency of a business.
114
What is outsourcing?
Hiring a third party to help complete production and operations
115
What is inventory management?
Managing the stock of goods that a business holds
116
What is subcontracting?
Paying someone else to do work for you, it is more temporary and short term than outsourcing
117
What is off shoring?
Taking operations and production overseas
118
What is reshoring?
Operations from overseas back to the UK
119
What are operational objectives?
The specific production target set by an organisation to ensure that its company goals are achieved
120
What are some examples of operational objectives?
- Cost/volume targets (unit costs)
- Quality targets (customer satisfaction)
- Efficiency targets (productivity, capacity utilisation)
- Environmental targets (use of energy/sustainable sources)
- Innovation
- Flexibility
121
What is work study?
A system of assessing methods of working to help achieve maximum output and efficiency
122
What changes can be made to help overcome problems in the workplace?
- Higher pay rates
- Job rotation
- Training opportunities
- Improve stock management - JIT
- Employ logistics staff who can make improvements to the business
123
What is ergonomics?
The process of designing/arranging workplaces and systems so that they fit the workers who use them
124
What benefit might a new layout/ergonomics bring to a business?
- Less accidents/safer workplace
- Less wasted time.. increased productivity
- More space
- More organised, encouraging productivity
- Easier for staff
125
What is waste management?
The activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste
126
What sort of waste might a business generate?
- Food waste
- CO2/Gas/fuel
- Energy waste
127
What is hazardous waste?
Waste that has substantial and potential threats to public health or the environment
128
How might a business benefit from effective waste management?
- Better reputation
| - Approval from younger demographic customers
129
Explain what is meant by operations management objectives
Specific production targets set by an organisation to ensure that its company goals are achieved
130
Explain the need for a business to have clear operations management objectives
- Sense of direction
- Motivational incentive
- Help achieve the overall goal of the business
- Establish standards
131
What is meant by innovation?
Introduction of a new idea, method of production, or new equipment; usually in hope of improving productivity and lowering costs
132
What is meant by research and development?
Investigative activities a business undertakes. This usually involves the investment of money to keep up with trends and technological change in an attempt to beat the competition within a market
133
Explain the reasons for innovation, research and development within a business
Innovation: cut costs (long term), increase productivity and efficiency
Research and Development: compete with rivals, USP, improve customer service
134
What are the 2 types of innovation?
Product and Process Innovation
135
What is meant by product innovation?
Introduction of a new and better product for sale in the market
136
What is meant by process innovation?
Introduction of a new production process that either improves productivity and lowers costs, or makes improvements to the current product
137
Explain the process/cycle of innovation, research and development
- Market research to assess the level of demand and current rends within a market
- Brainstorming - considering capital, staff and resources required
- Conducting a morphological study
138
What is a morphological study?
A method that generates a lot of ideas very quickly and therefore more cheaply
139
What are the advantages of innovation, research and development to a business?
- Competitive advantage
- Attract more customers
- Lead to an increase in profits, revenue and market share etc
140
What are the disadvantages of innovation, research and development to a business?
- Cost
- Risk
- Limited protection of new ideas
- Technology is always changing, pressure to keep up
141
What is 1 advantage and 1 disadvantage to the consumer of innovation in businesses?
+ : More choice and better services
| - : Constant change may annoy customers
142
What may happen to research and development in a recession in the economy?
Cutback in expenditure that a business provides
