Theme 2.4 Resource Management Flashcards
(19 cards)
What are the different methods of production?
- flow
- job
- cell
- batch
Job production
One off or small number of set items produced
+ customised to customer wants
+ high quality
- production slow
- labour cost high
Batch production
Groups of the same product produced before moving on to a group of different products
+ workers can specialise (high motivation)
+ buying bulk saves cost
- takes time to switch from on batch to another
- costly -> different equipment for each batch
Flow production
Continuous manufacturing of standardised products
+ manufacture large quantities
+ fast production
- equipment can be expensive
- products aren’t unique & customised
Cell production
Multi - skilled teams responsible for particular part of production process
+ motivation high, employees work as a team
+ efficient workers share skills & expertise
- team efficiency may be reduced by weak workers
- higher training requirements
Factors that influence productivity
- employee motivation
- skills, education & staff training
- business organisation
- investment in equipment
What is efficiency
how effectively a business utilises its’s resource to produce goods/service
Factors that influence efficiency
- standardisation of production process -> training workers minimised
- relocation or downsizing -> lower rent/ land cost
- investment in equipment
- adoption of production techniques -> kaizen (continuous improvement)
-> just time in time
Capital intensive production
+ machines can run without breaks
+ low - cost, output is high
- Breakdowns - cost is high
- Doesn’t provide flexibility
Labour intensive production
+ flexible
+ workers can be creative
- training costs
- unreliable -> need several breaks
Under - utilisation of capacity
Not making most of resources, high unit costs
+ provides flexibility
+ respond to high demand
Over - utilisation of capacity
Exceeds ability of resources
- staff lot of pressure
- lack of flexibility
+ competitiveness
Ways of improving capacity utilisation
increase sales
+ more units need to be produced
- spend more on promotion
increase usage
+ encourage sales when demand is low
- prices need to be lowered
reduced capacity
+ sell fixed assets & reduce staff
- lack of flexibility if high demand
Buffer stock
Stock kept in case of shortage
+ stability in supply -> respond to demand
+ competitive advantage -> gain reputation of being reliable
- cost -> require shortage facilities
- opportunity cost -> ties up capital could be invested elsewhere
Just in time
Raw materials not stored onsite
+ stock holding cost minimised
+ unused storage space available
- administrative cost
- can’t respond to unexpected increase in demand (not flexible)
Quality control
Inspecting at the end of production process
+ specialists employed
+ inexpensive & simple
- rejection = waste of resources
- no focus on the cause of defects
Quality assurance
Inspecting quality throughout production
+ defects identified early = reworked rather than rejected
+ focus on solving defects increase in future quality
- staff training required, labour costs high
- reworking makes production longer
Quality circle
Group of workers meet regularly to solve quality problems
+ high motivation, involved in decision making
+ relevant solutions -> familiar with process
- management need trust in workers
- meeting = time consuming
Total quality management
Quality is business core & every worker is responsible for it
+ quality improves efficiency
+ kaizen
- workers must be committed -> continued training
- careful monitoring & control required
