Business As-Level_3.4 Decision making to improve operational performance

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AS - Level AS-Level Business Studies Fichas sobre Business As-Level_3.4 Decision making to improve operational performance, creado por Hollie Ferris el 29/03/2016.
Hollie Ferris
Fichas por Hollie Ferris, actualizado hace más de 1 año
Hollie Ferris
Creado por Hollie Ferris hace más de 8 años
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3.4.1 Setting operational objectives Content; - The value of setting operational objectives - External and internal influences on operational objectives and decisions
Operational objectives Allow a business to concentrate on what they consider to be important to make them as efficient as possible or to give them a competitive advantage.
External Influences on operational objectives - Market factors; growing or declining - Competitors actions and performances - Economic factors - Political factors
Internal Influences on operational objectives - Corporate objectives - Finance - Human resources -The nature of the product/service
What could the operational objectives be? - Costs - Quality - Speed of response and flexibility - Dependability - Environmental objectives - Added value; USP
3.4.2 Analysing operational performance Content; - interpretation of operations data - Calculation of operations data - The use of data in operational decision making and planning -
How do you know if the business is efficient? By calculating Labour productivity, Unit costs and Capacity Utilisation.
Labour Productivity The volume of output that is obtain from each employee. Output per Period ------------------------------------ No. of employees in that period
What does Labour Intensive mean? When labour costs outweigh capital costs in a business
Unit Costs The cost of producing one unit of output Total costs (£) -------------------------------- Units of output
Capacity Utilization The percentage of a firm's total possible production level that is being reached Actual Output ------------------------------------------------- x 100 Capacity Output
What causes Spare Capacity? - New competitors - Fall in demand - Unsuccessful marketing - Seasonal demand - Over-investment in fixed assets - A merger or takeover leading to duplication of resources
Advantages of Spare Capacity - More time for maintenance and repair - Improvements can be made - Less pressure on employees - Can cope with sudden changes in demand especially in a fast moving industry
Disadvantages of Spare Capacity - Higher proportion of fixed cots per unit - Higher unit costs lead to lower profit, therefore lower sales volume - Negative image being successful - With less work employees become bored or demoralised
3.4.3 Making operational decisions to improve performance increase efficiency and productivity Content - The importance of capacity - The importance of efficiency and labour productivity - How to increase efficiency and labour productivity - The benefits and difficulties of lean production - Difficulties increasing efficiency and labour productivity - How to choose the optimal mix of resources - How to utilise capacity efficiently - How to use technology to improve operational efficiency
Importance of capacity Mangers need to decide on the correct scale of production for the organisation. Too low and they will not be able to meet their demand for their products; get it too high and they will waste money with idle resources.
Importance of Labour Productivity If a business has an increase in labour productivity then this means that the output will be increases but using the same amount of employees. This means a lower unit and labour cost. This then allows the firm to change a lower price to gain competitive advantage or get higher profit margins
How do you increase capacity and capacity utilisation - Invest in capital machinery - Invest in employees through training - Hire more employees - Change production practices to be more efficient
How to increase labour productivity - Recruiting suitably skilled and trained employees - Training to improve skills and attitudes of existing employees - Using appropriate remuneration and non-financial benefits to improve motivation - Improving working practices - Improved technology and capital and more modern equipment
Factors influencing resource mix - The type of operations process and the operations strategy - Relative price of the resources - Availability of resources - Nature of the product or process - Ethics
Factors influencing becoming more capital intensive - Raising finance - Changeover - Innovation
How to maintain or improve labour intensive business - Attracting the right employees/people - Keeping the right people - Managing people's knowledge
What types of technology could be used? - Robotics - Automation - Controlling - Stock control - Communication - Design
Advantages of using technology - Reducing costs - More efficient - Improving quality - Reduce waste - Increasing productivity - Other benefits - Financial monitoring - New and better products and services - Better working conditions
Disadvantages of using technology - Maintenance and upgrades can be expensive - Security issues - Loss of communication - Could be a distraction within the work environment
Aims of Lean Production - Zero delay - Zero stocks - Zero mistakes - Zero waiting - Zero accidents
Techniques in Lean production - Time-based management - Cell production - Just-In-Time production - Benchmarking - QUALITY - Kaizen - QUALITY
Time- based management If a business is able to produce a product in a shorter time than rivals then more sales could results. For example Domino's aims to deliver pizza within 30 minutes
Cell production Organising production around teams instead of a production line. The production lien is divided into a series of different stages which are undertaken by teams or 'Cells'
Advantages of Cell production - Motivating; have more control over their work - Share skills and experience within cells - Influences quality; responsible for their cells work
Disadvantages of Cell Production - Output may be lower than a 'flow' production system - Different cells might produce work at different speeds. Can lead to tension. - The business may have to invest heavily in new machinery and equipment as each cell may require the same capital items.
Just-In-Time Production Producing products to order, which involves reducing the stock holding of a business to make it more efficient. Reducing stock means significant reduces in unit costs.
Advantages of J.I.T - Reduced stock holding - Smaller warehouses - Less staff needed to manage and control stock - Improved relationships with suppliers - Less risk as stock will not perish or go out of date.
Disadvantages of J.I.T - Production line could stop completely leaving staff and machinery idle - Reliability of suppliers; Could be problems with quality or delivery of items - Reliability of raw materials; Could be problems with quality or availability - Reduced options for responding to customer demands
3.4.4 Making operational decisions to improve performance; improving quality Content; - The importance of quality - Methods of improving quality - The advantages and disadvantages of improving quality - The consequences of poor quality
Quality A measure of excellence which is free from defects or significant variations. A product or service whose features consistently allow it to satisfy customers.
Intangible aspects of Quality Thing that are not physical, and are associated with another object For Example; Image and brand, Reputation, Exclusiveness
Tangible aspects of Quality The physical elements of quality For example; Appearance, Reliability, Durability, Functions, Repair and Maintenance
Quality control A system that uses inspections to check the quality of work at stages of the manufacturing process.
Pros of Quality control - Stop faulty goods from reaching customers - Spot common problems
Cons of Quality control - Doesn't encourage team responsibility - Expensive to operate - Responsibility rests with inspectors - Reduce motivation
Quality Assurance A system that improves quality by arranging every process to get products right first time.
Pros of quality assurance - Workers take responsibility - Motivates Workforce - Reduces costs - Greater consistency of quality - Responsibility is spread throughout the workforce
Cons of quality assurance - Needs a change in the culture of the organisation - Can take time to embed the system - Increases costs in the short term
KAIZEN A policy of implementing small, incremental changes in order to achieve better quality and greater efficiency.
3..4.5 Making operational decisions to improve performance; managing inventory and supply chains. Content -ways and value of improving flexibility, speed of response and dependability - How to manage supply to match demand and value in doing so - Influences on the amount of inventory held - Influences on the choice of suppliers - How to manage the supply chain effectively and efficiently and the value of this - The value of outsourcing
What would you consider when choosing a supplier? - Cost - Payment terms - Quality - Capacity - Reliability - Frequency of supply - Flexibility
What might cause fluctuating sales levels? - Health/product publicity - Trends - Income levels - Reputation and Brand image - Marketing - Price elasticity - Competition - Weather - Legislation - Interest rates
Subcontracting/Outsourcing When a business asks another business to make all, or a part of its product.
Pros of Outsourcing - React to changes in demand quickly - Specialization can be brought in more efficiently than doing it themselves - Business can concentrate on their 'core business' - Easier to achieve non-standard orders as not disruption to product line
Cons of Outsourcing - No direst control over quality of the products; reliability problems - Too much can cause damage to operation base - Producers have to make a profit so profit margins may be effected - Parents and methods of production may have to be shared with subcontractor
What influences the amount stock that is being held? - Demand - Type of business - Nature of product - Price of final product - Cash flow - Available space to store stock - Flexibility of the supplier - Bulk purchasing - Production methods
What is a stock control chart? It shows lead times, re-order levels, buffer level, maximum stock level, re-order quantities
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