4971703
Description
Flashcards by Hollie Ferris, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Hollie Ferris
over 8 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| 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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