Business Studies: Operations

Front 1

Name the three transformed resources and what they are.

Back 1

1. Customers: Change by physical appearance (haircut) or change their location (bus, train, plane, taxi).

2. Information: Transform information by storing, changing the location, or changing the properties of the information.

3. Materials: Changing the physical properties of the material inputs.

Front 2

Define transforming resources.

Back 2

Do the transforming rather than being transformed.

Front 3

Name two transforming resources.

Back 3

1. Human resources: People in the business (sometimes concerned with the maintenance of the facilities rather than with transforming inputs).

2. Facilities: The building and the machinery.

Front 4

Name the four V's.

Back 4

1. Volume

2. Variety

3. Variation

4. Visibility (customer contact)

Front 5

What is volume most effective for?

Back 5

Ensuring low costs due to large amounts of the same thing.

Front 6

What are the results of volume?

Back 6

1. The tasks people do in the business are repeated.

2. Employees become competent in carrying out the tasks.

3. Standard procedures have been developed for every tasks so the particular task is carried out in the most effective way.

4. Highly specialised equipment has been developed.

5. The high cost of specialised equipment is spread with the outputs, so the greater the volume, the lower the cost of each unit.

Front 7

Sometimes customers want ... or ... rather than the lowest cost. Fill in the gaps.

Back 7

Variety and flexibility.

Front 8

Is the cost of providing variation considerably greater than a standardised service/product?

Back 8

Yes.

Front 9

Define variation and give an example.

Back 9

Refers to the variation in customer demand E.g. Thredbo (ski resort) has high capacity in winter, but in summer there numbers are very low, giving discounts on accommodation.

Front 10

What does visibility (customer contact) relate to? Give an example.

Back 10

It relates to customer contact when dealing with operations E.g. Athletes Foot, the employee measures the customers foot and helps find the perfect shoe, maximising the customer-employee interaction.

Front 11

Define sequencing.

Back 11

The planning activities that decides on the order in which the work is to be performed.

Front 12

What is the most common way of sequencing?

Back 12

Based on due dates.

Front 13

Define scheduling.

Back 13

The term used to indicate a detailed timeline of what work is to be done, when and where.

Front 14

What is forward scheduling?

Back 14

Where the work is scheduled to start as soon as it is received.

Front 15

What is backward scheduling?

Back 15

The job starts just in time to meet the delivery time.

Front 16

What is a Gantt Chart?

Back 16

The most common method of scheduling which represents an activity as a bar on a chart, clearly showing the start and finish times for an activity.

Front 17

What is the Gantt Chart's greatest strength?

Back 17

It effectively communicates the progress of activities to employees.

Front 18

What is the critical path analysis?

Back 18

The longest sequence of activities through a project network.

Front 19

Define a network.

Back 19

A group or system of interconnected people or things.

Front 20

What is the process technology in operations?

Back 20

The machines and equipment that actually create or deliver the product.

Front 21

What is the process technology that has the largest effect on the transformation process?

Back 21

Computerisation.

Front 22

Give an example of computerisation.

Back 22

Robotics (the design and construction of machines that automate a task).

Front 23

Define task design.

Back 23

The way the overall transformation process is broken down into manageable activities (the most efficient and effective transformation process).

Front 24

What will the designer in task design need to consider?

Back 24

1. Way of ensuring error-free processing.

2. Minimum time for the transformation to take place at the lowest cost and with as much flexibility to respond to changes in demand ad possible.

Front 25

What is the process layout and what does it determine?

Back 25

It is the physical location of the transforming resources, and it determines the way the transformed resources flow through the operation.

Front 26

Why is monitoring needed?

Back 26

Every part of the operations function needs to be formally monitored to make sure the planned activities are actually happening in the way they were planned.

Front 27

Define control. What is it concerned with?

Back 27

It is the process of comparing actual outputs with what was planned. It is concerned with making adjustments when things go wrong.

Front 28

What is continuous improvement?

Back 28

The continuous search for small incremental steps that improve the operations function.

Front 29

What are two strategies to improve the overall operations function?

Back 29

1. Total quality management (TQM): An approach that puts improvement, particularly improving quality, at the core of every activity in the business.

2. Just-in-time (JIT) or lean: Designed to meet the customer's requirements immediately with a quality product and no waste. It is cost effective because there are no storage costs.

Front 30

Define customer service.

Back 30

Refers to the customer and product/service provider interactions, which can often be the reason a customer chooses one product rather than its competitors.

Front 31

What is customer service concerned with?

Back 31

1. Resolving problems the customer is experiencing.

2. Answering customers questions effectively.

3. Making the interactions between customer and service provider pleasant.

Front 32

Define customer relationship management.

Back 32

Understanding customer needs and wants and working out ways to meet those needs.

Front 33

Give two examples of conducting customer service well.

Back 33

1. Existing customers will be retained and the business will gain new customers.

2. Positive word-of-mouth promotion and creating customer loyalty.

Front 34

Define a warranty.

Back 34

A contractual agreement between the manufacture of the product and the customer.

Front 35

What do warranties give a customer a sense of?

Back 35

A sense of assurance that the product will perform satisfactorily throughout its expected life.

Front 36

Define an implied warranty.

Back 36

An unwritten promise that is created by common law where the customer has to get 'fair value' for their purchase.