Business Studies: Operations

Front 1

Define quality.

Back 1

A product that comforts to what the customer expects.

Front 2

What can quality do if the products are manufactured without mistakes?

Back 2

Reduce costs, as the cost of fixing the problem is not incurred.

Front 3

What does quality impact on?

Back 3

Dependability.

Front 4

Define speed.

Back 4

Refers to the time difference between a customer's request for a good/service and when it is actually received.

Front 5

Give an example as to why speed can often be an important consideration when customers choose between competing products.

Back 5

E.g. A customer needs a hip replacement, so therefore chooses the private hospital over the public hospital as the waiting period is shorter.

Front 6

Why can speed impact on the cost structure of a business?

Back 6

Immediate supply requires inventory, which increases expenses.

Front 7

Define dependability.

Back 7

Means consistently good in quality or performance.

Front 8

Does a lack of dependability drive customers away? Give an example.

Back 8

Yes E.g. Public transport not arriving on time, or late parcel deliveries.

Front 9

What is the positive of dependability?

Back 9

Businesses gain a reputation over time for consistently good quality or performance.

Front 10

What can happen if the dependability of a business has at least one mistake?

Back 10

This can impact on the reputation of a business.

Front 11

Define flexibility. Give an example.

Back 11

The ability to change things like the product/service the business offers E.g. The mix of products, the volume of products manufactured and the speed at which they are delivered.

Front 12

Why is flexibility important?

Back 12

Businesses operate in a dynamic environment.

Front 13

Define customisation and give an example.

Back 13

The ability to modify a standard product to meet individual needs of the customer E.g. Dell's 'build one to order' campaign.

Front 14

What is customisation a compromise between?

Back 14

The cost advantages of volume production and more effectively meeting customer needs by providing variety.

Front 15

All businesses strive for lower ... because this is one important way to be more competitive. Fill in the gap.

Back 15

Costs.

Front 16

What is the focus of low-costs?

Back 16

Productivity.

Front 17

What is the goal of cost?

Back 17

To get greater outputs with the same amount of inputs.

Front 18

Give three examples of ways to improve productivity.

Back 18

1. Training (giving employees the skills needed to do their work more effectively)

2. Using lower cost inputs (locating in China etc.)

3. Eliminating waste (improve quality = less waste due to work not having to be redone)

Front 19

What happens if a business fails to constantly improve the product/service in a competitive market?

Back 19

It will almost invariably lead to a loss of customers as competing businesses improve their product.

Front 20

Name and define the six stages of developing a new product/service.

Back 20

1. Generating ideas: Can come from a variety of sources E.g. Changes in technology, research and development, market research, customer suggestions, actions of competitors.

2. Concept development: Brainstorming.

3. Concept screening: Evaluating the concept and deciding which are worth developing and which should be dumped.

4. Preliminary design: The first attempt at setting out the specific product components and setting out the processes that will make the product.

5. Design evaluation and improvement: Evaluating the preliminary design and trying to improve it before it is tested in the market place.

6. Prototyping and final design: Testing the improved design in the market place before taking the risk of full scale production.

Front 21

Define supply chain management.

Back 21

Those activities that procure materials and services, transform them into products/services and deliver them to customers.

Front 22

What are logistics concerned with?

Back 22

All the businesses activities that acquire the materials, moving and storing them.

Front 23

Name the four distributing systems.

Back 23

1. Trucking

2. Rail-road

3. Shipping

4. Airfreight

Front 24

How can logistics be a source of competitive advantage?

Back 24

If the business can do their logistics more cheaply than their competitors.

Front 25

Define e-commerce.

Back 25

Refers to the use of the internet for all aspects of commercial transactions.

Front 26

Define e-procurement.

Back 26

Refers to electronic methods, primarily through the internet, used in the purchasing process.

Front 27

Define global sourcing and give reason for businesses adopting it.

Back 27

Where products are acquired outside the home country, as it reduces costs, due to sourcing from low-wage countries.

Front 28

Name four advantages of outsourcing.

Back 28

1. Reduce costs

2. Access to experience

3. Provide greater flexibility

4. Access to the best technology

Front 29

Name five disadvantages of outsourcing.

Back 29

1. Increased transportation costs

2. Loss of control in manufacturing

3. Danger in future competition

4. Human resource problems

5. Language problems can be significant

Front 30

Name and define the two types of technology.

Back 30

1. Leading edge: The foremost position, the very best and latest way of doing things.

2. Established: The way something has been done for some time.