Business Operations Flashcards

All 8 cards in this deck

What is the purpose of business operations?

To produce goods and/or to provide services for customers.

What is the difference between a good and a service?

A good is a physical, tangible product; a service is an intangible activity carried out for the customer.
e.g. a burger is a good, delivering it is a service.

What is job production?

Producing one unique item at a time, made to the customer's individual requirements.
e.g. a wedding cake.

What is batch production?

Producing a group of identical items together, with each batch finished before the next one starts.
e.g. a batch of white loaves, then a batch of brown.

What is flow production?

Producing large quantities of identical, standardised products continuously on a production line.
e.g. cars or bottled drinks.

What is the impact of using flow production on a business's productivity, costs and prices?

The line can be automated, so productivity rises and the unit cost of each item falls, allowing the business to charge competitive prices.

True or false? Flow production makes it easy for a business to produce different versions of its product for different customers.

False. Flow production is less flexible — a standardised product must be made, so it is hard to meet individual customer needs.

What four things must a business balance when introducing new technology into production?

Cost, productivity, quality and flexibility.