5.2 Production and 5.3 Factors of Production

What is job production?

The completion of products one a time

What is an advantage of job production?

The product is high quality due to high skilled labour and materials used.

What is a disadvantage of job production?

It is usually very time consuming compared to other production types

What is batch production?

The completion of products one stage of operation at a time

What is an advantage of batch production?

It provides higher economies of scale than job production because a larger scale of products are being produced faster

What is a disadvantage of batch production?

Lower worker motivation due to work being more repetitive than Job production.

What is flow production?

A large scale completion of products where each stage is completed continuously.

What is an advantage of flow production?

It produces a large scale of products efficiently.

What is a disadvantage of flow production?

There is less flexibility because once production begins, it is difficult to adjust the design of the product.

What is meant by the term labour-intensive?

When the production process uses more human labour than machinery

What is meant by the term capital-intensive?

When the production process uses more machinery than labour

What is meant by the term outsourcing?

When a business hires external providers to handle specific business tasks.

What is meant by the term productivity?

The efficiently inputs like labour or capital are at producing outputs

How is labour productivity calculated?

Total output/ number of workers

How is capital productivity calculated?

total output / capital employed

What is meant by the term lean production?

Methods that reduce waste in a business

What is just-in-time?

When stock arrives only when it is needed

What is an advantage of just-in-time?

Reduced inventory cost and space can be used for other purposes.

What is a disadvantage of just-in-time?

Just in time means businesses do not bulk buy therefore reducing their purchasing economies of scale

What is meant by the term stockpiling?

Accumulating large amounts of stock

What is Kaizen?

Small changes made by employees to improve the business

What is a disadvantage of Kaizen?

It is very time consuming and slow

What is a quality circle?

A group of employees who meet to discuss how the business can improve their quality and productivity.

What is an advantage of using robotics?

There are no issues to do with motivation or ‘human issues’

What is a disadvantage of using robotics?

High initial cost

What are the four factors of production

Land, labour, capital, enterprise