ch5 operations management

operations management

getting the right goods/services in the right quantities at the right quality level in a cost-efficient manner

quantitative factors influencing location decisions: (4)

• cost of labour

• proximity to market/raw materials

• government incentives/limitations

• cost of land

qualitative factors influencing location decisions: (4)

• feasibility of e-commerce

• local knowledge

• political stability

• infrastructure (transportation/communication networks)

R&D

extensive research into new productions and development of prototypes

pros of R&D

• first movers advantage

• competitive edge

• growth opportunities

cons of R&D

• costly

• high failure rate

• budget concerns

product innovation

new creations or development of existing products

process innovation

a change in the way a product is manufactured or distributed

positioning innovation

reposition the perception of brand

paradigm innovation

changes nature of certain market

mass production

manufacturing of large numbers of identical products

job production

customizing individual product to meet specific requirements

batch production

producing limited number of identical product

flow production

continuous production of identical products

cellular manufacturing

poduction whereby sets of tasks are completed by teams

adaptive creativity

incremental innovation that adjusts or develops something that already exists

innovative creativity

creating something new