Studied by 4 people
Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
what are the four business functions
operations, marketing, finance and HR
what is cost leadership
approach to production that focuses on operation at the lowest possible cost
what does cost leadership focus on
expense minimisation and profit at the lowest possible cost eg. aldi
what is a good
tangible items that have a physical form, that can be sold, transported and are easily valued
what is a service
intangible items that involve an activity being performed in which the cost is determined by experience, qualifications and reputation
what is differentiation
the process of adapting products to meet the needs of different target markets - changing to meet customers needs
what is an industry
a sector of business activity characterised by businesses that produce similar things
what is interdependence
the idea that the four business functions all affect every part of the business and that they all rely on each other to benefit the business
what are the influences in marketing
globalisation, technology, quality expectations, cost-based leadership, government policies, legal regulations, environmental sustainability
what is globalisation
the process by which nations remove barriers to trade with one another
what is technology
it allows businesses to improve productivity, expand operations, standardise quality, improve speed and engage with familiar markets
what is quality expectation
high quality > high price, and low quality > low price
what are government policies
intended courses of actions that shape what is acceptable business conduct and practice
what are legal regulations
the body of legal rules that affect how a business is conducted; if they are breached there are penalties
what is environmental sustainability
business approach that focuses on conservation and an increase in renewable sources
what are inputs
resources that will be changed or transformed (materials) and also resources that assist in transforming
what are transformed resources
resources that are changed by the operations process - materials, information, customers
what is the transformed resource - materials
things that contribute to the creation of a product
what is the transformed resource - information
it is used to shape what will be made, how things are made, the approach to price and how things are made available for sale - data, metrics, trends
what is the transformed resource - customers
their preferences and trends will influence what is made and when
what are transforming resources
enable the process of change or value-adding to occur, including HR and facilities which combined enable businesses to create products of value
what are transformations processes
four vs, sequencing and scheduling, technology - task design, monitoring - control and improvement
what are the four Vs
volume, variety, variation (in demand) and visibility
what is volume
amount that is made in the operations process
what is variety
range of products made in the operations process, as variety increases, so does processing, inputs and technology used
what is variation in demand
reference to how demand changes over time when customer trends vary
what is visibility
a reference to the means by which customers view and interact with the operations process
what is sequencing
the order in which activities occur to best benefit the business
what is scheduling
how long activities take and when they should occur
what is a critical path analysis
like a gantt chart it shows what needs to be done and when and helps managers to plan properly
what is task design
breaking down what needs to be done into a series of activities that assist the operations functions
what is process layout
arranging machines according to the particular task or activity they do
what is monitoring
involves measuring various important metrics that arise in operations processes
what is control
ensuring appropriate processes are implemented so that the metrics fall within defined parameters
what is improvement
process by which businesses use metrics to implement ongoing controls
what are outputs
in the production of goods, they are the tangible products that are produced through the operations process - customer service and warranties
what is customer service
level of post-sale interaction the business has with consumers
what are warranties
they are what a customer claims when their product is faulty
what are performance objectives
goals to ensure efficiency, productivity and profitability - quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, customisation and cost
what is quality
refers to the standard of the product, standard is affected by inputs as well as processes
what is speed
refers to the time it takes to convert inputs into outputs
what is dependability
refers to the reliability of the supply
what is flexibility
The capacity of the operations process to scale quickly and also adapt to product range
what is customisation
creation of a range of products, through product variation or adaptation, to meet needs of a wider range of consumers
what is new product development
a strategy to boost market share and to keep loyal customers returning to th business
what is supply chan management
it refers to how a business acquires the materials it needs for making products available for sale - logistics, e-commerce, global sourcing
what are logistics
how supplies are transported to moved to the place where processing occurs
what is e-commerce
the commercial transactions that take place electronically
what is global sourcing
businesses draw supplies globally to minimise cost and access the volume and quality of resources required
what is outsourcing
use of specialise third-party providers to perform aspects of key business functions
what are advantages of outsourcing
simplifies business complexity for management, saves money and gives access to specialised support services
what are disadvantages of outsourcing
business depends on the provider, service levels may not be met, language issues can complicate understanding or work
what are established technologies
widely used or widely adopted technologies that most people use
what is leading edge technology
technology that is the newest on the market
what is inventory management
products that a business uses to create a profit and how it needs to be stored and managed - lifo, fifo and jit
what are the advantages of holding stock
business can have lots of popular products, it can be kept secure
what are disadvantages of holding stock
if the product isn’t popular the business loses money, and storage and security costs are high, takes up more space in warehouse
what is lifo
whatever came last into the business is the first to be sold, the price for the last purchased stock is applied first to stock sales
what is fifo
first into the business is the first out of the business, the price for the last purchased stock is applied first to stock sales
what is jit
management that allows the businesses to order as required so there is less waste
what is quality management
ensuring that the quality of products is up to standard so that they can be sold - control, assurance, improvement
what is quality control
it is implemented when quality standards have not been met which leads to issue within the business
what is quality assurance
system to instil confidence in the standard of the product
what is quality improvement
focuses on continual improvement through iteration and quality management
what is overcoming resistance to change
businesses need to adapt properly - financial costs, purchasing new equipment, redundancy payments, retraining, reorganising plant layout, intertia
where can resistance to change stem from
financial and social/psychological
what are financial costs
costs of change that arise from monetary considerations
what are redundancy payments
costs associated labour that is removed because their work skills are no longer relevant
what is intertia
the state of a body resisting change, fear of the unknown is the basis of resistance to change
what are global factors
managers need to understand global competition and how global factors can be utilised for the benefit of the business - global sourcing, economies of scale, scanning and learning and research
what are economies of scale
the per unit reduction in costs that is realised when a business increases the scale of its production or operations
Note 
Flashcard (22)