AGEC 340 - Chapter 14 Flashcards

30 vocabulary flashcards covering the key concepts of Operations Management in Agribusiness from Chapter 14.

Operations Management

The direction and control of the processes used by food and agribusiness firms to produce goods and services.

Production Planning

One of two distinct areas of operations management; includes devising quality programs, locating plants, and choosing capacity levels.

Supply Chain Management

One of two distinct areas of operations management; includes aggregate production planning, purchasing, and transportation management.

Seasonality

A unique issue with agricultural products reflecting the periodic nature of production timing.

Perishability

A unique issue with agricultural products referring to the limited shelf life and potential spoilage of items.

Bulk

A unique issue with agricultural products regarding the large physical volume or mass relative to value.

Variability

A unique issue with agricultural products involving fluctuations in quality, quantity, and value.

Time-based competition

Competing for customers and market share using the dimension of time as a source of competitive advantage.

Productivity

$$\frac{\text{Dollars (or quantity) of output produced}}{\text{Dollars (or quantity) of resources used}}$$

Conformance to specifications

A company-oriented definition of quality that measures how well a product or service meets the targets and tolerances determined by its designers.

Prevention costs

Costs associated with stopping defects before they happen.

Appraisal costs

Costs incurred in monitoring the quality level of products and services during the course of production.

Internal failure costs

Costs generated during the production and/or rework of defective parts and services.

External failure costs

Costs incurred when the product or service fails once it is in the consumer’s hands.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

The continual process of detecting and reducing or eliminating errors in manufacturing, streamlining supply chain management, and improving the customer experience.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)

A recognized food safety program focused on the prevention of food safety problems rather than controlling them.

Agglomeration

A factor affecting location decisions referring to the clustering of similar or related businesses.

Capacity Planning

Determining the appropriate size of a manufacturing plant or service location based on factors like economies of scale and fluctuating demand.

Layout Planning

The specific design of the physical arrangement within a facility to allow workers and equipment to run efficiently.

Process Design

Selecting the specific inputs, operations, and methods used to produce a good or service, considering aspects like capital intensity and resource flexibility.

Job Design

Activities that determine the tasks, responsibilities, work environment, and detailed order of operations for an employee's job.

Social or psychological environment

A category of job design encompassing training, supervision, job expectations, and performance feedback.

Physical environment

A category of job design encompassing safe working conditions, lighting, noise, temperature, and ergonomics.

Inputs

Resources in an operations management system including materials, capital, equipment, personnel, information, and energy.

Conversion

The process of transformation within an operations system, such as manufacturing operations or service operations.

Globalization

A factor affecting operations management where decisions on plant location and capacity must consider low-cost inputs and export growth.

Service Sector characteristics

Typically involves intangible, perishable products, high customer contact, labor intensity, and quality that is not easily measured.

Goods Producer characteristics

Typically involves physical, durable products, low customer contact, capital intensity, and output that can be inventoried.

Vertical integration

An aspect of process planning that considers the extent to which a firm owns its supply chain stages.

Economies of scale

A factor in capacity planning that addresses the cost advantages obtained due to the size or scale of the operation.