BUSS 3 Operations

3. economies Reductions in unit costs arising from the effective use of technology
5. A restriction on the volume or quantity of a good that can enter or be sold in a market (form of trade barrier)
6. productivity The level of output per unit of labour
10. costs The key measure of productive efficiency – calculated as total costs divided by total output (over a specific period)
11. Method of lean production where production resources arrive at the moment they are required rather than being held in stock
12. of scale Cost advantages that a business can exploit as a result of expanding its scale of production. Economies of scale reduce the average (unit) cost of production
13. production An approach to management that focuses on cutting out waste whilst still ensuring quality.
14. A business which owns operations in more than one country
15. Measures of how effective a business is in turning resources (e.g. labour hours) into output
18. Where a business has work done for it overseas
20. intensity The extent to which production or operations depend on investment in and use of capital – i.e. machinery, IT systems, buildings etc
21. economies Where marketing costs per unit sold can be lowered by spreading marketing costs over larger output

1. efficient scale The minimum output a business needs to achieve in order for its to be able to minimise unit costs
2. analysis Breaking a project down into separate activities and their requirements
4. The period of time between an order being placed and being received
7. Where a business has work done for it by someone else
8. Part of outsourcing – where another business is used to provide part of the production process
9. of scale Factors which result in higher unit costs as production output reaches too high a level
12. A measure of the ability of a business to achieve the required level of production whilst minimising the use of resources
15. economies Cost savings that arise from buying in bulk or from a more powerful relationship with a supplier due to increased output
16. path analysis Project management tool that uses network analysis to help manage complex and time-sensitive operations
17. Putting an new idea or approach into action – the commercial exploitation of ideas
19. The size or output of a business, best measured relative to that of direct competitors
22. A cultural approach to lean production and quality assurance. Involves encouraging employees to constantly seek and implement small incremental changes to production in order to improve quality and efficiency