Operations Management

What Operations Management covers

Operations Management is examined in Component 1, Business Opportunities and Functions, and can be drawn on in the synoptic Component 3. It covers operations management and added value, job, batch and flow production, productivity and how to raise it, capacity utilisation, technology in operations: IT, CAD, CAM and robotics, lean production, kaizen and just-in-time, quality control and quality assurance, total quality management, purchasing, suppliers and methods of stock control, stock control diagrams and stock levels, innovation, research and development, internal and external economies of scale and diseconomies of scale and the survival of small firms.

The 13 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Operations management and added valueOperations management, transformation process and added value.Open →
• Job, batch and flow productionJob production, batch production and flow production.Open →
• Productivity and how to raise itDifference between production and productivity and one risk of pushing productivity too hard.Open →
• Capacity utilisationCapacity utilisation and subcontracting as a way of using spare capacity.Open →
• Technology in operations: IT, CAD, CAM and roboticsComputer-integrated manufacture and robotics in a production context.Open →
• Lean production, kaizen and just-in-timeLean production, kaizen group and just-in-time production.Open →
• Quality control and quality assuranceWhy quality matters to a business, quality control and quality assurance.Open →
• Total quality managementTotal quality management, zero defects and quality chain.Open →
• Purchasing, suppliers and methods of stock controlPurchasing in a business, difference between single sourcing and multiple sourcing and stock control.Open →
• Stock control diagrams and stock levelsMaximum stock level, re-order level and lead time.Open →
• Innovation, research and developmentDifference between invention and innovation, difference between product innovation and process innovation and research and development.Open →
• Internal and external economies of scaleEconomies of scale and minimum efficient scale.Open →
• Diseconomies of scale and the survival of small firmsWhy unit costs start rising again once a firm grows too large, and why small firms persist in markets that scale is supposed to have closed.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Operations Management further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Job production vs Flow production

  Job production: making a single item to a customer's order. Flow production: making a standard item continuously.

• Batch production vs Flow production

  Batch production: making a group of identical items before resetting. Flow production: running one product without a break.

• Quality control vs Quality assurance

  Quality control: inspecting finished output in order to remove faults. Quality assurance: preventing faults at every stage.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is meant by operations management?

   Model answer

   Operations management is the part of a business responsible for turning inputs into finished goods or services. The function covers purchasing, production, quality and stock.

2. 2

   Give three decisions an operations manager has to take.

   Model answer

   An operations manager decides the method of production, the level of capacity and how quality will be controlled. Each decision affects unit cost and customer satisfaction.

3. 3

   How does operations management differ in a service business from a manufacturer?

   Model answer

   A service is produced and consumed at the same moment and cannot be stored as stock. Operations in a service business concentrate on staff, capacity and the customer's experience.

4. 4

   What is meant by the transformation process?

   Model answer

   The transformation process converts inputs of materials, labour and equipment into an output. A bakery turns flour, labour and ovens into bread.

5. 5

   Give one example of operations management on a farm and one in a hospital.

   Model answer

   A farm manages planting schedules, machinery and the harvest to produce a crop. A hospital manages theatre time, staff rotas and supplies to treat patients.

6. 6

   What is meant by added value?

   Model answer

   Added value is the difference between the price of the output and the cost of the bought-in materials and services. The figure measures what the business itself has contributed.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Operations Management revision questions

What does Operations Management cover in Eduqas A-Level Business?

13 subtopics: operations management and added value, job, batch and flow production, productivity and how to raise it, capacity utilisation, technology in operations: it, cad, cam and robotics, lean production, kaizen and just-in-time, quality control and quality assurance, total quality management, purchasing, suppliers and methods of stock control, stock control diagrams and stock levels, innovation, research and development, internal and external economies of scale and diseconomies of scale and the survival of small firms. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Operations Management organised?

By the Eduqas A510QS specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.