Operations Management-decision Making Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Operations Management-decision Making Deck (33)
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1
Q

What are squares represented as in decision trees?

A

Decision points

2
Q

What is a decision tree

A

They attempt to quantify the likely outcome of any decision taken using numbers to give a financial return and the probability of this occurrence

3
Q

What do circles represent in decision trees?

A

probability outcomes

4
Q

What are 3 other factors you need to consider?

A

Time scale of the options
Objectives of the business
Risk attitude of the decision makers

5
Q

What are 3 advantages of using decision trees?

A

Can quantify risk (know what % it actually could happen)
Makes us consider other options
Consider if it’s even worth doing

6
Q

What are 3 disadvantages of using decision trees?

A

Doesn’t give definitive answers- estimated risks
Doesn’t take into account company’s attitudes towards risk
Time lag

7
Q

What is critical path analysis?

A

a tool used to plan activities

breaks down a job into a number of tasks and looks at the dependency of them

8
Q

In a critical path, what does an arrow represent?

A

an activity-it requires time and/or resources

9
Q

In a critical path, what does a circle represent?

A

a node-represents start/end of an activity

10
Q

In a critical path, in a node, what does the left hand number represent?

A

The order of the activities

11
Q

In a critical path, in a node, what does the top right hand number represent?

A

Earliest start time

12
Q

In a critical path, how do you work out earliest start time?

A

earliest start time of one before+number under arrow

13
Q

In a critical path, what does the number in the node on the bottom right represent?

A

latest finishing time

14
Q

In a critical path, how do you work out latest finishing time?

A

latest finishing time of following activity-duration of that activity

15
Q

What is spare time also know as in a cpa?

A

float

16
Q

what are the 2 types of float in cpa?

A

free float and total float

17
Q

what is free float in cpa?

A

the individual activities with spare time

18
Q

what is total float in cpa?

A

whole spare time added together

19
Q

what are 3 advantages of cpa?

A

helps you decide and know which things are critical
helps you control cash flow-what you dont need to happen
helps with time management

20
Q

what are 3 disadvantages of cpa?

A

based on last years figures-estimates
exogenous shocks could occur-contingency planning
more complicated=less beneficial, waste of time?

21
Q

what are 3 examples of waste?

A

idle staff
waste of materials
damaged stock

22
Q

what are 3 methods of waste management?

A

just in time
kaizen
total quality management

23
Q

what is just in time?

A

a way of manufacturing and production where materials are delivered immediately before they are required in order to minimise storage costs

24
Q

what is kaizen?

A

continuous improvement

25
Q

what is total quality management?

A

system of management based on the principle that every member of staff must be committed to maintaining high standards of work in every aspect of a company’s operations.

26
Q

what are 3 costs of waste management?

A

financial costs
time issues- take time out of work/production
extra resources- time and effort

27
Q

what is specialisation?

A

where a nation identifies industries in which is has an absolute or comparative advantage over rival nations and they concentrate on growing these industries so they can produce more of that.

28
Q

what is absolute advantage?

A

being able to produce a product using less given resources than another

29
Q

what is comparative advantage?

A

being able to produce a product at a lower opportunity cost

30
Q

what is backward innovation?

A

selling products that are further back to developing markets e.g selling iPhone 3 to India now

31
Q

what is a saturated market?

A

cannot sell anymore products because everyone who wants one has one

32
Q

what are 3 advantages to a business trading with comparative advantage?

A

building factories abroad means paying lower wages
call centers in India - outsourcing
buying from supliers

33
Q

what are 5 ways in which you can make a business more competitive?

A
improve efficiency
lower prices
growth-economies of scale
off-shore and out source
advertising