Making operational decisions

Production is total output over a period. Productivity is output per worker per period. More staff can raise production but not productivity. Example: 10 workers make 200 units = 20 each; adding 10 workers to make 300 units drops productivity to 15 each. "Improving productivity means making more products" scores zero — productivity is output per worker.

On a quality method question, give the process, not the benefit. Quality control: inspectors check finished items against a standard and reject failures. Quality assurance: checks are built into every stage so defects are caught early. Drifting into "...which leads to more sales" earns nothing — a method question asks how it works, not the outcome.

On a flow production question, describing "production in general" loses marks. Make it clearly about flow: continuous output of identical items at high speed and volume, suited to large, steady demand. Name flow-specific features (assembly line, very low unit cost, inflexible to change), not generic benefits that fit any method.

For re-order quantity on a bar-gate graph, subtract the buffer: re-order quantity = maximum − buffer. A common error gives the maximum alone (e.g. 3,200 instead of 3,200 − 900 = 2,300), or measures only one tooth. Read the graph carefully and use the buffer level, not zero, as the floor.

Asked to name stock a firm holds, give an input it uses up and re-buys — a fast-food firm's chicken, flour or packaging. Naming an oven is wrong: an oven is a non-current asset (equipment kept and used for years), not stock. Stock is the raw materials and goods that flow through the business and are sold or consumed.

Asked for a disadvantage of a poor supplier relationship, some describe the benefits of a good one — the opposite — and score zero. Read whether the question wants an advantage or a disadvantage, a good or a poor case, and answer that. A fluent answer to the wrong question earns nothing.

JIT does not guarantee stock is always available — that is the opposite of its purpose. JIT holds minimal or zero buffer stock: inputs arrive just in time, so reliable suppliers matter. It cuts storage costs and frees cash, but makes the firm more vulnerable — one late delivery stops production. Good answers link reduced storage to lower fixed costs.