MBA 105

Section A

Q1 ii

Distinguish between production and productivity.

a. Production is an organized activity, wherein step by step conversion

of raw materials into useful output takes place. On the contrary,
Productivity is an indicator of efficiency in the production in terms of
optimum utilization of firm’s resources in the creation of desired
output.
b. Production is a process of value addition, wherein at each level, some
value is added to the product. Conversely, productivity is a measure
of efficiency.
c. Production exhibits the number of units produced by the firm in a
given period. As against, productivity highlights the ratio of output to
input consumed.

Q1 iii
Aggregate planning is the process of developing, analyzing, and maintaining a preliminary,
approximate schedule of the overall operations of an organization. The aggregate plan
generally contains targeted sales forecasts, production levels, inventory levels, and
customer backlogs.
This schedule is intended to satisfy the demand forecast at a minimum cost. Properly done,
aggregate planning should minimize the effects of short-sighted, day-to-day scheduling, in
which small amounts of material may be ordered one week, with an accompanying layoff of
workers, followed by ordering larger amounts and rehiring workers the next week. This
longer-term perspective on resource use can help minimize short-term requirements
changes with a resulting cost savings.

Q1 iv
Tthe objectives of facility planning
a. Improve customer satisfaction by being easy to do business with, conforming to
customer
b. promises and responding to customer needs.
c. Increase return on assets (ROA) by maximizing inventory turns. Minimizing obsolete
inventory. Maximizing employee participation, and maximizing continuous
improvement.
d. Maximize speed for quick customer response.
e. Reduce costs and grow the supply chain profitability.
 f. Integrate the supply chain through partnerships and communication.
g. Support the organization‘s vision through improved material handling, material-
control, and good housekeeping.
h. Effectively utilize people, equipment, space and energy.
i. Maximize return on investment (ROI) on all capital expenditures.
j. Be adaptable and promote ease of maintenance.
k. Provide for employee safety, job satisfaction, energy efficiency, and environ-mental
responsibility.
l. Assure sustainability and resilience.

Q1 v
Time study, as its name suggests, is the direct measurement of the time taken by an
operator/worker to complete a certain task. It involves the subdivision of the entire task
into the various work elements that it is composed of, and measuring the time taken to
accomplish each work element.

Work study is a generic term for those techniques, particularly method study and work
measurement, which are used in all its context and which lead systematically to the
investigation of all the factors, which effect the efficiency and economy of the situation
being reviewed in order to effect improvement.

Q1 vi
The objective of Materials management is to plan and control all types of materials, its
supply, and its flow from raw stage to finished stage so as to deliver the product to
customer as per his requirements in time. This involves materials planning, purchasing,
receiving, storing, inventory control, scheduling, production, physical distribution and
marketing. It also controls the materials handling and its traffic. The materials manager has
to manage all these functions with proper authority and responsibility in the material
management department.
Materials Management thus can be defined as that function of business that is responsible
for the coordination of planning, sourcing, purchasing, moving, storing and controlling
materials in an optimum manner so as to provide service to the customer, at a pre -decided
level at a minimum cost.

Q viii
Line balancing is the assignment of tasks to workstations in such a way that workstations
have approximately equal time requirements. This minimizes the amount of time that some
workstations are idle, due to waiting on parts from an upstream process or to avoid building
up an inventory queue in front of a downstream process.
A technique known as assembly-line balancing can be used to group the individual tasks
performed into workstations so that there will be a reasonable balance of work among the
workstations. Product layout efficiency is often enhanced through the use of line balancing.
Section B

Q2

The recent trends in productions and operations management, as the discipline is evolving
and the world of business is changing.
1. Sustainability
Consumers are growing this leads to greater adoption of operations management practices,
products are made to order rather than large amounts of raw materials and inventory being
stocked and wasted. It is also in the interest of companies to implement these practices as it
enables faster incrementally changes to their product to better suit customer needs - which
can be a source of competitive advantage.
2. Ethics
Similarly, globalization has made consumers very aware of the impact that companies have
on society and the world. With some companies more economically powerful than a lot of
countries, they have the power to positively impact the world, and consumers are beginning
to expect that from them. This is putting pressure on companies to audit their supply chains
to maintain good and ethical standards and practices. Nike and Primark were both
negatively affected by poor supply chain management when their suppliers’ workers were
seen to be treated poorly.
3. Servitization
Manufacturing companies are giving away their goods as a means to sell a service. Rolls-
Royce is a good example of this: they give their airplane engines away for free by charging a
fee for the maintenance. Rolls-Royce has sufficient confidence in the quality of their engines
that it absorbs the maintenance costs.

In brief, the recent trends of operations management are:

 lean and agile production methods with Total Quality Management to react to changes
in customer needs and increasing quality expectations, whilst also satisfying the
customers’ environmental concerns;
 A greater focus on supply chain management to maintain high ethical standards all
around the world, due to globalization;
 Manufacturers are using products to sell services, as means of differentiation.

Q3
Types of Production System
Production systems can be classified as Job Shop, Batch, Mass and Continuous Production
systems.

Job Shop Production

Job shop production are characterized by manufacturing of one or few quantity of products
designed and produced as per the specification of customers within prefixed time and cost.
The distinguishing feature of this is low volume and high variety of products. A job shop
comprises of general purpose machines arranged into different departments. Each job
demands unique technological requirements, demands processing on machines in a certain
sequence.
e.g. Because of general purpose machines and facilities variety of products can be produced.

Batch Production
Batch production is defined by American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS)
―as a form of manufacturing in which the job passes through the functional departments in
lots or batches and each lot may have a different routing. It is characterized by the
manufacture of limited number of products produced at regular intervals and stocked
awaiting sales.
e.g. Flexibility to accommodate and process number of products.

Mass Production
Manufacture of discrete parts or assemblies using a continuous process are called mass
production. This production system is justified by very large volume of production. The
machines are arranged in a line or product layout. Product and process standardization
exists and all outputs follow the same path.
e.g. Dedicated special purpose machines having higher production capacities and output
rates

Continuous Production
Production facilities are arranged as per the sequence of production operations from the
first operations to the finished product. The items are made to flow through the sequence
of operations through material handling devices such as conveyors, transfer devices, etc.
e.g. Manpower is not required for material handling as it is completely automatic.

Q4

When planning to put up a  store, one of the things that should be given careful thinking
is your store layout. It should be attractive and impressive enough to win customers or
buyers. This is done by arranging the goods inside the store or on your webpage or
website attractively. The focus of this document will be more a physical store
establishment rather than of an online store.
If you have Retail Store, Factory Outlet, or any store establishment you need to think of
your inside arrangement which will refers to the display area, the counter, the furniture
and other equipment, the shelves, etc. Convenience of 

The store layout is influenced by several factors:

1. The Type of Customers – Will the store cater to a specific age group, race and gender,
or national, international or will it be for general patronage?
2. The Type of Merchandise Sold– What type of merchandise will the store be selling?
Dry goods? Wet goods? Schools Supplies? Office Supplies? Electronics? Services?
Ideal Convenience Store Layout
3. The Space/ Area Limitation of the Store – Does your store have big space? Small
space? The area or space allotted for the store will affect the arrangement of goods, pieces
of furniture, equipment, etc.
4. The Furniture and Equipment of the Store – Is there a need for the big pieces of
furniture and equipment? These things should be limited only to the essentials. Those that
are not important in the efficient management of the should not be included. It will only
obstruct smooth flow of movement of both the customer and the seller.
5. Manpower – This refers to the person who will be managing the store. A bigger store
would require more people to attend to the customer’s needs.

Q7
Supply chains encompass the companies and the business activities needed to design, make,
deliver, and use a product or service. Businesses depend on their supply chains to provide
them with what they need to survive and thrive.
Every business fits into one or more supply chains and has a role to play in each of them.
The pace of change and the uncertainty about how markets will evolve has made it
increasingly important for companies to be aware of the supply chains they participate in
and to understand the roles that they play. Those companies that learn how to build and
participate in strong supply chains will have a substantial competitive advantage in their
markets.

elements of supply chain management.

Integration
Everyone involved in the manufacturing process communicates and collaborates. Instead of
functioning in separate divisions, or silos, integrated teams work together to make sure the
product gets to the distribution phase.

Operations
Managers monitor the work being performed and make sure everything remains on track.
Many of today’s manufacturers operate using lean manufacturing strategies, which means
that processes are constantly evaluated to identify where things can be done more
efficiently. Whether it’s monitoring equipment to make sure you’re getting the most out of
it or cutting back work hours when production slows down, the operations team can bring
major improvements to the supply chain.

Purchasing
The purchasing area of supply chain management makes sure a company has everything it
needs to manufacture products, including materials, supplies, tools and equipment. Without
the right purchasing personnel, you could find that you end up running out of the materials
you need, delaying production, or that you overbuy and strain the company’s budget.

Distribution
The supply chain ends when the product lands on store shelves where customers can buy
them or their front door (if they purchase them online). But getting products there means
having a well-planned shipping process.