BA 101

a series of tasks in which resources are used to produce a product or service

the management of a process in which resources (such as employees and machinery) are used to produce products and services

an area in which one or more employees are assigned a specific task

a sequence of work stations in which each work station is designed to cover specific phases of the production process

the size and structure of a plant or office

the arrangement of machinery and equipment within a factory or office

a layout in which tasks are positioned in the sequence that they are assigned

a layout in which employees go to the position of the product, rather than waiting for the product to come to them

a productions process that can be easily adjusted to accomodate future revisions

providing an office with a desk, a computer, and a telephone for any employee who normally works at home but needs to use work space at the firm

involves purchasing materials, inventory control, routing, scheduling, and quality control

purchasing parts from a supplier rather than producing the parts

the strategy of delegating some production tasks to suppliers

the process of managing inventory at a level that minimizes costs

costs of maintaining (carrying) inventories

costs involved in placing orders for materials

a system that attempts to reduce materials inventories to a bare minimum by frequently ordering small amounts of materials

a process for ensuring that materials are available when needed

inventories of partially completed products

the sequence (or route) of tasks necessary to complete the production of product

the act of setting time periods for each task in the production process

a plan for the timing and volume of production tasks

a chart illstrating the expected timing for each task in the production process

a method of scheduling tasks to minimize delays in the production process

the path that takes the longest time to complete

the degree to which a product or service satisfies a customer's requirements or expectations

a process of determining whether the quality of a product meets the desired quality level

the act of monitoring and improving the quality of products and services provided

the group of employees who assess the quality of a product and offer suggestions for improvement

randomly selecting some of the products produced and testing them to determine whether they satisfy the quality standards

the ability to produce products at a low cost

a method of evaluating performance by comparsion to some specified (benchmark) level, typically a level achieved by another company

production efficiency targets (or goals) that cannot be achieved under present conditions

tasks are completed by machines without the use of employees

as the quantity produced increases, the cost per unit decreases

operating expenses that do not change in response to the number of products produced

operating expenses that vary directly with the number of products produced

the quantity of units sold at which total revenue equals total cost

the revision of the production process in an attempt to improve efficiency

the redesign of a firm's organiziational structure and operations

an attempt by a firm to cut expenses by eliminating job position

the problem that occurs when firms become so obsessed with eliminating their inefficient components that they downsize too much

the process from the beginning of the production process until the product reaches the customer