Unit 17 – Production of Goods and Services

Answers to Exam-Style Questions – Paper 1a) Lean production is a technique used by businesses to cut down on waste and therefore increase efficiency.

b) i) Kaizenii) Just-in-time inventory controliii) Cell production

c) i) Training his staff to be able to produce the cakes more quickly using better techniques.ii) Improve the motivation of the bakers, such as by giving them a share of the profits or increasing their wages (different types of motivation can be accepted)iii) Introduce more modern ovens, so that cakes are baked more quickly and more could be produced in a given time.

d) i) It is a flexible way of working, so the bakery can easily change from one batch of cakes to another batch of another type of cake. This will allow a greater variety of products to be produced.ii) It gives a variety of jobs for workers, so they can change from baking cakes to baking bread. This makes their jobs more interesting and therefore they are less likely to leave the business. iii) Production is less affected if machinery breaks down, such as the ovens stop working: then the workers could sap to making an alternative cake which uses other machinery and so production doesn’t halt.

e) Yes, because production will be faster, high output produced, costs are lower, capital-intensive methods could be used, may benefit from economies of scale.orNo, because standardized products, boring for the workers, large capital costs, machinery breaks down then whole production line stops, consumers may not want to buy large quantities of standardized items.