Chapter 17: Production of Goods & Services

In which type of production are single specialist units produced?

• flow production
• batch production
•  job production
• lean production

In which type of production are several identical products completed at each production stage?

• flow production
• batch production
•  job production
• lean production

Which of the following is a claimed advantage of flow production?

• Each worker enjoys doing one repetitive job all the time.
• Making a product that allows all consumer needs to be met
• The capital costs of setting up a production line are low.
• The mass production helps to keep costs per unit low.

Which of the following is a necessary condition for flow production?

• large numbers of specialist workers
• high and steady demand for a standardised product
• machinery that can be adapted for production if demand fell
• high demand for the product only at certain times

Which of the following products is most likely to be produced using batch production methods?

• school uniforms
• washing machines
• a popular chocolate bar
• hand-made watches

A clothing manufacturer is most likely to hold the following stocks except:

• materials used in the clothing products
• partly finished goods called ‘work in progress’
• finished clothing waiting to be sold
• spare machines in case of breakdown.

For a supermarket, one of the advantages of holding high stocks of existing products is:

• low costs of financing the stock level
• being able to respond quickly if consumer tastes change
• being able to meet unexpected increases in demand
• being able to put unused space to other uses.

All of these factors will influence the maximum stock level held by a cheese maker except:

• how perishable the products are
• the total space available for stock holding
• the interest rate on capital used for buying inventory
• the number of workers available

Which of the following is the best definition of ‘an increase inefficiency’?

• higher output levels than last year
• lower total costs of production
• fewer workers employed but output level remainsthe same
• 10% more workers employed and output also risesby 10%

Which of the following would be an example of ‘lean production’?

• producing a greater variety of goods with more workers
• holding low stock levels such as with Just-in-Time methods
• making smaller quantities of goods than previously
• buying the latest equipment to increase output