4. Operations management (AS Level)
A section of Business Studies, 9609
Listing 10 of 59 questions
Belted Up (BU) Belted Up (BU) is a manufacturer of hand-made leather belts for clothing. The business makes a range of sizes and colours of belts using batch production. Table 2.1 shows some details of BU’s best-selling belt, the Classic. The price of each Classic belt is $11. Table 2.1: Details of BU’s Classic belt Size Colour Number of belts sold in 2020 (000) Small Brown Medium Brown Large Brown Small Black Medium Black Large Black BU has an objective of internal growth. The directors of BU have decided to manufacture a new belt that can be reversed, so that it is black on one side and brown on the other. This could affect the amount of inventory held by BU and its liquidity. The directors have proposed process innovation so that the new belt can be produced by machine. The factory manager has been promoted within the business and a new factory manager is needed. An extract from the job advertisement for this vacant position is in . Job title: Factory manager We are looking for a factory manager to drive the process innovation needed to develop the production of belts. The factory manager will manage all of the 70 production workers and 8 supervisors in the factory. The manager will also meet regularly with the worker representatives. The factory manager will also manage the inventory and be responsible for the warehouse operations. : Extract from the job advertisement for the new factory manager Define the term ‘liquidity’ (line 15). Explain the term ‘internal growth’ (line 13). Refer to Table 2.1 and any other relevant information. Calculate the total revenue from selling the Classic belt in 2020. Explain one advantage and one disadvantage to BU of selling a range of sizes and colours of the Classic belt. Analyse two disadvantages to BU of the proposed process innovation. Evaluate the usefulness of Mintzberg’s roles of management for BU when recruiting a new factory manager.
9609_s21_qp_23
THEORY
2021
Paper 2, Variant 3
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Samira’s Whiteboards (SW) Samira left school at the age of 18 in country H. She had a small amount of savings and an idea to create a flexible, removable and reusable whiteboard. Samira created a prototype and received small orders from local retailers. A local manufacturer batch produces stock when required. There is a two-week lead time for a minimum order of 500 units. Samira started to sell her whiteboards on her website and at trade shows. She has been trading for seven months. She has good cashflow but little working capital as production costs are high. Samira has heard that OS, a large business that sells office equipment, is planning to sell their own version of Samira’s whiteboard. She is keen to increase production quickly to take advantage of being first to market. However, Samira’s manufacturer cannot supply enough product to meet the growth in potential demand for whiteboards. shows an inventory control chart for the first seven months of trade. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Reorder level Minimum stock level SW Inventory control chart 2023 Lara, a venture capitalist with experience of manufacturing, has approached Samira about making an investment. She would invest $100 000 to build a local mass production facility for SW. The facility would have a maximum output of 50 000 units per month. Lara wants to own 40% of the business. Identify one traditional function of a manager. Explain the term working capital. Refer to . Calculate the total number of whiteboards sold between January and July. Explain one cost for SW of holding inventory. Analyse two barriers to entrepreneurship that Samira may have faced when starting up SW. Evaluate whether Samira should accept Lara's offer to invest venture capital.
9609_s24_qp_21
THEORY
2024
Paper 2, Variant 1
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Questions Discovered
59