Higher Business Management - Methods of Production

There are FOUR basic methods of production:

• Job production
• Batch production
• Flow production/mass production
• Just in time production

Job Production

Job production: one single item is made at a time, eg a ballgown for the Queen. The ballgown will be made to the Queen's specification. This is usually a one-off order that may be repeated at a later stage.

Job production is always very costly as it requires highly skilled workmanship and expensive materials.

Advantages of job production

Disadvantages of job production

greater job satisfaction flexibility quality of product is very high

very expensive economies of scale do not apply could be very time consuming.

Batch Production

Batch production: similar items are made in blocks or batches. This could happen on small scale or large scale. The manufacture of the England rugby team jerseys is an example.

Other examples are: school uniform, construction of similar houses for a new development.

Advantages of batch production

Disadvantages of batch production

unit cost may be lowered workers can specialise some variety in production less skilled workers needed

work is repetitive and workers may be less motivated the need for storage place can increase costs. management of moving batches between stages can be problema

Mass Production/Flow Production

A large quantity of the same product is made at a high speed, and as cheaply as possible. A good example is the manufacturing of television sets. Other examples are a clothing line for a departmental store, toys, canned food etc.

Advantages of mass production

Disadvantages of mass production

unit cost low due to large output specialisation of workers less skilled workers standard of quality can be maintained

repetitiveness can lead to unmotivated workers huge capital outlay to buy machinery breakdown in machinery can cause big problems.

Just in time production

Just in time production (JIT) is applied when stocks of raw materials are kept to a minimum.

The aim is to get the raw materials just in time when they are needed for the production process.

Advantages of JIT

Disadvantages of JIT

Keep stock of raw materials as low as possible Low stock of raw materials saves costs until you need the stocks

Can cause delays in production if stock is not on time Must have a highly organised system for ordering raw materials Shortages of stocks can result in serious delays of production