Operational Management | AQA A-Level Business (7132)
Operational Management
- 202 questions
- 17 subtopics
- The business functions, assessed on all three papers
- Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3
Operational management can be examined on any of the three papers.
It covers the objectives operations are set, the measures used to judge them, and the decisions taken to improve efficiency, quality and the supply chain.
Sample questions from Operational Management
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Operational objectives: cost and quality
How do operational objectives support strategic decision-making?
Show the answer
They translate corporate goals into actionable operational targets, linking day-to-day activities to the overall business strategy. -
Added value and the trade-offs between objectives
In what way does enhancing quality contribute to added value?
Show the answer
Higher quality can justify premium pricing, increasing the gap between input costs and selling price. -
Capacity and capacity utilisation
Calculate the capacity utilisation when actual output = 1900 units, maximum possible output = 4000 units.
Show the answer
Capacity utilisation = (1900 ÷ 4000) × 100 = 47.5 %. -
Raising labour productivity, and the obstacles
Explain how higher labour productivity can improve a firm's profitability.
Show the answer
Higher labour productivity reduces the labour cost per unit, lowering overall costs and increasing profit margins. -
Labour-intensive and capital-intensive production
How do the relative costs of labour and capital influence the choice of production method?
Show the answer
If labour is cheap relative to machinery, labour-intensive methods may be more cost-effective, and vice versa. -
Quality control and quality assurance
Is quality assurance a reactive or proactive approach to quality management?
Show the answer
Quality assurance is a proactive, prevention-focused approach that aims to prevent defects rather than detect them after they occur. -
Matching supply to demand
How does matching supply to demand help reduce waste?
Show the answer
By producing or ordering only what is needed, businesses avoid excess stock that may become obsolete, damaged, or unsold. -
Influences on inventory and choosing a supplier
Why does the perishability of goods affect how much inventory is held?
Show the answer
Perishable goods must be held in smaller quantities to avoid spoilage and waste before sale.
The 17 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Operational objectives: cost and quality | What operational objectives are for, and the forms a cost or quality objective can take. | 15 |
| Speed, flexibility and environmental objectives | Speed of response, flexibility and environmental objectives, and what each targets. | 13 |
| Added value and the trade-offs between objectives | How added value is created, and the trade-offs between cost, quality, speed and flexibility. | 11 |
| Labour productivity and unit costs | Calculating both, and what each says about how well operations are running. | 16 |
| Capacity and capacity utilisation | Calculating utilisation, and why high and low utilisation each affect unit costs. | 11 |
| Improving capacity utilisation | Raising demand, subcontracting and rationalisation, and the problems of running above normal capacity. | 9 |
| Raising labour productivity, and the obstacles | Training, capital investment, motivation and reorganisation, and why each takes time or meets resistance. | 14 |
| Lean production and Just in Time | Lean production and JIT against Just in Case, the benefits, and what JIT demands of suppliers. | 15 |
| Labour-intensive and capital-intensive production | What decides between them, and finding the optimal mix of labour and capital. | 8 |
| Technology in operations | Automation, robotics, CAD, CAM and ERP, and the cost, training and obsolescence they bring. | 13 |
| Quality control and quality assurance | The difference between checking output and building quality in, and who is responsible for each. | 10 |
| The benefits and costs of improving quality | What better quality earns a business, what it costs, and what poor quality costs instead. | 15 |
| Matching supply to demand | Producing to order, outsourcing and flexible contracts, and the cost of holding too much or too little stock. | 9 |
| The inventory control chart | Reading maximum and minimum stock levels, buffer stock, lead time, re-order level and re-order quantity. | 13 |
| Influences on inventory and choosing a supplier | Demand variability, lead time, storage and perishability, and the criteria for choosing a supplier. | 11 |
| Supply chain management | What coordinating a supply chain involves, and what effective management delivers. | 10 |
| Outsourcing: benefits and drawbacks | Access to expertise and lower fixed costs, against dependency, quality risk and confidentiality. | 9 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Business Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,819 questions with their answers.