A-level Business_{DRAFT 7138}

Managing operations

• how a business adds value
• importance of operations to business competitiveness

Operations data: objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs)

Interpret, calculate and analyse:

• costs/unit costs
• measures of output/ employee productivity/employee performance
• resource utilisation (including capacity utilisation)

Interpret, calculate and analyse:

• quality of the product or service including wait times, returns, complaints, speed of response, delivery times
• environmental impact and sustainability

Analysis of operations data should include index numbers, calculating percentages and percentage changes

Efficiency

Ways of improving resource utilisation and efficiency including

• improved capacity utilisation, lean production, reducing wastage, recycling, reuse of materials
• effective scheduling, improving workflow and operations processes, improving employee productivity/performance
• cost control
• ways of, and challenges, of increasing efficiency

Quality

• measures of product and process quality including defects, errors, returns, customer service ratings, delays
• costs of poor quality
• quality assurance
• quality control
• benefits and difficulties of improving quality

Environmental impact of operations

• purpose and value of more sustainable operations
• ways of, and challenges of, reducing environmental impact

Matching output to demand

• impact of changes in demand including seasonal or peak demand
• capacity and production scheduling
• use of part time and temporary labour vs full time and permanent
• outsourcing
• investment in capital and technology

Supply chain management

• deciding whether to produce internally or buy in
• sourcing supplies: choice of and number of suppliers
• managing the supply chain and relationships with suppliers
• purpose and value of managing procurement
• purpose and value of managing logistics from suppliers and to customer
• supply chain transparency
• supplier code of conduct and supplier audits
• supplier third party accreditations

Inventory management

• purpose and value of inventory management
• influences on the amount of inventory held
• 'just in time' operations vs 'just in case'

Interpret, calculate and analyse:

• inventory turnover

Innovation

• continuous improvement
• new product/process development (including research and development)
• intellectual property: patents and copyrights

Scale of operations

• economies of scale: technical, purchasing and financial
• diseconomies of scale: control, communication and coordination

Project management

• purpose and value of project management
• network analysis

Network analysis to include:

• understanding and interpreting network diagrams
• amending network diagrams
• identifying the critical path and total float

Digital technology and operations

• inventory management
• supply chain management
• automation

Ethics in operations (A-level only)

• supply chain code of ethics
• responsible sourcing
• product safety
• impact of operations on the environment

Human resource planning

• human resource planning: responding to skills gaps and employee shortages, training, redundancies
• number and skills of employees
• equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging
• employee wellbeing
• employee representation
• flexible employment: part-time, temporary, zero hours, freelance, remote working

Human resource data: objectives and KPIs

Interpret, calculate and analyse:

• employee productivity/performance
• employee turnover
• employee costs (as a percentage of turnover and per unit)

Analysis of human resource data should include index numbers, calculating percentages and percentage changes

Organisational design

• organisational structure: functional, product, regional, matrix structures, tall vs flat
• centralisation and decentralisation
• restructuring including delayering

Leadership

• impact of leadership on individual, team and organisational performance
• influences on and impact of different leadership styles including autocratic, democratic, transformational

Developing people

• importance of people to competitiveness
• talent management
• developing creativity

Teamwork

• purpose and value of teams
• factors influencing the effectiveness of teams

Motivation

• benefits and challenges of motivating employees
• theories of motivation: Taylor, Maslow and Herzberg

Methods of rewarding people

Direct remuneration:

• wages and salaries
• piece rate
• commission
• bonus
• performance-related pay
• shares

Indirect remuneration including healthcare and pension contributions

Non-financial methods including

• empowerment
• flexible and hybrid working

Employee wellbeing

• methods of improving employee wellbeing including physical and mental health support services, inclusive work environment, employee voice, flexible working
• benefits and challenges of improving employee wellbeing

Employer and employee relations

• purpose and value of employee representation/employee voice and involvement in decision-making
• individual and collective representation (including trade unions and employee forums)

Digital technology and HR

• remote working
• impact on recruitment processes

Ethical issues in HR (A-level only)

• equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging
• pay gaps: gender and between senior managers and other employees
• ethics of different methods of rewarding people
• employee code of ethics/conduct

Business values and culture (A-level only)

• purpose and importance of business values
• factors shaping business culture
• the importance and benefit of positive business culture
• the challenges of negative business culture
• the reasons for, and problems of, changing business culture
• links between HR decisions and business values and culture