Lesson 3.4.3

3.4.3 Making operational decisions: increasing efficiency and productivity Quiz: AQA Business, Unit 4

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.4.3, Making operational decisions: increasing efficiency and productivity: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Business (7132), Unit 4: Operational management, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Just in Time (JIT) production means:

    • Holding large stocks of materials in case of unexpected demand
    • Materials arrive just as they are needed, keeping inventory levels low
    • Producing goods at a fixed speed regardless of demand
    • Producing goods only after customers have paid in full

  2. Just in Case (JIC) stock management means:

    • Ordering stock only once a customer has placed an order
    • Shipping stock directly to customers on the day of production
    • Holding stock only for items that have a fixed expiry date
    • Holding buffer stocks to protect against shortages or uncertain demand

  3. Lean production aims to:

    • Reduce the quality of products to lower cost
    • Maximise the number of workers employed in each process
    • Eliminate waste and reduce inefficiency throughout the production process
    • Increase inventory to reduce the risk of stockouts

  4. A labour-intensive production process is one that:

    • Relies mainly on workers rather than machines
    • Uses only digital technology for all tasks
    • Is always carried out in a single factory location
    • Relies mainly on machines with few workers

  5. A capital-intensive production process is one that:

    • Uses no fixed assets at all
    • Produces services rather than goods
    • Relies heavily on machinery and equipment relative to labour
    • Relies mostly on workers' manual skills

  6. Labour productivity can be increased by:

    • Increasing working hours for all staff without any training
    • Reducing the number of machines used in production
    • Paying staff less so that they work more slowly
    • Training staff so that they complete tasks faster or with fewer errors

  7. A common difficulty in increasing labour productivity is:

    • Workers always welcoming new methods without concern
    • Machines always reducing the need for any training
    • Resistance from employees who fear job losses or changes to working practices
    • Productivity rising automatically when wages fall

  8. What is a key risk of Just in Time production?

    • Stock levels become so high that warehousing costs rise sharply
    • Customers must wait a year before receiving products
    • It requires the business to hold a fixed buffer of six months' stock
    • A delay from a supplier can halt production, because there is little stock to fall back on

  9. A firm holds six weeks of components as protection, because sales are volatile and supply is unreliable. Which approach is it using?

    • Just in Case
    • Outsourcing all production
    • Lean production with zero buffer
    • Just in Time

  10. A firm invests 2,000,000 in an automated line that cuts wage costs by 300,000 a year. How does this change its resource mix?

    • It causes no change in the balance of resources
    • It moves the business towards a more capital-intensive process
    • It moves the business towards a service-based process
    • It moves the business towards a more labour-intensive process

  11. Which factor would make a capital-intensive approach more suitable?

    • A need for frequent changes in product design
    • Large-scale production with consistent demand and high output volumes
    • Limited access to funding for machinery
    • Highly personalised products made one at a time

  12. A factory's output per hour rises from 50 to 60 units with the same workforce. What is the percentage increase in efficiency?

    • 10%
    • 16.7%
    • 20%
    • 120%

  13. Which use of technology most directly improves operational efficiency?

    • Automated inventory tracking that reduces stock losses and speeds reordering
    • Social media posts that advertise the product
    • Video conferencing with clients in other countries
    • Email newsletters to shareholders

  14. Which is a difficulty of using lean production to increase efficiency?

    • Lean production always increases waste in the factory
    • Lean production guarantees higher costs for customers
    • Lean production requires no staff training
    • Reduced buffer stocks can leave the business vulnerable to supply shocks

  15. A firm produces bespoke furniture by hand, using skilled craftspeople. How is its production best described?

    • Capital-intensive
    • Labour-intensive
    • Fully automated
    • Lean with zero labour

  16. Evaluate: what is the best judgement about adopting lean production in a business with unreliable suppliers?

    • Lean is always best regardless of suppliers
    • Lean should be abandoned because it eliminates all risk
    • Lean may be risky, so the business should build supplier relationships or hold some buffer stock before fully adopting JIT
    • Unreliable suppliers make lean production cheaper

  17. A firm's output per worker rises from 40 to 52 units after training. What is the percentage gain?

    • 23%
    • 130%
    • 30%
    • 12%

  18. Evaluate: why might investing in capital-intensive technology reduce a firm's flexibility?

    • Machines always produce faster than any workers
    • Large fixed investments in machinery are hard to adapt quickly to changing product specifications or demand
    • Capital investment permanently reduces fixed costs
    • Capital-intensive firms cannot hire any staff at all

  19. A firm adopts JIT and cuts its average inventory from 120,000 to 30,000. What is the percentage reduction?

    • 120%
    • 25%
    • 90%
    • 75%

  20. Evaluate: what is the strongest argument for investing in training to raise labour productivity rather than only buying machines?

    • Machines cannot improve productivity under any condition
    • Training removes the need for any management oversight
    • Training builds skills that adapt to new processes and improves quality, so benefits can be sustained as technology changes
    • Training always costs less than any machine in every case

All AQA Business quizzes