2.3.1c Impact of technology on production: cost, productivity, quality and flexibility Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Business, Unit 8

The 20 questions

1. Which type of production makes a single custom product to a customer's own specification, such as a bespoke suit?

   • Flow production, where products move continuously through a fixed sequence of stages
   • Job production, where each item is made individually to order
   • Batch production, where a set number of identical items is made together
   • Mass production, where very large numbers of identical goods are made on a continuous basis

2. A factory produces 1,200 units in one week using 40 workers. What is productivity per worker for the week?

   • 30 units per worker
   • 12 units per worker
   • 1,200 units per worker
   • 40 units per worker

3. Which statement best describes productivity?

   • The amount of output produced per worker or per machine in a given period of time
   • The number of hours of staff training that a business provides in a given period of time
   • The total value of stock held by a business in its warehouses at the end of each financial year
   • The share of total revenue that a business spends on wages and salaries in a typical month

4. A business introduces automated robots on its production line. Which trade-off is it most likely to face?

   • Greater flexibility to change products quickly without needing any new equipment or retraining
   • A high upfront investment cost in exchange for greater consistency and higher output
   • Lower running costs each year because robots need little maintenance over their working life
   • Lower output in the short term because robots must be supervised closely by one worker each

5. Which term describes how easily a business can change what it produces or how much it produces when demand changes?

   • Productivity
   • Flexibility
   • Quality
   • Liquidity

6. A firm uses computer-aided design (CAD) to model products before production. Which benefit does this most directly provide?

   • Guaranteed sales of every product that the firm designs for its target market
   • Reduced need for skilled designers because the software completes the design work alone
   • Faster design changes and fewer errors reaching the production stage
   • Lower rent because the design team can work from a smaller office in the city

7. A production line uses automated sensors to check each item. What is the most likely result?

   • Output falls because sensors need time to check each item before it can move onward
   • Staff are no longer needed, so the business has no labour costs on the production line
   • Every item is rejected because sensors measure more strictly than trained human inspectors
   • Faulty items are detected sooner, so fewer defective products reach customers

8. A business accepts higher unit costs to produce better quality. Why might this make sense?

   • Higher unit costs make a business more flexible in changing its products quickly over time
   • Quality has no real effect on what customers are willing to pay for a product in most markets
   • Customers may pay more for reliable products, protecting sales and the business's reputation
   • Higher quality always reduces the number of workers a business needs to employ in production

9. A business spends £24,000 on a new machine, which makes 6,000 units in its first year. What is the machine cost per unit in year one?

   • £2.40
   • £40.00
   • £4.00
   • £0.25

10. A factory has 50 workers producing 2,000 units a week. It later has 60 workers producing 2,700 units a week. How did productivity per worker change?

    • It stayed the same at 40 units per worker per week
    • It rose by 5 units per worker per week
    • It rose by 45 units per worker per week
    • It fell by 5 units per worker per week

11. A firm moves from job production to flow production. Which change is most likely?

    • Each worker must make one product from start to finish with no production line
    • Products become more uniform and unit costs usually fall at high volumes
    • The business needs far fewer machines because the line replaces all equipment
    • Each product becomes more customised, so unit costs rise sharply

12. Which is an advantage of batch production compared with job production?

    • A lower average cost per item because one setup serves a whole group of identical products
    • A higher average cost per item because machines in batch production sit idle between runs
    • No setup time is needed at all, since identical products are made without changing the machines
    • Each item receives more individual attention, so it is always of higher quality than job work

13. A business's quality falls after it introduces faster machines. What is the best explanation?

    • Workers became more productive, which always reduces the quality of goods made
    • The machines were run faster without checking their settings, so more errors occurred
    • Flexibility increased, so every product became identical to the previous one
    • Technology always lowers quality because computers cannot measure anything accurately

14. A small business and a large business both buy the same expensive machine. Why might the machine help the small business less?

    • Small businesses are not allowed to buy expensive machinery under any circumstances at all
    • Machines only lower the cost of raw materials, which small firms rarely buy in large amounts
    • Its high fixed cost is spread over fewer units of output, so the payback period is longer
    • Its running costs are spread across more units of output, so the payback period is shorter

15. In production, flexibility is best described as:

    • The ability to respond quickly to changes in customer demand or product design
    • The proportion of finished items checked and approved before they are dispatched to shops
    • The total number of hours each worker spends on the factory floor across the working week
    • The share of profit paid to shareholders as dividends in each financial year

16. Which technology is most likely to help a business increase its flexibility?

    • A conveyor belt that runs at one set speed and is used for all of the factory's goods
    • Computer-controlled machines that can be reprogrammed quickly for a new product
    • A single fixed machine that is set up to make only one product line for many years
    • A paper filing system that keeps records of past customer orders for each product

17. A business has automated most of its production. What is the main long-term risk to its cost structure?

    • Falling sales leave high fixed machinery costs that still have to be paid
    • Falling sales mean the business must pay for every unit of output twice over
    • Falling sales increase the cost of each unit because raw materials become cheaper
    • Falling sales cause labour costs to rise sharply because machines need more staff

18. Which definition of quality fits production best?

    • Products that use only recycled materials in every stage of their production process
    • Products that are sold at the highest price available in the market to premium buyers
    • Products that meet the standard expected by customers and are free of defects
    • Products made in the largest possible quantity each day to meet the factory's output target

19. A production line makes 500 items and 25 are faulty. What percentage of items is faulty?

    • 20%
    • 2%
    • 25%
    • 5%

20. Why might a business that adopts heavy automation need to balance cost against flexibility?

    • Automation gives unlimited flexibility, so the business can ignore cost when planning its output
    • Automation makes quality checks unnecessary, so the business can focus on output alone and cost
    • Automation removes the need for customer feedback, so new products can be planned without it
    • Heavy automation may lock in one product design, reducing the ability to respond to changing demand

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