Difference between problem and symptom.
A problem is a situation or occurrence that hampers the normal running of a business or that impairs the achievement of a goal. It is detected by the occurrence of symptoms. An example of a problem is the misinterpretation of the needs of a target market niche. The repercussions (symptoms) of this problem may be reduced revenue, unhappy employees, low profit, high staff turnover and a myriad of other effects. A symptom is therefore a ripple effect caused as a result of the existence of a problem.
Advantages and disadvantages of just in time inventory control.
Just in Time Inventory control is a system in which materials are bought and units produced to satisfy the immediate customer demand (Dittmer & Keefe, 2005). This system leads to a reduction of the inventory to a minimum or to nothing. This system can be made use of in manufacturing and merchandising factories. It is mostly used in manufacturing companies which have the following types of inventories; raw materials, materials being worked on and finished products. Among the advantages of Just in Time Inventory control systems are; there is no money tied up in inventory and thus the company is liquid, the areas that would have been used to store inventories can be made use of for other uses, there is a reduction in throughput time thus a larger output and high rate of response to customers, the defect rates are minimized which lead to minimal wastes and a lot of customer satisfaction. The disadvantages of this system are as follows; the system is very expensive to introduce, it is very risky in that production might seize due to a minor hiccup since there is stored stock that acts as a fall back.
Comparison and contrast of operations controls.
Operations control is the process of assessing how an organization conducts its activities to achieve its planned results (FAO, 2006). Cost, budgetary, maintenance and budgetary controls are tools used in the regulation of an organization’s performance. They differ from each other in that budgetary control as defined by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants (CIMA) is “The establishment of budgets relating the responsibilities of executives to the requirements of a policy, and the continuous comparison of actual with budgeted results, either to secure by individual action the objective of that policy, or to provide a basis for its revision”. It enables managers to keep an eye on organizational functions. Maintenance control involves the co-ordination of upkeep demand and resources in a manner that the stipulated objectives are fulfilled. Ratio analysis is a tool used by accountants to perform a quantitative analysis of data in an institution’s financial statement. Ratios are mainly used for analysis and cost control is the analysis of the use of funds in the running of an organization.
