商务英语阅读-Unit 12产品与质量管理.pptVIP

Unit Twelve Production and Quality Management Objectives Get the students to be familiar with the concept of production and quality management. Cultivate the students’ ability of problem-solving. Help the students to grasp the techniques for fast reading. Section A Introduction Production and quality are the most important issues in any business. Efficient and effective production and best quality always increase productivity and thus make the business more profitable. Production is the process of transforming inputs such as raw materials into outputs such as goods and services. As markets have become much more competitive, quality has become widely regarded as a key ingredient for success in business. Pre-reading Before reading the following passage, answer these questions: 1. Do you know about production? 2. What role does quality play in business? Text Production Management Production management refers to the management of a firm’s production activities. Production management is crucial to both manufacturing and service organizations. As an organization grows, it can capitalize on a number of factors that accompany their larger size. Each of these factors is associated with the experience curve, the reduction in per-unit costs that occurs as an organization gains experience producing a product or service. Whenever a company’s output doubles, production costs typically decline by a specific percentage, depending on industry. For instance, with a sales volume of 2 million units, per-unit costs may be $100 in a particular industry. With a doubling of volume to 4 million units, per-unit costs may decline by 15 percent. Another doubling of volume to 8 million units may lower per-unit costs another 15 percent. The experience curve has been observed in a wide range of manufacturing and service industries, including automobiles, personal computers, and airlines. Although the precise percentages are not always known, the principle of the curve can be accu