After reading this article you will learn about the equation for production function.
Production function is concerned with the creation of a product. It establishes the relationship between the quantity of output furnished or given out by a productive process and the quantities of different inputs used in that process.
Algebraically a production function can be written as:
y = f(c1,c2,c3…cn)
where quantity ‘y’ of the product Y which is produced depends upon the quantities c1, c2, c3. …cn of the inputs c1, c2, c3. …cn respectively.
A production function thus involves a wide range of activities from the plant location to the packing of products to be distributed by the marketing division of an organisation. The modern evolution of the production function started with the Industrial Revolution. The new machinery was developed which helped in starting new and big industries and along with this, the era of mechanisation began.
A major momentum to the improvement of production function was supplied after 1880 by the advancements in management techniques. F.W. Taylor was the renowned pioneer to contribute management theory to the production function. He is considered as the father of Scientific Management. He developed a number of management principles. Other persons associated with the scientific management were Gantt, Emerson, Gilbreth, etc.
Various factors like labour charges, dearth of skilled operators, human errors, etc., led to automation, i.e., the automatic operation and control of machinery and processes. The first stage in the evolution of automation is Detroit Automation, second stage Feed Back Control, and third stage is Computer Technology.
Related to production, an always difficult managerial decision is regarding the selection of Plant Site and then Plant Layout. Plant location should be such that production and distribution costs are minimum but the profit is maximum. After locating the site, the facilities (equipment, etc.) have to be laid out. A good plant layout permits the materials to move at the desired speed and at minimum cost.
Before starting the actual production, one has to plan the same. Production Planning and Control, considers the determination and regulation of production processes and has different functions like routing, scheduling, dispatching, progress control, etc.
Another important function is Research and Development. Research means the critical investigation into natural sciences in order to acquire new knowledge. Applied research explores facts and information’s for the practical problems in mind and thus aims at achieving immediate results to practical problems; whereas pure research is carried out to add to the knowledge in a particular field without expecting its immediate use to any practical problem. Development comes after applied research. It involves design and fabrication of new or modified products and then testing them to find their usefulness.