11–12Business Studies 11–12 Syllabus (2026)

Role of operations management

Operations objectives, including cost, quality, flexibility, dependability and speed

Potential trade-offs between operations objectives

Process layouts, including product, functional, fixed-position and hybrid layouts

Layout optimisation to improve flow, safety and customer convenience

Purpose and interpretation of Gantt charts, including start dates, duration and deadlines for tasks

Purpose and interpretation of critical path analysis, including the critical path, critical tasks, duration of the critical path and float time for tasks

Role of quality control inspections in the supply chain

Advantages and disadvantages of global sourcing in the supply chain

Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing in the supply chain

Logistical considerations in the supply chain, based on product characteristics and the distribution channel

Role of inventory, flexible labour and pricing for managing fluctuations in demand

Types of inventory, including inventory of materials, work in process and finished goods

Advantages and disadvantages of just-in-case and just-in-time inventory management methods

Influence of product characteristics on inventory management, including perishability, storage costs and fluctuations in demand

Role of capacity planning, including the cost of being under capacity, the cost of being over capacity, and decisions to buy and sell assets

Relationship between capacity, volume, capacity utilisation, cost per unit and economies of scale

Break-even analysis to evaluate the volume required to break even

Political influences, including infrastructure and trade policies

Economic influences, including the business cycle

Technological influences, including the advantages and disadvantages of adopting innovations in process technology

Legal influences, including work health and safety (WHS) requirements and environmental regulations

Environmental influences, including consideration of the inputs, by-products and end-of-life of the product

Ethical influences, including considerations in global sourcing

Interpret key operations metrics, including cost per unit, product return rate, capacity cushion, on time delivery rate and production lead time

Compare operations metrics to past performance, targets and industry benchmarks

Corrective action based on operations performance

Interdependence of operations decisions with other business functions

Alignment of decisions within the operations function, across business functions and with business strategy