Business sectors in operations
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Question
What is the primary sector?
Answer
Businesses that extract raw materials from the earth — farming, fishing, mining, forestry, oil drilling.
💡 Hint
Extract raw materials
Question
What is sectoral shift?
Answer
As countries develop, importance shifts from primary → secondary → tertiary sectors.
💡 Hint
Primary → Secondary → Tertiary
Question
Primary sector operations focus on ___
Answer
Natural resources, location near raw materials, seasonal factors.
💡 Hint
Resources + location + seasons
Question
Primary = extracting. Secondary = manufacturing. Tertiary = ___
Answer
Providing services.
💡 Hint
Services
Question
Secondary sector operations focus on ___
Answer
Production methods, economies of scale, machinery investment.
💡 Hint
Methods + scale + machinery
Question
Developing countries rely heavily on which sector?
Answer
Primary — extracting raw materials and agriculture.
💡 Hint
Primary
Question
What is the secondary sector?
Answer
Businesses that process/manufacture raw materials into finished goods — factories, construction, food processing.
💡 Hint
Manufacturing + processing
Question
Countries develop: primary → secondary → ___
Answer
Tertiary — the services sector dominates developed economies.
💡 Hint
Tertiary
Question
Tertiary sector operations focus on ___
Answer
Customer experience, staff training, convenient location.
💡 Hint
Experience + training + location
Question
The sector affects operations decisions like ___
Answer
Location, resources needed, and quality focus.
💡 Hint
Location + resources + quality
Question
As countries industrialise, which sector grows?
Answer
Secondary — manufacturing and processing industries expand.
💡 Hint
Secondary
Question
What is the tertiary sector?
Answer
Businesses that provide services — retail, banking, education, healthcare, tourism.
💡 Hint
Provide services
Question
Some businesses operate across ___ sectors
Answer
Multiple — e.g. a coffee company that grows (primary), roasts (secondary) and sells (tertiary).
💡 Hint
Multiple sectors
Question
Knowing the sector helps you answer exam questions because ___
Answer
It guides which operations factors matter most for that specific business.
💡 Hint
Guides your answer
Question
Quick: Farming = ___ sector
Answer
Primary — extracting raw materials from the earth.
💡 Hint
Primary
Question
Chain example: farmer → bread factory → supermarket?
Answer
Primary (farmer) → Secondary (factory) → Tertiary (supermarket).
💡 Hint
P → S → T
Question
Quick: A bank = ___ sector
Answer
Tertiary — providing financial services.
💡 Hint
Tertiary
Question
A factory's operations differ from a hotel's because ___
Answer
Factory (secondary) focuses on production efficiency; hotel (tertiary) focuses on customer experience.
💡 Hint
Production vs experience
Question
Which sector is biggest in developed economies?
Answer
Tertiary (services) — developed countries are service-dominated.
💡 Hint
Tertiary
Question
Sectoral shift is like climbing ___
Answer
Stairs — countries move up from primary → secondary → tertiary as they develop.
💡 Hint
Stairs analogy
Read the notes
Full study notes for Business sectors in operations
Topic 5.1 hub
Introduction to operations management
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BM exam skills
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