Western Governors University (WGU) MGMT4100 C720 Operations and Supply Chain Management Practice Exam

In low variety operations, the relationship between costs is characterized by high fixed costs and low variable costs. This is because low variety operations often involve processes that are highly standardized or repetitive, which typically require significant upfront investments in facilities, machinery, and equipment. These investments represent fixed costs as they do not change with the level of output.

Since the production processes are not highly varied and tend to operate on a larger scale, the variable costs — which include costs that fluctuate with production volume such as materials and labor — tend to be lower on a per-unit basis. The production efficiency achieved in such environments allows for the spreading of fixed costs over a larger number of units produced, further minimizing the impact of variable costs.

In contrast, when operations exhibit high variety, they tend to incur lower fixed costs due to less investment in dedicated facilities but higher variable costs associated with the need for more diverse inputs and potentially more complex labor requirements. This makes the contextual understanding of how fixed and variable costs interact crucial for businesses operating in different environments.