Secondary Economic Activities as Systems (Chapter 55)

Secondary Economic ActivityJust like farming, any secondary economic activity can be seen as a system:

Inputs

Outputs

Processes

Inputs

ProcessesOutputs

In a bakery, which of the following is not an input?

Electricity

Bags of flour

Sliced bread

Baking trays

Plastic gloves

Manufacturing IndustryAny business that transforms raw materials into finished or semi-finished goods, using machines, tools and labour.

Case Study

PC ProInputs, Processes and Outputs in an Irish Computer Factory

PC Pro

• Irish owned computer assembly plant.• Located in Southside Industrial Estate, Togher,

Cork City.• PC Pro, like all factories, works as a system.

Inputs:

• Factory building• 20 employees• Imported components

– Case– Motherboard– CPU– Hard disk– Video card– Monitor– Keyboard– Mouse

Processes

• Tagging and shelving components in factory warehouse

• Selecting components to suit customers’ orders• Assembling computer• Quality control• Burn-in (testing)• Packaging and delivering computer

Outputs

• Assembles computers• Software packages• Individual computer parts

Question – Secondary Industry

(a) Name one manufacturing industry that you have studied.

(b) Describe this industry referring to its inputs, processes and outputs.