Deck 7: Service Processes

Question 1

The service-system design matrix identifies five alternative forms of service encounters.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The central problem in virtually every waiting line situation is a trade-off decision balancing the costs of adding services with the costs of waiting.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

It is difficult to separate the operations management functions from marketing in services.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The customer arrivals in a queuing system come almost exclusively from infinite populations.

Question 5

Poka-yokes are procedures that block the inevitable mistake from becoming a service defect.

Question 6

The customer arrivals in a queuing system come almost exclusively from finite populations.

Question 7

The service-system design matrix identifies six forms of service encounters.

Question 8

A service system with a high degree of customer contact is less difficult to control than a low degree of customer contact service system.

Question 9

The term "encounter" is defined by Webster's Dictionary as "meeting in conflict or battle" and is used to also designate meetings between consumers and service systems.

Question 10

Services often take the form of repeated encounters involving face-to-face interactions.

Question 11

Poka-yoke is roughly translated from Japanese as "avoid mistakes."

Question 12

Poka-yoke is roughly translated from Japanese as "quality management."

Question 13

Because little or no inventory is carried in a service operation, it is easy to separate the operations management functions from marketing in services.

Question 14

The "service blueprint" is a classification of services.

Question 15

An important aspect of service products is that they cannot be inventoried.

Question 16

Customer contact refers to creation of the service.

Question 17

Ideally in waiting line or queuing analysis we want to balance the cost of service capacity with the cost of waiting.

Question 18

The work process involved in providing the service must involve the physical presence of the customer in the system.

Question 19

Effective management of services requires a clear focus on understanding operations, so much so, that it may even require the exclusion of consideration of marketing or personnel.

Question 20

A finite population in waiting line management refers to a population that is large enough in relation to the service system so that the change in population size caused by subtraction or additions to the population does not significantly affect the system probabilities.

Question 21

In a practical sense, a finite population is one that potentially would form a very long line in relation to the capacity of the serving system.

Question 22

There are different queuing models to fit different queuing situations.

Question 23

Longest waiting time in line is a queue discipline discussed in the textbook.

Question 24

In a practical sense, an infinite queue is one that includes every possible member of the served population.

Question 25

An infinite population in waiting line management refers to a population that is large enough in relation to the service system so that the change in population size caused by subtraction or additions to the population does not significantly affect the system probabilities.

Question 26

A car wash is an example of a single channel, multiphase queuing system.

Question 27

The admissions system in a hospital for patients is an example of a single channel, single phase queuing system.

Question 28

A constant arrival rate is more common in productive systems than a variable arrival rate.

Question 29

The demand on a hospital's emergency medical services is considered an uncontrollable arrival pattern of the calling population.

Question 30

The term "queue discipline" involves the art of controlling surly and unruly customers who have become irritated by waiting.

Question 31

In a waiting line situation, multiple lines occur only when there are multiple servers.

Question 32

Gas stations, loading docks, and parking lots have infinite potential length of lines for their respective queuing systems.

Question 33

The Poisson probability distribution is used in waiting line management when we are interested in the number of arrivals to a queue during some fixed time period.

Question 34

Arrival characteristics in a queuing problem analysis include the length of the queue.

Question 35

A tellers' window in a bank is an example of a single channel, multiphase queuing system.

Question 36

A variable arrival rate is more common in waiting line management than a constant arrival rate.

Question 37

A department of 25 machines is kept running by three operators who respond to randomly occurring equipment problems. An analyst who wanted to know how much production was being lost by machines waiting for service could use queuing theory analysis to find out.

Question 38

Best customer last is a queue discipline discussed in the textbook.

Question 39

Highest-profit customer first is a queue discipline discussed in the textbook.

Question 40

The demand on a hospital's emergency medical services is considered a controllable arrival pattern of the calling population.

Question 41

A department of 25 machines is kept running by three operators who respond to randomly occurring equipment problems. An analyst wanting to know whether to add a fourth operator or downsize to two operators would be helped by using queuing theory analysis.

Question 42

Buying a ticket for a college football game where there are multiple windows to buy the ticket at features which type of queuing system line structure?

A) Single channel, single phase
B) Single channel, multiphase
C) Multichannel, single phase
D) Multichannel, multiphase
E) None of these

Question 43

Standing in line to buy a ticket for a movie where there are multiple windows to buy tickets is which type of queuing system line structure?

A) Single channel, single phase
B) Single channel, multiphase
C) Multichannel, single phase
D) Multichannel, multiphase
E) None of these

Question 44

In essence, a queuing system includes several major components. Which of the following is not one of them?

A) Source population
B) Servicing system
C) How the customer exits the system
D) The queue discipline
E) None of these

Question 45

Which of the following is not a suggestion for managing queues presented in the textbook?

A) Train your servers to be friendly
B) Segment the customers
C) Determine an acceptable waiting time for your customers
D) Inform your customers of what to expect
E) Encourage customers to come during slack periods

Question 46

Which following queue discipline is discussed in the textbook?

A) Emergencies first
B) Garner-Whitten formula
C) Newest customer first
D) Patient customers last
E) None of these

Question 47

A roller coaster ride in an amusement park employs which type of queuing system line structure?

A) Single channel, single phase
B) Single channel, multiphase
C) Multichannel, single phase
D) Multichannel, multiphase
E) None of these

Question 48

Which of the following is not a queue discipline discussed in the textbook?

A) First come, first served
B) Last in, first out
C) Limited needs
D) Shortest processing time
E) Best customer first

Question 49

Which of the following is not a suggestion for managing queues presented in the textbook?

A) Try to divert your customer's attention when waiting
B) Segment the customers
C) Encourage customers to come during a slack period
D) Train your servers to be friendly
E) Periodically close the service channel to temporarily disperse the line

Question 50

Which of the following is a suggestion for managing queues that is mentioned in the textbook?

A) Put up a serpentine lane to keep people from jumping ahead in line
B) Use humor to defuse a potentially irritating situation
C) Train your servers to be friendly
D) Assure customers that the wait is fair and inform them of the queue discipline
E) Tell people in the queue that each will be served as soon as possible

Question 51

Which of the following is a suggestion for managing queues that is mentioned in the textbook?

A) Put up a serpentine lane to keep people from jumping ahead in line
B) Use humor to defuse a potentially irritating situation
C) Segment the customers
D) Assure customers that the wait is fair and inform them of the queue discipline
E) Tell people in the queue that each will be served as soon as possible

Question 52

Assume the service rate for a queue in a truck-loading operation is 2 trucks per hour. Using the infinite queuing notion for the models presented in the textbook, which of the following is the average service time?

A) 2 hours
B) 1 hour
C) 0.5 hour
D) 0.25 hour
E) None of these

Question 53

Which of the following is a suggestion for managing queues presented in the textbook?

A) Train your servers to be friendly
B) Tell customers that the line should encourage them to come during slack periods
C) Give each customer a number
D) Periodically close the service channel to temporarily disperse the line
E) Use humor to defuse a potentially irritating situation

Question 54

A department of 25 machines is kept running by three operators who respond to randomly occurring equipment problems. When an operator is absent, the amount of production being lost by machines waiting for service increases. The analyst can use queuing theory analysis to determine whether to pay overtime to an operator from a different shift or not.

Question 55

Buying food at a large food store with multiple checkout counters features which type of queuing system line structure?

A) Single channel, single phase
B) Single channel, multiphase
C) Multichannel, single phase
D) Multichannel, multiphase
E) None of these

Question 56

Machine breakdown and repair in a twelve machine factory having one repair mechanic would develop which type of queuing system line structure concerning machine breakdowns?

A) Single channel, single phase
B) Single channel, multiphase
C) Multichannel, single phase
D) Multichannel, multiphase
E) None of these

Question 57

In a college registration process, several department heads have to approve an individual student's semester course load. What is the queuing system line structure?

A) Single channel, single phase
B) Single channel, multiphase
C) Multichannel, single phase
D) Multichannel, multiphase
E) None of these

Question 58

Which of the following are the three major components of a queuing system?

A) The source population, how customers exit the system, and the queuing discipline.
B) The number of servers, the service speed and the waiting line.
C) The source population, how the customer exits the system, and the servicing system.
D) The source population and the way customers arrive at the system, the serving systems, and how customers exit the system.
E) The service speed, the queue discipline and the waiting line.

Question 59

Getting an autograph from a famous person might involve standing in which type of queuing line structure?

A) Single channel, single phase
B) Single channel, multiphase
C) Multichannel, single phase
D) Multichannel, multiphase
E) None of these

Question 60

Which of the following is an example of a finite population in a queuing system?

A) People waiting to place their order at a fast food restaurant.
B) The departmental faculty in line at the copy machine.
C) People waiting in line at an ATM.
D) Patients seeking help in a hospital emergency room.
E) Taxpayers calling for assistance from the IRS.

Question 61

Which of the following are alternative possible service encounters included in the service-system design matrix?

A) Mail contact
B) Warranty
C) Sales call
D) Field service
E) None of these

Question 62

There are many applications of poka-yokes in service organizations. Which of the following is one of the three-T's used to classify poka-yokes?

A) Task
B) Time
C) Teamwork
D) Trust
E) Talent

Question 63

Which of the following is a characteristic that can be used to guide the design of service systems?

A) Services cannot be inventoried
B) Services are all similar
C) Quality work means quality service
D) Services businesses are inherently entrepreneurial
E) Even service businesses have internal services

Question 64

The "line of visibility" is a feature of:

A) a single-channel, single phase queuing system.
B) the service blueprint.
C) an entertainment activity for people waiting in line for a service.
D) a waiting line that allows visibility of the server(s) tending to customers in front of you.
E) None of these

Question 65

There are many applications of poka-yokes in service organizations. Which of the following is one of the three-T's used to classify poka-yokes?

A) Talent
B) Teamwork
C) Trust
D) Treatment
E) Time

Question 66

In designing service systems, as you go from mail contact to phone contact to face to face total customization, which of the following is most appropriate?

A) Sales opportunity decreases while degree of customer/server contact increases.
B) Sales opportunity decreases while degree of customer/server contact decreases.
C) Sales opportunity increases while degree of customer/server contact decreases.
D) Sales opportunity increases while degree of customer/server contact increases.
E) None of the above

Question 67

Which of the following refers to the physical presence of the customer in a service system?

A) Creation of the service
B) Customer contact
C) Intermittent production
D) Continuous production
E) None of these

Question 68

Assuming a 24 hour operation in a warehouse, and an arrival following Poisson distribution with mean rate of 36 per day and service (unloading using a single bay) following exponential distribution with a rate of 48 trucks per day, answer the following question. What is the expected waiting time in the system (in hours) for a typical truck?

A) 2 hours
B) 1 hour
C) 1.5 hour
D) 0.25 hour
E) 0.5 hour

Question 69

A company is concerned about the number of customers that have to wait for service in their customer service department. Assume the rate at which customers arrive is 12 per hour. Using the infinite queuing notion for the models presented in the textbook, which of the following is the mean time between arrivals?

A) 12 minutes
B) 6 minutes
C) 2 minutes
D) 1 minute
E) None of these

Question 70

Which of the following is considered a high-contact service operation?

A) On-line brokerage house
B) Internet sales for a department store
C) Physician practice
D) Telephone life insurance sales and service
E) Automobile repair

Question 71

In the service-system design matrix, an internet and on-site technology service encounter is expected to have which of the following?

A) High sales opportunity
B) High degree of customer/server contact
C) Low production efficiency
D) High production efficiency
E) None of these

Question 72

The service blueprint makes a distinction between:

A) High and low customer contact aspects of the service.
B) Those parts of the service performed before payment from those performed after payment.
C) Standardized elements of the service and those distinctive customized aspects of the service.
D) Customers desiring good service and customers unconcerned with service quality.
E) Low and high value-added aspects of the service.

Question 73

According to the text, the main differences separating Amazon from other on line retailors are all of the following except

A) website and the gigantic list of product offerings.
B) multi-tiered strategy any one can sell anything.
C) you can return products.
D) you can setup website with links to Amazon and get paid for click throughs.
E) can be your personal shopping assistant.

Question 74

In the service-system design matrix, a face-to-face total customization service encounter is expected to have which of the following?

A) Low sales opportunity
B) Low production efficiency
C) High production efficiency
D) Low degree of customer/server contact
E) None of these

Question 75

For an infinite queuing situation, if the arrival rate for loading trucks is 5 trucks per hour, what is the mean time between arrivals?

A) 5 hours
B) 2.5 hours
C) 0.2 hour
D) 0.1 hour
E) None of these

Question 76

Platform service business model describes an approach where
a) consumers and producers/service creators are brought together for a social cause.
b) transaction provider connects the customer and providers and collects the charges.
c) an example of a transaction provider would be eBay.
d) another model of manufacture is described.

A) Option A
B) Option B
C) Option C
D) Option D

Question 77

Which of the following is an alternative possible service encounter included in the service-system design matrix?

A) Face-to-face distance
B) Internet
C) Questionnaire response
D) Automated teller machine (ATM)
E) Response card encounter

Question 78

In the service-system design matrix, a face-to-face loose specs service encounter is expected to have which of the following?

A) Low sales opportunity
B) Low production efficiency
C) High production efficiency
D) Low degree of customer/server contact
E) None of these

Question 79

In the service-system design matrix, a mail contact service encounter is expected to have which of the following?

A) High sales opportunity
B) High degree of customer/server contact
C) High production efficiency
D) Low sales opportunity
E) None of these

Question 80

Every service has a service package, which is defined as a bundle of goods and services provided in some environment. The service package consists of five features. Which of the following is not one of these features?

A) Supporting facility
B) Facilitating services
C) Information
D) Explicit Services
E) Implicit Services