Deck 7: Service Processes

Question 1

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

Answer 1

False
Explanation: Service systems with a high degree of customer contact are more difficult to control than those with a low degree of customer contact.

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

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

Question 3

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 3

True
Explanation: A central problem in many service settings is the management of waiting time.The manager must weigh the added cost of providing more rapid service (more traffic lanes,additional landing strips,more checkout stands)against the inherent cost of waiting.

Question 4

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

Question 5

Poka-Yoke is roughly translated from Japanese as "Quality Management."

Question 6

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

Question 7

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

Question 8

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

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

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 11

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

Question 12

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

Question 13

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

Question 14

Poka-Yoke is roughly translated from Japanese as "Avoid Mistakes."

Question 15

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

Question 16

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 17

Customer contact refers to creation of the service.

Question 18

The "service blueprint" is a classification of services.

Question 19

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

Question 20

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

Question 21

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

Question 22

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

Question 23

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 24

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 25

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

Question 26

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 27

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

Question 28

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 29

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

Question 30

There are different queuing models to fit different queuing situations.

Question 31

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

Question 32

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

Question 33

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

Question 34

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

Question 35

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

Question 36

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

Question 37

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

Question 38

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

Question 39

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

Question 40

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

Question 41

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 the above

Question 42

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 43

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 the above

Question 44

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 45

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 46

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 the above

Question 47

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 48

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 the above

Question 49

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 50

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 51

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 52

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 53

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 the above

Question 54

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 the above

Question 55

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 56

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 the above

Question 57

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 the above

Question 58

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 the above

Question 59

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 60

Machine breakdown and repair in a twelve machine factory having three repair mechanics 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 the above

Question 61

Buying items at a department store where there are a large number of checkout counters features which type of queuing system line structure? ______________________________________________

Question 62

When arrivals occur in a purely random fashion at a service facility,the distribution of the number of arrivals per unit of time forms which kind of distribution? ___________________

Question 63

When arrivals occur in a purely random fashion at a service facility,what kind of distribution does a plot of interarrival times yield? ___________________________

Question 64

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 minutes
E) None of the above

Question 65

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 the above

Question 66

In the service-system design matrix,what kind of production efficiency is expected from a service encounter designed to be "face-to-face loose specs?" ______________________________________

Question 67

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 (ATM)
E) Response card encounter

Question 68

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 69

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 70

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 the above

Question 71

Joining a line at an airport shoeshine stand where there are five people shining shoes puts you in which type of queuing system line structure? ______________________________________________________

Question 72

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 73

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 the above

Question 74

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 hours
D) 0.1 hours
E) None of the above

Question 75

In infinite queuing theory,the average number in the waiting line divided by the average arrival rate yields what measure of waiting line performance? _________________________________

Question 76

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 the above

Question 77

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 the above

Question 78

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 the above

Question 79

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 80

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 hours
D) 0.25 hours
E) None of the above