Deck 9: Balancing Demand Against Productive Capacity

Question 1

Good records of a firm's transactions can help one to understand demand patterns.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Medical clinics, hotels, and passenger aircrafts are all examples of physical facilities designed to contain goods and services.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways to change the overall level of capacity to match demand variations?

A) Use part-time employees.
B) Ask customers to share.
C) Invite customers to perform self-service.
D) Cross-train employees.
E) Share facilities with the supplier.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

All of the following are ways to make waits more bearable EXCEPT ____________.

A) encourage group waits
B) keep customers occupied while waiting
C) make customers feel comfortable during waits
D) let customers know how long they are expected to wait
E) provide the customers with no explanation for the wait

Question 5

Marketing strategies can be used to shape demand in all ways EXCEPT ____________.

A) modify mode of delivery
B) use price and other cost to manage demand
C) change product elements
D) modify time and place of delivery
E) use promotion and education

Question 6

All of the following are questions to ask about demand patterns and their underlying causes EXCEPT ____________.

A) Do demand levels follow a predictable cycle?
B) What are the underlying causes of these cyclical variations?
C) How much demand are competitors receiving?
D) Do demand levels seem to change randomly?
E) Can demand for a particular service over time be disaggregated by market segment?

Question 7

We need to have queuing or reservations systems because demand cannot be inventoried.

Question 8

The term "productive capacity" refers to the resources or assets that a firm can employ to create goods and services.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT one of the conditions that fixed-capacity firms may face?

A) Excess capacity.
B) Demand exceeds desired capacity.
C) Demand and supply are well-balanced.
D) Ideal demand exceeds capacity.
E) Excess demand.

Question 10

Which of the following is the correct action for a firm to take that wants to reduce demand and has insufficient capacity?

A) Take no action.
B) Consider override for most desirable segments.
C) Consider priority systems for most desirable segments.
D) Increase prices or encourage use in other time slots.
E) Lower prices selectively.

Question 11

Demand patterns are usually random.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the alternative queuing configurations discussed?

A) Single line/single servers at sequential stages
B) Multiple line to single servers "snake")
C) Parallel lines to multiple servers
D) Designated lines to designated servers
E) "Take a Number" single or multiple servers)

Question 13

What are the four supply and demand conditions that a fixed-capacity service may face?

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT one of the productive capacity forms in a service context?

A) Physical facilities designed to contain customers
B) Physical equipment used to process people, possessions, or information
C) Customers
D) Labor
E) Infrastructure

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits of having a reservations system?

A) Helps service personnel to serve more effectively.
B) Helps in pre-selling the service.
C) Helps customers to avoid queuing.
D) Helps firms to keep some time aside for emergency jobs.
E) Allows demand to be controlled.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT one of the five basic approaches to managing demand?

A) Taking no action and leaving demand to find its own levels.
B) Reduce demand in peak periods.
C) Increase demand when there is excess capacity.
D) Inventory capacity until demand increases.
E) Inventory demand by creating a formalized queuing system.

Question 17

Financial success in businesses with limited capacity depends largely on how capacity is used.

Question 18

Yield analysis forces managers to recognize the opportunity cost of selling capacity for a given date to a customer from one market segment when another might subsequently yield a higher rate.

Question 19

When a firm wants to inventory demand via a reservation system and has insufficient capacity it should lower prices selectively.

Question 20

One way to stretch capacity is to ensure slack time is encountered.

Question 21

What are thee strategies that can be employed when considering a modification to the place and time of service delivery?

Question 22

Discuss why a subway car has elastic capacity.

Question 23

List the four key marketing strategies that can be employed to reshape demand.

Question 24

What are the two basic approaches to fluctuating demand?

Question 25

Give a situation where optimal and maximum capacities are the same.

Question 26

____________ is usually the first variable to be proposed for bringing demand and supply into balance.

A) Price.
B) Place.
C) Personnel.
D) Product.
E) Promotion.

Question 27

A good example of inventorying demand is a haircut that can be set up and prepared for one day and executed the next.

Question 28

Mont Tremblant uses all the following ways to attract guests during summer EXCEPT _____________.

A) water sports on the lake
B) face painting
C) balloon sculpting
D) wind surfing
E) roller-blading

Question 29

During the SARS period when travel and tourism was affected, staff were sent for training or encouraged to resign.

Question 30

A subway can increase the capacity on a route after all seats have been occupied.

Question 31

List the six actions managers can take to adjust capacity as needed.

Question 32

The demand on a city bus is likely to vary by all EXCEPT which of the following?

A) Time of day.
B) Day of the week.
C) Season of the year.
D) Population density in the city.
E) All of the above will likely cause demand to vary on a city bus.

Question 33

Airlines place restrictive conditions on fares for tourists to prevent business travelers from traveling on economy class.

Question 34

One way for car washes to decrease the number of visitors to the existing site is to

A) Offer free pickup and delivery of cars to be washed.
B) Offer mobile car wash services.
C) Add more service options.
D) Increase prices to get the most out of current customers.
E) Educate customers on when they should have their cars washed.

Question 35

Describe what the term "yield" means in the context of a reservation strategy.

Question 36

One of the most direct ways for a hotel to reduce excess demand at peak periods is to charge customers more money to use the service during those periods.

Question 37

Describe how optimum and maximum capacities may differ in the restaurant industry.

Question 38

Describe four of the ten propositions on the psychology of waiting lines.

Question 39

New York City's 911 service uses education to ______________.

A) attract new callers
B) show callers when peak periods are
C) discourage undesirable demand
D) channel calls to medical services
E) encourage callers to use their services

Question 40

How did BMW occupy customers while they were waiting for their cars to be serviced?

Question 41

Which company is taking advantage of reservations system to do business?

Question 42

Discuss how PrimeTimeTables can be successful in their business and the problems they face in the provision of their service.

Question 43

Describe how ski resorts manage traditionally seasonal supply and demand fluctuations.

Question 44

Describe how Disney decided to deal with long lines.