chapter 5 operations management

Service recovery refers to A. the ability to quickly restore service following a service failure and provide compensation. B. the reliance on cryptography to protect commercial activities. C. security privacy and the protection of intellectual property. D. the level of confidence users hold that service systems will operate as intended without unanticipated failures or problems.

A. the ability to quickly restore service following a service failure and provide compensation.

Concerning grocery shopping experiences, which of the following best represents the concept of the implicit service? A. The superior selection available from a large grocery store. B. Reduced levels of antibiotics used in the production of organic beef. C. Grocery carts designed to look like race cars to appeal to children. D. A sense of community when buying from a local co-op.

D. A sense of community when buying from a local co-op.

Which of the following is NOT an example of a high-contact service? A. Retail trade B. Personal services C. Business services D. Auto repair

D. Auto repair

Which of the following statements is NOT true about customer contact and the customer contact matrix? A. High-contact services are referred to as buffered core because these processes are buffered or removed from interaction with the customer. B. Operations must be concerned with customer contact because higher contact levels can introduce variability into the process. C. In the middle ground of customer contact, permeable systems have processes that are penetrated by customers in fairly restricted ways. D. High contact levels may be costly in terms of lost efficiency, but they offer opportunities to increase sales to customer resulting in increased revenues.

A. High-contact services are referred to as buffered core because these processes are buffered or removed from interaction with the customer.

There are key differences between service and manufacturing organizations. Which of the following is true regarding these differences? A. Most service organizations cannot inventory their services to absorb fluctuations in customer demand. B. Most manufacturing organizations easily permit simultaneous production and consumption of system output. C. Most manufacturing organizations are typically located closer to the customer, such as a central business district location, due to the simultaneity of consumption and production. D. Service organizations can easily store current capacity in the form of inventories.

A. Most service organizations cannot inventory their services to absorb fluctuations in customer demand.

Which of the following is correct concerning high-contact services? A. To increase the efficiency of high-contact services, the organization should look to reduce the amount of customer-introduced uncertainty by limiting customization. B. It is easier to smooth the peaks and valleys of demand for high-contact services than for low-contact services. C. High-contact services are generally less variable and easier to price competitively. D. All of these choices are true.

A. To increase the efficiency of high-contact services, the organization should look to reduce the amount of customer-introduced uncertainty by limiting customization.

The service profit chain shows that _____ is the direct link to profitability. A. customer loyalty B. customer satisfaction C. customer contact D. employee productivity

A. customer loyalty

Which of the following is NOT a general characteristic of a service? A. Production and consumption are simultaneous. B. The service can be transported. C. No resale is possible. D. The service cannot be stored.

B. A service cannot be transported

Which of the following statements concerning service guarantees is FALSE? A. A service guarantee is a mechanism to build customer loyalty. B. A service guarantee is a way to avoid compensating customers for a service failure. C. A service guarantee is a tool to clarify exactly what the service must provide. D. A service guarantee is a way to define a service and ensure satisfactory delivery to the customer.

B. A service guarantee is a way to avoid compensating customers for a service failure.

Medical services are an example of which of the following? A. Customer-routed services B. Co-routed services C. Patient-routed services D. Provider-routed services

B. Co-routed services

Which of the following is a common potential benefit of outsourcing services? A. Increased control over the service delivery. B. Increased ability to focus on core competencies. C. Decreased need to attend to people (customers of the service) allowing greater focus on processes. D. Decreased need to control the quality of the service because it is outsourced.

B. Increased ability to focus on core competencies.

Which of the following is the main intent of the service delivery system matrix? A. It illustrates the continuum of interaction between marketing and operations. B. It illustrates the strategic choices in service delivery system design. C. It illustrates the interaction between customer wants/needs and the service recovery plan. D. It illustrates the complexity and customization required of provider-routed processes.

B. It illustrates the strategic choices in service delivery system design.

____-contact services require employees with administrative/technical skills and efficient processing routines. A. High B. Low C. Moderate D. More than one of these choices are true.

B. Low

Estate planning would be an example of A. a co-routed service. B. a customer-routed service. C. a provider-routed service. D. none of these choices.

B. a customer-routed service

A good service guarantee A. is often an advertising gimmick. B. is an honest assurance that the customer will be satisfied. C. has many stipulations and conditions. D. costs a lot.

B. is an honest assurance that the customer will be satisfied.

Which of the following best completes this sentence? A service guarantee A. is useful as an advertising ploy to attract additional customers. B. is an honest assurance that the customer will be satisfied. C. needs to contain a variety of stipulations and conditions to be cost effective. D. is all of these choices.

B. is an honest assurance that the customer will be satisfied.

The degree of customer contact measures A. the amount of time the customer is separated from the service delivery system. B. the amount of time the customer is in the service delivery system. C. the customization abilities of the service system. D. none of these choices.

B. the amount of time the customer is in the service delivery system

A visit to Disney World would be classified as which type of service? A. A provider-routed service B. A co-routed service C. A customer-routed service D. None of these choices

C. A customer-routed service

Consider the following two statements regarding technology in services: (1) Increased automation can have a negative effect on sales. (2) Technology is less vital to service delivery than to manufacturing. A. According to the text, both statements are correct. B. According to the text, both statements are incorrect. C. According to the text, only statement (1) is correct. D. According to the text, only statement (2) is correct.

C. According to the text, only statement (1) is correct.

Which of the following is NOT a finding of research on global offshoring of services? A. Services involving transaction processing are commonly offshored and are viewed as commodity services. B. The global supply of talented service workers may be shrinking, causing organizations to move fast to hire them. C. Global service providers have proven the ability to deliver consistently high quality, explaining a big part of outsourcing's popularity. D. Engineering, legal services, and analytical work are leading categories of commonly offshored service work.

C. Global service providers have proven the ability to deliver consistently high quality, explaining a big part of outsourcing's popularity.

Which of the following is NOT true regarding service recovery and guarantees? A. Service failure can result in a satisfactory overall experience for the customer if the recovery is prompt and done well. B. A service guarantee can motivate employees to deliver high-quality service. C. Research indicates open-ended guarantees are more effective with customers because they don't spell out exactly the service recovery plan. D. Service guarantees are a source of insight to how the service delivery system can be improved.

C. Research indicates open-ended guarantees are more effective with customers because they don't spell out exactly the service recovery plan.

Which of the following is considered a back-office process? A. A follow-up phone call to a computer repair customer for information not gathered when the computer was dropped off for repair. B. A customer picking up a furniture purchase from a store's loading dock. C. Servicing a hotel guest's room (emptying trash, replacing towels) while the guest is out. D. All are considered back-office processes.

C. Servicing a hotel guest's room (emptying trash, replacing towels) while the guest is out.

Which of the following is NOT a correct statement? A. A service is produced and consumed simultaneously. B. Services are provided in a bundle of services and goods. C. The service delivery system should be designed primarily around the employees in the system. D. Low-contact services can usually be made more efficient than high-contact services.

C. The service delivery system should be designed primarily around the employees in the system.

Which of the following is NOT given as a source of customer-introduced variability to a service delivery system? A. Uncertainty in what customers will prefer from the service product bundle. B. Uncertainty in the ability of customers to participate in the service. C. Uncertainty in the customer's willingness to interact with back-office service providers. D. all of these choices sources of customer-introduced variability.

C. Uncertainty in the customer's willingness to interact with back-office service providers.

The most important factor for improving employee satisfaction in the service-profit chain is A. employee retention. B. revenue growth. C. internal service quality. D. customer satisfaction.

C. internal service quality

A service recovery process A. follows every service transaction. B. is an implicit service. C. is rapid compensation for a service failure. D. is none of these choices.

C. is a rapid compensation for a service failure

An example of a service business/organization that has a high degree of customer contact, high customization, and a high degree of labor intensity is A. retailing. B. hotels. C. law practice. D. schools.

C. law practice.

According to the service matrix proposed by Collier and Meyer, ATM services are categorized as A. customer-routed services. B. co-routed services. C. provider-routed services. D. none of these choices.

C. provider-routed services.

Which of the following are characteristics of a low-contact service delivery system? A.Lower costs and more standardization. B. Greater flexibility, need for people who are highly skilled in interpersonal relations, and a customer orientation. C. Need for people with a high level of technical skills oriented toward efficient processing, well-defined procedures, and smooth flow. D. Both "Need for people with a high level of technical skills oriented toward efficient processing, well-defined procedures, and smooth flow" and "Lower costs and more standardization" are correct. E. All of these choices.

D. Both "Need for people with a high level of technical skills oriented toward efficient processing, well-defined procedures, and smooth flow" and "Lower costs and more standardization" are correct.

Which of the following is NOT a differentiator between manufacturing and service operations? A. Transportation B. Customer contact C. Resale D. Cost per unit

D. Cost per unit

Which of the following is a characteristic of high-contact services? A. High-contact services are used when face-to-face interaction is not required. B. High-contact services require employees with administrative/technical skills and efficient service delivery methods. C. High-contact services can work at average demand levels. D. High-contact services require higher prices and more customization.

D. High-contact services require higher prices and more customization.

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of service operations? A. Intangible output. B. The buyer can perform part of the production. C. The product cannot be stored. D. Ownership is transferred at time of purchase.

D. Ownership is transferred at the time of purchase

Which of the following is NOT included in internal service quality in the service profit chain? A. Workplace design B. Job design C. Employee selection D. Product design

D. Product design

Which of the following statements is FALSE? A. Front-office services require the presence of or interaction with the customer. B. The magazines offered in bank lobby can affect the implicit service. C. Employees hired for back-office work can often get by with less interpersonal skill. D. Service delivery design should be aimed only at external customers, not at employees who may be customers of internal services.

D. Service delivery design should be aimed only at external customers, not at employees who may be customers of internal services.

There are key differences between a service and a product. Which of the following is true regarding these differences? A. Low-contact services as well as manufacturing require employees who are flexible, personable, and willing to work with the customer. B. The degree of customer contact is usually higher for manufacturing organizations than for service organizations. C. There is a greater degree of customer participation in the manufacture and sale of goods than there is in the sale of services. D. Service firms commonly require employees that are more flexible, personable, and willing to work with the customer than is true at manufacturing firms.

D. Service firms commonly require employees that are more flexible, personable, and willing to work with the customer than is true at manufacturing firms.

Which of the following is NOT an element of the service product bundle? A. Facilitating goods B. Explicit service C. Implicit service D. Value of goods/service

D. Value of goods/service

A service guarantee A. is like a product guarantee except that it is for a service. B. specifies exactly what the service delivery system must provide. C. builds loyalty. D. all of these choices.

D. all of these choices

An example of an implicit service is A. the safe trip provided by Southwest Airlines to its passengers. B. courteous service provided by a National Rental Car agent. C. the state-of-the-art aircraft utilized by Delta Airlines. D. all of these choices.

D. all of these choices

Researchers Schlesinger and Heskett propose that service organizations A. value investment in employees as much or more than investment in technology. B. link compensation and performance for employees at all levels. C. use technology to support front-line employees, not to monitor or replace them. D. do all of these choices.

D. do all of these choices.