Chapter 9 Operation Management

arrival variability

Customers arriving at times when there are not enough service providers

information

Data provided by the customer, e.g. tee-off times, weather reports, medical records, seat preferences, parts availability

Physician practice

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

service package

a bundle of goods and services that is provided in some environment

subjective preference variability

interpreting service action differently

Capability variability

A patient being unable to explain symptoms to doctor

True

A service business is an organization whose primary business requires interaction with customers to produce the service.

False

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

True

An explicit service is readily observable by the senses.

True

An implicit service implies psychological benefits that the customer may sense only vaguely.

True

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

explicit services

Benefits that are observable by the senses, e.g. ambulance response time, a/c in hotel room, smooth-running car after tune-up

implicit services

Psychological benefits the customer may sense only vaguely, e.g. privacy of loan office, worry-free auto repair

False

"Combine the pain" is an application of behavioral science to service encounters. It means that, when something is going wrong for a group of customers, it is better to totally enrage one or a very few customers rather than slightly annoying a large number of customers.

services cannot be inventoried

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

seven characteristics of well designed service system

1 Each element of the service system is consistent with the operating focus of the firm. 2. It is user-friendly. 3. It is robust. 4. It is structured so that consistent performance by its people and systems is easily maintained. 5. It provides effective links between the back office and the front office. 6. It manages evidence of service quality so that customers see the value of service provided. 7. It is cost-effective.

service system design matrix

1. Mail contact 2. Internet and on-site technology 3. Phone contact 4. Face-to-face tight specs 5. Face-to-face loose specs 6. Face-to-face total customization

Low production efficiency

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

True

One characteristic of a well-designed service system is that it is cost-effective.

True

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

True

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

True

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

False

The customer is (or should be) the second most important focal point of all decisions in a service organization

facilitating goods

The material purchased by the buyer or the items provided to the customer, e.g. golf clubs, skis, beverages, car parts

service vs product design

The process and the product must be developed simultaneously. The process is the product. 2. A service operation lacks the legal protection commonly available to products. (e.g. no patents) 3. The service package constitutes the major output of the development process. 4. Many parts of the service package are defined by the training individuals receive. 5. Many service organizations can change their service offerings virtually overnight. 9

Request variability

Travelers requesting a room with a view

supporting facility

What are the physical resources that must be in place before a service can be offered called?

self-service

What is the designation of the approach to service design characterized by having the customer take a greater role in the production of the service?

True

When recovering from a defective service encounter, a botched task calls for material compensation.

line of visibility

line that separates all service activities that are visible to the customer from those that are not visible

Customer contact

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

effort variability

shoppers not bothering to put their shopping carts in a designated area in a supermarket parking lot

personal attention

special help or service that someone gives you

production line

standardized layout arranged according to a fixed sequence of production tasks

self-service

system in which employees have online access to information about HR issues and go online to enroll themselves in programs and provide feedback through surveys

service triangle

the customer is the center of the service strategy, the systems, and the employees who serve him/her.

customer contact

the physical presence of the customer in the system (could be individuals or other businesses)