MGT 352 ch12-13

Which of the following strategies is inappropriate for managing capacity and demand? a. Smooth customer demand by offering price incentives. b. Scheduling staff to meet variations in forecasted customer demand. c. Decrease customer participation in the service process. d. Promoting off-peak use of facilities.

C

Which one of the following four steps in "daily workshift scheduling" is out of order? a. Forecast demand. b. Convert to operator requirements. c. Assign operators to shifts. d. Schedule shifts.

C

________ is not a strategy for accommodating of customer-induced variability. a. Provide generous staffing b. Cross-train employees c. Reward increased effort d. Do work for customers

C

which one of the following is not an essential feature of a queuing system?

customer

all but one of the following are techniques to lessen the boredom of waiting customers

displaying time with a large analog clock

spatial distribution of demand is important to consider in which one of the following services?

emergency ambulance services

in analytical queuing models, the calling population mainly determines whether the queue will be finite or infinite.

false

for the exponential distribution we have

the mean equal to its standard deviation

A restaurant that features special lunchtime combo meals is providing all but one of the following benefits? a. Promotes off-peak demand b. Increases customer satisfaction c. Decreases service times d. Segment demand

A

The strategy of segmenting demand is feasible only when: a. demand is not from a homogeneous source. b. demand is cyclic and predictable. c. arrivals for service are random. d. making appointments is impossible.

A

When yield management is implemented which one of the following does not result: a. consumer surplus increases b. multiple prices are offered c. capacity is more fully utilized d. market for the service is segmented

A

Which of the following is not a strategy for managing capacity? a. Developing complementary services b. Using part-time employees c. Forecasting demand d. Scheduling shifts

A

Which one of the following is not a strategy to manage demand? a. cross-training employees b. offering price incentives c. developing reservation systems d. partitioning demand

A

________ is not a strategy for reduction of customer-induced variability. a. Adapt to customer skill levels b. Require reservations c. Limit service breadth d. Target customers based on capability

A

All but one of the following is an example of a yield management application: a. RyerFirst b. SABRE c. HIRO d. Restaurant Catering Software

B

For a chase demand strategy which of the following does not have a high trade-off? a. Employee utilization b. Labor-skill level c. Labor turnover d. Supervision required

B

________ is not a characteristic appropriate for a yield management strategy. a. Relatively fixed capacity b. Steady demand c. Ability to segment markets d. Products sold in advance

B

Which one of the following is not a characteristic of firms using yield management? a. ability to segment their market b. perishable inventory c. variable capacity d. product sold in advance

C

Faced with variable demand and a perishable capacity, a service manager can smooth demand by: a. using part-time help during peak hours. b. scheduling workshifts to vary workforce needs according to demand. c. increasing the customer self-service content of the service. d. using reservations and appointments.

D

In using the critical fractile criterion P(d<x) = Cu/(Cu + Co) for overbooking, the 'd' refers to: a. cost of overestimating demand. b. cost of underestimating demand. c. number of rooms overbooked. d. number of no-shows based on past experience.

D

Several approaches to demand management exist, but only _______ seeks to maximize revenue. a. promoting off-peak demand b. reservation systems c. offering price incentives d. yield management

D

_________ variability is not one of the five sources of customer-induced variability. a. Arrival b. Capability c. Effort d. Demand

D

1. The use of a ski-resort hotel for business conventions during the summer is an example of using the complementary service strategy.

FALSE

14. An example of segmenting demand is seen when movie theaters offer matinee prices before 6:00 p.m.

FALSE

18. A disadvantage of yield management is that it cannot be implemented in real time.

FALSE

2. Overbooking is a strategy that can be used to smooth demand.

FALSE

Verfication refers to determining whether the structure of a simulation model is consistent with the real system

FAlse

which one of the following is not an advantage of a multiple-queue configuration?

FCFS rule is guaranteed

A shortcoming of simulation is the use of pseudo-random numbers

False

pseudo-random numbers do not permit an exact replication of experimental conditions

False

17. Using part-time personnel at fast-food restaurants allows capacity to vary with demand.

TRUE

21. Service capacity is defined in terms of an achievable level of output per unit time.

TRUE

8. A drawback to increased consumer participation is the fact that service quality is no longer completely under the control of the provider of the service.

TRUE

the FCFS rule is most often used because

analytical models depend upon its use

a single-server food cart competes with several nearby food carts and experiences arrival of customers during an 8-hour period as shown:

balking; add another server during peak periods

empirical studies have suggested that the distribution of inter-arrival times is:

exponential

waiting is often seen as psychological punishment because the consumer is aware of the opportunity cost of waiting time and the resulting loss of earnings

false

according to Maister's Second Law of Service

first impressions can influence the remainder of the service experience

after selecting a line in a multiple queue system, a customer is ______ when she or he switches to a different line perceive it to be moving faster.

jockeying

which queue configuration permits opportunities for division of labor and service differentiation

multiple queue

the calling population is termed finite when

only a limited number of people may use the facility in any given period

which one of the following is not an effective way to manage the psychology of waiting

prominently display time with a large analog clock

supermarkets can be described by which one of the following facility arrangements?

self-serve followed by service in parallel

the following are all advantages of the single queue system

the customer has the option of selection a particular server of preference

A health club offering a reduced rate membership for students to workout before 4:00 p.m. on weekdays is: a. promoting off-peak demand. b. partitioning demand. c. using yield management. d. offering price incentives.

A

The purpose of differential pricing is to: a. make peak period usage unattractive. b. make off-peak usage attractive. c. charge customers according to their ability to pay. d. adjust capacity to demand.

B

Which one of the following is not an example of the differential pricing policy? a. weekend and night rates for long-distance telephone calls b. difference in hospital fees for walk-in and scheduled services c. peak-load pricing by utility companies d. none of the above

B

Bars that offer happy hours in the afternoon are using the strategy of: a. creating adjustable capacity. b. developing complementary services. c. increasing customer participation. d. promoting off-peak demand.

D

11. Time perishability of service capacity is a challenge for service managers because customers demand immediate service.

FALSE

4. Differential pricing is an attempt to make peak usage periods unattractive by imposing a penalty on the consumer for using the service during peak periods.

FALSE

if the number of arrivals in an interval of time follows an exponential distribution, the inter-arrival time is known to follow a Poisson distribution

false

the main advantage of the multiple queue configuration is that it guarantees fairness to all by ensuring that a first-come-first-served rule applies to all arrivals

false

the net result of waiting, apart from the boredom and frustration experienced by the consumer and the associated loss of goodwill, is the reduced utilization of capacity of the service

false

the term inter arrival time refers to the time elapsed between initiation of service and its completion

false

differential pricing policy used by telephone companies is an example of demand smoothing

true

when the number of arrivals per unit time follows a Poisson distribution, the most important implication is that:

the time between arrivals is exponentially distributed

one advantage of the multiple queue compared to a single queue is that multiple queues:

lead to a perceived shorter wait time

19. Some restaurants use tables and chairs instead of booths to create more flexible capacity.

TRUE

5. Yield management is the process of allocating a fixed perishable resource to several market segments in the most profitable manner.

TRUE

6. The work shift-scheduling problem is important in service organizations that face a cyclic demand for their services.

TRUE

A good overbooking strategy should: a. minimize the expected opportunity cost of idle service capacity. b. balance the expected opportunity cost of idle service capacity and expected cost of turning away customers who have reservations. c. minimize the expected cost of turning away reservations. d. none of the above; services should try to avoid overbooking.

B

What one of the following is not a characteristic of yield management? a. Capacity is relatively fixed. b. There is one homogeneous customer class. c. The service is considered a perishable inventory. d. Demand fluctuates yet is somewhat predictable.

B

A cruise ship has available a certain number of rooms in each of 10 categories of appointments ranging from a two-bunk inside cabin to a suite with an outside patio and indoor sitting area. If a passenger requests a sailing date in which the desired cabin is sold out, which of the following actions would be considered the least viable alternative for the cruise line? a. Offer an upgraded cabin at a reduced price. b. Attempt to steer the passenger to an available date. c. Overbook the cabin. d. Offer a downgraded cabin with special privileges such as a $100 certificate for use in the casino.

C

A medical clinic has two doctors and each can treat 25 patients a day. The doctors see walk-in patients whose arrival times cannot be controlled, and also patients who have made appointments. Knowing the expected number of walk-ins per day, appointments are scheduled to utilize the doctors fully. The following table gives the expected number of walk-ins for a particular week: Day: Mon. Tue. Wed. Th. Fri. Expected Walk-ins: 45 35 40 45 40 What is the total number of appointments that can be scheduled during this week? a. 30 b. 35 c. 40 d. 45

D

22. Level demand and chase capacity are the two generic strategies for capacity management.

FALSE

7. Work shift scheduling attempts to deal with the service utilization problem by controlling the demand for the service and partitioning it so that utilization is uniform.

FALSE

9. When peaks of activity are persistent and predictable such as meal times for restaurants, off-duty personnel can be placed on standby to supplement regular employees.

FALSE

10. Cross training of employees as a strategy to increase flexibility is feasible only when there exist tasks, the demands for which peak at different times.

TRUE

12. Yield management is a pricing and capacity allocation system that was developed by American Airlines.

TRUE

15. Expected loss for an overbooking reservation strategy would be calculated by multiplying the loss for each no-show possibility and its probability of occurrence, and then adding the products.

TRUE

concealment of the waiting line or at least part of it is a very effective deterrent against reneging

false

according to Maister, one of the following statements is not true of waits

in-process waits feel longer than preprocess waits

which one of the following is not true of multiple queue configurations?

jockeying is eliminating

16. The critical fractile is a cumulative probability of demand.

TRUE

an arrangement of servers in parallel is an insurance against breakdown of the service in case of absenteeism or equipment failure. It, thus, adds to flexibility at the expense of capacity

true

for a multiple channel queuing system with multiple queues, allowing customers to jockey will enhance service utilization

true

for a single channel queuing system with finite queue, the value of 1 may exceed m because some potential customers are forced to balk

true

multiple-queue configuration may deter balking behavior

true

simulation allows time compression, doing in seconds what would others require years of actual observation

true

simulation can be viewed as a laboratory for experimenting with service systems

true

the amount of time a consumer will spend waiting is directly related to the amount of money he is paying for the service. The less the service costs him, the longer he is willing to wait.

true

the term queue configuration refers tot he number of queues, their locations, their spatial requirements, and their effect on consumer behavior

true

20. SABRE is the name for American Airlines' yield management system.

FALSE

3. The strategy of segmenting demand to reduce variation makes use of the fact that demand for a service seldom is derived from a homogeneous source.

TRUE

balking is the term used to describe the phenomenon of customers leaving a queue that they have joined before service is rendered

false

when is not true of pseudo-random numbers?

they are stored in a computer file

13. Yield management is a strategy that manages both demand and capacity.

TRUE