CH13 Operations Management: Operational Dimensions

Question 1

operations blueprint (p. 313)

Answer 1

systematically lists all operating functions to be performed, their characteristics, and their timing

Question 2

prototype stores (p. 315)

Answer 2

a standardized retail outlet design used across multiple locations, featuring uniform construction, layout, and operations to streamline management, reduce costs, and maintain a consistent brand image

Question 3

rationalized retailing (p. 315)

Answer 3

a strategy that combines centralized management control with standardized operating procedures across all retail outlets

Question 4

top-down space management
approach (p. 316)

Answer 4

a retailer starts with its total available store space (by outlet and the overall firm, if a chain), divides space into categories, and then works on product layouts

opposite of bottom-up space management approach

Question 5

bottom-up space management
approach (p. 316)

Answer 5

planning at the individual product level and then proceeds to category, total store, and overall company levels

opposite of top-down space management
approach

Question 6

job standardization (p. 317)

Answer 6

the tasks of personnel with similar positions in different departments

eg. cashiers in clothing and candy departments are rather uniform

Question 7

cross-training (p. 317)

Answer 7

personnel learn tasks associated with more than one job

eg. cashier, stockperson, and gift wrapper

Question 8

store maintenance (p. 318)

Answer 8

encompasses all activities in managing physical facilities, including exterior
(parking lot, points of entry and exit, outside signs and display windows, and common areas adjacent to a store [e.g., sidewalks]) and interior (windows, walls, flooring, climate control and energy use, lighting, displays and signs, fixtures, and ceilings)

Question 9

debit-card system (p. 323)

Answer 9

whereby the purchase price is immediately deducted from a consumer’s bank account
and entered into a retailer’s account by a computer terminal

Question 10

computerized checkout (p. 324)

Answer 10

a system that uses UPC-based scanning and computerized registers to efficiently process transactions, monitor inventory, provide detailed receipts, and instantly record and display sales for both large and small retailers

Question 11

electronic point-of-sale system (p. 324)

Answer 11

an advanced retail technology that performs computerized checkout functions, verifies payments, provides real-time sales reports, manages pricing, facilitates communication, evaluates performance and profitability, and stores data

Question 12

self-scanning (p. 324)

Answer 12

process where consumers scan items they wish to purchase at a checkout counter using a portable barcode scanner or a retailer’s mobile app, and then pay by credit or debit card while bagging their items themselves

Question 13

outsourcing (p. 326)

Answer 13

a retailer pays an outside party to undertake one or more of its operating functions