ENUMERATION CHAPTER 9

Question 1

DEFINING PRODUCTIVE SERVICE CAPACITY

Five Productive Capacity in Services

Answer 1

1. Physical facilities to contain customers
2. Physical facilities to store or process goods
   3.Physical equipment to process people, possessions, or information
3. Labor used for physical or mental work
4. Public/private infrastructure

Question 2

FROM EXCESS DEMAND TO EXCESS CAPACITY

Four conditions potentially faced by fixed-capacity services:

Answer 2

1. Excess demand.
2. Demand exceeds
3. Demand and supply
4. Excess capacity

Question 3

ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF FLUCTUATING DEMAND

Two basic approaches:

Answer 3

1. Adjust the level of capacity to meet demand

2.Manage the level of demand.

Question 4

STRETCHING CAPACITY LEVELS

Answer 4

1. Elastic Capacity
2. Utilize the facilities for longer periods

3.Reduced the average amount of time customers (or their possessions) spend in the process.

Question 5

ADJUSTING CAPACITY TO MATCH DEMAND
(7)

Answer 5

1. Schedule downtime during periods of low demand
2. Cross-train employees
3. Use part-time employees
4. Invite customers to perform self-service
5. Ask customers to share
6. Create flexible capacity
7. Rent or share extra facilities and equipment

Question 6

STRATEGIES TO MANAGE DEMAND
Five basic approaches to managing demand:

Answer 6

1. Take no action and leave demand to find its own levels.
2. Reduce demand during peak periods.
3. Increase demand during low periods.
4. Inventory demand using a queuing system.
5. Inventory demand using a reservations system.

Question 7

Benefits of Reservations:

Answer 7

Customer dissatisfaction due to excessive waits can be avoided

Allow demand to be controlled and smoothed out in a more manageable way

Enable the implementation of revenue management and serve to pre-sell a service to different customer segments

Data from reservation systems also help organizations prepare operational and financial projections for future periods

Question 8

INVENTORY DEMAND THROUGH WAITING LINES AND
QUEUING SYSTEMS

Demand can be inventoried in two ways:

Answer 8

By asking customers to wait in line

By offering customers the opportunity to reserve

Question 9

DIFFERENT QUEUE CONFIGURATIONS

Answer 9

1. Single line single server single stage
2. Single line sequential stages.
3. Parallel lines to multiple servers.
4. Single line to multiple servers.
5. Designated lines.
6. Taking a number.

Question 10

TEN PREPOSITIONS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
WAITING LINES

Answer 10

1. Unoccupied time feels longer than occupied time.
2. Solo waits feel longer than group waits
3. Physically uncomfortable waits feel longer than comfortable waits
4. Pre-and post-process waits feel longer than in-process waits
5. Unfair waits are longer than equitable waits
6. Unfamiliar waits seem longer than familiar ones
7. Uncertain waits are longer than known, finite waits
8. Unexplained waits are longer than explained waits
9. Anxiety makes waits seem longer
10. The more valuable or important the service, the longer people will wait.