Chapter 5 Questions 327 Read Chapter 5 6 Schroeder R G Golds
Chapter 5 Questions 327read Chapter 5 6 Schoeder Rg Goldstein
Read Chapter 5 & 6 (Schoeder, R.G., Goldstein, S.M., & Rungtusanatham, M.J. (2013). Operations Management in the Supply Chain: Decisions and Cases (6th Ed). McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, NY ISBN:) and answer the questions provided:
Q3: Locate each of the following services on the service delivery system matrix: vending machine business, housecleaning service, appliance repair
Q5: Describe the service-product bundle for each of the following services: hospital, lawyer, trucking firm
Q8: Define a possible service guarantee for each of the following services: registration for college classes, going to a theater performance, buying a used car
Q11: Find examples of two service guarantees in everyday life and explain them.
Chapter 6 questions: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Q1: In the following operations, isolate a system for analysis and define customers, services produced, suppliers, and the primary process flows: a college, a fast-food restaurant, a library
Q3: Explain Little's Law in your own words. How can it be used, and what are the limitations of this law?
Q4: Provide a definition of a bottleneck. Why is it important to find the bottleneck?
PROBLEMS: Please answer each of the following problems selected from this section. (You will need to read the problems in their entirety from the text and answer ALL of the questions asked for each.) The length of these questions precludes adding them here.
Paper For Above instruction
Operations management within the supply chain encompasses a broad range of decisions and case analyses that are essential for organizations to operate efficiently and meet customer needs effectively. The provided questions from chapters 5 and 6 of Schoeder, Goldstein, and Rungtusanatham’s textbook delve into critical aspects of service delivery, analysis of operations systems, and fundamental laws governing throughput and bottlenecks. This paper systematically addresses these questions, integrating theoretical insights with practical applications, to enhance understanding of core operations management concepts.
Locating Services on the Service Delivery System Matrix
The service delivery system matrix is a conceptual framework that plots services based on the degree of customer involvement and the degree of customization. For the vending machine business, it is categorized as a highly standardized, low-involvement service, typically placing it at the "self-service" end of the matrix. Housecleaning services generally involve moderate customization and customer involvement, positioning them as reactive or unbundled services. Appliance repair services exhibit a higher degree of customization, often involving interactive, client-specific work, which places them toward the customized service end of the matrix (Schoeder et al., 2013).
Service-Product Bundle Analysis
The concept of a service-product bundle entails understanding what tangible and intangible elements comprise a service offering. For a hospital, the bundle includes healthcare professionals, medical procedures, patient accommodations, and digital record systems, integrating tangible and intangible components into a comprehensive healthcare experience. Lawyers offer consultation, legal advice, document preparation, and representation, constituting both tangible deliverables (legal documents) and intangible expertise. Trucking firms provide transportation services, tracking, and timely delivery, often including value-added services like freight insurance or tracking systems (Schoeder et al., 2013).
Service Guarantees for Various Services
Implementing service guarantees enhances customer confidence and provides a safety net for service failure. For college registration, a guarantee might be that students will receive their desired courses or their registration fee will be refunded. Theater performances could guarantee the refund or rescheduling if the event is canceled or significantly delayed. For used cars, a guarantee of functioning condition or a warranty period provides assurance of quality, underpinning customer trust (Schoeder et al., 2013).
Examples of Daily Service Guarantees
Examples include a restaurant offering a money-back guarantee if a meal is not satisfactory or a cable TV provider promising uninterrupted service with compensation during outages. These guarantees serve to reinforce service quality and foster customer loyalty by providing tangible assurances that expectations will be met or exceeded (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2016).
Analyzing Operations Systems
When analyzing systems such as a college, a fast-food restaurant, or a library, it is essential to identify core components: customers who consume services, the services produced (e.g., education, food, information), suppliers providing inputs, and the primary process flows which channel inputs into desired outcomes. For example, a college’s system involves students as customers, delivering educational services, sourcing faculty and resources, with processes like enrollment, instruction, and assessment (Schoeder et al., 20113).
Understanding Little's Law
Little's Law articulates a simple yet powerful relationship: throughput rate equals the average number of items in a system divided by the time each item spends in the system. In practical terms, it helps organizations estimate lead times, capacity, and bottlenecks. However, it assumes steady-state conditions, meaning it may not accurately reflect dynamic or fluctuating environments where system inputs and outputs vary significantly (Little, 1961; Nelson, 2015).
Defining and Identifying Bottlenecks
A bottleneck is the stage in a process that limits overall capacity due to its relatively lower throughput. Identifying bottlenecks is critical because they constrain system performance, lead to delays, and increase costs. Resolving bottlenecks can include reallocating resources, improving process efficiency, or redesigning workflows to balance capacity across all stages (Schoeder et al., 2013).
Addressing the Problems
While the specific problems from the textbook are not detailed here, typical tasks involve analyzing process flows, quantifying capacities, and identifying inefficiencies. For example, a bank check-clearance process may involve mapping sequential steps, measuring processing times, and identifying delays at the verification point. Similarly, a hotel providing room service can be analyzed to optimize delivery times and reduce wait times, emphasizing the importance of managing resources and scheduling to maximize guest satisfaction.
Conclusion
Understanding and applying core concepts like the service delivery matrix, service-product bundles, guarantees, Little's Law, and bottleneck analysis are critical skills for operations managers. These tools and concepts assist in designing efficient processes, improving service quality, and ensuring customer satisfaction, which collectively contribute to organizational competitiveness. The questions from chapters 5 and 6 serve to deepen comprehension and operational competence in diverse service and manufacturing contexts, underscoring the indispensable role of systematic analysis in operations management.
References
- Schoeder, R. G., Goldstein, S. M., & Rungtusanatham, M. J. (2013). Operations Management in the Supply Chain: Decisions and Cases (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin.
- Lovelock, C., & Wirtz, J. (2016). Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy. Pearson.
- Little, J. D. C. (1961). A proof for the queuing formula: L = λW. Operations Research, 9(3), 383-387.
- Nelson, R. R. (2015). Operations management: enhancing competitiveness and customer value. Pearson.
- Heizer, J., Render, B., & Munson, C. (2017). Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management. Pearson.
- Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A., & Burgess, N. (2018). Operations Management. Pearson.
- Chase, R. B., Jacobs, F. R., & Aquilano, N. J. (2019). Operations Management for Competitive Advantage. McGraw-Hill Education.
- Stevenson, W. J. (2018). Operations Management. McGraw-Hill Education.
- Krajewski, L. J., Malhotra, M. K., & Ritzman, L. P. (2018). Operations Management: Processes and Supply Chains. Pearson.
- Fitzsimmons, J. A., & Fitzsimmons, M. J. (2014). Service Management: Operations, Strategy, and Technology. McGraw-Hill Education.