Operations Management 9th Edition Slack, Prof Nigel, Brandon Jones, Prof Alistair - Solutions

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3 Which constituencies would tell you most about how to improve your service?
2 How would you identify what customers value in your service?
1 Have you established an approach for operational review and improvement? Does it matter which approach you use?
3 Think of your experience of service . . . across the whole of the service sector. Can you identify any service providers that appear not to understand what their customers value?Why?
2 Think about the last time you used a ‘high-touch’ service such as a clinic, a hotel, or a restaurant. Sketch the service process, and try to determine which elements were subject to high levels of control. Were there any elements of the service that were not subject to control, but should
1 What are the signifi cant differences between the various approaches for operational improvement?
Control the long-term sustainability of the solution.
Improve the process using Six Sigma tools.
Analyse the root causes of the business gap.
Measure the current state against the desired state.
Defi ne the business problem.
How can managers sustain continuous improvement?
What are the main approaches to continuous improvement?
How can managers use ‘value’ to drive continuous improvement?
3 Do you agree with Medi-Call’s philosophy on reassurance calls? What do you recommend?
2 What strategies do you recommend that Medi-Call adopts in busy periods? What actions would you need to take to implement them effectively?
1 When does Medi-Call’s call centre enter the coping zone? What is the likely impact of this overload on customers and staff?
6 What are the major causes of capacity leakage? Are they avoidable?
5 What is the impact of the coping zone on your staff and customers? What strategies do you have in place to manage this more effectively?
4 Do you know where the bottlenecks or scarce resources are in your processes? How effectively are they managed?
3 How well is the capacity strategy matched to the fi nancial model of your organisation?Could a signifi cant increase in customer satisfaction be achieved by an increase in relatively inexpensive resource?
2 What are your short-, medium- and long-term capacity management strategies? How effective are they?
1 How important is capacity utilisation to the success of your organisation? What interest do senior managers take in this aspect of operations?
4 What is meant by the coping zone? What are the implications for staff and customers of a supermarket when the operation enters this zone?
3 Describe the last time you were in a queue. Apply the principles of queuing to assess your waiting experience.
2 What capacity strategies might be used by an insurance broker, an internet retailer and a cruise ship company? Explain why they are appropriate.
1 Select four service organisations and suggest how they might measure capacity, outlining the problems in so doing.
Understanding and developing the organisation’s support for resource management is an important task for operations managers.
Capacity leakage may impact signifi cantly on the ability of the operation to meet its demands.
It is critical to defi ne the nature of fl exibility required to meet market demand in terms of range and response. Techniques to build fl exibility include fl exible employment contracts, overtime, outsourcing, developing menu-driven services, and teamwork.
Yield management techniques enable services with perishable capacity (e.g. hotel rooms, airline seats) to maximise revenues.
How could you avoid being in the coping zone as much?
How could you manage the coping zone better to reduce the impact on customers and employees?
What suffers for employees when you enter the coping zone?
What suffers for customers when you enter the coping zone?
What measures or early warning signals tell you that you are about to enter the coping zone(as opposed to measures like lost customers or increased complaints which tell you that you were in the coping zone)?
How does this vary by service process and by customer group?
What does the customer perceived quality/capacity utilisation profi le look like for your service or services?
How can organisations improve their capacity utilisation?
What happens when managers can’t cope with demand?
How do organisations manage bottlenecks and queues?
How is day-to-day planning and control carried out?
How can managers balance capacity and demand?
What is capacity management?
1 What would you suggest Davina should do to encourage the staff to exude warmth and spontaneity when their natural instinct is to seek security from procedures and routines?
7 What actions can you take to build ownership of customers and processes? How effective is your communications strategy in achieving this?
6 Make an arrangement to talk to someone whose leadership style you admire. Discover the‘secrets of their success’.
5 What style of leadership is appropriate for the individuals/groups you manage? How much discretion do your staff feel you give them?
4 What is the impact of stress on service delivery? Is there anything you can do to deal with the causes of this stress in the medium term, and alleviate its impact in the short term?
3 Has your organisation realised the full benefi t of teamwork? Are the teams progressing towards being self-directed?
2 How well are you managing staff in transition? Are they anxious or frustrated?
1 Are you aware of the pressures on your staff? What should you do about this?
4 From your observation of managers in shops and restaurants, what behaviours assist their staff in dealing more effectively with the pressures they experience, and what actions increase this pressure?
3 Evaluate and assess your role as a customer in a supermarket, an internet-based travel agency and a university/college course.
2 What are the advantages and disadvantages of using teamwork in student assignments?
1 Provide an example of a scripted response. Describe and discuss the advantages and disadvantages in using this script.
Internal and external communication is a powerful element in building commitment from customers and employees.
Defi ning the degree and type of discretion required for each role is essential, and provides insights for the manager in dealing with operational transitions.
Good service is facilitated by reducing role confl ict and ambiguity, and increasing role clarity.
Well-designed service scripts serve a number of purposes in service design, enabling consistency and providing useful prompts for employees.
Teams and teamworking can provide a powerful mechanism for support and also for building ownership of service processes.
Clear leadership is essential for counteracting the pressures on service employees.
Will the local community support the transition to teams?
Will the organisation’s policies and culture support the transition to teams?
Is the market healthy or promising enough to support improved productivity without reducing the workforce?
Can managers master and apply the hands-off leadership style required by self-directed teams?
Are employees willing and able to make self-direction work?
Are the work processes compatible with self-directed teams?
How can customers be ‘managed’ and motivated?
How can organisations manage and motivate service providers?
Why is service delivery a pressurised task?
2 What improvements would you suggest?
1 Evaluate the performance measures in place at the Squire Hotel Group.
4 Construct a strategy map (strategic linkage diagram) for your organisation. How well do the objectives link and support strategy? How well do the measures you use support your objectives?
3 Evaluate the mix of measures used at various levels in your organisation. What are the implications of this?
2 What are your key performance measures? Assess the purposes, and systems to deliver the purposes, for your key measures. Do they drive the right behaviours? What key elements of service are not refl ected in the measurement?
1 Roughly how much time is spent in your organisation/unit on measuring performance, reporting it, and performance management? Are the proportions appropriate and is this money well spent?
3 Obtain some customer feedback forms/surveys/internet surveys and assess them in terms of how well they help managers assess and control performance.
2 A tour operator specialising in holidays for young people is concerned about the quality of service provided. Each month the marketing manager reports on the number of complaints received. How could this be better reported to help the fi rm improve its service?
1 Key measures used by some call centres are speed of response and call abandonment rate.Assess these measures as drivers of improvement.
Have the waste bins been emptied?
Has the bed been made and turned down?
Have the complimentary soaps and shampoos been replenished?
Has the fl oor been vacuumed?
How can managers measure, control and manage the operation?
How can managers measure the customer’s perspective?
What needs to be measured?
Why do managers need to measure things?
Perform all the exercises which Peter set for himself. Do you think he should now fully understand MRP? Lop74
Why did Peter have such problems getting to the relevant information? Lop74
How does the system interface with suppliers? Lop74
How does the system interface with customers? Lop74
How did you train staff to use the system? Lop74
What were the challenges in implementing the system? Lop74
What were the benefits of the new system? Lop74
Why implement a new planning and control system? Lop74
How should planning and control systems be implemented? Lop74
What is enterprise resource planning, and how did it develop into the most common planning and control system? Lop74
What are planning and control systems? Lop74
What recommendations would you give to the company? Lop74

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Operations Management 9th Edition Slack, Prof Nigel, Brandon Jones, Prof Alistair - Solutions

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