1) What are the most important elements of the process-improvement approach pursued at Tunica? What benefits were derived from this approach?

2) What would be the advantages and disadvantages of adopting an expert-driven approach to process-improvement at the Metropolis facility, in contrast to the employee-centred approach used a Tunica? Which approach would you recommend for Metropolis, and why?

3) Assume Hirsch has decided to follow a high-involvement approach similar to the one he led at Tunica. What challenges and risks do you anticipate Hirsch will face in moving forward at Metropolis, and how should he be prepared to respond?

4) Assume service scores for the area you manage, Harrah's Metropolis hotel housekeeping, have declined over the past year. As part of the LEAN rollout at Metropolis, you and some of your front-line employees will participate in a Kaizen event focused on improving guest-room housekeeping operations. What KPIs (key performance indicators) would you propose to track in order to determine whether the changes implemented through the Kaizen effort actually improve performance?

5) Hirsch has been given 20 minutes at an upcoming meeting to pitch his idea to the rest of the Metropolis leadership team, for a process-improvement program What should he do before he gives the pitch? How should Hirsch organize this pitch and what information should he include?