Give an example of a service in which isolation of the technical core would be inappropriate?
> Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_Management and discuss the ethical issues associated with yield management.
> What is the value of self-service in an economy?
> Will the widespread use of yield management eventually erode the concept of fixed prices for any service?
> What possible dangers are associated with developing complementary services?
> Illustrate how a particular service has implemented strategies for managing both demand and capacity successfully.
> How can computer-based reservation systems increase service capacity utilization?
> What organizational problems can arise from the use of part-time employees?
> What explains the continuing trade surplus in services for the United States?
> What is the inherent conflict in a franchising arrangement?
> Chili’s, a United States based restaurant chain that offers Mexican food, has its largest establishment in Monterrey, Mexico. Why is Chili’s so successful in Monterrey?
> Recall that service operations can be classified as processing people, goods, or information. What challenges are faced in each category when globalization is undertaken?
> Conduct a Google search and find the definition of “location intelligence.” What use can be made of geographic information?
> For each of the three generic strategies (i.e., cost leadership, differentiation, and focus), which of the four competitive uses of information is most powerful?
> What are the benefits of using intermediaries in the service distribution channel?
> What are the characteristics of a service that would make communication a good substitute for travel?
> How would you proceed to estimate empirically the parameter "(" in the Huff retail location model for a branch bank?
> Pick a particular service and identify shortcomings of its site selection.
> Reconsider Figure 7.13 the value stream map of small business loan approval process. If the process were conducted entirely online, what value-added activities could be eliminated? What is the overall efficiency of an online process?
> Explain why the introduction of Six Sigma at 3M was blamed for stifling creativity.
> What are the limitations of "benchmarking?"
> Explain how the application of the PDCA cycle can support a competitive strategy of low cost leadership.
> Discuss why Deming’s 14-point program was rejected by U.S. firms but embraced by the Japanese following World War II.
> How can the recovery from a service failure be a blessing in disguise?
> Is it possible for an economy to be based entirely on services?
> Identify activities that compare Walmart’s vertical integration efforts with maintaining an arm’s-length relationship with suppliers.
> Why do service firms hesitate to offer a service guarantee?
> How would you train yourself to be a successful consultant in the service sector?
> Illustrate the four components in the cost of quality for a service of your choice.
> Identify areas within a few selected service industries (e.g., health care and hospitality) that can benefit from external consultants.
> Why is measuring service quality so difficult?
> What features of social media have service firms leveraged in developing their competitive strategies?
> How do the five dimensions of service quality differ from those of product quality?
> How has social media affected the growth of the service industry?
> The CRAFT program is an example of a heuristic programming approach to problem solving. Why might CRAFT not find the optimal solution to a layout problem?
> What ethical issues are associated with micromarketing?
> Discuss the implications of service outsourcing for employees, stockholders, customers, and host-country economy when a firm outsources a call center overseas.
> For example, 5.3, the Ocean World theme park, make an argument for not locating popular attractions next to each other.
> Explain why the goods analogy of a supply chain is inappropriate for services.
> Select a service and discuss how the design and layout of the facility meet the five factors of nature and objectives of the organization, land availability and space requirements, flexibility, aesthetics, and the community and environment.
> How can effective goods supply chain management support environmental sustainability?
> From a customer perspective, give an example of a services cape that supports the service concept and an example that detracts from the service concept. Explain the success and failure in terms of the services cape dimensions.
> If the roles played by customers are determined by cultural norms, how can services be exported?
> Compare the attention to aesthetics in waiting rooms that you have visited. How did the different environments affect your mood?
> How does use of a "service script" relate to service quality?
> What ethical issues are raised in the promotion of sales during a service transaction?
> Illustrate how the type of work that he or she does influences a person's lifestyle. For example, contrast a farmer, a factory worker, and a school teacher?
> Comment on the different dynamics of one-on-one service and group service in regard to perceived control of the service encounter.
> What are some drawbacks of increased customer participation in the service process?
> What are the organizational and marketing implications of considering a customer as a "partial employee?"
> How can we design for self-recovery when self-service failures occur?
> What are the limits of the production-line approach to services?
> Conduct a triple bottom line evaluation for a hospital by identifying its social, economic, and environmental attributes that enhance the sustainability movement.
> Critique the “Distinctive Characteristics of Service Operations” by arguing that the characteristics of, customer participation, simultaneity, perishability, intangibility, and heterogeneity, may apply to goods as well.
> Compare and contrast sustainability efforts in service operations and manufacturing.
> What are challenges of the sharing economy with respect to regulation, insurance, and trust issues?
> Give examples of service firms that use the strategy of focus and differentiation and the strategy of focus and overall cost leadership.
> State the order of the differential equation and verify that the given function is a solution. (1 - t2)y’’ - 2ty ’ + 2y = 0, y(t) = t
> Answer parts (a), (b), and (c) of Exercise 9 if the person takes a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 6% interest rate and intends to pay off the entire loan in 15 years. Exercise 9: The Federal Housing Finance Board reported that the national average p
> The Federal Housing Finance Board reported that the national average price of a new onefamily house in 2012 was $278,900. At the same time, the average interest rate on a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.1%. A person purchased a home at the
> The National Automobile Dealers Association reported that the average retail selling price of a new vehicle was $30,303 in 2012. A person purchased a new car at the average price and financed the entire amount. Suppose that the person can only afford to
> A person took out a loan of $100,000 from a bank that charges 7.5% interest compounded continuously. What should be the annual rate of payments if the loan is to be paid in full in exactly 10 years? (Assume that the payments are made continuously through
> Answer the question in Exercise 5 if John contributed to his savings account at the annual rate of $3000 per year for 10 years. Exercise 5: Twenty years ahead of her retirement, Kelly opened a savings account that earns 5% interest rate compounded conti
> Twenty years ahead of her retirement, Kelly opened a savings account that earns 5% interest rate compounded continuously, and she contributed to this account at the annual rate of $1200 per year for 20 years. Ten years ahead of his retirement, John opene
> Find an integrating factor for each equation. Take t > 0. t3y ’ + y = 0
> Find an integrating factor for each equation. Take t > 0. y’ + ty = 6t
> Find an integrating factor for each equation. Take t > 0. y' - 2y = t
> Consider the initial-value problem y ’ = - y/(1 + t) + 10, y(0) = 50. (a) Is the solution increasing or decreasing when t = 0? (b) Find the solution and plot it for 0 ≤ t ≤ 4.
> A certain piece of news is being broadcast to a potential audience of 200,000 people. Let f (t) be the number of people who have heard the news after t hours. Suppose that y = f (t) satisfies y' = .07(200,000 - y), y (0) = 10. Describe this initial-va
> Solve the initial-value problem. ty’ + y = sin t, y(π/2) = 0, t > 0
> Solve the initial-value problem. y’ + 2y cos(2t) = 2 cos(2t), y(π/2) = 0
> Solve the initial-value problem. ty’ - y = -1, y(1) = 1, t > 0
> Solve the initial-value problem. y ’ + y = e2t, y(0) = -1
> Solve the initial-value problem. y’ = 2(10 - y), y(0) = 1
> Solve the initial-value problem. y ’ + y/(1 + t) = 20, y(0) = 10, t ≥ 0
> Solve the initial-value problem. ty’ + y = ln t, y(e) = 0, t > 0
> Solve the initial-value problem. y' + 2y = 1, y(0) = 1
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. 1 / √(t + 1) y’ + y = 1
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y’ + y = 2 - et
> Let f (t) be the balance in a savings account at the end of t years. Suppose that y = f (t) satisfies the differential equation y’ = .04y + 2000. (a) If after 1 year the balance is $10,000, is it increasing or decreasing at that time? At what rate is it
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. et y’ + y = 1
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. 6y’ + ty = t
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y ’ = e-t (y + 1)
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. (1 + t)y ’ + y = -1
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y’ - 2y = e2t
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y’ + y/(10 + t) = 0
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y’ + y = e-t + 1
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y’ = .5(35 - y)
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y ’ = 2(20 - y)
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y’ - 2ty = -4t
> Let f (t) be the balance in a savings account at the end of t years, and suppose that y = f (t) satisfies the differential equation y ’ = .05y - 10,000. (a) If after 1 year the balance is $150,000, is it increasing or decreasing at that time? At what rat
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y’ + 2ty = 0
> Solve the given equation using an integrating factor. Take t > 0. y' + y = 1
> Find an integrating factor for each equation. Take t > 0. y’ = t2(y + 1)
> Find an integrating factor for each equation. Take t > 0. y ’ – y/(10 + t) = 2
> Find an integrating factor for each equation. Take t > 0. y ’ + √t y = 2(t + 1)
> Solve the following differential equations: dy/dt = et/ey
> Solve the following differential equations: dy/dt = te2y
> Solve the following differential equations: dy/dt = (5 – t)/y2
> One problem in psychology is to determine the relation between some physical stimulus and the corresponding sensation or reaction produced in a subject. Suppose that, measured in appropriate units, the strength of a stimulus is s and the intensity of the
> A model that describes the relationship between the price and the weekly sales of a product might have a form such as dy/dp = -1/2 (y/p + 3), where y is the volume of sales and p is the price per unit. That is, at any time, the rate of decrease of sale
