Question: Greyhound Bank operates in the United States
Greyhound Bank operates in the United States and pro- vides a full range of financial services for individuals and business. The credit card division is a profit center that has experienced a 10 percent annual growth rate over the last five years. These credit card services include producing and mailing the plastic credit cards to customers, preparing online and mailing monthly statements to customers, handling all customer requests such as stop payments and customer com- plaints, and preparation and distribution of summary online reports to all individual and corporate customers. “Our internal operational measures seem to be good,†Ms. Juanita Sutherland, the president of Greyhound’s credit card division stated, “but the customer perceives our performance as poor based on marketing’s recent customer sur- vey. So, what’s going on here? Can anyone at this meeting explain to me this mismatch between these two different sources of information? Is it an important problem or not?†Mr. Luke C. Morris, the vice president of operations quickly responded, “Juanita, one reason there’s a mismatch is that operations doesn’t have a say in the customer survey’s design or performance criteria. We don’t ask the same questions or use the same criteria!†“Wait a minute Luke. We often ask you operations folks for input into our customer survey design but the job usually gets shuttled to your newest MBA who doesn’t have enough company knowledge to truly help us out,†stated Mr. Bill Barlow, the corporate vice president of marketing, as he leaned forward on the conference room table. “O.K.,†Ms. Sutherland interjected, “I want you two to work on this issue and tell me in one week what to do.†I’ve got another appointment so I must leave now but you two have got to work together and figure this thing out. I’m worried that we are losing customers!†At a subsequent meeting between Mr. Morris and Mr. Barlow and their respective operations and marketing staffs, the following comments were made: • “The trends in the marketing customer survey are helpful to everyone but the performance criteria simply do not match up well between marketing and operations.†• “Plastic card turnaround performance is very good based on the marketing survey data, but the wording of the customer survey questions on plastic card turnaround time is vague.†• “Operations people think they know what constitutes excellent service but how can they be sure?†• “You’ll never get marketing to let us help them design ‘their’ customer survey,†said an angry operations supervisor. “Their marketing questions and what really happens are two different things.†• “We need a consistent numerical basis for knowing how well process performance matches up with external performance. My sample of data (see Exhibit 2.11) is a place to start.†
If your backroom operational performance measures really do the job, who cares about matching marketing and operations performance information. The backroom is a cost center, not a profit center!†The meeting ended with a lot of arguing but not much progress. Both functional areas were protecting their “turf.†How would you address Ms. Sutherland’s questions? Case Questions for Discussion: 1. What are the major problems facing the credit card division? 2. What steps are required to develop a good internal and external performance and information system? 3. How should internal and external performance data be related? Are these data related? What do charts and/or statistical data analysis tell you, if anything? (Use the data in Exhibit 2.11 to help answer these questions.) 4. Is the real service level what is measured internally or externally? Explain your reasoning. 5. What are your final recommendations?
> What are the benefits of adopting lean operating systems?
> Explain the four fundamental objectives of lean operating systems.
> Define Takt time and explain why it is important?
> Does a high alpha value (say a 5 2 or 3) in Equation 18.12 negate the benefits of a Kanban/JIT operating system? Explain.
> What is the role of suppliers in JIT systems?
> Identify an organization that uses the Six Sigma DMAIC improvement approach. Describe in a short paper (maximum of two pages) some of the ways that this organization has applied DMAIC and the results it has achieved.
> Describe some of the key features of good JIT systems.
> Medical Solutions, Inc. has the following claims it must complete in the next week (40 hours). The jobs are as follows: All claims of the same type are processed together. Is 40 hours enough capacity? (Hint: use Equation 10.3.)
> What is a Kanban? Explain how a Kanban system operates.
> Explain the difference between push and pull systems. What advantages do pull systems have over push systems?
> What is Lean Six Sigma? Why are lean and Six Sigma concepts highly complementary?
> What is lean enterprise?
> What do we mean when we say that a process is “in control” or “out of control”?
> What is the difference between common and special causes of variation?
> How can customer satisfaction measurement provide useful information for control in services?
> How does quality control in services involving customer contact differ from typical manufacturing practices?
> Identify an organization that has achieved ISO 9000 certification, and write a short paper (one page maximum) that summarizes the benefits and results that the organization has achieved using ISO 9000. See if you can find a service organization rather th
> Describe the basic quality control practices used in manufacturing. In what service contexts can they be applied?
> What is “quality at the source”?
> A lab performs two types of blood tests, A and B. The time per setup (in minutes), processing time (in seconds), and order size (number of tests) is given below. Each test requires a new setup. Determine the total capacity required for this lab in minut
> What is the 1:10:100 Rule? Why is it important for managers to understand?
> Explain the three components of any control system and provide an example different from the text.
> What is a process capability index? Explain how process capability indexes are computed and how to interpret the results.
> What is the purpose of a process capability study?
> What is process capability and why is it important to understand?
> Explain how to determine the appropriate sample size and sampling frequency for SPC.
> Discuss how to interpret control charts. What types of patterns indicate a lack of control?
> Two of Deming’s 14 Points are Point 8: Drive Out Fear (in the workplace) and Point 4: Stop Making Decisions Purely on the Basis of Cost. Discuss the importance of them to operations managers (as well as all managers) in today’s business environment.
> Describe the various types of control charts and their applications.
> Summarize the process used to apply SPC.
> Explain the difference between a discrete and a continuous metric. Provide some examples different from those in the text.
> The basic pizza-making process consists of (1) preparing the pizza, (2) baking it, and (2) cutting and boxing (or transferring to a platter for dine-in service). It takes five minutes to prepare a pizza, eight minutes to bake it, and one minute to cut
> What is a control chart and what benefits can control charts provide?
> What is statistical process control?
> What is quality control? Why is it necessary in any organization?
> Explain the purpose and structure of ISO 9000. What are the seven underlying principles?
> Explain the five gaps in the GAP model. What can managers do to reduce these gaps?
> Describe the quality philosophies and principles of Deming, Juran, and Crosby.
> The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) monitors and evaluates health care providers according to strict standards and guidelines. Improvement in the quality of care is a principal concern. Hospitals are required to iden
> List and explain the three principles of total quality.
> How do you define service quality? Explain the five dimensions of service quality.
> What is the most useful definition of quality from an operations perspective? How might an operations manager use this definition in making daily decisions?
> How is quality defined from a customer perspective?
> The quad chair lift at Whiteface Mountain Ski Resort carries four skiers in each chair to the top of the intermediate slope in four minutes based on timing a large sample of skiers. The time between loading skiers on successive chairs is 15 seconds. a.
> How do benchmarking and best practices support breakthrough improvement?
> What is breakthrough improvement?
> What is a kaizen event? How does it differ from the original notion of kaizen?
> What does the history of quality management suggest to today’s managers?
> Explain the concept of kaizen. What must an organization do to successfully operate a kaizen initiative?
> What is a root cause? How can root causes be identified?
> Summarize the Seven QC Tools used for quality improvement, and provide an example of each.
> Explain the classification of quality costs. Provide some specific examples in a fast-food operation and in the operation of your college or university.
> What does “cost of quality” mean? Why is it important?
> How can Six Sigma be applied in services?
> The roller coaster at Treasure Island Amusement Park consists of 16 cars, each of which can carry up to three passengers. According to a time study each run takes 2.5 minutes and the time to unload and load riders is 3.5 minutes. What is the theoretical
> What tools and methods are used in Six Sigma projects?
> Summarize the DMAIC process for problem solving.
> Explain the key concepts used in implementing a Six Sigma quality initiative.
> What is Six Sigma? How is it measured?
> Find the websites for the W. Edwards Deming Institute, the Juran Institute, and Philip Crosby Associates. What services do they offer? How do these organizations maintain the philosophies and legacies of these quality leaders?
> Define quality management. Why is it important for every manager to understand?
> Summarize the procedure (steps) used for the two-resource sequencing problem (Johnson’s Sequencing Rule).
> What is dispatching? Explain how priority dispatching rules are used.
> What are the advantages and disadvantages of the SPT and EDD sequencing rules?
> Define flow time, makespan, tardiness, and lateness, and explain how they are computed.
> Describe some practical examples of the single- resource sequencing problem.
> The consumer loan division of a major bank wants to determine the size of the staff it would need to process up to 200 loan applications per day. It estimated that each loan officer can process a loan application in approximately 20 minutes and works sev
> Why are appointment systems used? What decisions are necessary to design an appointment system?
> What are the four major decisions made by staff scheduling?
> Explain how scheduling affects customer service and costs. Provide an example.
> How do you think that quality management concepts can support sustainability efforts? Find some sources or examples to support your beliefs.
> What are the objectives of vehicle routing and scheduling?
> Why must schedules be closely monitored and often revised?
> What is a Gantt chart and why is it important?
> Define scheduling and sequencing. Provide examples from your experiences.
> Explain the concept of dependent demand.
> What is materials requirements planning? Of what value is it to organizations?
> What is a master production schedule? How does it differ from a final assembly schedule? Explain how one is constructed.
> Hickory Manufacturing Company forecasts the following demand for a product (in thousands of units) over the next five years. Currently the manufacturer has seven machines that operate on a two-shift (eight hours each) basis. Twenty days per year are avai
> Explain practical applications of optimization models for resource management.
> Describe how to evaluate level production and chase demand strategies for aggregate planning.
> Conduct some research on quality practices that is focused on a particular country or global region. Summarize your findings in a two- to three-page report.
> Explain options for aggregate planning.
> Describe the overall frameworks for resource planning in both goods-producing and service- providing organizations.
> What is aggregate planning? Why is it used?
> Explain the concept and application of capacity requirements planning.
> Explain the pros and cons for LFL, FOQ, and POQ lot sizing methods.
> Describe ways to disaggregate aggregate plans using master production scheduling and material requirements planning.
> Explain the concepts of time phasing and MRP explosion.
> Define end-item, parent item, component parts, and subassembly. Identify these items in a bill of material.
> Baker Manufacturing Company forecasts the following demand for a product (in thousands of units) over the next five years. Currently the manufacturer has eight machines that operate on a two-shift (eight hours each) basis. Twenty days per year are availa
> What is a bill of materials? Sketch a small example. What is the analogy of the BOM in services?
> Examine the annual reports of one company over a period of years. Summarize how quality is dis- cussed or implied in the company’s statements and philosophy. Are any changes in the perspectives of quality evident over time?
> Define resource management and explain its objectives and the effects of poor resource management in the value chain.
> Explain the bullwhip effect in supply chains.
> What is vendor-managed inventory?
> Cite and explain one advantage and one disadvantage of each of the following transportation modes: air, rail, truck, ships and barges, and pipelines.
> List the activities associated with logistics.
> Explain supply chain and value chain integration.
> What are the three key principles that should be used in working with suppliers?
