Operations Management
17th Edition
ISBN: 9781259142208
Author: CACHON, Gérard, Terwiesch, Christian
Publisher: Mcgraw-hill Education,
expand_more
expand_more
format_list_bulleted
Concept explainers
Question
Chapter 1, Problem 4PA
Summary Introduction
To determine: The dimension of the customer utility function.
Expert Solution & Answer
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solution
Students have asked these similar questions
Ling is the customer service manager at Sakuro, a new departmental store stocking Japanese
products. Customer service is integral to the Japanese way of doing business and Ling is
responsible for ensuring that the five basic needs of customers are met through their service
offering. If Ling decides to create a toll-free number to assist customers, which one of the
following needs would Ling be meeting?
Select one:
Oa. Service
O b. Quality
C.
Action
d. Appreciation
Usually, it takes days to offer a service in e.government.
Select one:
a. True
b. False
A car manufacturer has designed a “special edition” version of its popular two-doorcoupe. This special edition has increased horsepower compared to the standard modeland a sports suspension. Which dimension of the customer utility function is particularly emphasized with the special edition coupe?a. Performanceb. Fitc. Priced. Timing
Knowledge Booster
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, operations-management and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- During nearly four decades of business operations, Memphis-based FedEx has earned a reputation for reliable, on-time delivery of packages to homes and offices around the country. Founder Fred Smith originally focused on overnight deliveries, choosing Memphis as the company’s headquarters because the airport rarely closes due to bad weather. With FedEx’s planes departing and arriving on schedule nearly all the time, its express shipments usually remained on schedule, then and now. To reassure customers that delivery will take place when and where promised, the firm offers a money-back guarantee on time-sensitive express shipments, among other services. FedEx has steadily expanded its portfolio of services since the 1970s. Its original overnight express delivery is currently available to U.S. customers in various forms, including “first-overnight” delivery, next-morning delivery, next-afternoon delivery, and budget-pleasing two- or three-day delivery. The company’s services also include cost-effective ground delivery for parcels and extra-speedy same-day delivery for urgent deliveries within 1,800 cities. Over the years, FedEx has widened its delivery network to more than 220 countries. It has purchased more cargo jets and acquired specialized shipping firms, including Tiger International, Roberts Express, RPS, and TNT Express, to support global growth. For international business customers needing products, parts, or raw materials shipped across countries or continents, the company now offers time-saving services such as commercial freight forwarding and cross-border logistical support. To add the convenience of local drop-off and pickup points for U.S. consumers and small businesses, FedEx acquired the Kinko’s office services company in 2004 and later rebranded it as FedEx Office. This acquisition also added printing and copying to the menu of services offered. Then the company arranged for large U.S. retailers such as Walgreens, Albertsons, Kroger, and Safeway to accept packages for shipment and receive package delivery for customer pickup in thousands of store locations. This means people who want to send a package can head to a nearby retailer and ship where they shop, rather than making a separate trip to the FedEx location. It’s also a safe alternative for packages to be picked up by people who don’t want FedEx shipments left by the front door. Another service FedEx offers to small and mid-sized businesses, including retailers, is FedEx Fulfillment. The purpose is to expedite order fulfillment by having each business store its products in a FedEx warehouse. Then, when the business’s customers place orders, FedEx puts the products into boxes bearing the business’s own logo and ships directly to those customers. The business doesn’t need a separate warehouse or staff for fulfillment, and packages are on their way to customers more quickly because the products were in FedEx’s warehouse, ready to be packed and shipped. This service puts FedEx into direct competition with Amazon.com, which offers a similar service to merchants that sell through the online Amazon Marketplace. But it also gives businesses that don’t sell via Amazon a fast and professional fulfillment alternative. FedEx is careful to let customers know, through media and social-media announcements, when it anticipates that extreme weather or other conditions will cause delays or force it to halt pickups and deliveries. For the duration of Hurricane Irma, for example, FedEx said it would suspend deliveries in Florida. Some Florida customers who had ordered generators to be delivered via FedEx were unhappy, because they worried about being without power during and after the storm. But one FedEx employee loaded several generator orders into his car and took them to customers himself. When a customer posted a grateful compliment to FedEx on Facebook, the message generated thousands of likes, shares, and positive comments. The company also received positive comments for its donations of cash and transportation services to areas devastated by Hurricanes Irma, Harvey, and Maria. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), FedEx often tops the list of U.S. shipping companies as ranked by customers surveyed. Every day, the company delivers 13 million packages—and during the busy year-end holiday season, it delivers many more. By meeting customers’ expectations for on-time deliveries, FedEx has increased annual revenues beyond $60 billion and positioned itself for continued growth in the future. How does FedEx’s money-back guarantee address customers’ concerns about heterogeneity?arrow_forwardPrybloxx primarily uses one courier company, AJAX Couriers, for all their deliveries. In some circumstances, where AJAX is too busy and does not have capacity to fulfil deliveries or they do not cover certain areas, only then will Prybloxx make use of a different courier company. Prybloxx has recently had a significant influx of customer complaints regarding goods that have not been delivered, delivered long after the agreed delivery time or damaged once they arrive at the customer. Prybloxx is aware of the effect that this could have on demand for their product, customer goodwill and are now investigating insourcing the delivery of their product to customers. Prybloxx has noted that they have two alternatives in insourcing this department – they can either purchase a local courier company that is considered a going concern or they can purchase all of the required assets and set up such a department themselves. Mr. Pranoto (production manager) has requested that you prepare a report…arrow_forwardIdentify the front office and back office services for the following organizations. Could these services be improved by increasing or decreasing the degree of customer contact? By separating low- and high-contact services?a. Hospitalb. Trucking firmc. Grocery stored. Appliance repair firmarrow_forward
- When the value of a loyal customer (VLC) market segment is high, should these customers be given premium goods and services for premium prices? If the VLC is low, should they be given less service? Explain.arrow_forwardMGMT Hospital Inc is a private concern that recently opened its doors to the public in the suburbsamidst heavy traffic. There are hardly any quiet nights. Sirens are a constant feature. However, onceinside, there is just the hustle and bustle of hospital staff going back and forth. A hospitalreadmission is when a patient who is discharged from the hospital, is re-admitted again within acertain period of time. Hospital readmission rates for certain conditions are now considered anindicator of hospital quality, and also affect the cost of care adversely. For this reason, Centers forMedicare & Medicaid Services established the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP)which aims to improve quality of care for patients and reduce health care spending by applyingpayment penalties to hospitals that have more than expected readmission rates for certain conditions.Although diabetes is not yet included in the penalty measures, the program is regularly adding newdisease conditions to the…arrow_forwardA customer survey concluded that timely departure of your buses is the number two priority of passengers, ahead of comfort, price, food, and other factors. Only safety was rated higher than timeliness. You believe that your bus company and your competitors are offering about the same level of service, safety, and price. Time seems to be the only competitive edge. As the general manager, you have just announced to your drivers, dispatchers, employees, and customers that all buses will depart on time. After one month of implementing this on-time policy, you notice that if the buses are not full, many drivers refuse to leave on-time in spite of the warnings they get from the dispatchers. The sales department is also lukewarm to your on-time program. Revenues have declined as a result of buses leaving on time but half full. Your drivers are protesting since the on-time policy is affecting their pockets. Their commissions are based primarily on the load factors of each trip. They find it…arrow_forward
- The customer are complaining to the hotel general manager about the service provided from front desk and restaurant how can the general manager reduce variability and increase consistencyarrow_forwardA national restaurant chain has just opened a sit-down location at Chicago’s O’HareInternational Airport. Next to the sit-down location, it has also established a “to-go”section where travelers can purchase pre-made sandwiches and salads, as well as drinksand snacks. Which dimension of the customer utility function is particularly emphasizedwith the “to-go” section?a. Performanceb. Fitc. Priced. Timingarrow_forwardBecause service organizations require high-touch relationships with customers, which of the following characteristics of the service organization is most important to meeting this requirement? Hiring and training Customized services Flexible systems Adjustable capacityarrow_forward
- A copier is able to operate for an average of 200 hours between repairs, and the mean repair time is two hours. Determine the availability of the copier.arrow_forwardDaily high temp in st louis for the last week were as follows: 93,92,94,95,88,95 (yesterday) a)The high temp for today using a 3-DAY moving average=[__] degrees (round your response to one decimal place)arrow_forwardFour regional less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers handle shipments traveling from Lexington, Kentucky, to Springfield, Illinois. All four companies say that their normal service time to deliver these shipments is two business days. The four carriers compete with each other on the basis of price and service quality rating, as shown in the following table. The price reported in the table is the (nondiscounted) cost per hundredweight (cwt) of sending a 600-pound shipment from Lexington to Springfield at freight class 70. The service quality rating measures a carrier’s loss and damage record and goes from 0 (poor quality) to 100 (high quality). Carrier Price Service Quality Rating A $ 103.90 95 B $ 98.50 91 C $ 127.20 98 D $ 111.40 94 Which of these LTL carriers are on the efficient frontier?arrow_forward
arrow_back_ios
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
arrow_forward_ios
Recommended textbooks for you
MarketingMarketingISBN:9780357033791Author:Pride, William MPublisher:South Western Educational Publishing
Practical Management ScienceOperations ManagementISBN:9781337406659Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.Publisher:Cengage,
Marketing
Marketing
ISBN:9780357033791
Author:Pride, William M
Publisher:South Western Educational Publishing
Practical Management Science
Operations Management
ISBN:9781337406659
Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Publisher:Cengage,