Questions from General Operations Management


Q: A problem in large service organizations is that knowledge is often ‘

A problem in large service organizations is that knowledge is often ‘soloed’ in regions, or functional departments. Internal practice benchmarking can be difficult because experience is inaccessible t...

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Q: Beantown Housing Association is a social landlord charity that owns and manages

Beantown Housing Association is a social landlord charity that owns and manages around 6,000 properties in the south of the UK. Employing around 650 people, it is a quasi-government body that provides...

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Q: How would you position each stakeholder group on Dale’s power–interest

How would you position each stakeholder group on Dale’s power–interest grid?

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Q: Re-read the case example, ‘It’s not part of

Re-read the case example, ‘It’s not part of the job – Co-op’s “Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities” campaign’. In addition to technological solutions such as Smart Water, what else could such retailer...

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Q: When services talk about ‘customer training’, what do you think

When services talk about ‘customer training’, what do you think that they see as the main advantages?

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Q: Re-read the case example ‘Caring for your players’.

Re-read the case example ‘Caring for your players’. What do you think are the main pressures on professional sportspeople that someone in a sports-related service, such as Sara at Scarlet’s, has to de...

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Q: ‘Happy employees mean happy customers’ is at the core of the

‘Happy employees mean happy customers’ is at the core of the service–profit chain. How do you think that idea applies to, (a) A performance of an opera at a grand opera house. (b) Heart surgery?

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Q: Many services require their front-line staff to adopt very prescriptive

Many services require their front-line staff to adopt very prescriptive dress standards. What factors should be taken into account when deciding on what is considered appropriate clothing and appearan...

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Q: If you were Peter Greenwood, what would you say to the

If you were Peter Greenwood, what would you say to the Board?

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Q: In particular, what recommendations would you make about unbundling the complimentary

In particular, what recommendations would you make about unbundling the complimentary meals service on long-haul economy?

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