Question: 1. Compare and contrast the strategic service
1. Compare and contrast the strategic service vision of El Banco and United Commercial Bank.
2. Identify the service winners, qualifiers, and service losers for El Banco and United Commercial Bank.
3. What are the differentiating features of banks that target ethnic communities?
United Commercial Bank and El Banco17
This telling of the story of two special banks originally was prepared by students in 2007 who were engaged by the notionof two banks that had developed separate strategies for serving two niche markets. As you first read the students’ story ask yourself, what could have gone wrong with each bank? Also, as you read, keep a list of the factors that you see (with the advantage of hindsight) that might have contributed to the present status of these two banks. You will learn how the story played out at the end of the case.
THE STUDENTS’ STORY
As the United States grows more diverse, tailoring service offerings to the needs and preferences of specific ethnic groups becomes more important. In fact, the nation’s largest retail bank, Bank of America, was founded as the Bank of Italy by A.P. Gianini shortly after San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake in order to serve the Italian American community.
Today, two of the most creative service offerings in banking that target ethnic communities are located in the United States United Commercial Bank is the largest bank serving San Fran- cisco’s Asian American community and focuses on business and real estate lending within this famously entrepreneurial group More recently, El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad has designed a
unique retail banking operation for the burgeoning Latino community in Atlanta. Both of these communities are characterized by rapid growth, unique product needs, and a cultural identity
separate from that of the general banking market.
SERVING THE CHINESE COMMUNITY: UNITED COMMERCIAL BANK:
United Commercial Bank (UCB), a San Francisco-based bank that focuses on the Chinese American community, has $6.32 billion in assets and a market capitalization of approximately $1.4 billion. This bank has 46 branches in California, repre-sentative offices in Taiwan and China, and a branch in Hong Kong. Competitors serving the Asian market include East West Bancorp, Nara Bancorp, Hanmi Bancorp, Cathay General Bancorp, and Wilshire Bancorp.
UCB was founded in 1974 as a thrift operation with a focus on time deposits as its primary product. The bank has grown to become the largest (and perhaps the best run) bank serving
the Asian community, with branches mainly in San Francisco and greater Los Angeles. The mission statement reads in part:
All of us at UCB share your values of dedication to hard work, savings, and education. We are committed to providing highly personalized service and a wide range of consumer and commercial banking products and services to help you, your family, and your business to achieve your “American Dreamâ€.
United Commercial focuses on loans to businesses owned by Chinese Americans and their families. Almost 90 percent of its loans are real estate loans (40 percent multifamily and 60 percent commercial). The remaining 10 percent are mainly commercial and industrial loans (i.e., normal corporate lending). The average real estate loan at UCB is about $960,000 and the average multifamily loan is $600,000.
UCB has an unusually high proportion of savings accounts and time deposits as shown in Figure 2.7 This strategy is in response to the Chinese American desire to save in banks, instead of at brokerage firms. The reliance on savings accounts and CDs places UCB above the 95th percentile among banks overall. Not surprisingly, United Commercial’s interest expense stands at the 71st percentile for large banks overall.
FIGURE 2.7: United Commercial Bank Deposits
These financial facts highlight the unique service offerings of United Commercial. In the first place, Chinese American customers primarily demand savings accounts and CDs with high rates of interest. Non-interest bearing deposit accounts are only a small fraction of UCB’s assets.
This customer focus on savings accounts and CDs also places a premium on the perception of overall bank soundness and safety. United Commercial answers this by favoring a highly conservative lending strategy on the real estate loans it underwrites. For example, the average loan-to-value ratio for the bank’s commercial real estate loans is 58 percent, versus around 80 percent on average for other banks.
United Commercial effectively wins the safest and best customers in the Chinese American community because it charges much lower account fees than other banks. Banks classify fee income from commercial or retail accounts as “non-interest income†and this forms a major part of the income of most banks. United Commercial collects fee income equal to 0.32 percent of assets, while the average large bank collects fees equal to 1.70 percent of assets. UCB non-interest income is accordingly in the 5th percentile for banks overall. By rarely charging fees and often refunding fees previously charged, UCB differentiates its banking services to the point where it is very successful in winning customers.
Recognizing that many Chinese American businesses are involved in importing goods from China, UCB offers a full-featured trade finance department that issues letters of credit and provides other services to facilitate import–export businesses.
Finally, United Commercial has a well-articulated cultural focus on South Asia. Customers opening checking or savings accounts with relatively high balances receive tea caddies or gift tea sets. The bank’s website allows visitors to send an animated, Chinese New Year-themed e-card to friends. Most important of all, every customer of UCB knows that each branch employs numerous Chinese-speaking representatives with whom to conduct business.
SERVING THE LATINO MARKET: EL BANCO
El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad is an offering of Nuestra Tarjeta de Servicios, Inc., which provides financial services in a bank setting to Hispanic customers. El Banco is a franchise that existing banks can license. El Banco was launched in January of 2002 as a branch of Flag Bank in Atlanta, Georgia. The idea resulted from the partnership of an individual with a check-cashing business and a Latino banker. El Banco branches offer a range of retail financial services including bank accounts, check cashing, and mortgage lending. Currently, there are six El Banco branches in Atlanta, which implies rapid growth from the company’s first branch in 2002.
El Banco’s physical setting is oriented toward Hispanics. In the words of CEO Drew Edwards, “The El Banco concept is designed to appeal to Latino customers from floor to ceiling, with bright color schemes, Spanish-language newspapers, lively Latin music, comfortable sitting areas, children’s play areas, snacks, telephones, e-mail stations and, of course, Spanish-speaking bank employees (many of whom don’t speak English at all).†This stands in contrast to traditional retail banks that aim for a conservative, business-like atmosphere suggesting solidity and wealth. El Banco branches are storefronts in strip centers frequented by Latinos. The branches do not provide drive-thru facilities because commercial customers are not targeted. For Latinos who feel uncomfortable in a foreign land, El Banco’s informal atmosphere is an attractive feature.
El Banco is focused on fee-based services. Most retail banks occasionally cash third-party checks as a courtesy, but this service is not intended as a revenue-generating service. El Banco, however, focuses on this need, which is a basic financial service desired by Hispanics whether or not they have bank accounts. Fees for check cashing start at 1.5 percent for certain types of checks (e.g., high-security payroll checks); this line of business earns one-third of El Banco’s revenues. The company also earns fees on other services, such as bounced checks and low account balances. Overall, service fees account for more than 50 percent of El Banco’s revenue, versus less than 30 percent for retail banks in general.
El Banco also offers home mortgage financing to undocumented individuals (illegal aliens). Very few financial service providers will finance homes for illegal aliens—Banco Popular is the only bank that offers this service for most of the country. The Latino community is predominantly lower-income, but the community nonetheless includes thousands of individuals who could purchase $100,000–$150,000 homes but for their status as undocumented aliens. El Banco addresses this market by basing mortgage applications on “Individual Tax-payer Identification Numbers†(ITINs). Consequently, the rates for El Banco’s ITIN mortgages range from 8.0–9.5 percent, versus an average of about 4.86 percent in Georgia according to Bankrate.com. Finally, as a customer acquisition strategy, El Banco has chosen to mimic Western Union. One of the most trusted financial services brands among Hispanics, Western Union won deep customer loyalty by completing international funds transfers from Hispanics in the United States to relatives and friends abroad on a reliable basis. El Banco has consciously attempted to piggyback on Western Union, both by offering primarily fee-based services and by emulating its logo.
Shown in Figure 2.8, El Banco acquires customers earlier than traditional banks. Customers are first attracted to El Banco’s check-cashing service, a service that is usually offered only by nonbank retailers. As these customers grow in affluence, they seek more banking services (e.g., saving accounts, credit cards, financing), and El Banco is prepared to meet these growing needs to avoid losing customers to other institutions.
FIGURE 2.8: El Banco Customer Lifetime Value Progression
EPILOGUE
Here is the bottom line first—one of the two banks failed. Which one do you think failed and why? Your list probably includes many observations, among them the following:
• UCB offered high interest rates and many “perksâ€â€”could these be continued, especially during the developing bank crisis of 2008–2009, and, if not, would its affluent clientele stick with the bank?
• El Banco serves a clientele that, mostly, is less-than-affluent and in some cases is undocumented in the United States—does this clientele have enough resources to support a bank that serves this niche market exclusively?
In 2016, El Banco survives, perhaps by its collective fingernails, but it survives. Since founding, El Banco has relied upon partnerships with other financial institutions for most of that span. As the student paper indicates, El Banco began its life to serve “underbanked†Hispanic clients, whose primary need at first was a check-cashing service. El Banco filled this need and developed other services for its particular population, including a cash-banking entity that, in 2007, became a separate business called CHEXAR® (name changed to Ingo Money in 2014).
The San Francisco Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on August 11, 2011, that two executive officers of United Commercial Bank had been indicted on charges that they “conspired to hide loan losses, lied to their outside auditors, and misled regulators and the investing public.â€18 They also were accused of violations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 2009, the two officers resigned and the FDIC merged the bank into East West Bank of Pasadena, California. Both officers pleaded not guilty in their initial court appearances and a status report on the case was scheduled for June 7, 2012, in the Northern District of California (San Francisco) of the U.S. District Court. In 2014 one of the two officers agreed to a plea deal19 and in 2015 the other was convicted of seven felonies.20
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Deposit Analysis (As of Dec 31, 2004) Total deposits Transaction accounts Money market accounts Savings accounts Total MMA and savings Time deposits under $100k Time deposits over $100k Total time deposits Deposits in foreign offices United Commercial Amount 5,222,672 133,083 1,288,595 946,165 2,234,760 916,077 1,610,270 2,526,347 328,572 *All commercial banks with assets between $1B and $10B. Percent 100.0 2.5 24.7 18.1 42.8 17.5 30.8 48.4 6.3 All Banks* Percent 100.0 14.6 34.3 15.2 49.5 16.8 17.4 34.2 1.7 Investments Customer Lifetime Value Insurance Home Financing Traditional U.S. Banking Category Entry Point EL BANCO DE NUESTRA COMUNIDAD Vehicle Financing Personal Loans Credit Card Checking Account Debit Card ATM Card Savings Account Prepaid Services Money Transfers Money Orders Check Cashing Depth of Relationship
> 1. The strategy of segmenting demand is feasible only when: a. Demand is not from a homogeneous source. b. Demand is cyclic and predictable. c. Arrivals for service are random. d. Making appointments is impossible. 2. The purpose of differential pricing
> 11. Global service strategies include all but one of the following: a. Exporting services b. Following your customers c. Beating-the-clock d. Service offshoring 12. Mayo Clinic is a service firm that would fall under which of the following categories: a.
> 14. Which among the following strategies is used by fast-food restaurants to reduce costs? a. Increase advertising via the Internet. b. Allowing the customer to play an active part in the service process. c. Increase prices. d. Increasing menu items to
> 1. Which of the following is not one of the major considerations in planning multinational operations? a. Cultural transferability b. Technological compatibility c. Network development d. Host government policy 2. Multinational expansion by a service fir
> 14. Which of the following service providers likely would be involved in a single-level bi-directional service supply relationship? a. Pharmacy b. Professor c. Garage d. Mortgage company 15. All but one of the following is a managerial implication of bi-
> 1. The physical goods supply chain contains all but one of the following elements: a. Competitor. b. Distributor. c. Retailer. d. Customer. 2. The impact of the production element on physical goods supply chain management was _____ before and _____ after
> 11. In the Huff retail location model, the value of ( estimates ______________ a. Amount of travel time to reach a service facility. b. The importance of convenience in attracting customers. c. The importance of travel time in attracting customers. d. Th
> 1. A strategy that can be used by urban retailers to locate multiple sites close to each other in high-density areas despite the potential for cannibalization is called a. Competitive clustering. b. Marketing intermediaries. c. Saturation marketing. d. S
> 1. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a method for: a. Measuring a firm's quality performance by comparing it with other companies that are recognized as "best in class." b. Determining the feasibility of technological innovations in service operations.
> 11. Which quadrant in the matrix below represents attributes of a good service guarantee? No Conditions Many Conditions No Conditions Many Conditions Complex Detailed (a) (b) Clear Precise (c) (d) 12. Which of the following is a strat
> 1. Which of the following dimensions of service quality is most important to customers? a. Empathy b. Assurance c. Reliability d. Tangibles 2. Which of the following is not an advantage of offering a service guarantee? a. It acts as a mechanism to differ
> 11. What defines the capacity of a service product layout? a. The activity requiring the most time per customer. b. The size of the queue. c. How tasks are allocated among servers. d. Ability of workers to change the process speed. 12. In the design of a
> 1. Which one of the following is not a major factor that could influence facility design? a. Objectives and nature of the service b. Flexibility in operations c. Availability of land d. Site location 2. A product layout would facilitate the concept of: a
> 1. The service package consists of five features. Which one of the features listed below is not included in the package? a. Explicit services b. Supporting facility c. Information d. Cost of service 2. The major input into a large public hospital from a
> 1. The corporate culture of a firm does not significantly influence the quality of the service it provides because the culture is internal and, therefore, not perceived by the customer. 2. Flexibility in meeting customer needs is the main reason that som
> 14. A service blueprint will not facilitate creative problem solving because it will be too rigid a definition of the service delivery system. 15. Investment banking is a financial service that has high complexity and high divergence. 16. Limited discret
> 1. The "line of visibility" found in a service blueprint separates the front office operations from the back office operations. 2. A factor that simplifies the design of service systems is the presence of the customer in the process. 3. A “line of intera
> 11. Selling information and developing new services are examples of the role that information technology plays in generating revenue. 12. Information technology can be used to promote customer loyalty. 13. The IRS has identified frequent-user programs
> 1. A characteristic of the overall cost leadership strategy is the incurring of start-up losses to build market share. 2. On-line networks between suppliers and their customers create a barrier to entry. 3. When pursuing a differentiation strategy, a ser
> 31. A highly scalable firm such as Kelly Blue Book (kkb.com) requires a call center. 32. Scalability is enhanced with self-service. 33. Customers seldom take note of firms that are leaders in the sustainability movement. 34. Recycling paper and reducing
> 11. The single important attribute of a project manager is leadership ability. 12. Schedule variance is the difference between budgeted cost for work performed and actual cost of work performed. 13. The term calendar is used in project management to ke
> 1. The critical path for a project with uncertain activity times is not known for certain until after the project is completed. 2. A project can be defined as a set of complex interrelated tasks with different requirements regarding activity time and re
> 11. POS scanning is used to initiate a purchase order to a pre-approved vendor automatically when the stock levels are depleted (or reach a reorder point). 12. Information management has been the key in allowing services to meet customer demands without
> 21. World-class service operations strive to replace workers with enhanced automation. 22. Firms classified as "available for service" view quality improvement efforts with disdain. 23. For a firm achieving "journeyman" competitive status, the back-offic
> 1. Point-of-sale scanning became feasible only when industry agreed upon a universal system of bar coding. 2. One role of holding inventory is to hedge against anticipated increases in the cost of the inventoried items. 3. Inventory management is concern
> 11. Fast-food restaurants use a causal model to forecast daily demand for menu items. 12. Subjective models are used to assess the future impact of changing demographics. 13. Costs for preparing time-series forecasts generally are lower than for other mo
> 1. Because of the nontangible nature of a service, forecasting does not play as important a role in service operations as in manufacturing operations. 2. The trade-off to be made with respect to accuracy is between the costs of inaccurate forecasts and t
> 14. When Xerox Corporation introduced the Model 9200 Duplicating System, the level of service dipped because technical representatives were assigned to territories. 15. The average time a customer should expect to wait can be calculated using just the me
> 1. Capacity planning decisions deal implicitly with decisions on the cost of making consumers wait and the extent to which these costs can be borne. 2. A system is said to be in a transient state when the values of its governing parameters in this state
> 1. Waiting is often seen as psychological punishment because the consumer is aware of the opportunity cost of waiting time and the resulting loss of earnings. 2. The net result of waiting, apart from the boredom and frustration experienced by the consume
> 12. Yield management is a pricing and capacity allocation system that was developed by American Airlines. 13. Yield management is a strategy that manages both demand and capacity. 14. An example of segmenting demand is seen when movie theaters offer mati
> 1. The use of a ski-resort hotel for business conventions during the summer is an example of using the complementary service strategy. 2. Overbooking is a strategy that can be used to smooth demand. 3. The strategy of segmenting demand to reduce variatio
> 11. A diversified network is a situation where many services are offered at a single location. 12. Franchising usually is used when developing a focused network. 13. A family restaurant is an example of a focused service. 14. Communication is included in
> 1. Network development is a consideration in the decision to plan a multinational service. 2. When a firm offers multiple services at a single location, it is using a clustered service strategy. 3. A franchise is a low risk investment, because the franch
> 14. Retail and wholesale trade had the greatest percentage of U.S. employment by industry in 2014. 15. From a marketing perspective, services, unlike goods, involve transfer of ownership. 16. It is convenient and often necessary to combine the operations
> 14. Customer-supplier duality acknowledges the customer inputs in a service relationship. 15. A bank is an example of a service provider with a single-level bi-directional service supply relationship. 16. Transfer enhances productive capacity by enabling
> 1. In the physical goods supply chain, information moves to the left and material to the right. 2. Customer demand variability is the most difficult factor to determine in a goods supply chain. 3. In the past, the flow of goods in a physical supply chain
> 11. Geographic information systems are a visual method of displaying data. 12. Cross-median is an approach to the location of a single facility using the metropolitan metric to maximize the total distance traveled. 13. Marketing intermediaries are busin
> 1. Finding a unique set of sites in a multi-location problem is a simple extension of the methods used for single facility location. 2. When a customer travels to the service facility, the direct cost that is incurred is the decrease in potential custome
> 1. DEA circumvents the need to develop standard costs for each service when comparing the efficiency of multiple service units that provide similar services. 2. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is best used in an environment of low divergence and high com
> 11. Serving complimentary drinks on a delayed flight is an example of empathy being shown by the service personnel to the irate customer. 12. In the service quality gap model, GAP1 arises because of the management’s lack of understanding about how custom
> 1. The concept of quality service deployment is based on the belief that services should be designed to reflect customer requirements. 2. Being meaningful and easy to invoke are important elements of a good unconditional service guarantee. 3. A process i
> 14. The procedure to improve flow distance in a process layout by arranging the relative location of departments is known as operations sequence analysis. 15. A product layout affords some degree of customization. 16. Mid-Columbia Medical Center has a sp
> 1. The servicescape can influence perceived quality. 2. The design of facilities is dependent entirely on the construction and operating costs of the facilities. 3. A well-conceived servicescape can communicate desired customer behavior. 4. Heuristic alg
> 14. Internet banking is a service that would appeal to the economizing customer, the personalizing customer, and the convenience customer. 15. Efficiency- versus-satisfaction is the possible source of conflict in the relationship between the customer and
> 1. Services are deeds, processes, and performances. 2. The Clark-Fisher hypothesis notes the shift of employment from one sector of the economy to another. 3. The fall in employment in the agricultural sector is the primary reason for the increase in se
> 1. Who are Goodwill’s customers and how have their demo-graphics changed over time? 2. How should the introduction of for-profit thrifts affect Goodwill’s decisions about the role of customer service? 3. How can Goodwi
> 1. Marketing analysts use market position maps to display visually the customers’ perceptions of a firm in relation to its competitors regarding two attributes. Prepare a market position map for Alamo Draft house using “food quality” and “movie selection
> 1. For the Burger Palace example, perform a complete analysis of efficiency improvement alternatives for unit S2, including determination of a composite reference unit. 2. For the Burger Palace example, perform a complete analysis of efficiency improveme
> 1. Use DEA to identify efficient and inefficient terminal operations. Formulate the problem as a linear programming model, and solve using computer software such as Excel Solver that permits input file editing between runs. 2. Using the appropriate refer
> 1. Assume that you are part of the management staff whose task is to develop this sketch plan. Using Microsoft Project, develop the PERT network as outlined above, identify the critical path, and determine the expected time to reach basic operational sta
> 1. Using Microsoft Project, prepare a network and identify the critical path activities, the expected project duration, and scheduling times for all activities. 2. The elapsed time for delivery of the hardware is estimated at 90 days. Would the project c
> Located in a major southwestern U.S. city, Elysian Cycles (EC) is a wholesale distributor of bicycles and bicycle parts. Its primary retail outlets are located in eight cities within a 400-mile radius of the distribution center. These retail outlets gene
> 1. Assuming that the cost of stock out is the lost contribution of one dessert, how many portions of Sweet Revenge should the chef prepare each weekday? 2. Based on Martin Quinn’s estimate of other stock out costs, how many servings sho
> A.D. Small, Inc., provides management consulting services from its offices located in more than 300 cities in the United States and abroad. The company recruits its staff from top graduates of recognized MBA programs. Upon joining A.D. Small, a recruit a
> Gnomial Functions, Inc. (GFI), is a medium-sized consulting firm in San Francisco that specializes in developing various forecasts of product demand, sales, consumption, or other information for its clients. To a lesser degree, it also has developed ongo
> Oak Hollow Medical Evaluation Center is a nonprofit agency offering multidisciplinary diagnostic services to study children with disabilities or developmental delays. The center can test each patient for physical, psychological, or social problems. Fees
> Computer simulation provides management an experimental laboratory in which to study a model of a real system and to determine how the system might respond to changes in policies, resource levels, or customer demand. A system, for our purposes, is define
> 1. Describe Xpresso Lube’s service package. 2. How are the distinctive characteristics of a service operation illustrated by Xpresso Lube? 3. What elements of Xpresso Lube’s location contribute to its success? 4. Given the example of Xpresso Lube, what o
> On a hillside in Rolling wood, a community just southwest of Austin, Texas, the Renaissance Clinic provides dedicated obstetric and gynecological services. The medical treatment at this facility is wrapped in an exclusive-feeling physical environment tha
> Let us revisit the Automobile Driver’s License Office Example 5.2 and model the proposed process improvement shown as Figure 5.6 (b). Recall that the improvement consisted of combining activities 1 and 4 (Review Application and Eye Test
> Renaissance Clinic is a hospital dedicated to the health care of women. It is located in the hill country surrounding Austin, Texas, and offers an environment that is unique in the city. At the time of a visit, a patient of Dr. Margaret Thompsonâ&#
> 1. During periods of bad weather, as compared with periods of clear weather, how many additional gallons of fuel on aver-age should FreeEx expect its planes to consume because of airport congestion? 2. Given FreeEx’s policy of ensuring that its planes do
> The Houston Port Authority has engaged you as a consultant to advise it on possible changes in the handling of wheat exports. At present, a crew of dockworkers using conventional belt conveyors unloads hopper cars containing wheat into cargo ships bound
> Go forth armed with clipboard and stopwatch and study an actual waiting experience (e.g., post office, fast-food restaurant, retail bank). Begin with a sketch of the layout noting the queue configuration. Describe the characteristics of the calling popul
> 1. In this chapter, we referred to Maister’s First and Second Laws of Service. How do they relate to this case? 2. What features of a good waiting process are evident in Dr. X’s practice? List the shortcomings that you see. 3. Do you think that Mrs. F is
> Thrifty Car Rental (now part of Hertz) began as a regional business in the southwest, but it now has more than 470 locations across the country and almost 600 international locations. About 80 percent of its U.S. locations are at airports, and the rest a
> 1. For the forecast period (i.e., July–December), determine the number of new trainees who must be hired at the beginning of each month so that total personnel costs for the flight-attendant staff and training program are minimized. For
> On the morning of November 10, 2002, Jon Thomas, market analyst for the Mexico leisure markets, canceled more than 300 seats “illegally” reserved on two flights to Acapulco. All of the seats on Jon’s Acapulco flights were booked by the same sales represe
> 1. How is SSM different from Deming’s PDCA cycle? 2. Prepare a cause-and-effect or fishbone diagram for a problem such as “Why customers have long waits for coffee.” Your fishbone diagram should be s
> 1. Assume that you are the assistant to the manager for operations at the FAA. Use the techniques of work shift scheduling to analyze the total workforce requirements and days-off schedule. For the primary analysis, assume that a. Operator requirements w
> River City National Bank has been in business for 10 years and is a fast-growing community bank. Its president, Gary Miller, took over his position 5 years ago in an effort to get the bank on its feet. He is one of the youngest bank presidents in the sou
> Securing a mortgage often is a time-consuming and frustrating experience for a homebuyer. The process involves multi- ple stages with many handoffs to independent organizations providing specialized services (e.g., property survey and title search). The
> 1. What features of the 7-Eleven Japan distribution system illustrate the concept of the bidirectional service supply relationship? 2. Does the 7-Eleven Japan distribution system exhibit scalability economies? 3. How does the 7-Eleven example of B2C e-co
> 1. How does the Boomer Technology Circle illustrate the concept of the bidirectional service supply relationship? 2. How has Boomer Consulting, Inc., made the client a coproduce in the service delivery process? 3. How is the concept of “
> 1. Utilizing a spreadsheet version of the Huff location model (with λ = 1.0), recommend a store size and location for AFI. Assuming that AFI does not wish to consider a store that is smaller than 10,000 square feet, assess the store sizes (b
> Joan Taylor, the administrator of Life-Time Insurance Company, which is based in Buffalo, New York, was charged with establishing a health maintenance organization (HMO) satellite clinic in Austin, Texas. The HMO concept would offer Austin residents an a
> 1. Briefly summarize the complaints and compliments in Dr. Loflin’s letter. 2. Critique the letter of Gail Pearson in reply to Dr. Loflin. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the letter? 3. Prepare an “improved” response letter from Gail Pearson. 4.
> 1. Prepare an -chart and R-chart for complaints, and plot the average complaints for each crew during the nine-month period. Do the same for the performance ratings. What does this analysis reveal about the service quality of CSI’s
> 1. Describe Village Volvo’s service package. 2. How are the distinctive characteristics of a service firm illustrated by Village Volvo? 3. How could Village Volvo manage its back office (i.e., repair operations) like a factory? 4. How can Village Volvo d
> 1. How do the environmental dimensions of the services cape explain the success of Central Market? 2. Comment on how the services cape shapes the behaviors of both customers and employees. Central Market5 The original Central Market grocery store, locat
> 1. Use CRAFT logic to develop a layout that will maximize customer time in the store. 2. What percentage increase in customer time spent in the store is achieved by the proposed layout? 3. What other consumer behavior concepts should be considered in the
> 1. Identify the bottleneck activity, and show how capacity can be increased by using only two pharmacists and two technicians. 2. In addition to savings on personnel costs, what benefits does this arrangement have? Health Maintenance Organization (B) Th
> 1. Beginning with a good initial layout, use operations sequence analysis to determine a better layout that would minimize the walking distance between different areas in the clinic. 2. Defend your final layout based on features other than minimizing wal
> 1. How has Enterprise Rent-A-Car (ERAC) defined its service differently than that of the typical national car rental company? 2. What features of its business concept allow ERAC to compete effectively with the existing national rental car companies? 3. U
> 1. Describe the service organization culture at Amy’s Ice Cream. 2. What are the personality attributes of the employees who are sought by Amy’s Ice Cream? 3. Design a personnel selection procedure for Amy’s Ice Cream using abstract questioning, a situat
> 1.How does Amazon.com illustrate the sources of service sector growth? Comment on information technology, the Internet as an enabler, innovation, and changing demographics. 2.What generic approach(s) to service design does Amazon.com illustrate, and what
> 1. Prepare a service blueprint for Commuter Cleaning. 2. What generic approach to service system design is illustrated by Commuter Cleaning, and what competitive advantages does this design offer? 3. Using the data in Table 3.5, calculate a break-eve
> 1. Describe the growth strategy of Federal Express. How did this strategy differ from those of its competitors? 2. What risks were involved in the acquisition of Tiger International? 3. In addition to the question of merging FedEx and Flying Tigers pilot
> 1. Prepare a service blueprint for the 100 Yen Sushi House operation. 2. What features of the 100 Yen Sushi House service delivery system differentiate it from the competition, and what competitive advantages do they offer? 3. How has the 100 Yen Sushi
> 1. Prepare a run chart on each of the incident categories. Does she have reason to be concerned about burglaries? What variable might you plot against burglaries to create a scatter diagram to determine a possible explanation? 2. What is unusual about th
> Conduct a Google search on “project finance” and find employment opportunities in project finance. What is the role of finance in projects?
> Could firms in the “world-class service delivery” stage of competitiveness be described as “learning organizations’?
> Discuss the difference between time variance, cost variance, and schedule variance.
> Explain why the PERT estimate of expected project duration always is optimistic. Can we get any feel for the magnitude of this bias?
> Are Gantt charts still viable project management tools? Explain.
> Illustrate the four stages of team building from your own experience.
> Give an example that demonstrates the trade-off inherent in projects among cost, time, and performance.
> Identify dependent and independent demand for an airline and a hospital.
> Service capacity (i.e., seats on an aircraft) has characteristics similar to inventories. What inventory model would apply?
