Page 108 - DMGT522_SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Unit 4: Service Strategies

Stock management and cleaning and maintenance work may also be a part of the work of personnel Notes
in some service firms. The multifunctional nature of the tasks allotted to service personnel makes
it difficult to measure, monitor and improve the performance. So it is a complex task.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:

9. ......................... can be defined as the ability of a service organisation to meet its demand
and the extent to which it can do it.
10. A courier service may not be able to deliver couriers to a specific location due to lack of
distribution service. This is a constraint related to .........................
11. A bank’s branch cannot handle two credit card customers at a time because they have only
one employee handling that division. This is a constraint related to .........................

12. If an educational institute employ visiting/part time faculties from outside to take classes,
they are altering ......................... to match .........................

4.4 Managing Waiting Lines

The queuing system consists primarily of the waiting line(s) and the available number of servers.
Factors to consider with waiting lines include the line length, number of lines, and queue
discipline.
Length: In a practical sense, an infinite line is simply one that is very long in terms of the capacity
of the service system.

Example: Infinite potential length is a line of vehicles backed up for miles at a bridge
crossing and customers who must form a line around the block as they wait to purchase tickets
at a theatre.
Gas stations, loading docks, and parking lots have limited line capacity caused by legal restrictions
or physical space characteristics. This complicates the waiting line problem not only in service
system utilisation and waiting line computations but also in the shape of the actual arrival
distribution. The arrival denied entry into the line because of lack of space may rejoin the
population for a later try or may seek service elsewhere. Either action makes an obvious difference
in the finite population case.
Number of Lines: The term multiple lines refer to the single lines that form in front of two or
more servers or to single lines that converge at some central redistribution point. The
disadvantage of multiple lines in a busy facility is that arrivals often shift lines if several
previous services have been of short duration or if those customers currently in other lines
appear to require a short service time.
Queue discipline: A queue discipline is a priority rule or set of rules for determining the order of
service to customers in a waiting line. The rules selected can have a dramatic effect on the
system’s overall performance. The number of customers in line, the average waiting time, the
range of variability in waiting time, and the efficiency of the service facility are just a few of the
factors affected by the choice of priority rules.

Did u know? The queuing system consists primarily of the waiting line(s) and the available
number of servers.

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