Question 1:
(a) Discuss the four distinctive characteristics of services, and describe and explain them with reference to a service product such as a restaurant.
(b) Outline the ‘gaps’ model of service quality and discuss and describe how a service-based organisation can use it to manage its customer satisfaction.
Question 2:
(a) “A queuing system can influence the customer’s perception of service quality” (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2004). Explain with examples the implications of queues and waiting to management of services.
(b) Discuss the key factors which influence long-term capacity management decisions encountered by a service organisation of your choice.
Question 3:
(a) Decisions on service location involve a trade-off between the needs of the producer and those of the consumer. Discuss the major factors which should be considered when making service-location decisions.
(b) Using a service organisation of your choice, discuss following layouts describing your answer with appropriate instances:
(i) Process layout
(ii) Product layout
(iii) Fixed-position layout