ch06 service operations

Work Systems and the Methods, Measurement, and Management of Workby Mikell P. Groover, ISBN 0-13-140650-7.

©2007 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

Service Operations and Office Work

Sections:1. Service Operations2. Office WorkChapter 6



Service Operations

Service operations provide a service to a client or customer

By contrast, production operations provide a product



Service Industries: Typical Companies

Banking – Citigroup, Bank of America Communications – Verizon, Comcast Education – Lehigh, Penn State Entertainment – Walt Disney, Viacom, MGM Health Care – Aetna, Health Net, hospitals Hotel – Hilton, Holiday Inn, Ritz Carlton Insurance – New York Life, State Farm Retail Trade – Wal-Mart, Sears, Home Depot



The Nature Of Services

A service is intangible; it is experienced The time to deliver a service is variable and

usually unpredictable How long will it take for an auto mechanic to

diagnose an engine problem? How long will it take for an obstetrician to

deliver a baby? How long will it take for a mechanical

engineer to design a new part?



Comparisons: Products vs. Services

ProductsTangibleProducts are consumedMinimum variations, one unit to the nextTime to complete is generally predictableNo customer contact with manufacturer

ServicesIntangibleServices are experiencedVariations between one service and the nextTime to complete often unpredictableCustomer contact with service provider



Service Quality Factors

Customer interaction How well did the customer get along with

the car salesman? Quality of workmanship

Did the customer get a good haircut? Waiting time

How long did the customer have to wait before being served?

Service time How long did the service take once it began



Types of Service Providers

1. Service Organizations – service is the main business of the company or organization

2. Internal Services – department provides a service within the larger company Example: Accounting Department

3. Product Companies that also provide a service Example: Dell Corp. sells PCs but they

maintain a service call center for customers with problems



Scheduled vs. Random Services

Scheduled Service Operation – customer arrival times are scheduled Examples: doctor and dentist

appointments, airline passenger service, college courses

Random Service Operation – customers arrive randomly Examples: hospital emergency rooms,

retail stores, fast food restaurants



Facilities- vs. Field-Based Services

Facilities-based services – customers must be at the service provider’s facility for the service to be rendered Examples: banks, barber shops, hotels,

movie theaters, retail trade Field-based services – service is rendered at

customer’s location Examples: custodial services, household

appliance repairs, garbage collection



Level Of Customer Contact High-contact services – customer is involved a

high proportion of the service time Each service tends to be different Examples: hairdressers, dental offices,

restaurants Generally associated with facilities-based

services Low-contact services – little direct contact

between customer and service provider Examples: postal delivery, tax collectors Generally associated with field-based

services



Implications of Level of Contact

High contact services: More difficult to plan staffing requirements in

random service operations Good interpersonal skills required of service

providers Low-contact services:

Possible to analyze the work process and make methods improvements

Technical and analytical skills are more important



Manual Work vs. Service Work

Manual repetitive workProcessing of materialWorker attributes are physical Blue collar workerWork is performed in factories, warehouses, construction sitesAssociated with primary and secondary industries

Service workInformation processingWorker attributes are mental, communicationWhite collar workerWork is performed in banks, offices, stores, restaurants, hospitalsAssociated with tertiary industries



Standards & Staffing for Service Work

Setting standards and determining staffing levels is more difficult for service operations than for repetitive work because

Services are variable, so service times vary Random arrivals - difficult to predict workloads Customer contact affects service time Intangible work units Details of the service are not known in advance Creative work cannot be measured directly



Standards Used In Service Work

Hospital staff nurse – standard = number of patients for which nurse is responsible

Salesperson – sales quota Dental hygienist – 45 minutes per patient Dentist – different appointment times for

different categories of dental work Caseworker – standard = number of cases College faculty – standard = three courses per

semester



Office Work

An office is a place where the business-oriented activities of an organization are transacted and/or its services are rendered

Office work is concerned with business processes and functions Design Sales Accounting Scheduling



Office Activities

Physical and mental actions performed by office worker while performing an assigned task

Examples: Answering and making telephone calls Calculating Decision-making Participating in meetings Photocopying Reading



Office Applications

Related to the business processes of the organization and oriented toward end results

Examples: Accounts payable Engineering drawing preparation Payroll Preparing and making presentations Production scheduling Sales forecasting



Routine vs. Creative Office Work

Characteristics of routine office work:Tends to be easyLess education requiredRepetitivePredictableDefined procedures

Characteristics of creative office work:Tends to be difficultMore education requiredNon-repetitiveProblem solvingProblems are unique



Routine Office Work Activities

Filing papers Carrying things Collating and sorting Mail handling Photocopying Typing and keying



Creative Office Work Activities

Analysis Calculating Decision-making Drawing conclusions or inferences Drawing or sketching Proofreading or checking Thinking



Routine Plus Creative Work Activities

Answering telephone calls Making telephone calls Participating in meetings Reading Writing



Knowledge Workers and Support Staff

Knowledge workers – office workers who accomplish the creative information-processing activities and applications in offices Two types:

1. Managerial 2. Non-managerial

Support workers – provide administrative and staff assistance for the office Perform routine office tasks



Job Titles of Knowledge Workers

Managerial:Chief executive officerVice presidentManagerSuperintendentPrincipal (school)Dean (college)General (army)Admiral (navy)

Non-managerial:EngineerLawyerMedical doctorResearch scientistEditorChemistMarketing analystProfessor



Job Titles of Support Personnel

Administrative assistantAdministrative associateBookkeeperClerical workerData entry operatorEditorial assistant

Equipment technicianReceptionistSecretaryStenographerTelephone operatorTypist



Knowledge Work

Routine office work can be subjected to analysis, mechanization, and automation

Knowledge work depends on uniquely human traits that cannot be automated Creative abilities – required for creative work Discretion – knowledge worker must decide

how to approach a given problem or task Self-pacing – knowledge worker works at

own pace No machine pacing



Allocation of Workloads

Ideal allocation of workloads between knowledge workers and support staff



Allocation Reported in Research Study

Actual allocation of workloads between knowledge workers and support staff as indicated in a 1988 study of office work



Why Professionals Do Routine Work

The work is easier Results measured more readily Can predict the time required Support personnel are assigned to managers,

not professional staff Support personnel are not available Support personnel do not do their jobs

adequately Support personnel are not trained properly



Office Automation

Modern implementation of computers and other business machines to automate much of the routine and repetitive information-processing work accomplished in offices

Mainframe computers introduced into business in 1950s

PCs introduce into offices in 1980s



Characteristics of Office Automation

Its purpose is to assist workers in accomplishing their information-processing activities and applications

It consists of hardware (PCs, telephones, photocopiers) and software (word processors, spreadsheets)

It is a networked environment It represents the convergence and integration

of three traditional office technologies



Three Traditional Office Technologies

Office machine technology Typewriters, adding machines, dictation

machines, and photocopiers Data processing technology

Computers, data storage devices, printers and other output devices

Communication technologies Telephones and teletype machines.



Computer Augmentation of Office Work

Use of computer systems to enhance worker capabilities in low-volume creative work

Concerned with increasing and improving Effectiveness of the process Convenience of the worker Quality of the result Access to needed information Communication with colleagues and co-

workers Procedures for performing creative work



Office Automation vs. Augmentation



Examples of Computer Augmentation

Design engineer - CAD workstation Writer – PC word processor software College professor – PC slide preparation

software Commercial artist - computer graphics terminal Lawyer - legal documents on a word processor Process planner - process planning software Time study engineer - specialized work

measurement software