BUS 660 Week 7 Assignment | Grand Canyon University | Assignment Help

BUS 660 Week 7 Assignment  | Grand Canyon University | Assignment Help 

BUS 660 Week 7 Assignment 1

 

Benchmark - Data Analysis Case Study

 

The purpose of this assignment is to apply a waiting line model to a business service operation in order to recommend the most efficient use of time and resources.

(This assignment has been adapted from Case Problem 2 in Chapter 15 of the textbook.)

Use the information in the scenario provided to prepare a managerial report for Office Equipment, Inc. (OEI). 

Scenario

Office Equipment, Inc. (OEI) leases automatic mailing machines to business customers in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company built its success on a reputation of providing timely maintenance and repair service. Each OEI service contract states that a service technician will arrive at a customer’s business site within an average of 3 hours from the time that the customer notifies OEI of an equipment problem.

Currently, OEI has 10 customers with service contracts. One service technician is responsible for handling all service calls. A statistical analysis of historical service records indicates that a customer requests a service call at an average rate of one call per 50 hours of operation. If the service technician is available when a customer calls for service, it takes the technician an average of 1 hour of travel time to reach the customer’s office and an average of 1.5 hours to complete the repair service. However, if the service technician is busy with another customer when a new customer calls for service, the technician completes the current service call and any other waiting service calls before responding to the new service call. In such cases, after the technician is free from all existing service commitments, the technician takes an average of 1 hour of travel time to reach the new customer’s office and an average of 1.5 hours to complete the repair service. The cost of the service technician is $80 per hour. The downtime cost (wait time and service time) for customers is $100 per hour.

OEI is planning to expand its business. Within 1 year, OEI projects that it will have 20 customers, and within 2 years, OEI projects that it will have 30 customers. Although OEI is satisfied that one service technician can handle the 10 existing customers, management is concerned about the ability of one technician to meet the average 3-hour service call guarantee when the OEI customer base expands. In a recent planning meeting, the marketing manager made a proposal to add a second service technician when OEI reaches 20 customers and to add a third service technician when OEI reaches 30 customers. Before making a final decision, management would like an analysis of OEI service capabilities. OEI is particularly interested in meeting the average 3-hour waiting time guarantee at the lowest possible total cost.

 

 

Managerial Report

Develop a managerial report (1,000-1,250 words) summarizing your analysis of the OEI service capabilities. Make recommendations regarding the number of technicians to be used when OEI reaches 20 and then 30 customers, and justify your response. Include a discussion of the following issues in your report:

1.      What is the arrival rate for each customer?

2.      What is the service rate in terms of the number of customers per hour? (Remember that the average travel time of 1 hour is counted as service time because the time that the service technician is busy handling a service call includes the travel time in addition to the time required to complete the repair.)

3.      Waiting line models generally assume that the arriving customers are in the same location as the service facility. Consider how OEI is different in this regard, given that a service technician travels an average of 1 hour to reach each customer. How should the travel time and the waiting time predicted by the waiting line model be combined to determine the total customer waiting time? Explain.

4.      OEI is satisfied that one service technician can handle the 10 existing customers. Use a waiting line model to determine the following information: (a) probability that no customers are in the system, (b) average number of customers in the waiting line, (c) average number of customers in the system, (d) average time a customer waits until the service technician arrives, (e) average time a customer waits until the machine is back in operation, (f) probability that a customer will have to wait more than one hour for the service technician to arrive, and (g) the total cost per hour for the service operation.

5.      Do you agree with OEI management that one technician can meet the average 3-hour service call guarantee? Why or why not?

6.      What is your recommendation for the number of service technicians to hire when OEI expands to 20 customers? Use the information that you developed in Question 4 (above) to justify your answer.

7.      What is your recommendation for the number of service technicians to hire when OEI expands to 30 customers? Use the information that you developed in Question 4 (above) to justify your answer.

8.      What the annual savings of your recommendation in Question 6 are (above) compared to the planning committee's proposal that 30 customers will require three service technicians? (Assume 250 days of operation per year.) How was this determination reached?

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competency:

MBA

2.3 Analyze data using appropriate statistical modelling.


Topic7 Rubric: Benchmark – Data Analysis Case Study

 

 

Criteria

% Value

1: Unsatisfactory

2: Less Than Satisfactory

3: Good

4: Excellent

% Scaling

 

0%

74%

87%

100%

Customer Arrival Rate

5%

The customer arrival rate is not included.

N/A

N/A

The customer arrival rate is included.

Customer Service Rate

5%

The customer service rate is not included.

N/A

N/A

The customer service rate is included.

Explanation of How Model Determines Total Customer Waiting Time

15%

An explanation of how the waiting line model can determine the total customer waiting time is not included.

An explanation of how the waiting line model can determine the total customer waiting time is vague or incomplete.

An explanation of how the waiting line model can determine the total customer waiting time considers both the predicted travel and waiting times.

An explanation of how the waiting line model can determine the total customer waiting time considers both the predicted travel and waiting times, and specifically addresses how the travel time of the technician affects the model.

Determination of Average Customer Waiting Times, Customers in the System, and Cost of Service Using Waiting Line Model

 

(2.3 Analyze data using appropriate statistical modeling.)

20%

A determination of the average customer waiting times, customers in the system, and cost of service using a waiting line model is not included.

A determination of the average customer waiting times, customers in the system, and cost of service using a waiting line model is incomplete.

N/A

A determination of the average customer waiting times, customers in the system, and cost of service using a waiting line model is included.

Analysis of Three-Hour Service Call Guarantee

15%

An analysis of the OEI three-hour service call guarantee is not included.

An analysis of the OEI three-hour service call guarantee is vague or incomplete.

An analysis of the OEI three-hour service call guarantee is included.

A thorough analysis of the OEI three-hour service call guarantee defends whether or not one technician is sufficient to meet the need for repairs.

Technician Recommendations for Expanding Customer Base

15%

Technician recommendations for an expanding base of both 20 and 30 customers is not included.

Technician recommendations for an expanding base of both 20 and 30 customers is vague or incomplete.

Technician recommendations for an expanding base of both 20 and 30 customers are included.

Technician recommendations for an expanding base of both 20 and 30 customers are thoroughly justified using information gathered from the waiting line model.

Comparison of Annual Savings from Proposed Plans

15%

A comparison of annual savings between the recommended plan and that of the planning committee is not included.

A comparison of annual savings between the recommended plan and that of the planning committee is vague or incomplete.

A comparison of annual savings between the recommended plan and that of the planning committee is included.

A comparison of annual savings between the recommended plan and that of the planning committee is included, along with an explanation of how this determination was reached using information from the waiting line model.

Mechanics of Writing(includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)

10%

Surface errors are pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning.Inappropriate word choice or sentence construction is used.

Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors distract the reader. Inconsistencies in language choice (register) or word choice are present. Sentence structure is correct but not varied.

Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but they are not overly distracting to the reader. Correct and varied sentence structure and audience-appropriate language are employed.

Writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English.

 

 

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