OM 2 Chapter 1: Goods, Services, and Operations Management

Problems, Activities, and Discussions

1) Explain how operations management activities affect the customer experiences described in the anecdote at the beginning of this chapter. What “moments of truth” would a customer at Disney World encounter? Think about the total experience including lodging, food service, shopping, and transportation, as well as theme park attractions and operations.

The anecdote of a Disney experience focuses on the role of goods, services, and processes in creating customer satisfaction. Students will have many great examples of their Disney or theme park experiences. Moments of truth might include (a) booking a Disney vacation and the associated service encounters with a call center and/or travel agency (b) parking at the Disney site and taking the shuttle, (c) asking Disney employees for directions, (d) waiting for a ride or attraction, (e) where to throw away trash (trash cans located at key points and about every 25 to 50 feet, (f) watching a Disney parade, and so on.

Whatever the student describes make sure you lead them into a discussion of key lessons that focus on the role of OM such as (1) process design and customer flows, (2) service encounter design and Disney employee training, (3) integrating goods and services into a CBP, (4) the importance of service management skills, (5) how services differ from goods, (6) biztainment, and (7) a continuous improvement orientation. Get the students participating – use their examples to illustrate key OM concepts in Chapter 1. Help them “see OM” in their examples.

2) Describe a customer experience you have personally encountered where the good or service or both were unsatisfactory (i.e., defective product, errors, mistakes, poor service, service upsets, etc.). How might have the organization