Manufacturing and service operations are often presented as very different operations. In practice, pure examples of service and manufactured goods...

Manufacturing and service operations are often presented as very different operations. In practice, pure examples of service and manufactured goods are difficult to observe. Manufacturing and service operations have many similarities as well as differences.

Service processes can be described using the customer – contact matrix: Front Office, Hybrid Office and Back Office. Manufacturing processes are categorized as: project, job shop, batch, line, or continuous.

2 a) Select and defend your selection of the manufacturing process that has the greatest similarity to a Front Office service process. Discuss the similarities and differences of a Front Office service process and the corresponding manufacturing process chosen.

2 b) Garvin's eight dimensions of quality are described in manufacturing terms and are not specified for services. Discuss how the dimensions of quality of Perceived Quality, Conformance Quality, and Reliability Quality, apply or do not apply to a Back Office service process.

c) Lean Systems define 8 types of waste or Muda. Please discuss how the wastes of Overproduction, Waiting and Motion apply or do not apply to the Front Office service process.