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    RESPOND TO EACH QUESTION WITH AT LEAST 100 WORDS and 1 Reference

    Question 1 (Jake)

    The technology of self-service is becoming more in use in multiple different businesses. It is cost effective to the business and most of the time provides a faster service to the customers. “Technology provides many benefits but at the same time poses some key challenges” (2019). Some of the challenges can be maintaining the equipment and ensuring that it is updated regularly. Another challenge that is overlooked on the business side is that people fear that self-service kiosks replace jobs. In some cases, this might be true, on the business side it makes sense though to save money on wages and benefits.

    An example that I have seen recently is self service kiosks at the DMV. I know that I am grateful for these kiosks because it eliminates the long waits inside the DMV. The DMV also puts them on the outside of their buildings, and this makes them available for use 24hrs a day. Not everything can be done at the kiosk but simple transactions like registration renewal can be done there. These kiosks help bring down the wait time inside the DMV as well. There can be issues with the software on the kiosk where is not able to find the registration or other errors. I know that I have issues with it because of my last name. I have an apostrophe and the program does not accept the apostrophe when I enter my information. Most government programs or websites do not accept it, so I am use to it.

    QUESTION 2 (David)

    Technology in the past few decades has accelerated much faster than the previous era where speed, convenience, and efficiency are the name of the game. Companies now have to find ways to bring value to their clients to stay relevant in their industry and leaders who hold onto traditional mindsets without looking forward may find themselves being less competitive to their industry peers. Today companies find many ways where they can reach a larger audience to gain market shares and advertise themselves online more than ever. Every organization wants to attract more customers and would entice them with promotions, discounts, or other benefits. This is especially relevant to retail businesses that depend on strategic locations and volume purchases. Chipotle is a Mexican fast-food restaurant that has grown tremendously successful in the past years. They have transformed their business model and enabled clients to download their mobile app to be able to order their food for pickup or delivery. This saves customers time and keeps them coming back with rewards. The mobile app also serves as a marketing tool to showcase new menus and keep customers up to date with promotions. The online ordering business model has been so successful for Chipotle as it accounts for nearly half of its retail business it has started considering pushing for online ordering and pick-up locations only without sit-in restaurant retail locations in some key locations (Anderson, 2020). This move was prompted by locations that have little physical space and where rent is extremely high such as New York. It has yet to be seen if this would be successful, and there definitely would be inconveniences for some customers who prefer dine-in options. Technology is not perfect and there have been many times where Chipotle's mobile application may face service issues such as not recording reward points or allowing orders to be placed where the location was having issues and did not receive the orders, etc. However, the conveniences of having this mobile application option in an era where most people have mobile smartphones do make a lot of sense to businesses to continue investing in self-servicing technologies. 

    QUESTION 3 (Nirvani)

    Operations management “is the science and art of ensuring that goods and services are created and delivered successfully to customers. OM includes the design of goods, services, and the processes that create them; the day-to-day management of those processes; and the continual improvement of these goods, services, and processes.” Collier, D. A, & Evans, J. R. (2019). 

    A personal encounter I had was with a connecting flight. I was traveling from Alabama to New York City for vacation, and at the time, we had a connecting flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. Alabama is in the central time zone, whereas Charlotte is in the easter time zone, which puts them an hour ahead. We did consider our overlay, which will give us 30 minutes to get to the gate and a few extra minutes to spare before boarding. We were flying during a blizzard on the east coast, but the airline did not say there would-be cancellations or delays to the flight; everything showed to be on time. When we got off our flight at Charlotte and made our way to board the other flight, there was no one at the gate, and we were told the flight had left 30 minutes prior due to a break in the weather. Everyone who had the connecting flight to New York had just missed their flight. When we approached the help desk, they were not very nice and insisted it was our fault we missed the flight, even though we showed them that we were on our first flight in the air on the way to Charlotte. After going back and forth with them and who was at fault, we were finally told what transpired, and they had us shuffling from gate to gate until we found a flight that we could get.

    Some ways in which the airline could have utilized operations management to help relieve or eliminate the problem is first to use forecasting “predict the future demand for raw materials, finished goods, and services” Collier, D. A, & Evans, J. R. (2019). When the airline use forecasting, it assists them in determining their flight scheduling during inclement weather. If they decide the flight schedules can not be met, they need to adjust their schedule “determine when resources such as employees and equipment should be assigned to work” Collier, D. A, & Evans, J. R. (2019). They should alert all customers/passengers of delays due to weather. And last would-be sustainability “decide the best way to manage the risks associated with products and operations to preserve resources for future generations.” Collier, D. A, & Evans, J. R. (2019). This allows them to see how best they can deal with the current risk they are facing and what is the best way to handle it. Instead, they saw a window during the storm to fly out and did without alerting customers so they would not be responsible for customers missing their flights.

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