SITUATION 1
Christina Poole owns two pizza restaurants in a city with a population of 150,000 and is studying her company’s operations to be sure they are functioning as efficiently as possible. About 70 percent of the venture’s sales represent dine-in business, and 30 percent come from deliveries. Poole has always attempted to produce a good-quality product and minimize the waiting time of customers both on- and off-premises.
Poole recently read a magazine article suggesting that quality is now generally abundant and that quality differences between businesses are narrowing. The writer advocated placing emphasis on saving time for customers rather than producing a high-quality product. Poole is contemplating the implications of this article for her pizza business. Realizing that her attention should be focused, she wonders whether to concentrate primary managerial emphasis on delivery time.
If you were advising the owner, what would you recommend? Be prepared to support your answer.
 Tips for answering:  – Is the article correct in saying that the quality level is already high? – What are the risks and advantages of emphasizing speed over quality for Poole? – Does the scale of business matter?
SITUATION 3
Tyler Smithson owns Joe on the Run, a small chain of three coffee shops, all of which are facing a challenge that is common to most service businesses: They have to deal with highly variable demand, with two or three very busy times each day. If a waiting line develops, we can assume that a constraint exists somewhere in the product or service delivery. Typical workstations behind the counter include the barista station (where specialty hot drinks are made), the drive-thru station, and the cashier station. Because the goal of the company is to satisfy the most customers possible and increase resulting profits), a constraint at one of these workstations must be addressed quickly.
Question 1 What can be done to improve capacity?
Question 2 What can be done…