Case: Pizza USA: An Exercise in Translating Customer Requirements into Process Design Requirements.

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On page 218 in the textbook, you will see a section titled Case: Pizza USA: An Exercise in Translating Customer Requirements into Process Design Requirements.  Please read this section and the associated questions as this is the topic for your Case Study Assignment.  Don’t think of this as “an assignment you are writing for school”.  Think of this as an actual business assignment your manager (me) has given you and your next raise, promotion, and future with the company hinge on your performance.  The international version of the textbook is not acceptable for this course.  Therefore, any case study other than that presented in the 14th edition of the text will not be accepted.

Your Case Study Assignment should be 5-7 pages of body in length and sufficiently answer the four assignment questions.  You should have a title page, introduction, responses to each of the four questions, conclusions, and reference page.  For question 2 (Part II), you will work as an individual, NOT as a team.  Complete this part of the assignment individually and ignore the instructions regarding working with team members.

The case paper should be formatted as follows:

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  • Double spaced; one inch margins all around, Times New Roman with a 12 font.
  • Have a title page with your name, date, course name, course reference number, professor name, and paper title.
  • Written in APA manual 6th ed. format (an APA handbook is on reserve at Athens State University library and an additional copy is at the reference desk – the book can be only used in the library – you cannot check it out – of course you can purchase a copy at any book store for your own reference).
  • Use Level 1, 2, or 3 headers to organize your paper.  If you don’t know what these are, see the example APA papers provided in the Supplemental Materials folder located below.
  • Remember, this is a paper so it should flow.  You don’t want to merely state the question number and then answer it.  Make your thoughts and analysis flow with a coherent purpose.
  • The flowchart should be inserted into the paper.  If you construct the flowchart in a program outside of Word, you will need to copy and paste it into your paper so that you submit one file only.  The flowchart should not be submitted as a separate file.

Here are some answers to other potential questions related to the Case Study Assignment:

  • The minimum number of references is two.  They can be any credible and scholarly references.  Remember, these should be business-related references and not just pizza statistic references.
  • An abstract is not necessary.
  • The flowchart should be drawn either in Word, PowerPoint, Excel or some equivalent drawing tool and inserted in the paper.  Do not hand-draw flowcharts.
  • Make sure you are constructing a flowchart and not a picture/image.  Do not use SmartArt from PowerPoint.  See exhibit 9.5 for an example of a sophisticated flowchart.  The flowchart must be your own creation, not something you get off the internet.
  • The flowchart does count as part of the 5-7 pages of body requirement.
  • Make your attribute list very clear.  Either number your responses or use bullets.  Your list should be descriptive and provide adequate detail; a few words would not be sufficient.
  • Make sure that in question 3, you identify quantitative measurements.  (See the second paragraph of Part II.)  Be sure and watch the Collaborate session for more information.

Information from textbook is listed below

Case: Pizza USA: An Exercise in Translating Customer Requirements into Process Design Requirements

A central theme of contemporary operations management is focus on the customer. This is commonly understood to mean that if a company does focus on its customers and if it is able to consistently deliver what the customer wants in a cost-effective manner, then the company should be successful. The hard part is to be able to truly understand what the customer wants. Translating what the customer wants into a deliverable product (meaning some combination of goods and services) and designing a set of processes that will consistently deliver the product in a cost-effective manner are every bit as difficult. Finally, connecting the management of these products and processes to obtain desired business outcomes of the organization is a further challenge.

The following exercise will try to illustrate how difficult all of this can be.

The Setting

Pizza USA is a chain of pizza restaurants that currently offers sit-down and take-out service. Many customers have said that they would buy more pizzas from Pizza USA if it offered a delivery service. This exercise is in two parts. In Part I, you play the customer. In Part II, you play the manager at Pizza USA who is responsible for developing the pizza delivery process design requirements.

Part I

To start with, you have to think like a customer. This should be easy since you probably have experience with ordering pizza to be delivered. Put that experience to work! Make a list of the attributes of pizza delivery that are important to you AS A CUSTOMER!

As we said, this should be easy. Right? Or is it? In devising your list, consider the following:

What must a pizza delivery service accomplish so that you are reasonably satisfied? Beyond your being reasonably satisfied, what could a pizza delivery service do that would make it really unique and create a differential advantage? In other words, what could a pizza delivery service do that might cause you to ALWAYS order from one particular service (and, perhaps, to pay more for the privilege)?

As you develop your list, remember that you are considering only the delivery service and NOT the pizza itself. Assume that this pizza restaurant can make whatever kind of pizza (and side items) that you want.

Part II

Now, put on your “Pizza USA manager’s hat.” For this part of the exercise, you will be teamed with some other students. First, using the lists of all of your team members, create a master list. Next, try to group the items on your list under a series of major headings; for example, “condition of the delivered pizza” or “quick, on-time delivery” or “order accuracy,” and so on. Finally, make a list of the “pizza delivery process design requirements” that your pizza delivery process will have to meet. As you do this, think about measurable standards; in other words, what would you measure in order to ensure that your process is operating effectively and efficiently? Why do you think that these measures will be useful?

Here’s an example of how a part of this analysis could go. One customer requirement may be that the pizza should be hot when it is delivered. The fact is that as soon as the pizza comes out of the oven, it starts to cool. So, how could you keep the pizza from dropping below some minimum temperature before you hand it to your customer?

Questions

  1. Make a list of pizza delivery attributes that are important to you as a customer.

  2. Combine your list with the lists of a few other class members and categorize the items under a series of major headings.

  3. Make a list of pizza delivery process design requirements. Associate with each requirement a measure that would ensure that the process meets the requirement.

  4. Design a process that meets your requirements. Describe it by using a flowchart similar to that shown in Exhibit 9.5.

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