Chapter 2: Meeting Guest Expectations through Planning
TRUE/FALSE
1. While a strong brand name is important to a business and can help the business in many ways, it
cannot extend the company’s reach into new markets.
2. If any change is forecast, an organization has to reinvent itself and learn new core competencies.
3. A design day is used to decide which day of the year to assume when determining the design capacity
of an attraction or facility.
4. Yield management is an important capacity-planning device for companies with capacity limitations
and a non-perishable commodity.
5. Brainstorming is only an informal means of forecasting.
6. Focus groups are most frequently used in assessing the quality of service already rendered and
identifying customer key drivers.
7. Successful managers need only management ability to be successful.
8. The ability to imagine a future market opportunity that is currently unpopulated with competitors is the
focus of a term called “Blue Ocean Strategy.”
9. When evaluating an organization’s core competencies, customers should not be consulted.
10. An excellent service strategy has four characteristics: quality, value, service, and achievement.
11. The five key areas in which action plans should be established are management, sales, capacity
utilization, finance, and marketing.
12. Good plans attempt to bring rationality and stability to the organization’s operations and efforts.
13. An excellent service strategy will emphasize providing value to guests above all; not far behind will be
an emphasis on providing quality.
14. The organization’s mission statement articulates the organization’s purpose.
15. Because hospitality services are largely intangible, having a strong brand image is very important in
the hospitality field.
16. Differentiation means to scrap the old strategic plan and build a different one.
17. An example of finding a special niche would be to target a market by lowering the cost of the service
product.
18. Although strategic planning is traditionally viewed as a management prerogative, more and more
hospitality organizations are including their employees in planning.
19. According to Michael Porter, three generic service strategies are a lower price, a differentiated
product, and finding a market niche.
20. Scenario planning and the Delphi technique are quantitative or subjective forecasting techniques.
21. The best of strategic plans may have to be changed, because the future is uncertain.
22. Three important factors that will influence future hospitality organizations are changing technology,
the entry of Generation Y into the workforce, and changes in social expectations.
23. Some factors that will affect future hospitality organizations are predictable and simple, like estimating
how many teenagers will be available for work in ten years.
24. The organization draws conclusions about the future, uses the conclusions to make assumptions called
strategic plans, then bases its strategic premises on the strategic plans.
25. Today’s forecasting tools are so powerful that they frequently replace managerial judgment.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
26. Translating guest expectations into a service product requires
a.
detailed planning.
b.
forecasting.
c.
sound intuitive judgment.
d.
all of the above.
27. A strong brand promise
a.
reduces customer uncertainty.
b.
creates a brand preference.
c.
increases customer loyalty.
d.
all of the above.
28. Action plans are derived from
a.
the mission statement.
b.
the vision statement.
c.
the service strategy.
d.
all of the above.
29. The mission statement articulates everything EXCEPT the
a.
reason the organization was founded.
b.
organization’s purpose.
c.
organization’s hopes and dreams.
d.
reason the organization continues to exist.
30. Qualitative forecasting techniques include all EXCEPT
a.
scenario building.
b.
pure guesswork.
c.
statistical forecasting.
d.
the Delphi technique.
31. An example of a low-cost forecasting technique is
a.
time-series models.
b.
scenario development.
c.
econometric models.
d.
multiple regression.
32. Building physical capacity based on selecting a lower percentile design day will have a negative
impact on
a.
repeat visitation.
b.
revenue.
c.
long-term attendance growth.
d.
all of the above.
33. Generation Y consists of those born from
a.
1965 to 1976.
b.
1977 to 1997.
c.
1997 to present.
d.
none of the above.
34. The internal audit tells the hospitality organization all EXCEPT
a.
where it stands now.
b.
what weaknesses it must eliminate.
c.
where it hopes to go.
d.
what new strengths it must develop.
35. Once an organization’s service strategy has been defined, it provides the basis ensuring that the
customers’ key drivers are addressed by determining all of the following EXCEPT
a.
what the customers would like five years in the future.
b.
what the service environment in which the service product is provided should look and
feel like.
c.
what the organization’s service product should be.
d.
how the service delivery system makes the service product available to the guest.
36. When a fast-food operator offers a unique menu compared to other fast-food operators, that restaurant
is practicing which of the following strategies?
a.
high-price provider
b.
differentiation
c.
market niche
d.
none of the above
37. The Delphi technique is best used for
a.
scenario building.
b.
focus groups.
c.
brainstorming.
d.
managing chaos.
38. Successful yield management is best described as
a.
the ability to minimize traffic problems at a tourist destination.
b.
maximizing utilized restaurant food and minimizing wasted food.
c.
managing the sale of capacity units to maximize their profitability.
d.
making sure that every room in the hotel is sold at full price or rack rate.
39. A core competency is
a.
what the organization is really good at.
b.
a skill at peeling apples.
c.
an important competitive threat.
d.
the sum of organizational strengths and weaknesses.
40. A good example of a quantitative planning tool is
a.
scenario planning.
b.
the Delphi technique.
c.
brainstorming.
d.
statistical forecasting.
41. Forecasting techniques are based on the idea that
a.
the future is related somehow to the past.
b.
the future can be predicted accurately.
c.
a wild guess about the future is better than no guess at all.
d.
experts with the right tools can know the future with near certainty.
42. The design day concept is based on the idea that
a.
the organization has to decide how much capacity to have available.
b.
guest demand is uncertain.
c.
one day is better than another.
d.
both a and b.
43. Casual dining restaurants are a good example of
a.
a low-price provider strategy.
b.
a differentiation strategy.
c.
a market niche strategy.
d.
all of the above.
44. A strong brand image is important to an organization because
a.
it provides a competitive advantage.
b.
it differentiates that organization from other organizations in a very clear way.
c.
it adds value to the guest experience.
d.
all of the above.
45. When assessing future hospitality work, which statement is the MOST likely or accurate?
a.
The next generation pretty much resembles the current generation in work ethic.
b.
The next generation will be more psychologically motivated than the current generation.
c.
The next generation of employees will be more diverse than the current generation.
d.
Baby boomers will have minimal effect on the available workforce.
46. In terms of the chapter’s strategic planning model, strategic premises are developed on the basis of
a.
an environmental assessment.
b.
an internal assessment.
c.
the organization’s most comprehensive vision.
d.
key drivers.
47. In terms of the chapter’s strategic planning model, the internal audit seeks to identify
a.
the important competitors in the marketplace.
b.
the organization’s core competencies.
c.
key drivers of the accounting department.
d.
ambient conditions.
48. A key driver is
a.
the most important part of the Disney transportation system.
b.
any commercial company that produces locks for major hotel chains.
c.
those things that the customer really values.
d.
major forces in the competitive environment.
49. Which one of the following is NOT a key area in which action plans should be set?
a.
management
b.
capacity utilization
c.
finance
d.
core competencies
50. An action plan includes
a.
appropriate metrics.
b.
how the organization will operate.
c.
what everyone needs to do over the next time period.
d.
all of the above.