Worksheet 2-Location and Queuing
Worksheet 2-Location and Queuing
Worksheet 2
Location Strategies and Queuing Theory
1. “Manufacturers locate near their resources, retailers locate near their customers”. Discuss
this statement, with reference to the proximity-to-markets argument. Can you think of a
counterexample in each case? Support your choices.
2. Why shouldn't low wage rates alone be sufficient to select a location?
3. List the factors which may be considered by a service organization in the public sector when
selecting new locations for from which to offer their services.
Queuing Theory
1. The dental clinic at the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital which only one dentist works is open only
two days a week. During those two days, the traffic arrivals follow a Poisson distribution with
patients arriving at the rate of three per hour. The doctor serves patients at the rate of one every
15 minutes.
A) What is the probability that the clinic is empty (except for the dentist and staff)?
B) What is the probability that there are one or more patients in the system?
C) What is the probability that there are four patients in the system?
D) What is the probability that there are four or more patients in the system?
7. Which part of a waiting line has characteristics that involve a statistical distribution?
A) arrivals or inputs
B) the waiting line itself
C) the service facility
D) A and C
E) A, B, and C
9. Which of the following represents a customer that reneged due to the waiting line?
A) A husband and wife decide to eat out instead after seeing the movie ticket line.
B) A car drives past the first fast-food restaurant on Hamburger Row because the drive-through
was full.
C) A Black Friday shopper skipped one store because the line went around the building.
D) A student ordered pizza online because the phone line was busy.
E) A customer at a gas station went inside to buy a soda, but after waiting in line for a minute left
the soda behind and went outside empty-handed.
11. 25) Which of the following is most likely to violate a FIFO queue?
A) supermarket with no express lanes
B) car repair garage
C) emergency room
D) fast-food restaurant
E) All of the above are equally likely to violate a FIFO queue.
12. A college registrar's office requires you to first visit with one of three advisors and then with one
of two financial professionals. This system is best described as which of the following?
A) single-server, single-phase system
B) single-server, multiphase system
C) multiple-server, single-phase system
D) multiple-server, multiphase system
E) multiple-server, cross-phase system
13. An airline ticket counter, with several agents for one line of customers, is an example of which of
the following?
A) single-server, single-phase system
B) single-server, multiphase system
C) multiple-server, single-phase system
D) multiple-server, multiphase system
E) cross-server, single-phase system.
14. A concert hall, employing both ticket takers and ushers to seat patrons, behaves typically as
which of the following?
A) multiple-server, single-phase system
B) multiple-server, multiphase system
C) single-server, single-phase system
D) single-server, multiphase system
E) multiple-server, cross-phase system
15. A McDonald's single-lane drive-through that has one window for making the payment and a
second window for receiving the food behaves most like which of the following?
A) single-server, single-phase system
B) single-server, multiphase system
C) multiple-server, single-phase system
D) multiple-server, multiphase system
E) single-server, sequential-phase system
16. The sign at the bank that reads, "Wait here for the first available teller," suggests the use of a
________ waiting line system.
A) dynamic-server, single-phase
B) random-server, single-phase
C) single-server, multiphase
D) multiple-server, single-phase
E) multiple-server, multiphase
17. A large discount store and supermarket has a hair styling salon on its premises. The salon has
several operators. Salon customers can shop in other parts of the store until their name is called
for salon service, at which time the customer will be served by the next available stylist. This
scenario provides an example of which of the following?
A) multiple-server, limited queue length
B) single-server, multiphase, limited queue length
C) multiple-server, unlimited queue length
D) multiple single-server systems, limited queue length
E) single-server, unlimited queue length
18. A system in which the customer receives service from only one station and then exits the system
is which of the following?
A) a single-phase system
B) a single-channel system
C) a multiple channel system
D) a multiphase system
E) a limited-access system
20. Which of the following is most likely to be served in a last-in, first-served (LIFS) queue
discipline?
A) customers checking out at a grocery store
B) the in-basket on a manager's desk
C) patients entering a hospital emergency room
D) patrons waiting to be seated in a casual-dining restaurant
E) customers waiting to see a bank teller.
END