Question 1:
A medical clinic recently conducted a patient satisfactory survey of a 100 patients. Using the Lickert scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being 'Very dissatisfied' and 5 being 'very satisfied'. The clinic compiled a check sheet for responses that were either 1 or 2, indicating dissatisfaction with the performance attributes.
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The results from checklists were as follows:
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No
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Dissatisfied responses
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Scores for 1 &2
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1
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Ease of getting through on the phone
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10
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2
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Friendliness of the telephone receptionist
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5
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3
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Convenience of office hours
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7
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4
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Ease of getting a convenient appointment
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12
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5
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Courtesy and helpfulness of the receptionist
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7
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6
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Amount of time to register
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1
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7
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Waiting time to see a physician
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13
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8
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Comfort or waiting area
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4
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9
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Responsiveness to phone calls related to care
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5
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10
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How well the physician listened
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3
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11
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Respect shown by the physician
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2
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12
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Confidence in the physician's ability
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1
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13
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Explanation of medical condition and treatment
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2
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Doctors have extremely busy schedules. They have surgeries to perform, and many are teaching at the local medical school. Many surgeries are emergencies or take longer than expected, resulting in delays of getting back to the clinic.
In the clinic, two receptionists answer calls for three different departments, which include 20 or more doctors. Their job is basically to schedule appointments, provide directions, and transfer calls to the proper secretaries, which generally requires putting the patient on hold. Often, the receptionists must take a handwritten message and personally deliver it to the secretary's as phone lines are busy. However, the receptionist cannot leave her desk without someone else to cover the phones.
A student intern examined the processes for answering phone calls and developed the following flowchart.
Conduct a Pareto analysis and list your conclusions.
1.1 Select the top three vital responses and develop cause-and-effect diagrams for possible reasons.
1.2 Propose process improvements, and justify your reasons for the improvements, to the flow chart for answering calls.
1.3 Develop and explain a correct action plan to address the sources of dissatisfaction.
QUESTION 2
"Six Sigma is a highly disciplined, customer-oriented and bottom-line driven business improvement strategy that relies on statistical methods to make dramatic reductions in defect rates in processes, manufacturing, service or transactions. Organisations that implement Six Sigma have benefited from it in three major ways: reduced defect rate; reduced operational costs; and increased value for both customers and shareholders."
Define six sigma and critically discuss the six sigma improvement model and explain the statistical
Techniques/tools associated with each step.
QUESTION 3
The table contains information for the development of a short course in Operations management
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Activity
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Description
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Preceding
Activity
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Duration
in week
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A
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Design course overview and publicity
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---------
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4
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B
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Identify potential staff to teach on course
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---------
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2
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C
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Construct detailed syllabus
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---------
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6
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D
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Advertise and send out application forms
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A
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10
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E
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Confirm staff availability
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B
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2
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F
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Select staff to teach the course
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C,E
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1
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G
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Acknowledge student applications
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D
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3
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H
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Identify course written material
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F
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2
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I
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Preparation of teaching material
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G,H
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20
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J
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Prepare room for the course
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G
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1
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3.1 Construct an AON network diagram.
3.2 Determine the slack for each activity.
3.3 Determine the different paths and highlight the critical path.
3.4 Draw a Gantt chart.