DPM 4206 – Management Systems Design and Analysis
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?
2. The common measures of a queuing system's performance include:
A) probability that the service facility will be idle, average queue length, and probability that the
waiting time will exceed a specified duration.
B) average time each customer spends in the system, probability that the service system will be idle,
and average time each customer spends in the queue.
C) average queue length, maximum time a customer may spend in the queue, and the utilization
factor for the system.
D) average time each customer spends in the system, maximum queue length, and probability of a
specific number of customers in the system.
E) maximum queue length, maximum time a customer may spend in the queue, and average queue
length.
3. A waiting line, or queuing, system has three parts, which are:
A) distribution of arrival times, discipline while waiting, and distribution of service times.
B) arrival rate, service rate, and utilization rate.
C) arrival discipline, queue discipline, and service sequencing.
D) arrivals or inputs, queue discipline or the waiting line itself, and the service facility.
E) sequencing policy, penalty for reneging, and expediting of arrivals.
4. The source population is considered to be either ________ in its size.
A) finite or infinite
B) fixed or variable
C) known or unknown
D) random or scheduled
E) small or large
5. The potential restaurant customer who says to her husband, "The line looks too long; let's eat
somewhere else," is an illustration of which element of arrival behavior?
A) first-in, first-out
B) balk
C) renege
D) random departure
E) frustration
6. Arrivals or inputs to a waiting-line system have characteristics that include:
A) population size.
B) population behavior.
C) population's statistical distribution.
D) A and C
E) A, B, and C
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
8. Which of the following is an example of a finite arrival population?
A) copy machines in a copying shop that break down
B) students at a large university registering for classes
C) shoppers arriving at a supermarket
D) cars arriving at a suburban car wash
E) all of the above
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.
10. Which of the following represents an unlimited queue?
A) drive-through lane at a fast-food restaurant
B) small barbershop with only 5 chairs for waiting customers
C) toll booth serving automobiles on an interstate
D) faculty office with limited seating during office hours
E) restaurant with no outside seating and limited capacity due to fire department restrictions
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
19. Which of the following is a measure of queue performance?
A) utilization factor for the system
B) average queue length
C) probability of a specific number of customers in the system
D) average waiting time in the line
E) all of the above
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
