Course Work B131311

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Compare and contrast the

problems at London Zoo tothose found in National

Space Centre

Module:11BSP023 Operations Management,

Total Word count: 2498 excluding diagram

text, headings, references and appendices

11/9/2011

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Introduction:This report is written to provide information on two organisations in relation to the

operations within them. It starts by introducing The National Space Centre Leicester

(NSC), which is the chosen attraction for the report and was visited on the 21-10-

2011. This is continued further in a more detailed explanation of the individual

processes at the attraction, in relation to the transformation process model and the

objectives of these processes carried out at the NSC. The second part of this report

aims to show a comparison between the two chosen organisations to analyse or

highlight any similarities in relation to the problems within their operations on the

other hand contrasting how both of these have different issues. To conclude it willhighlight some key factors and concerns with possible solutions for improvement.

About the National Space CentreThe NSC is the largest visitor attraction dedicated to space and space exploration in

the UK. However it wont be fair to describe the NSC just as an attraction site due to

its strong education elements. This is further iterated in the statics which show that

the NSC had over 63000 school visits in 2008 alone along with various workshops in

schools(National Space Centre, 2011). The NSC is not just a visitors attraction and

an educational venue it also facilitates corporate events.

The NSC has been built on a 14.5 acre land near Leicester city centre. The NSC has

3 car park facilities, which have a total capacity of 400 parking spaces including

some for coaches and larger vehicles. The NSC as a whole has a mixture of

processes types and layouts. The differences in layout are highly visible as each of

the components is looked at in detail, which can be found in appendix A. Due the

high amount of visitors the NSC processes throughout the year; along with the

limited amount of variety it has as a whole it could be defined as a Mass Service

process. The next few paragraphs will explain the exhibition process as it is the main

process at the NSC due to the fact that majority of its visitors come to the NSC for

the exhibition experience.

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It could be argued that there are 6 sub processes within the NSC, which are listed

below.

1. Exhibition

2. Restaurant

3. Corporate facility hire

4. Space theatre

5. Challenger learning centre

6. Cargo bay store

Exhibition: The exhibition has a high volume of visitors which ranges between 5000

and 15000 a week. It is more of a self-service kind of exhibition where visitors do not

need much assistance from staff. There is no specific customisation done for each

visitor and most of the value is added through the back office i.e. through the artefact

on display, therefor the exhibition could be defined as a Mass service process. The

exhibition has six themes which are clearly visible from the entrance. These include

Into Space, Exploring the Universe, The Planets, Orbiting Earth, Space Now and

Tranquillity Base. All of the artefacts, interactive games, learning images and

literature are split into one of these categories and therefor the same functions and

products are grouped together. Secondly there is no restriction of movement on the

visitors, they can start from any one of the themes and could spend as much time or

different amount of time in each one of them. Thus it could be said that the exhibition

has a process/functional layout. The other five processes are explained in appendix

A.

All operations have a general model of InputTransformation-Output. However,

every operation has its specific input and output. The NSC being a service operation

as a whole, processes customers as it involves transforming their psychological state

by providing them with entertainment and education. This means that the outputs

produced by the NSC process are intangible, non-storable and require high

customer contact. The inputs for this process can be sub divided into two types;

transforming and transformed resources.

The transforming resources for this process include staff that are permanent at the

NSC, plus contracted staffs which are supplied for services when the NSC is in itspeak period to cope with additional number of visitors. The second type of

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transforming resources used in the NSC processes is its facility. This includes the

car park, the building the machines and the equipments including the space theatre

and the artefacts, which form part of the exhibition.

Operations can be differentiated in terms of volume, variety of output they produce,

variation in demand which they have to cope with and visibility or customer contact

they have. It could be argued that all operations have a performance objective. By

doing this right or by achieving the objective the operations seek to influence the

quality of the companies goods and services. Furthermore it is something that a

customer finds relatively easy to judge about the operation. Thereforits important to

understand what impact a change in volume, variety, visibility and variation on

demand in relation to service at the NSC can have on quality.

The 4vs of National Space Centre

Volume: If the volume of visitors in a particular week is low somewhere in a range of

between 2000 and 4000 a week it will not have any significant impact on the quality

as everything including staff will be more accessible. Considering the processes that

have a capacity limit i.e. the space theatre and the restaurant, this amount of volumewould not create any issues to accommodate every visitor. For example the space

theatre can accommodate and satisfy 2080 visitors a day (Appendix A2). However

the highest volume of customers that the NSC has had this year in a week was

15000 during the half term which means it has a medium-high volume. This would be

approximately 2500 visitors in a day and if they all choose to visit the space theatre;

it would not be possible due to it having a maximum capacity of 2080 visitors in a

day. This may lead to poor feedback, which in a way shows poor quality.

Variety: It could be said that the NSC operation has a medium variety as there are

only things in the NSC, which are related to space and astronomy. The shows at the

space theatre are fixed and decided by the management, however can be chosen if

its hired as a corporate facility. The cargo bay store only has merchandise, which

are in relation to space. Apart from the limited range at the restaurant the other

limitations in variety may not be seen as a quality issue because, when the visitors

come to the NSC they expect everything related to astronomy and space.

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Visibility: By providing face to face service to customers, the NSC has high- visibility.

However this can depend on factors such as the volume of visitors on a particular

day. For example if the total number of visitors on a particular day is 700 there will be

enough visibility of staff to each visitor. However if there is unexpected big turnout of

customer for example 3000 on a day the staff visibility will be shared with a bigger

group. This visibility factor is very important and critical for the NSC to provide good

quality service to each of its visitors because of which the NSC increases the

number of staff during peak period.

High &Low variation: The amount of visitors that come to the NSC is greatly affected

by the factors such as holidays, discounted ticket and weather conditions. The range

of the customers is between 1000 and 15000 in a week. Average number of visitors

is 1000 in the last week of December and 15000 during the February half term, thus

the variation dimension at the NSC is too high. Its very critical that the management

team anticipate the number of visitors correctly and make the necessary

arrangements; otherwise the example given earlier about not all visitors being able to

watch the space show or visitors not being able to find a member of staff would turn

into unsatisfied customers with bad experience and may not wish to come back. The

following paragraphs will outline the London zoo and the problems as highlighted inthe case study.

Volume LOW HIGH

Variety HIGH LOW

Variation HIGH LOW

Visibility HIGH LOW

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About London ZooLondon zoo is one of Britains top attractions and is the worlds oldest scientific zoo

founded over 180 yrs. ago. It is located in the heart of London city in Regents Park

and is run by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) (ZSL conservation, 2010)Like

the NSC the London Zoo is also an operation that processes customers, because

their objective is to transform the psychological state of the customer by providing

them with education and entertainment. The inputs for this transformation process

are visitors/customers, tourist staff, animals and facilities and the output is satisfied

customers. The London Zoo has many components however the zoo exhibition

attracts most of the visitors thus making it the most important process.

The total number of visitors at the zoo range from 48 to 18000 on a day. It has an

average visitor count range of 4000-6000 a day, which is a high amount of customer

transactions as compared with other local zoos. This includes the Battersea park

children zoo, which attracts 2000 visitors a week on average. Therefor the London

Zoo can be described as a Mass service type of process due to the higher amount of

customers, with very little opportunity for customisation of these products. At the

London Zoo the same categories of animals are kept together so that the visitors can

choose the category of animals they like to visit; instead of following a particular flow

to see all the animals. Therefor its clear that the London zoo has a process layout

design

The 4Vs for London ZooVolume: The zoo has on average a customer range of 4000- 18000 visitors everyday

therefor it has a high volume output

Variety: The London zoo has a medium variety as there is a choice of different

animals but not all the animals in the world can be found there. The gift shop at the

zoo has a variety in its gifts ranging from animal adoption to soft toys and union jack

souvenirs.

Variation in demand: Has a huge fluctuation in daily numbers. Their busiest timesare weekends and summer holidays. The customers numbers are greatly affected by

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holidays and weather conditions, thus the London zoo has to change its capacity

very frequently to meet the changing demands and therefor has a high variation in

demand.

Visibility: As the London zoo provides face to face service to customers and the

animals (products) are visible most of the time and the staff members are available

to assist at every opportunity, it can be said that the London zoo has a high visibility.

Volume LOW HIGH

Variety HIGH LOW

Variation HIGH LOW

Visibility HIGH LOW

Compare and contrast of problems

The decline in the number of visitors at both the London zoo and the NSC suggest

that there is a clear gap in meeting the expectation of quality that the visitors expect.

The decline cannot be solely due to this, there are macro environmental factors as

well, which have an impact on the visitor numbers. The questionnaire at London Zoo

allowed them to highlight 10 critical aspects which were seen as a priority to reduce

this gap in quality.

A detailed table with the 10 aspects of visit can be found in appendix B fig.1. Once

these gaps were identified the problems with a high priority and the lowest score

were classified as urgent. On the other hand the NSC differs in the way they use

feedback from visitors. A formal quality management system was not to be seen

during the visit, the only possible way visitors could leave feedback was through

online websites like Trip advisor and Review centre. These are independent

websites where customers can give positive and negative feedback. A table has

been put together about the feedback and suggestions collated from these two

websites to better understand the specific gaps in the quality aspects of the NSC.

This table can be found in Appendix B Fig.2.

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According to the table in Fig 1 the aspect of the animal being happy at the zoo has

scored the least, which means its the element that is the most important to

customers and has the lowest satisfaction level. As opposed to the NSC table, which

suggest that the general quality of the equipments and artefacts at the NSC need an

upgrade. In both cases the main product i.e. the animals and the exhibition are not

delivering the full satisfaction to customers. The animals have an emotional aspect of

being happy which fully cannot be controlled, however the upgrading of the

exhibition can be done with some additional finance.

The second priority highlighted for the London zoo was the visibility of animals.

Unlike London zoo the visitors at the NSC see the ticket prices as the second

biggest quality aspect that contributes to the problem at NSC. For London zoo they

have started making open and realistic enclosures to resolve this. On the other hand

the NSC entry ticket prices have increased over the years.

Comfort of the animals was the third aspect for visitors, which scored low on the

quality performance report. In contrast the visitors at the NSC were not satisfied with

the food provided at the restaurant. It was highlighted by 8 of the 42 visitors who leftan improving comment.(TripAdvisor LLC, 2011)The problem of quality at the

London zoo is mainly based around the wellbeing and welfare of the animals, which

unfortunately at present is not being seen as an important customer satisfaction

requirement. As a consequence, although staff want to provide good service there is

a conflict of interest. Hence they still cannot offer high quality of service. On the other

hand the visitors at NSC seem to be more concerned about the overall experience of

the day out, where the restaurant forms an important part.

Apart from the quality problem at London zoo, the questionnaire also highlighted a

problem of process layout. The customers were finding hard to find their way or staff

to help around the zoo. However in contrast to that, the reviews for the NSC suggest

that the visitors appreciated the presences of staff to help. This was confirmed by 12

out of the 25 very satisfied customers. The difference between the visitors opinion

could be due to the fact that the London zoo is spread over a bigger area and has

outdoor features as well, which is not the case at the NSC.

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ConclusionWe can conclude from the forgoing discussions that although processes in two

organisations may have the same process objective i.e. satisfied customers; the

level of satisfaction or quality can differ at various levels. Secondly if the product or

one of the inputs has living characteristics like the animals at London zoo, the level

of customer satisfaction is directly in proportion to the level of comfort and

satisfaction of the animals. And lastly with both organisations in concern, quality

management should be a continues and on-going process and not a reaction

process, especially when the output has a satisfaction element like satisfied

customers in this case.

Reference List:1: National space centre, 2011, Corporate Brochure. [Online] Available at

[Accessed on 5th Nov 2011]

2: ZSL conservation, 2010, Living Conservation. [Online] Available at

[Accessed on 5th Nov 2011]

3: TripAdvisor LLC, 2011 , National Space Centre. [Online] Available at

[Accessed on 2nd Nov 2011]

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Appendices

Appendix ARestaurant: The NSC also has an onsite restaurant, which serves selection of freshly

made and local sourced sandwiches and snacks. On close observation the seating

capacity at the restaurant was approximately 100. The restaurant is split into two

areas, one was the buying and paying area and the second was the seating area.

There is a high level of contact between the restaurant staff and visitors. The visitors

didnt have any restriction on the quantity of what they wanted to buy and could mix

any of the products available in their purchase, which meant it had a level of

customisation. Thus the restaurant had a Service shop type of process. The

restaurant also has a kitchen with a dedicated area for each of its components and

had a functional layout. Due to its dual nature of process, with a fixed seating area

and a service line to pay the restaurant had a Line layout.

Corporate facility: The NSC is a venue with a difference for meetings and privateevents. In its first year of operation which was back in 2001 it has taken more than

12000 visitors through private events including seminars, car launches and fashion

shows. Due to its nature of very high customization according to clients needs and

very people based processes the corporate hire facility can be defined as a

Professional Service process. The layout for the corporate facility can be defined as

a combination of fixed position layout and functional layout. Fixed position because it

has elements such as banqueting facility and functional because the

customer/clients who are hiring the facility also have a free flow movement and

subsections to hire facility offered by the NSC.

Space Theatre: The space theatre is a state of the art multi-media domed theatre,

which plays space shows but could also be used for entertainment and education

with the flexibility it possess It has a capacity of 160. The visitors do not have much

contact with the staff plus dont have the opportunity to customise the show thus it

could regard as Mass service process. However the space theatre can also be hiredas a corporate facility, which means it could be customized for clients in terms of

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what they see for which it will be a Service shop type of process. Most of the

components i.e. seating arrangement and the screen are fixed, only the workers,

materials can be moved thus the layout of the space theatre is a fixed position

layout.

Challenger Learning Centre: Challenger Learning Centre is a mission control space

station Simulator designed for the schools market to teach maths, science and

technology. With a capacity range of between 14-34 participants and a choice of 4

different learning missions the CLC is a Service shop type of process. Due to the

fixed nature of the stimulator equipment and with most of the value to this service is

added at the back end the CLC has a fixed position layout.

Cargo Bay Store: Stocks a full range of fun and interactive space toys, books, games

and telescope. It has many customer transactions, with set procedures for staff it is a

Mass service process type. With different processing requirements for each

customer in terms of their purchase and with a clear split or merchandise display

according to product type, the cargo bay store has a functional layout.

Appendix A2Capacity of space theatre = 160

Total number of shows in a day = 13(Every half an hour from 1030 till 1630

Therefore total visitors in day that can see the show = 160*13 = 2080

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Appendix B fig1

Priority

Sequence Aspect of Visit

Expected

Performance

Score

Recent

Performance

Score

Gap

1 Happiness of animals 4.79 1.96 -2.83

2 Visibility of animals 4.78 2.08 -2.70

3 Care of animals 4.65 3.77 -0.88

4 Overall, as day out 4.10 4.39 +0.29

5 Commitment to animals 3.82 4.37 +0.55

6 Number of animals to see 3.78 2.88 -0.90

7 Educational experience 3.67 3.58 -0.09

8 Cleanliness and tidiness 3.54 2.76 -0.78

9 Comfort of animals 3.53 1.73 -1.80

10 Commitment to visitors 3.39 2.86 -0.53

Appendix B fig2

Priority

Sequence

Aspect of visits that

need improvisation

Number of customers who

suggested thisimprovement

1 Quality of display should be upgraded 9

2 Ticket prices are too high 8

3 Quality of food at the restaurant 8

4 Extend opening hours 5

5 Poor quality as a overall day out 5

6 The fun atmosphere was missing 4

7 Quality of products at the shop 2

8 Quality of staff knowledge 1

Assumptions: The above table only has review where visitors left suggestions where

total number of suggestions left was 42. Some visitors were disappointed by more

than one facility; however the table only reflects the one they felt most strongly

about. The table contains review from both websites review centre and trip advisor.

The table reflect data collected between Nov 2009 until Sep 2011. The priority

sequence is rated according to the highest amount of visitors who suggested the

same