Revisit ‘Operations in practice’ at the beginning of the chapter which explained how one car dealership planned and controlled its workshop activities. Try to visit a local car servicing operation and talk to them about their approach to planning and control (note – it may be less sophisticated than the operation described in the box).

(a) What do you think the planning and control ‘system’ (it may be computer based or not) has to do well in order to ensure efficient and effective scheduling?
(b) What do you think are the idea qualities for people with similar jobs to Joanne Cheung?