Seventy-Five Percent of Calls Arriving at a Help Line Can

question 16

Essay

Seventy-five percent of calls arriving at a help line can be handled by the person who answers the phone, but the remaining 25% of them will need to be referred to someone else. Assume that every call requires one minute of attention by the person who answers the phone (either to answer the question or to figure out how the referral should be handled). Calls that are referred need an additional amount of time, as given in the table below. Callers are served on a first come, first served basis, and are put on hold until the line is free. Use the random numbers to simulate what happens to 10 callers. (Use the random numbers in order - from left to right, first row first - as you need them.) What percentage of your callers needs to be referred? Of those who had to be referred, what is the average referral time?

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Definitions:

Affective Action

Actions motivated by feelings, emotions, or affective states rather than rational calculations or norms.

Historical

Pertaining to or concerned with the study of past events and times.

Past Epochs

Past periods or ages in history characterized by distinctive features or events, often used to discuss the evolution of societies or civilizations.

Ideal Type

A conceptual tool used in sociology, created by Max Weber, that serves as a model for understanding social phenomena by emphasizing the most significant characteristics, often to compare real situations against an idealized or pure form.