COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM
The service sector represents the largest segment of most industrial economies. As a result, issues of operating efficiency and competitiveness are becoming increasingly more critical for success in service industries.
To succeed as managers in this environment, you must understand how to effectively organize work, analyze and improve operating practices, optimally allocate resources and guide the application of new delivery technologies.
This course considers both traditional and new approaches used to achieve operational competitiveness in service companies, thereby preparing you to make decisions about products, employees, processes and customers. The course will examine different service scenarios in healthcare, financial services, tourism and professional services amongst other sectors.
CONTENT
1. Introduction: The role of services. |
2. Service Strategy |
3. Service Design and Innovation |
4. Business Process Management and Improvement |
5. Indicators & Performance Measurement Systems |
6. Customer Satisfaction Measurement and Improvement |
7. Service Recovery & Customer Relationship Management |
Methodology
The primary teaching tool is a collection of cases along with several lecture/discussions on important concepts.
A case is a rather comprehensive exposition of a real managerial situation describing a set of problems and requiring a plan of action. This method provides a pragmatic framework of the learning process. Its success depends heavily on student preparation before class and active participation in class discussions.
The discussion of case studies will follow different structures (individual presentation, role playing, group debate...) so the individual members of groups should come well prepared.
A collection of articles and other practical exercises provide the necessary background for analysis. As an element of discussion and of conceptual reinforcement, specific movies will be used during the Course.
Also, presentations of companies will take place throughout the course.
Not only content is important. Every session should be seen as a management meeting where you will be able to improve your communication skills. Come well prepared and learn from each other.
Consistent and quality class participation is expected. Participants will have the opportunity to express their ideas during the lectures and during the discussion about cases, debates and readings. Having read the compulsory readings before the session is therefore, crucial.
This course is highly integrative, interdisciplinary, and requires you to use ideas and tools from many different functional areas, especially from general operations, marketing and human resource management.
Bibliography
Basic Textbook:
- Fitzsimmons, J.A. y Fitzsimmons, M.J. (2008): "Service Management. Operations, Strategy, Information Technology?. New York, McGraw-Hill.
Other Complementary Material
- Frei, F. & Morris, A. (2012): "Uncommon Services: How to win by putting costumers as the core of your business?. Harvard Business Review Press, Boston.
- Haksever, C, Render, B, Russell, R & Murdick, Robert G.: "Service Management and Operations?.
- Heskett, J. L., Sasser, W. E. y Schlesinger, L.A. (1997), The Service Profit Chain, The Free Press, New York .
- Heskett, J. L., Sasser, W. E. y Schlesinger, L.A. (2003), The Value Profit Chain, The Free Press, New York .
- Johnston, R., and Clark, G. (2005), Service Operations Management, Prentice Hall, London.
- Metters, R., Pullman, M. and Walton, S. (2006), Successful Service Operations Management. Thomson, London.
- Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, "SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Customer Perceptions of Service Quality". Journal of Retailing, 1988.
-Schmenner, R.W (1995): "Service Operations Management"; Prentice Hall.
- Van Looy, B., Gemmel, P. and Van Dierdonck, R. (2003), Service management. An Integrated Approach, Prentice Hall, London.