OSC 5670 - Managing Service Operations

Service companies constitute the largest and fastest-growing segment of the economies of the United States and many other countries. To successfully compete in this emerging service economy, it is critical for business managers to understand the managerial issues and problems unique to designing, producing, marketing and delivering services. This course aims to develop a better understanding of best practices in the service sector through analysis of leading-edge firms and the strategies they have employed to create and maintain competitive advantage. Topics include the design and delivery of breakthrough services, managing the service encounter, and the role of technology, in particular information technology, in changing the nature of the service delivered and/or the way in which the service is delivered. The course relies on the analysis of a number of case studies, and includes a project where the principles developed in the course are applied to a real service organization.