Over the last two decades the popular and academic press have stressed the strategic importance of operations, particularly because the competitive position of the United States in the global manufacturing economy has been perceived as declining.  But as interest moved toward operations within manufacturing firms, the United States economy as a whole has continued to shift away from manufacturing and toward service industries, and there is rising concern that the United States will lose its international competitive edge in services as well as in manufacturing industries.  Traditionally, operations management has dealt with the manufacture of tangible products, but growing attention is being paid to how operations management concepts can be applied in the service sector industries, which was estimated at 78.6% of U.S. GDP in 2006 (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html#Econ)

 

This course introduces students to the special problems of managing service operations.  It is organized in three modules:

 

1.    Introduction:  The Contemporary Service Environment

       In this module we will identify the differences between goods and services, define the types of services and identify how services markets can be segmented for competitive advantage.  We will also review how technology is changing the service delivery environment and how services are being used to add value in goods production systems.

 

2.    Strategy and System Design

       This module covers service strategy development and system design and facility location challenges.

 

3.    Managing Services

       In this module we will explore workforce management, service system performance, service quality, customer-focused service, capacity and demand management and waiting time management.

 

 

Textbook:  Davis, Mark and Janelle Heineke, Managing Services:  Using Technology to Create Value, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Burr Ridge, IL, 2003.

 

 

A syllabus is attached with assignments for each class.  Each student is expected to keep up with assignments and to actively participate in class discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grades will be assigned as they are earned.  

 

The grading scheme is:

       Participation:                                             25%

            Attendance and involvement in class discussion comprise class participation.

 

       Service Journal:                                          25%

            Each week you will make an entry into an electronic journal that relates your experiences with services to the topics we cover that week in the course.  A template is posted for the journal’s format.

           

       Final Service Encounter Case paper 25%

            The final paper will describe your experience with some service organization.  It can either focus on a problem or on a service encounter that was particularly positive or one that was particularly negative.  The paper should have two sections:  the case (story) itself and a "teaching note" that will describe the service management concepts that the story brings out and why they are important.  The case and teaching note should each:

 

§         Be no longer than 5 pages of text.

§         Be single spaced, left justified with double spacing between paragraphs.

§         Have one-inch margins all around.

§         Include exhibits (beyond the five-page limit) as appropriate.

      

            The cases are résumé items you can show prospective employers when you enter the job market.

 

       Final exam                                                  25%

 

 

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course

A.     Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

 

Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Web for Students) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, September 9, 2007 to correct the error with your advising office.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

 

B.    Academic Honesty:  Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade (0 points) for the work or course.  Repeat offenses may result in dismissal from the University.

 

C.    Course Withdrawal:

For Fall 2007, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 4, 2007.

 

D.    Students with disabilities: 

University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access equal access course content.  If you have documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments.  Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Disability Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sds for more information on registration procedures).