Introduction to Services
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After a lovely introductory session, we started off discussing now the what but the "SO WHAT!" of the service product continuum. We also discussed the distinctive characteristics of services which helped us peek into the peculiar world of services.
We then looked at the importance of services to the economy and how the % contribution of services in the GDP is an indicator of how advanced an economy is. We also blew our collective minds with an understanding of service dominant logic and how all economies are in a way service economies. Classifying services using multiple pre-existing frameworks helped us appreciate the multiple dimensions of challenges that characterize services. References
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Service Strategy
The strategic service vision is a useful framework to understand the level of strategic alignment of a service business. The class worked to develop the strategic service vision framework for southwest airlines.
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Service Design
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We spend the first two sessions understanding the language of service design. The 3 Ts, Service Package and the structural and managerial elements of service design. You all worked on using these three frameworks to describe Hotel Monaco Chicago's service design.
Further, we conceptualized and thought through the overall service design of a Teppanyaki style restaurant including all the operational structural and managerial decisions. We ended with an understanding of the behavioral aspects of service design and the role of complexity and divergence in task design. References
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Service Encounter
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Using the Zipcar case, we understood how to influence customer behavior to ensure efficiency of a customer dominated service operation.
Using the Tessei case, we understood how to influence employee behavior and ensure employee satisfaction and performance in a service organization dominant service operation. We tied both these discussions together to understand how the service encounter can be effectively based on the nature of the service. Servicescape is an integral part of the customer as well as employee experience. We discussed its role in, among other things, improving customer value and employee productivity. References
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Service Process
Appropriate design Service Processes is essential to a seamless customer experience.
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Matching Service supply with demand
In these sessions, we discussed about the abilities of yield management techniques to make sure the right capacity is sold to the right customer at the right price. We considered issues of overbooking and capacity allocation problems (remember Jack and Rose) from a operational and regulatory standpoint. We understood that for all these approaches to work successfully, there needs to be a balance, between doing too much and doing too less. Overbook too much and you will end up with screaming customers, overbook less and you will loose revenue. We explored some mathematical solutions to the overbooking and capacity allocation problems along with a brief about EMSR heuristics.
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Services in the Social Sector
In the end of the course, we discussed a couple of cases of services in the social sector. Our discussion on Aravind Eye care and the Dabbawallah role play activity helped us appreciate the part played by human relationships in augmenting service capacity and improving service effectiveness. Rethinking human interactions is a way to help innovate capacities in the social sector.
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