Course Description
Operations management's role in service sector organizational performance. The concepts, skills, and research issues necessary to provide a competitive advantage to the service organization. Productivity improvement, quality of service delivery, work-force management, the impact of new technologies, and international issues.
Athena Title
Service Operations Management
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in MGMT 4260, MGMT 7260
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught 95% or more online.
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
To explore the effect of the shift of the labor market from manufacturing to service industries. To gain an understanding of the complexities involved with assuring high-quality service in today's globally competitive environment. To examine how the composition of a service organization's resources (labor and processes) should change in response to advances in information technologies. To develop an understanding of the different methods used to plan, schedule, and maintain the resources necessary to meet the demand for services in the short term, medium term, and long term. To determine the mix of work-force skills, technology, and design of a facility that is best suited to achieve goals such as high quality, volume, and product-mix flexibility, quick customer response times, or low cost. Through case analyses, to explore how service companies in various industries (e.g., health care, banking and finance, retail, transportation/distribution, hospitality) have effectively (or ineffectively) utilized operations methods to enhance their respective competitive positions.
Topical Outline
Section 1 - The Transition to a Service Economy - Stages of Economic Development - Service Classification - Competitive Service Strategies Section 2 - Strategic Service Location - Location Criteria and Facility Location Techniques - Trends in Location Decisions - Globalization and the Effect of Culture on the Service Organization Section 3 - Process Design, Facility Layout, and Work Measurement - Process Design Methods (Activity Charts, Process Design Charts, and Flow Charts) - Process Design and Positioning Strategies - Matching Process Design with Competitive Priorities - Production Line Approach to Services versus Empowerment Section 4 - Service Quality Management and Service Recovery