MGT 609                   

Service Firm Management              

Spring 2008

 

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Robert A. Donnelly

 

PHONE: 225-6337 (Work)

 

HOMEPAGE: http://www.gbc.edu/~bob

 

E-Mail: bob@gbc.edu

  

OFFICE: G6, Academic Affairs Suite, Lower Level of Fulmer Center

 

OFFICE HOURS:

WR

2:00-4:00 PM

WR

5:00-5:30 PM

Or by appointment

 

TEXT: Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy, Lovelock and Wirtz, 6th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2007.

 

GRADING:

Exams

65%

Assignments

25%

Attendance

10%

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

Organizations that provide a service as opposed to manufacturing a product have unique characteristics that warrant special attention, such as the inability to store inventory and the active participation of the customer in the service process. The intent of this course is to provide students with the concepts and tools necessary to effectively manage a service operation. Since the service sector is the fastest-growing sector of the economy, this course is intended to help students discover entrepreneurial opportunities. Topics that will be covered include the role of services in the economy, the service delivery system, facility design, layout, and location, managing supply and demand, and service quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXAM POLICIES

 

Exams will be closed book and notes and will be multiple choice and true/false format.

 

I ask that you do not leave the classroom while taking an exam. Leaving the classroom during an exam without permission from the instructor will result in the collection of your paper.

 

The use of cell phones or PDAs during the exam is strictly prohibited and will result in a zero grade.

 

I ask that you not wear a hat with a brim during the exam.

 

I have a “zero tolerance policy” for cheating during exams. Any student caught cheating during an exam will receive an “F” grade for the course.

 

All exams must be taken during the scheduled times. No make-ups will be given except under unusual conditions, as judged by the instructor, and with prior notice. You must contact the instructor either in person, by e–mail or voice-mail before the scheduled exam. If a make-up exam has been arranged with the instructor, please note the following policies:

  • Since the student has more time to prepare for the make-up exam, it will be more challenging than the in-class exam.
  • The format of the make-up exam may be different than the in-class exam.
  • The make-up exam will not be curved.
  • The student will schedule a time to take the make-up with the ARC within one week of the scheduled exam.
  • The student will send the instructor an e-mail confirming this time.
  • Failure to take the exam at this time will result in a zero grade.

 

Students who fail to take a scheduled exam without prior notice are not eligible for a make-up exam and will receive a zero grade for the exam.

 

 

RESPECTFUL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

 

In order to promote and maintain a respectful and effective learning environment, I expect students to adhere to the following policies while in the classroom:

  1. Respect for each and every student is to be demonstrated in all interactions and communications at all times. 
  2. Personal, extraneous conversations should not take place during class time.
  3. Students are expected to make every reasonable effort to avoid arriving late for class. If students do arrive late, they are expected to quietly enter the classroom without disturbing the faculty or their fellow students.   
  4. No cell phones, headsets, or noise-making beepers or pagers are permitted in operation in the classroom setting.  Exceptions may be granted for individual students when deemed appropriate by the instructor.
  5. Laptops are not to be used during class time unless permission has been granted by the instructor beforehand.
  6. Sleeping during class is not acceptable behavior and will be considered a violation of the Respectful learning Environment policy.

Failure to adhere to these policies will result in the submission of a violation report form to the college administration.

 

 

 GENERAL POLICIES

 

My expectations in the classroom are that you will be willing and able to ask questions about any course material that is not clear to you.  I look forward to questions during class time.  It indicates to me that the student is paying attention, has a desire to learn, and is helping his/her fellow students by having the courage to ask a question that others may also have.  To me, questions during class are a key component to the learning process and are always welcome.

 

I also strongly encourage questions from students outside of class.  Please do not hesitate to take advantage of the office hours that I have scheduled. If these times are not convenient for you, we can schedule an appointment for some other time. I will do my best to make myself available for you outside of the classroom.

 

Please notify me in advance if you must miss a class. Late assignments without prior notification may result in a reduced grade.

 

Academic dishonesty is an issue to be dealt with at any learning institution.  I encourage you to become familiar with how Goldey-Beacom College defines academic dishonesty and the consequences that are a result of such behavior.  My expectations are that students in my class will refrain from all types of dishonesty and avoid any of these negative consequences.

 

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS

 

1. Letter-Writing Campaign

 

The quality of many services, particularly in the United States, is thought by many to have reached a critically low point. Time Magazine recently ran a cover article titled "Why is Service So Bad?" Consumer dissatisfaction with service quality is so pervasive that it has become part of the pop culture. Comedian Jay Leno recently remarked that when he reminded a supermarket cashier that she had forgotten to say "Thank you," she replied, "It's printed on the receipt."

 

Reasons for what some people perceive as a decline in service quality include a general trend toward decreasing personal service as a result of cost-cutting efforts; the deregulation of a number of service industries; the legacy of attempts to foster "industrial" or production-line approaches to service; unmotivated, untrained, and underpaid employees; a shortage of entry level job seekers; and the difficulty in measuring and controlling activities that are often intangible, invisible, and fleeting in nature.

 

Perhaps an equally important reason for poor service quality is that few people who experience poor quality complain; they just vow not to use the service again. As a result, information of great value to service providers is lost and poor service is perpetuated.

 

 

To do our small part to counter this phenomenon, perhaps establish some life-long habit patterns, and most important, put our analytic skills to work in practical situations, part of our work this semester will involve the "Letter-Writing Campaign." This assignment requires that each student write two letters sometime during the first five weeks of the course. One will congratulate someone for a service well done. The other will be a letter of complaint about a service failing to live up to our expectations.

 

Each letter will be at least one page but no longer than two pages single-spaced. It should state the situation and events leading to the praise or complaint, including a comparison of the service you expected and what you actually experienced. All letters should offer suggestions for improvement.

 

Avoid sarcasm in your letter of complaint. The purpose of this exercise is to educate an organization about your expectations and concepts from the course, not to vent your frustrations about the service. This is an opportunity to educate an organization about concepts we have discussed in the course. Don't hesitate to “show off" what you have learned. Someone reading your letter should get the impression that you are educated in this field. You must demonstrate your education to earn an “A” for this exercise.

 

A copy of each of your letters should be handed in on February 11. If you receive a response, that too should be submitted, along with any follow-up you decide to make. You should plan your letter writing to allow time for us to share important concepts from the course and yet provide the possibility for responses before the end of the semester.

 

The letters will be evaluated in terms of the substance of the praise or complaint, the potential value of the constructive criticism, and the extent to which the letter conveys a sense that you understand the service you are critiquing.

 

 

 

2. Service Encounter Diary

 

This assignment requires you to keep a diary of your service encounters during the semester. For this assignment, record an actual service encounter based on your first-hand experience. Each entry should describe the encounter in terms of:

  • Factual details – what happened, when, where, nature of the transaction, etc.
  • Your response – your feelings, actions taken (if any)
  • Your analysis – was the encounter positive, negative, or neutral, your diagnosis of the service using course concepts

 

Submit a typed version of your diary using the following format clearly indicated:

 

  • Name
  • Diary Entry Number (either 1, 2, or 3)
  • Date of the encounter
  • Organization
  • Details
  • Response
  • Analysis

 

The analysis section is the most important one in this assignment. Your grade will directly reflect your ability to integrate course concepts into your service encounter.

 

 

3. Service Blueprint

 

This assignment is posted on Blackboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

DATE

TEXT

TOPIC

Jan 17

                  

Chap 1

Chap 2

Introduction to the course

New Perspectives on Marketing in the Service Economy

Consumer Behavior in Service Encounters

Jan 24

Chap 3

Chap 4

 

Core and Supplementary Elements

Distributing Services Through Physical and Electronic Channels

Service Diary 1 Due

Jan 31

Exam 1

Chap 7

Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4

Positioning Services in Competitive Markets

Feb 7

Chap 8

Chap 9

 

Designing and Managing Service Processes

Balancing Demand and Productive Capacity

Managing Relationships and Building Loyalty

Service Diary 2 Due

Feb 14

Chap 10

Chap 11

 

Crafting the Service Environment

Managing People for Service Advantage

Letter Writing Campaign Assignment Due

Feb 21

Exam 2

Chap 12

Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11

Managing Relationships and Building Loyalty

Feb 28

Chap 13

 

Chap 14

Achieving Service Recovery and Obtaining Customer Feedback

Improving Service Quality and Productivity

Service Diary 3 Due

March 7

Exam 3

Chapters 12, 13, and 14

Service Article Paper Due