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HAS SEEC - Service Economics (Q2)

Faculty
Center for Tourism and Culture Management
Course Coordinator
Lise Lyck
Prerequisite/progression of the course
The course is part of the BSc. in Business Administration & Service Management at CBS. Nevertheless, the course may be followed both by students from the Service Management study and by other students as an elective, according to the prevailing rules. The students must document a level in English equal to TOEFL 575 and a level in mathematics equal to Danish level B.
Aim of the course
The purpose of this course is to understand the full concept of service and to achieve the basic knowledge of tools for managing services - in order to create a competitive advantage for service industries.
Course content, structure and teaching
A presentation of how service has been treated in the history of economic theory leading to a discussion of the conceptual meaning of “service” and of the three core dimensions: Service is immaterial, perishable and often consumed while produced. Service is discussed as a supplement to physical products - as a special property of the goods - and as a quality indicator. Consequently, the provision of service may be organised in many different ways.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this course, students should:
  • understand the differences between products and services
  • have gained new knowledge of the different views theoretically and in practice - and knowledge of the development of service economics from 1960 up till now
  • have developed an understanding of the elements, which comprise a service operation and of the means by which their effectiveness is assessed
  • know, understand and apply the core service economics' models
  • provide an appreciation of the nature of the processes embedded in a service operation, and to examine the relationship between all functional areas such as marketing, information, management, finance and human resources
  • have developed an understanding of the strategic impact of decisions made in the operation of a service organisation
  • Know how to measure quality and economy theoretically and in a case related way
  • be able to develop and apply blue prints for service economics.
Teaching methods
The overall unit outline is presented in a one page schedules overview and posted on SiteScape. The unit outline is subject to change, and the student must at all times check their student homepage prior to class for any changes. Any cancelled sessions will always result in a make up session.
Class times are composed of two- and three-hours sessions including a mix of lectures, student case studies and article presentations as well as in- depth discussions. It is assumed that the assigned reading, articles, and cases for each session have been read by all students prior to classes.
During lectures, theory will be presented and applied to real time service industries, and time will be spent on ensuring that the students have understood the material and iare able to adapt the theory into practise.
Case study sessions require team presentations, focusing on the ability of exploring new developments and extensions from the basic service concepts. Informal assessment of the case presentation is designed to recognise individual as well as team effort. This is consequently done to reflect the business environment, where effective teamwork is essential to the achievement of individual success. In syndicate sessions, teams (of individual choice) should analyse and discuss the key issues of the case, prior to creating the case presentation for class. Each team will present its casework during the course, and towards the end of each session all students will participate in follow-up discussions of other team presentations. Students are also encouraged to discuss the topic for the individual home assignment in their team.
For optimal learning, students are encouraged to complete at least one of two individual home assignments of three pages during the course. The assignment topic will be decided by the professor and posted on SiteScape. The students will have one week (excluding holidays) to complete the assignment.
Examination
Written four hours, individual exam with open books.
Course literature
  • Fitzsimmons, J & M: “New Service Development – Creating Memorable Experiences”, Sage Publications, Inc., USA, 2000 ISBN: 0-7619-1742-x
  • Fitzsimmons, J &M: “ Service Management – Operations, Strategy and Information Technology”, 5th edition, McGraw-Hill, International Edition 2005.

Last updated by The International Office 17/05/2009