Course details

Service Management

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Course overview

The service industries in major economies, including Japan, are expected to contribute to economic growth. Service providing capabilities are becoming more significant not only in the service industry but also in manufacturing industries including the automobile and electronics industries.
In this course, we will discuss not only typical service industries such as food and beverages or leisure, but also several other situations where service is important, such as in finance, IT, retail, transportation and product maintenance. The common factor in all of these situations is the involvement of people. One of the defining characteristics of service is that customers with a variety of needs are linked both directly and indirectly to the company’s employees. The skills and capabilities of these employees vary, and so a key theme in service management is how to handle people.

In this course, students will study challenges and solutions that management in this service business often face such as conceptual design, operational and marketing strategies for concepts, and the development of people and the organization in order to support sustainable growth.

During their studies, in particular, students will develop an ability to contribute to service management while focusing on the following two points:
1. Consider a management approach according to the characteristics of each business category while taking into account general features of service (e.g. intangibility and variability).
2. Take multiple perspectives such as business strategies, marketing, operational management and organizational behavior while studying unique ideas of service, including service-profit chain.

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