Service and Operations Management

The purpose of this book is to provide cutting-edge information on service management such as the role services play in an economy, service strategy, ethical issues in services and service supply chains. It also covers basic topics of operations management including linear and goal programming, project management, inventory management and forecasting.

This book takes a multidisciplinary approach to services and operational management challenges; it draws upon the theory and practice in many fields of study such as economics, management science, statistics, psychology, sociology, ethics and technology, to name a few. It contains chapters most textbooks do not include, such as ethics, management of public and non-profit service organizations, productivity and measurement of performance, routing and scheduling of service vehicles.

Contents:

• Preface

• Understanding Services:

  • The Important Role Services Play in an Economy
  • The Nature of Services and Service Encounters
  • Customers: The Focus of Service Management
  • Globalization of Services
  • Service Strategy and Competitiveness
  • Ethical Challenges in Service Management

• Building the Service System:

  • Technology and Its Impact on Services and Their Management
  • Design and Development of Services and Service Delivery Systems
  • Supply Chains in Manufacturing and Services and Their Management
  • Locating Facilities and Designing Their Layout

• Operating the Service System:

  • Managing Demand and Supply in Services
  • (Supplement) Queuing and Simulation
  • Service Quality and Continuous Improvement
  • (Supplement) Tools and Techniques of Total Quality Management
  • Service Productivity and Measurement of Performance
  • Management of Public and Private Non-profit Service Organizations

• Tools and Techniques for Managing Service Operations:

  • Forecasting Demand for Services
  • Vehicle Routing and Scheduling
  • Project Management
  • Linear and Goal Programming
  • Service Inventory Systems

• Appendix: Areas Under the Standard Normal Curve

• Index

Readership: Students at the graduate and undergraduate level, professionals as well as members of public with a keen interest in service operations management.
Key Features:

• It is well known that most managerial problems have multiple dimensions. Considering these challenges as purely problems that belong to a single discipline (e.g. marketing, finance, operations, etc.) would be a short sighted approach. Therefore, this book takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the challenges service and operations managers face by drawing upon the theory and practice of fields such as economics, management science, statistics, psychology, sociology, ethics and technology
• This book has some unique chapters most operations or service management textbooks either do not cover at all or do not devote a chapter, such as ethical challenges service managers face, routing and scheduling of service vehicles, management of public and nonprofit service organizations, productivity, efficiency and measurement of performance
• Another key feature of this book is that it includes quantitative chapters that introduce students to some of the most frequently used business analytics techniques by managers. Most of the discussion in these chapters do not require any math beyond what business students take as required courses