DSO 582: Service Management: Economics and Operations
Instructor : Ramandeep S. Randhawa E-Mail :
Office : BRI 401P Phone : 213-740-1042
Office Hours : Th 5.15-6.15pm Web : http://blackboard.usc.edu
Meeting Times : Th 6.30-9.30pm
Course Description
The service sector dominates today’s economy, accounting for approximately 75% of the gross domestic product and 80% of the jobs in the US. In addition to this “pure” service sector, the operations and competitive positions of many manufacturing firms are becoming increasingly service oriented. So, it is important for a manager to understand both how services differ from manufacturing operations and how traditional operations management techniques can be applied to services.
The goal of this course is to provide you with analytical tools and an integrated viewpoint toward managing service firms. Considerable attention will also be placed on the economics of service firms, namely, how firms should set and update pricing and product availability decisions across its various selling channels in order to maximize its profitability.
Some of the topics we will cover are: service strategy, efficient service delivery, influencing customer behavior, effective resource planning, managing service quality and recovery, pricing theory, and yield management. We will study examples from industries such as healthcare, information-based services, financial services, restaurants, retail, and transportation. The course is intended for students interested in general management, consulting, financial services, or operations.
Course Materials
Purchase the Course Packet. Additional readings will be posted on Blackboard.
Performance Evaluation
Your course grade will be based on the following individual and team activities and weights:
Class participation: 20%
Written case analysis (6 @5%) 30%
Project 25%
Final 25%
Class Participation
I expect each student to be prepared to contribute individually to the class discussion. Quality of the contribution is more important than its quantity. Part of your grade will be based on your responses to discussion questions posted in forclass.com (more details will be provided in class).
Written Analysis of Cases
You will work in teams on six cases. Only one report needs to be submitted per tem. The report must be uploaded in Blackboard using Turnitin and a printout must also be handed in class.. Unless otherwise stated, the report will address the questions that will be provided and is to be limited to 1,000 words for the main body, plus a maximum of three pages of exhibits. The following are the cases and deadlines:
(1) ZipCar Due: Session 3 (Jan 29)
(2) Announcing Wait Times Due: Session 5 (Feb 12)
(3) Mt. Rundle Banff Due: Session 7 (Feb 26)
(4) Modell’s DEA Due: Session 9 (Mar 12)
(5) Personal Training at NYHC Due: Session 11 (Apr 2)
(6) Easy Profit Simulation Due: Session 14 (Apr 23)
Project
Each team will engage in a project. The following are your choices:
(a) Service Diagnosis/Problem Solving: If you choose this option, you will try to diagnose and solve a real service problem, using concepts and methods learned in the course. This will require that you get real information/data about a real service process/problem. It is useful to think of this project as writing a case and as well as its analysis.
(b) Industry/Company White Paper: A report that describes an industry, the key operational problems in that industry, and how various firms have managed these operating problems. Alternatively, the report may focus on a single firm, describing its service concept, competitive position, the main characteristics of its operations, key operational choices it has made, operational policies, etc.
(c) New Service Business Operations Plan: This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to lay out an operations plan with supporting analysis for a new service business.
Deliverables
· Feb 12, topic due (by email).
· Mar 12, one-page status report due.
· Apr 30, A brief project presentation along with a final report due (maximum of 10 pages plus up to 5 pages of exhibits).
Final
The take home final will be given out on the last session.
Course Outline (Details in Blackboard)
The following is a summary of the course topics. The latest version is always accessible at:
http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~rrandhaw/Marshall/16290.html
Additional readings and preparatory questions will be indicated in Blackboard.
Session / Module / Topic / Case / Assignment / ProjectJan 15 / Nature of Services / Cleveland Clinic, HBS
Jan 22 / Service Management Issues / Service Process Design / CVS, HBS
Lean Services / Deaconess‐Glover Hospital
*Jan 29 / Managing Customer Behavior / ZipCar, HBS / Write-up
Do you want to be an eBay?
Feb 5 / Managing Demand and Resources / Queueing Theory / Lecture
Edison Maternity, Kellogg
**Feb 12.A / Announcing Wait Times / Write-up / Proposal
B / Customers in Retail / IBM Retail Business
Feb 19.A / Capacity Management / Arise Solutions (Blackboard)
B / Managing
Quality / Empowering Frontline Workers / Au Bon Pain, HBS
*Feb 26. A / Store24
B / Service Recovery / Mount Rundle Hotel Banff / Write-up
Mar 5.A / Statistical Process Control / Improving Customer Engagement, Columbia
B / Evaluating Productivity / Data Envelopment Analysis / Lecture
**Mar 12 / DEA Continued / Modell’s DEA, Columbia / Write-up / Report
Review
Spring Break
Mar 26 / Review of Pricing / What Price Vertigo? Insead
*Apr 2 / Quantitative
Demand Models / Personal Training at NYHC, Columbia / Write-up
Apr 9.A / Revenue Optimization / Quantitative
Demand Models / Personal Training at NYHC
B / Markdown Management / Retailer Game
Apr 16.A / Markdown Management / Retailer Game
B / Capacity Control / Revenue Management at Harrah’s
*Apr 23 / Capacity Control with Demand Uncertainty / Easy Profit, Columbia / Write-up
Review
*Apr 30 / Project Presentations and Take-Home Final Given / Report
Academic Conduct
Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11, Behavior Violating University Standards https://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct, http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct/.
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Support Systems
A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students. The Office of Disability Services and Programs http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.html provides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information http://emergency.usc.edu/ will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.
Course Disclaimer
The instructor reserves the right to update or modify this syllabus during the course of the semester. The specific readings and study questions for each class session should be obtained from the course web page.