Undergraduate Course: Service Management in an International Context (BUST10142)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Service Management will introduce students to the key concepts of the service-dominant logic of business on an international scale. Focusing on themes such as co-production, service leadership and service competition, the course will familiarise students with current academic theories, while frequent guest speakers will emphasise how these are applied in practice across the private, public and Third sector and across developed and emerging countries. With over 75% of employment in the service sector, the course is an essential asset for anyone planning a career in service industries, with relevance for consulting, retail, healthcare, hospitality, the arts, or financial services. The course also introduces the role of services in development, drawing from truly global case studies.
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| Course description |
This course will explore the nature of services management and the distinctive challenges that it poses both for managers in this sector and for management theory. The sector (comprising both private and public sector services) covers such industries as finance and banking, accounting, consultancy, the arts and the media, retail, utilities, health-care and public services, tourism and hospitality, and leisure. It now comprises around 75% of employment in the developed world and 35-50% (and increasing quickly) in the developing world. Additionally 'service' has also been a key element of the profit equation for manufacturing firms. This makes understanding the nature of the service sector and the distinctive nature of its challenges essential for newly qualified graduates if they are going to have a strong position in the employment market. Moreover, service management presents distinctive challenges that contest much traditional management theory and provide an exciting new perspective on it for students. In the contemporary world, an understanding of service management is vital for the well-rounded management graduate.
This course will enable students to understand the distinctive nature of services management and of value creation in service delivery, to consider the key challenges for service managers in the sector and the skills that they require to address them, and to explore a range of approaches to successful service management for service businesses. It will directly address the employability of our undergraduates in this vital sector of national and global economies and equip them with the knowledge to function as effective managers in these sectors. This will be achieved by a mix of lecture inputs, visiting speakers, case study and experiential exercises, and course assessment intended to focus the student on applying service management theories and techniques to the real world.
Topics to be covered will include the nature of the service sector and its role in national and global economies, the co-creation of value in service delivery, co-production and the role of the consumer in service delivery, designing effective services, strategic and marketing management in service businesses, the role of service staff in the service encounter, the impact of digital technology on service delivery, and evaluating quality and performance in service delivery.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Honours entry |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have at least 4 Business courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
30% online journal (Individual) - 1,000 words, Assesses course Learning Outcomes 1,2,4
70% Report (Individual) - 2,000 words - Assesses all course Learning Outcomes
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| Feedback |
Formative: Feedback will be provided throughout the course.
Summative: Feedback will be provided on assessments within agreed deadlines. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and critically evaluate the key concepts and ideas of service management and a service-dominant logic and appreciate the role of the service sector in the economy and the implications of this for the service management task.
- Understand how the service process requires a distinct set of managerial skills be able to identify these and to situate them within the service process in the private and public sectors.
- Be able to critically evaluate different models and paradigms of service management and their implications for both theory and practice.
- Assess the options for delivering effective service quality as the basis for sound business performance by a service firm in the private or public sector.
- Speak confidently about service management issues and explain service management concepts to a lay audience.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Practice: Applied Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Apply creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, sustainable and responsible business solutions to address social, economic and environmental global challenges.
Work with a variety of organisations, their stakeholders, and the communities they serve - learning from them, and aiding them to achieve responsible, sustainable and enterprising solutions to complex problems.
Cognitive Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Be self-motivated; curious; show initiative; set, achieve and surpass goals; as well as demonstrating adaptability, capable of handling complexity and ambiguity, with a willingness to learn; as well as being able to demonstrate the use digital and other tools to carry out tasks effectively, productively, and with attention to quality.
Communication, ICT, and Numeracy Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Convey meaning and message through a wide range of communication tools, including digital technology and social media; to understand how to use these tools to communicate in ways that sustain positive and responsible relationships.
Critically evaluate and present digital and other sources, research methods, data and information; discern their limitations, accuracy, validity, reliability and suitability; and apply responsibly in a wide variety of organisational contexts.
Autonomy, Accountability and Working with Others
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Understand oneself and others, through critical reflection, diversity awareness and empathic development, in order to maximise individual and collective resilience, and personal and professional potential. |
| Keywords | Service management,value creation co-production,Service management,value creation co-production |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Tie Cui
Tel:
Email: tie.cui@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ewan Henderson
Tel:
Email: ehende2@ed.ac.uk |
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