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Services affect almost all of us. Services play a pervasive role in almost all developed and even developing economies. However, services are different from goods and as a result the strategic process underlying the planning and development in services requires adaptations and frequently new approaches.

It is the general objective of this course to introduce students to planning and development in service industries. During the course students will acquire knowledge and skills that will enable them to create and implement a service strategy. A service strategy is in simple terms a service firm’s plan by which it aims to achieve its objectives. A service strategy consists of a number of critical elements: (1) creating corporate objectives, (2) understanding the environment, (3) development of the appropriate service concept, (4) identification of the appropriate performance metrics and the development of the appropriate service operation.

During class we will highlight a number of topics affecting the planning and development process which aims at creating and implementing a service strategy, typically laid down in a strategic plan. We will focus on the following topics affecting strategic management in services:

·         Service Strategy

·         Service Globalization

·         New Service Development

·         Service Technologies

·         Service Operations

Instruction, international and national company vistits, mini projects, reading assignments, student presentations, guest lecturers/speakers.Knowledge is gained by individually studying assigned literature as preparation for in class discussion. Information inputs are also given through short lectures during contact hours. The content of those inputs is illustrated by examples and cases and is intensively discussed in the plenary. Mini projects, which are prepared individually or in groups not only demand the students’ ability to integrate acquired knowledge. Students also need to search for and select relevant data sources and data. The presentation of material analyzed and condensed in a self-directed manner enhances the communication skills of the students who receive intensive feedback by their teachers and peers. Beside the ability to critically reflect concepts, tools, and values underlying research decisions social competencies are trained in study groups during the entire module.