Over 75% of employment in North America is now involved in service industries such as hospitality, finance, health, legal, entertainment, retail and consulting. Despite that concentration of resources, many of us are still dissatisfied customers. This course looks at service industries from two perspectives – first, as a General Manager or Entrepreneur in that business, and examines the specific operational factors associated with developing and running a service organization; and second, as a consultant advising leadership in the client company in solving problems or making improvements. Both perspectives align in our pursuit of understanding what it takes to create a truly breakthrough service company. Specific core topics include service strategy and design, lean, risk and crisis management, innovation and execution. We apply a service management framework in understanding the link between organizational culture, strategy, our employees and customer satisfaction in a team project involving a ‘Dragon’s Den’ pitch to a group of peer investors.

This course is restricted to students enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Program.