Welcome to BUSS 2058 Managing Services and Sustainability, part of your undergraduate program. This course will provide you with essential information and an understanding of the criticality of managing services for engaged sustainability of business and the environment. This extends beyond the boundaries of the organisation and into the value chain. Thus, this course provides insight into how strategies, people, processes, systems, technology, design, and service excellence can contribute to sustainable service business and operations. The course will provide support and knowledge in your professional development and future career in the dynamic services industry.

The BUSS 2058 Course Outline explains the details of your study program. It specifies the expectations of you as a student in this course. It is recommended that, to maximise your learning potential, you should engage in wider reading and active class discussions throughout. Please read the Course Outline carefully before proceeding to read any other material relevant to the course.

We trust that you will enjoy this challenging and rewarding course.

Raja Kannusamy
Course Lecturer

Sev Nagalingam
Course Coordinator

 

If you have any concerns or questions about this course, please contact the Course Lecturer first. If the issue is not resolved, then contact the Course coordinator.

There are no prerequisite courses to be completed before this course can be undertaken.

There are no corequisite courses to be completed in conjunction with this course.

The aim of the course is to develop an understanding of managing services and sustainability. It will introduce students to the principles and appropriate strategies for effective and efficient management of service quality and sustainability issues related to organisational capabilities and resources.

On completion of this course, students should be able to:

CO1. Apply the principles and strategies for managing service-based operations in today's economy

CO2. Examine and explain quality issues that determine organisational competitiveness

CO3. Evaluate current strategies in addressing sustainability issues in business operations

CO4. Effectively communicate the concepts of managing sustainable operations

Upon completion of this course, students will have achieved the following combination of Graduate Qualities and Course Objectives:

A graduate of UniSA:

GQ1. operates effectively with and upon a body of knowledge of sufficient depth to begin professional practice

GQ2. is prepared for life-long learning in pursuit of personal development and excellence in professional practice

GQ3. is an effective problem solver, capable of applying logical, critical, and creative thinking to a range of problems

GQ4. can work both autonomously and collaboratively as a professional

GQ5. is committed to ethical action and social responsibility as a professional and citizen

GQ6. communicates effectively in professional practice and as a member of the community

GQ7. demonstrates international perspectives as a professional and as a citizen

The differences between service-based and goods-based operations, managing service-based operations and managing distribution and quality of provision of services. The enhancement of organisational practices and capabilities for competitiveness. The practice of efficiency and effectiveness in delivery of services. The strategies and issues for sustainable supply chain development in terms of environmental and resource management; as well as corporate social responsibility.

4.5 units

There are no additional assessment requirements identified for this course.

Please consider occupational health safety and wellbeing (OHS&W) issues in your workplace and your home while you are studying this course

 This course is taught through:

• Recorded lectures to introduce an outline of topics to be covered, and to develop understanding of related concepts for corresponding topics.
• An assignment to provide understanding of the applicable principles and strategies for managing service-based operations in today's economy, and current strategies in addressing strategic service vision of an organisation.
• A major group assignment to provide: critical analytical capability, comprehensive understanding of a chosen topic by examining and explaining quality issues that determine organisational competitiveness and evaluation of current strategies in addressing sustainability issues in business operations.
• A closed book examination to test the effective understating of the knowledge learned.

 

You will need continual access to the following text(s) to complete this course. Where possible the Library will make the book available for student use. Please check the Library catalogue before purchasing the book(s). The Library will always seek to purchase resources that allow an unlimited number of concurrent users, however availability is dependent on license arrangements with book publishers and platforms. http://www.library.unisa.edu.au

Fitzsimmons, JA, Fitzsimmons, MJ & Bordoloi, SK (2014). Service Management: Operations, Strategy, Information Technology (8th edn). McGraw-Hill.

OTHER RESOURCES
Books and other readings that you can refer to during the course include: 

Dunphy, DC, Benveniste, J & Griffiths, A 2000, Sustainability: The Corporate challenge of the 21st Century, Allen & Unwin.

Dunphy, DC, Griffiths, A & Benn S 2007, Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability: A Guide for Leaders and Change Agents of the Future, Routledge,

Jacobs, FR, Chase, RB, Aquilano, NJ 2009, Operations & Supply Chain Management, 12th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, USA.

Lovelock, C, Wirtz, J & Chew P 2009, Essentials of Services Marketing, Prentice Hall, Jurong, Singapore.

Nankervis, A, Milton-Smith, J, Miyamoto, T, and Taylor, R 2005, Managing services, Cambridge University Press, Melb: Australia.

OECD 2005, Enhancing the performance of the services sector.

OECD 2002, GATS: The case for open services markets.

OECD 2001, Innovation and productivity in services.

Schneider, B & White, SS 2003, Service Quality: Research Perspectives, SAGE.

Werbach, A 2009, Strategy for sustainability : a business manifesto, HBS press.

Wisner, JD, Tan, KC, Leong, KG 2009, Principles of Supply Chain Management: a Balanced Approach, 2nd edition, Thomson South-Western, Mason, OH, USA.

Academic journals dealing with Services and Sustainability. Students are strongly encouraged to refer and use these journals for assignments. Many of these journals can be accessed through the University Library online database:

• Benchmarking: An International Journal (ISSN: 1463-5771)
• Business Process Re-engineering and Management Journal (ISSN: 1355-2503)
• IBM Journal of Research and Development (ISSN: 0018-8646)
• Interfaces (ISSN: 0092-2102)
• International Journal of Business Performance Management (ISSN: 1368-4892)
• International Journal of Business Process Integration and Management (ISSN: 1741-8763)
• International Journal of General Systems (ISSN: 1563-5104)
• International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking (ISSN: 1460-6189)
• International Journal of Production Economics (ISSN: 0925-5273)
• International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management (ISSN: 1741-0401)
• International Journal of Service Industry Management (ISSN: 0959-4233)
• International Journal of Services and Operations Management (ISSN: 1744-2370)
• International Journal of Services Technology and Management (ISSN: 1460-6180)
• International Journal of Technology and Globalization (ISSN: 1476-5667)
• International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development (ISSN: 1474-2748)
• Journal of Services Research (ISSN: 0972-4702)
• Knowledge and Process Management (ISSN: 1092-4604)
• Management Science (ISSN: 0025-1909)
• Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (ISSN: 1523-4614)
• OMEGA - International Journal of Management Science (ISSN: 0305-0483)
• Service Industries Journal (ISSN: 1743-9507)
• Systems Dynamics Review (ISSN: 0883-7066)

For your convenience, all materials (Course outline, Study Guide, Lecture notes etc.) are available online and can be printed whenever necessary.

All other course related material can be accessed through your learnonline course site which you will be able to access from the my Courses section in myUniSA.

All study related materials can be accessed through: https://my.unisa.edu.au

Details of assessment submission and return are listed under each assessment task. Assessment tasks will be returned to you within two to three weeks of submission.

If the Course Coordinator allows submissions in hard copy format, you will be required to attach an Assignment Cover Sheet which is available on the learnonline student help and in myUniSA.

The feedback proforma is available on your course site.

"Every moment of truth involves an interaction between a customer and a service provider; each has a role to play in an environment staged by the service organisation" (Fitzsimmons, Fitzsimmons & Bordoloi 2014, p. 94). Consider ‘The Service Encounter Triad’ shown in Figure 4.2 of your text book and choose a service organisation to describe the relationship between each party within the triad and the roles played by them individually and/or together to create a beneficial service encounter.

For this assignment you will need to conduct a case study analysis of the management processes operating at the service encounter within a service organisation.

Your essay needs to include responses for the following:

• How has the organisation designed / managed its service encounter?
• What relationship has been established between the organisation, the contact personnel and the customers?
• Was the service encounter you experienced in the organisation a memorable one? Why or why not? Provide reasons and justify your answer.
• What recommendations do you advocate for this organisation?

The assignment needs to follow the standard essay format. Your case study should have an introduction, the body in which you link theory from the literature along with the practices of the organisations and make some critical analysis, followed by recommendations and a summary conclusion.

This individual assignment requires you to use a minimum of eight (8) sources of references including at least five (5) academic journal articles. The required method of referencing is the Harvard Referencing system within context. Please do not use Wikipedia, or other non-academic websites as the basis for your analysis or discussion.

Suggested Readings
Readings have been included for your reference. It is expected that you conduct more research on the assignment topic.

Choraria, S 2013, ‘Exploring the role of negative emotions on customer’s intention to complain’, The Journal of Business Perspective, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 201–211.

Groth, M & Grandey, A 2012, ‘From bad to worse – negative exchange spirals in employee-customer service interactions’, Organisational Psychology Review, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 208–233.

Han, H & Ryu, K 2012, ‘Key factors driving customer’s word of mouth intentions in full-service restaurants’, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 96–109.

Lau, YL & Ting, SH 2013, ‘Chinese vendor’s code-switching in service encounters in Sarawak-Malaysia’, Sociolinguistic Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 199–223.

Lovelock, C, Wirtz, J & Chew P, 2009, Essentials of Services Marketing, Prentice Hall, Jurong, Singapore.

Nankervis, A, Milton-Smith, J, Miyamoto, T & Taylor, R 2005, Managing services, Cambridge University Press, Melb: Australia.
 
Sakao, T & Shimomura, Y 2007, ‘Service Engineering: a Novel Engineering Discipline for Producers to Increase Value Combining Service and Product’, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 15, pp. 590–604.

Singh, S 2013, ‘Positive service encounter: a tool for customer loyalty in retail’, Journal of Business Theory and Practise, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 244–261.

Sirianni, NJ, Bitner, MJ, Brown, SW & Mandel, N 2013, ‘Branded service encounters: strategically aligning employee behaviour with the brand positioning’, Journal of Marketing, vol. 77, no. 6, pp. 108–123.

Vankleef, GA, Homan, AC & Cheshin, A 2012, ‘Emotional influence at work: take it EASI’, Organisational Psychology Review, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 311–339.

Wieseke, J, Geigenmuller, A & Kraus, F 2012, ‘On the role of empathy in customer-employee interactions’, Journal of Service Research, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 316–331.

Yagil, D & Liraz, HM 2013, ‘Moments of truth: examining transient authenticity and identity in service encounters’, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 473–497.

Format Requirements for Assignment 1
Your paper needs to be presented in an essay format and will need to consist of introduction, discussion and conclusion sections.

Please conform to the following:

• Use Arial Font size 12.
• 1.5 line spacing.
• Leave 1.25 in margin (on both sides) for the marker’s comments.
• Reference list on a separate page after the conclusion.
• Use Harvard Style of referencing only. For information on how to cite references, use Roadmap to Referencing: http://roadmap.unisa.edu.au/
• Do not use footnotes.
• Print word count at the end of your assignment (right after the conclusion section).
• Print your name and student ID in the header on each page.
• Number each page consecutively.

Assessment criteria:
Assessment of your assignment will take into account:

• Relevance of your answer to the question
• Originality and creative thought
• Up-to-date research with the topic
• Clarity of expression
• Supporting documentation for arguments
• Proper acknowledgement of sources and appropriate referencing using Harvard Referencing (use of minimum of eight (8) sources of references including five(5) academic journal articles).
• Logical planning and sequence
• Use of inclusive language
• Overall presentation, including correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation
• Adequate research, reflecting engagement with set readings, text(s), journals and other relevant materials.

Assignment 1 develops the following Graduate Qualities:

• GQ1 operates effectively with and upon a body of knowledge of sufficient depth to begin professional practice.
• GQ3 is an effective problem solver, capable of applying logical, critical, and creative thinking to a range of problems
• GQ5 is committed to ethical action and social responsibility as a professional and citizen
• GQ6 communicates effectively in professional practice and as a member of the community

Word limit:
1,500 words. 10% plus or minus the word limit is acceptable. If you exceed the plus 10% maximum limit, your grader will draw a line and will stop reading at that point.

This is an individual report which requires students to research a case study of a service organisation 'Amazon.com' based on case 3.3 from page 86 of the text book ( Fitzsimmons, JA, Fitzsimmons, MJ & Bordoloi, S 2014, Service Management: Operations, Strategy, Information Technology, 8th Edition, McGraw-Hill).

The analysis of the case study needs to be presented in a report format. The report should include an executive summary, introduction, operational issues, challenges, recommendations and key findings. Recommendations include changes that you would consider advocating for this organisation.

Marking criteria and standards (Report 2000 words): 

1. Relevance of your answer to the case study questions
2. Originality and creative thought
3. Up-to-date research on the topic
4. Clarity of the expressions
5. Supporting documents for arguments
6. Logical planning and sequence
7. Proper acknowledgement of sources and appropriate referencing using Harvard Referencing style
8. Overall presentation including correct grammar, spelling and punctuation
9.  Adequate research reflecting engagement with set readings, text(s), journals and other relevant materials.

You are requested to cite at least eight (8) references in the report using the Harvard Referencing System, including at least five (5) academic journal articles. An omission to include five academic journal articles or incorrect use of the Harvard Referencing System will result in a failure for the referencing component.

Format Requirements for the written report

• Use Arial font size 12
• 1.5 Line spacing
• Leave 1.25 margins (on both sides) for the marker’s comments
• Reference list on a separate page after conclusion
• Use Harvard Referencing style only
• Print word count at the end of the conclusion section.
• Print your name and ID in header on each page
• Number each page consecutively
• Do not attach your feedback sheet with the report

The final examination will assess all course content and will consist of three sections:

1. Multiple-choice questions (40%) 
2. Short answer questions (35%) 
3. Descriptive questions (25%) 

The duration of the examination will be 2.5 hours plus 10 minutes reading time.

Apart from the initial 10 minute reading time, 25 minutes additional time will be allowed for NESB students (i.e. if you have a red ‘E’ on your student ID card).

NESB Students may take a bilingual printed dictionary into the examination (not an electronic dictionary). These items must not be enhanced or tampered with in any way.

The examination contributes to achievement of learning objectives ‘2’ to ‘4’ for the course.

Graduate qualities - This assignment contributes to achieving graduate qualities 1, 4, and 6.

The standard by which the exam/test will be assessed is that a Grade of P2 (minimum 50% pass) will be required to pass.

Past examination papers are not available, however guidance on the type of questions to be asked will be made available in the Revision (last) Lecture.

If this course includes an exam as part of the assessment you will be allocated to an approved University exam centre.

The examination centre allocation will be made according to your mailing address recorded on the student record system five weeks before the scheduled examination period. Confirmation of the centre that you need to attend will be provided approximately three weeks prior to the exam.

Individual alternative arrangements will be made for a small number of students who are in remote locations and not within reasonable distance of an approved centre.

Supplementary assessment is not available for this course.

All students must adhere to the University of South Australia's policies about assessment:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp.

Students with disabilities may be entitled to a variation or modification to standard assessment arrangements.

Information for students with disabilities is available at:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/disabilityservices/support/default.asp.

Variation to assessment methods, tasks and timelines can be provided in:

Unexpected or exceptional circumstances, for example bereavement, unexpected illness (details of unexpected or exceptional circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clauses 7.5 & 7.6 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variation to assessment in unexpected or exceptional circumstances should be discussed with your course coordinator as soon as possible.
Special circumstances, for example religious observance grounds, or community services (details of special circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clause 7.8 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variations to assessment in expected circumstances must be requested within the first two weeks of the course (or equivalent for accelerated or intensive teaching).

More information about variation to assessment may be found by consulting the relevant policy:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp (sections 3 and 7).

Marking Criteria and Standards for all Assessment:

Marks will not be given, only Grades will be given
 
85-100% HD Outstanding performance on all learning outcomes

• As for Distinction, with exceptional analysis, use of references and arguments 
• Extremely well written

75-84% D Excellent performance on all learning outcomes.

• As for Credit with full analysis of question/topic 
• Excellent use of references supporting clearly stated arguments 
• Strengths and weaknesses of source information concisely and comprehensively discussed 
• Excellent understanding of topic 
• Arguments drawn into excellent conclusion 
• A pleasure to read

65-74% C High performance on all learning outcomes, OR excellent performance on the majority of the learning outcomes.

• Questions/topic answered clearly, adequately, concisely and comprehensively 
• Well structured throughout 
• Good use of relevant and numerous references from a variety of sources 
• Quality of argument focused and superior to P1 level 
• All ideas linked and critically examined 
• Arguments drawn to a conclusion

55-64% P1 Satisfactory performance on all learning outcomes, OR high performance on some learning outcomes which compensates for unsatisfactory performance on others, resulting in overall satisfactory performance.

• Question/topic answered adequately 
• Clear structure 
• Arguments supported by references 
• References compared as applicable 
• Referencing complete and correct 

50-54% P2 Satisfactory performance on the majority of learning outcomes.

• Descriptive response 
• Little or no discussion or analysis 
• Little critical comment 
• Little or no comparison of references 
• Structure weak 
• Topic just covered 
• Incomplete or incorrect referencing 

40-49% F1 Unsatisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes, OR failure to meet specified assessment requirements.

• Paper too descriptive and fails to demonstrate the ability to understand the key concepts and issues
• Analysis is minimal and little evidence of argument, but mainly restating or paraphrasing other authors’ viewpoints 
• Little evidence of independent thought and/or overuse or inappropriate use of quotations

Less than 40% F2 Unsatisfactory performance on the majority of learning outcomes

• Paper fails to meet any of the requirements 
• Key concepts are not adequately identified, explained, or discussed and paper indicates little understanding of the issues 
• There is little or no attempt at analysis 

The university aims to foster and preserve the scholarly values of curiosity, experimentation, critical appraisal and integrity, and to foster these values in its students.

Academic integrity is a term used at university to describe honest behaviour as it relates to all academic work (for example papers written by staff, student assignments, conduct in exams, etc) and is the foundation of university life. One of the main principles is respecting other people's ideas and not claiming them as your own. Anyone found to have used another person's ideas without proper acknowledgement is deemed guilty of Academic Misconduct and the University considers this to be a serious matter.

The University of South Australia wants its students to display academic integrity so that its degrees are earned honestly and are trusted and valued by its students and their employers. To ensure this happens and that students adhere to high standards of academic integrity and honesty at all times, the University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct for all students. Work submitted electronically by students for assessment will be tested using the text comparison software Turnitin.

More information about academic integrity and what constitutes academic misconduct can be found in Section 9 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM) at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/ or on the Learning and Teaching Unit website at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/ltu/integrity/default.asp

Assignment submission:
Submit your assignment online via Gradebook. Please do not submit a coversheet as it will affect your Turnitin score. Just write your name, student number and the assignment title on the front page of your assignment as in the provided template. If you receive a high Turnitin score (above 15%- not including your reference section) please correct your assignment and save it with the same file name. Then re-submit your assignment via Gradebook.

Turnitin is a tool to help you learn to acknowledge (cite) the authors of your literature research and to acknowledge the words of other writers by using quotation marks “...”. See http://www.unisa.edu.au/ltu/integrity/default.asp

Referencing style:
Use the Harvard UniSA referencing style in all your assessments. A guide to the Harvard style is found at http://unisa.libguides.com/content.php?pid=224578&sid=1889060

Late submission:
Please note that assignments submitted after the due date, without an authorised extension, will receive a penalty of 10% a day deducted from the total available mark for the assignment for up to 7 calendar days. After 7 calendar days the assignment will no longer be accepted.

Evaluation of this course will be via Course Evaluation Instrument (CEI), an online feedback form and by completing the CEI questionnaire towards the end of the study period. The online CEI will be available in the last two weeks of the study period and can be accessed from the course Learnonline page.

The questionnaire will also be available no later than Week 12 of the course.  

We look forward your support on providing appropriate comments and valuable feedback, in order to improve this course and the delivery.

Conceded and Terminating passes are available in this course.

Re-submissions, re-marking and extensions may all be available subject to negotiation with the Lecturer/ Course Coordinator as per the UniSA policy only.

Back up of assignments
Please take full precaution to back up your electronic copies of assignments. The accidental loss of a file on computer or other computer-related problems will not be considered adequate grounds for an extension. In addition, please ensure that the relevant file(s) are attached to your assignment submission using Learnonline. Assignments lodged electronically with no file attached or an empty file will be deemed to have been not submitted.

Passing the course
A passing grade is to be achieved with an aggregate total of at least 50% for the assessment items. All assignments must be submitted by the agreed due date. 


ASSESSMENTS

Preparing Assignments
Guidelines on preparing assignments, including essay and report writing can be found at the following Language, Literacies and Learning (L3) website:
http://resource.unisa.edu.au/course/view.php?id=3613

This site provide: 

• Guidelines for writing essays
• Guidelines for writing case study reports
• Guidelines for referencing your written work