McCombs School Of Business

The University of Texas at Austin

NEW SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

MAN 386.16 and MKT 382

Fall 2001

Professor James A. Fitzsimmons Classroom: CBA 4.340

CBA 3.238, 471-9453 (voice) Meeting: Tuesday 2-5

Office Hours: By Appointment Unique No.: 03380/04560

E-mail: jfitz@mail.utexas.edu URL: www.bus.utexas.edu/~fitzj

COURSE PERSPECTIVE

Services are in the process of witnessing a transformation from the traditional concept of a service transaction to one of an experience. Consider how Starbuck’s Espresso Bar, Disney World, and Planet Hollywood have defined their respective services as an experience. Experiences create added value by engaging and connecting with the customer in a personal and memorable way. Business students are uniquely qualified to take the lead in establishing these new experience based services. The table below illustrates the features that distinguishes an experience from a good or a service:

Goods Services Experiences

Tangible Intangible Memorable

Inventoried Delivered on Demand Unfold Over Time

Standardized Customized Inherently Personal

This is a project course for students interested in exploring innovative approaches to the development of new services (e.g. entrepreneurial services, extensions to existing services, services based on new technology, Internet services, and non-profit services). The course will address topics such as: process of service innovation, technology driven services, services derived from products, service prototyping, location and site planning, design of front and back office operations, service fail-safeing and recovery planning, creation of a service climate and culture, electronic delivery of service, service branding, recruitment and training for the service encounter, customer selection, managing customer expectations and creating a sustained competitive advantage.

The seminar will examine recent literature on topics related to new service development, study cases that are available, but most importantly each team of two or three students will be assisted in their development of a new service concept.

TEACHING/LEARNING METHODOLOGY

The first part of the course will consist of an overview of service organizations from the perspective of “The Service Profit Chain” model. The assigned readings, class discussion, and case illustrations will ensure that all seminar participates have grounding in the fundamentals of service management issues. The second part of the course will be focused on the development of an in-depth understanding of the new service development process and related service design topics and analytical tools. The third part of the course explores new service business models in the age of the Internet. During the fourth part of the course, individual students (or teams if desired) will finalize the development of a new service of their choice as we explore new service design issues. The course concludes with student project presentations and a written new service proposal.

CASE METHOD

The case method is used throughout the course. Study questions on each assigned case are listed immediately following a brief description of the case in the Detailed Course Outline. These questions should serve as a starting point with additional insights being welcomed. All class members are expected to have read the case and reflected upon the assigned questions. Furthermore, class members are encouraged to apply concepts from the assigned readings to their analysis of the case.

Active participation is expected throughout the entire class with thoughtful contributions that advance the quality of the discussion. Please note that the frequency (i.e., the quantity) of your interventions in class is not a key criterion for effective class participation. The classroom should be considered a laboratory in which you can test your ability to convince your peers of the correctness of your ap­proach to complex problems and of your ability to achieve the desired results through the use of that approach.

CASE WRITE-UP

By the end of the first session each student will need to select two cases for written analysis during the course. Please provide me with a priority list of six cases to allow me to select a case to insure that at least one student has written the case under discussion. The analysis will address the case questions and be limited to five pages, printed double-spaced, plus exhibits. The assigned questions for a case are shown in the detailed course outline following the case description. At a minimum these questions must be addressed in the written analysis with creative thinking beyond these issues being rewarded. Written papers are due at the start of class. I will evaluate your written case analysis using the attached grading sheet.

(1) Papers should be printed, double-spaced, with normal margins. The name of the case should be on the first page of the text with your names, date, and course number. An executive summary is not required nor expected.

(2) The page limit for each paper is five pages of text, plus exhibits. Note that these are maxi­mum limits. Papers should be concise and coherent.

(3) Exhibits should contain specific types of analyses (application of a framework, table of comparisons, cost analysis, competitive features, etc.) and information (web page of firm) that supports and is relevant, but would be too detailed for the body of the paper.

(4) Please proofread/spellcheck your paper before turning it in. Papers for this course should be of the same quality that you would provide to the management of the business.

FACILITATING CASE DISCUSSION

By the end of the first session your team (two students) will need to select one case for your team to lead the class in its analysis. Facilitating a case discussion is not presenting a complete analysis of the case but rather leading the class in the case analysis. This requires the team to stimulate interest and draw out insights and ideas from the class creating active participation of class members who are expected to have read the case and thought about the assigned questions. Often the case discussion begins with a brief overview of the firm. Discussions of the assigned questions are facilitated using an outline or bullet form with inputs provided by the students. As a group we will try to build a complete analysis of the situation and address the problems arising in the case applying the framework presented in the readings for the session. At the conclusion of the case discussion, the instructor will summarize the take-aways for the session.

Criteria for measuring the effectiveness of leading a case discussion include:

a) Ability to stimulate interest among your classmates.

b) Ability to relate the concepts from the readings to the issues in the specific situation.

c) How well the discussion generated insights and ideas from the participants.

d) How effectively the team led the discussion.

e) Was the analysis complete?

NEW SERVICE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Each team (two students) will use this seminar as an opportunity to develop a new service offering. The project will be written up as a final report in such detail that it could be used as a prospectus for seeking financing from a venture capitalist. A presentation of the service concept will be made before the class to solicit critical feedback on its value as a sustainable service concept. The project report at a minimum should include a description of the service concept, market analysis of current competition, potential customer market, detailed design of the service delivery process, technology investment, staffing needs and skills, and pro forma financial projections.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Your participation in class discussions is an essential element of a seminar class, because often the most interesting issues come up during class discussions. Contributions to class discussion are based on reflective thinking on the reading assignment and/or analysis of an assigned case. I expect that you will read the assigned materials in advance and be prepared to offer your perspective on the topic.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Case Write-up: (2) & 15% 30%

Class Participation 15%

Facilitation of Case Discussion (Team) 15%

Written New Service Proposal (Team) 40%

Course MATERIALs

• Heskett, James L., W. Earl Sasser, and Leonard A. Schlesinger, The Service Profit Chain, Free Press, 1997. 0-684-83256-9 (Free Press Book)
• Fitzsimmons, James and Mona Fitzsimmons (Editors), New Service Development: Creating Memorable Experiences, Sage Publications, 2000. 0-7619-1742-X. (Sage Book)
• Course Packet available at GSB Copy Center (Packet)

GRADING SHEET FOR WRITTEN PAPERS

Analysis

Poor Excellent

1. Is the analysis complete and comprehensive? |____|____|____|____|

2. Does the analysis apply concepts from the readings? |____|____|____|____|

3. Does the analysis show the relationships among important

factors in the situation? |____|____|____|____|

4. Are assumptions made in the analysis stated explicitly? |____|____|____|____|

5. Does the analysis isolate the fundamental causes of problems? |____|____|____|____|

Recommended Action

1. Are the criteria for selecting recommendations stated? |____|____|____|____|

2. Is the plan of action integrated in a logical way and linked

to the analysis? |____|____|____|____|

Exhibits

1. Are analyses in the exhibits done correctly? |____|____|____|____|

2. Do the key exhibits support and add to the text on key points? |____|____|____|____|

Overall Criteria

1. Is the paper logically consistent and effectively structured so

it sells its recommendations? |____|____|____|____|

2. Is there a high likelihood that the recommendations will

achieve their intended results? |____|____|____|____|

GRADING SHEET FOR FACILITATING CASE DISCUSSION

Analysis

Poor Excellent

1. Was the analysis of the case complete? |____|____|____|____|

2. Does the analysis apply concepts from the readings? |____|____|____|____|

3. Does the analysis show the relationships among important

factors in the situation? |____|____|____|____|

Case Discussion

1. Did the discussion stimulate interest among class participants? |____|____|____|____|

2. Did the team use effective questions to lead the discussion? |____|____|____|____|

3. How well was the timing and pace of the case discussion? |____|____|____|____|

4. Was the PowerPoint presentation useful and well prepared? |____|____|____|____|

Overall Criteria

1. How well organized was the discussion? |____|____|____|____|

2. How well did the discussion draw out insights and ideas from

the students? |____|____|____|____|

DETAILED COURSE OUTLINE

MODULE 1: THE SERVICE PROFIT CHAIN

Session #1 (September 4)

THE SERVICE PROFIT CHAIN

Packet Readings: "Welcome to the Experience Economy”, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1998, 97-105. (98407)

Free Press Book: Ch. 1, Setting the Record Straight

Ch. 2, Capitalizing on the Service Profit Chain

Ch. 3, Managing by the Customer Value Equation

Discussion Questions:

• Use the “strategic service vision” to describe a successful service firm (e.g. Shouldice Hospital).
• What are the fundamental assumptions underlying the “service profit chain” model?
• Is the “customer value equation” appropriate in the age of electronic service delivery?

Session #2 (September 11)

BUILDING PROFIT CHAIN CAPABILITY

Free Press Book: Ch. 6, Managing the Customer-Employee “Satisfaction Mirror”

Ch. 7, Building a Cycle of Capability

Discussion Questions:

• Is there a Customer-Employee "Satisfaction Mirror" analogy for Internet services?
• For services, why is customer selection as important as employee recruitment?

Case: Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Enterprise is a replacement car rental service that does not compete directly with the national car rental agencies that use airport locations.

Assignment Questions:

• How has Enterprise Rent-A-Car defined its service differently than the typical national car rental company?
• What features of this business concept allow it to effectively compete with the existing national rental car companies?

SERVICE PROFIT CHAIN IN ACTION

Free Press Book: Ch. 12, Reengineering the Service Organization for Capability

Case: Taco Bell-1994 9-694-076

Taco Bell CEO, John Martin, embraces a philosophy of continual change to achieve a goal of 200,00 points of access by the year 2000. The implications for Taco Bell are dramatic changes in organizational structure, culture, human resources, technology, and communications. In redefining its market and “thinking outside the box” in all aspects of its business, Taco Bell hopes to become a “super brand” transcending not only categories but industries as well.

Assignment Questions:

• Critically analyze the ongoing actions taken by Taco Bell and the growth goals of John Martin.
• Where does Taco Bell go from here?

Session #3 (September 18)

DESIGNING SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Free Press Book: Ch. 8, Developing Processes That Deliver Value

Ch. 9, Designing Service Delivery Systems for Quality, Productivity, Value

Ch. 11, Measuring for Effective Management

Discussion Questions:

• What can be learned from the experience at Florida Power and Light?
• What product design tools could be useful in designing service delivery systems?
• Why is a balanced scorecard particularly important for a service firm?

BENCHMARK SERVICE DESIGN

Free Press Book: Ch. 13, Leading and Living Service Profit Chain Management

Case: Southwest Airlines-1993 (A) 9-694-023

Southwest Airlines, the only major U.S. airline to be profitable in 1992, makes a decision as to which of two new cities to open, or to add a new long-haul route. This case provides a window into Southwest’s strategy, operations, marketing, and culture. Lessons can be learned how an airline can simultaneously be a low-cost leader, service leader, and profit leader.

Assignment Questions:

• How has Southwest been able to combine low-cost operations with high perceived service quality?
• Can other service firms emulate the Southwest service model?
• Evaluate the three route expansion options and make a recommendation.

MODULE 2: NEW SERVICE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Session #4 (September 25)

NEW SERVICE INNOVATION

Sage Book: Ch. 1, Critical Evaluation of the New Service Development Process: Integrating Service Innovation and Service Process Design

Discussion Questions:

• How helpful are the models of new service development for achieving a breakthrough service?
• How can product innovations create opportunities for service innovation?
• Contrast service innovation, design, and development.

Case: Alaska Airlines 9-800-004

Alaska Airlines, serving west coast cities from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, has won awards for providing outstanding customer service. Faced with price competition from Southwest Airlines, Alaska is introducing frontline technology and customer self-service options to improve productivity and reduce costs.

Assignment Questions:

• What benefits do Alaska customers gain from technology driven self-service innovations? Is it possible for self-service to be viewed by customers as improved service? How could technology that facilitates self-service increase customer loyalty?
• What is your assessment of Alaska Air's use of technology? Consider the impact of the new technology initiatives on both employees and customers.
• Critique the new technology development process used by Alaska Airlines.
• Will Alaska Airline's leadership in technological innovation provide a sustainable competitive advantage?

ANTICIPATING SERVICE NEEDS

Packet Readings: "The Four Faces of Mass Customization," James Gilmore and Joseph Pine, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1997, 91-101. (97103)

“Discovering New Points of Differentiation,” Ian MacMillian and Gunther NcGrath, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1997, 133-145. (97408)

Discussion Questions:

• Can the four approaches to mass customization of products be modified for service firms?
• How does the use of add-ons or optional services provide insight to new service development?
• How is the consumption chain related to our concept of the “service experience”?
• List ways to anticipate service needs.

Session #5 (October 2)

CREATING A STRATEGIC SERVICE VISION

Case: Willow Creek Community Church 9-691-102

Case describes the historic evolution and current positioning of a Christian church that focuses on the attraction of “unchurched” individuals. Describes the church’s strategic service vision and its current growth and leadership problems.

Assignment Questions:

• Why has Willow Creek been the most successful church in this country (in terms of attracting the most people each week), given the fact that they basically preach the same message as Protestant churches that have been losing members?
• What success principles can be garnered from Willow Creek to help improve any organization? Can any for-profit business successfully motivate their employees by tying the job to a larger mission as Willow Creek has done? How far can you go in tying menial tasks to an overall mission of a company?
• How can Willow Creek integrate people that come to the seeker service without an established relationship with a regular attender, given their philosophy of letting people come and explore Christianity in anonymity? How do you evaluate Willow Creek’s responses to the problem? How important is the promise of anonymity to unchurched people?

NEW SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

Sage Book: Ch. 2, The Contextual and Dialectical Nature of Experiences

Ch. 3, The Real Time Service Product: Conquering Customer Time & Space

Discussion Questions:

• If the service experience is unique for each customer in both time and place, how can service providers anticipate and/or control customer expectations?
• Apply the experience design features of context and cognition to Willow Creek Community Church.
• What are some possible dangers or undesirable features of an adaptive service product?

Session #6 (October 9)

USING CONJOINT ANALYSIS IN SERVICE DESIGN

Packet Readings: Courtyard by Marriott: Designing a Hotel Facility with Consumer-Based Marketing Models”, Jerry Wind, Paul Green, Douglas Shifflet, Marsha Scarbrough, Interfaces, vol. 19, no. 1, January-February 1989, 25-47.

Sage Book: Ch. 6, Service Capacity Design with an Integrated Market Utility-based Method

Discussion Questions:

• What are the assumptions underlying the use of conjoint analysis?
• Could conjoint analysis be used to develop an entirely new service or is it only useful for new extensions to a service line?
• Critique the application of conjoint analysis to the design of Courtyard by Marriott.
• Critique the MUM approach to design based on the restaurant example.

Case: Sunday River Ski Resort 9-692-025

Sunday River is a New England ski resort located in Maine. In the face of a general plateau in the market for skiing, Sunday River has a goal of increasing skier visits to their resort.

Assignment Questions:

• What are the challenges of profitably operating a ski resort?
• For the purpose of conducting a conjoint analysis, prepare a list of factors that describe a ski resort.
• How do the multiple target markets (families, beginners, extreme skiers, snowboarders, etc.) all of whom may be on the slope together complicating the design and operation of a ski resort?
• How should the ski experience be managed to create satisfied and loyal guests?

Session #7 (October 16)

CREATING A SERVICE CULTURE

Case: Hal Rosenbluth (A) 9-996-043

With new proprietary information system Hal is repositioning his travel agency for rapid growth. However, the new system will require front-line agents to show greater initiative and creativity then exhibited in the past. Hal needs to find a way to communicate the new values and emphasize the worth of individual initiative within his geographically dispersed organization.

Assignment Questions:

• What elements contribute to the development of Hal Rosenbluth’s unique and creative management style?
• What are the risks/benefits of embracing deregulation?
• What are the potential advantages/disadvantages of being an industry leader in implementing technological change?
• What must Rosenbluth do to inspire a torrent of new employees to feel ownership and pride in a company that is as large and internationally situated as Rosenbluth International?

KNOWLEDGE INTENSIVE SERVICES

Sage Book: Ch. 7, Process Innovation in Information-Intensive Services

Case: Hal Rosenbluth (B) 9-996-044

Assignment Questions:

• How does Rosenbluth initiate his “happiness” principle into his organization? What are potential risks and rewards of such a program?
• Rosenblth’s working environment incorporates many innovative approaches in management. How do these approaches foster individual creativity in its employees?
• How does motivating employees in a service-oriented organization differ from that of a product-oriented company?

MODULE 3: S ERVICE AND THE INTERNET

Session #8 (October 23)

COMBINING CLICK WITH MORTAR

Case: Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 800-356

Acquiring an Internet travel agency targeting business travelers results in unanticipated need for human-to-customer service beyond the occasional "by exception" (due to technology intermediation). This case illustrated how a brick and mortar firm can help a dot.com and vice versa.

Assignment Questions:

• Why has Biztravel been successful to date, and what will it take to keep it successful going forward?
• What (if anything) does Biztravel.com do for Rosenbluth International and visa versa?
• Compare the "per ticket" economics for Biztravel, Rosenbluth, and Preview Travel. What are the implications of the differences?
• Should Bibeau "blow out" the high-service strategy?

DELIVERY OF ELECTRONIC SERVICES

Packet Reading: "Strategy and the New Economics of Information," Philip Evans and Thomas Wurster, Harvard Business Review, September-October 1997, 71-82 (97504)

Sage Book: Ch. 8, Design and Delivery of Electronic Services: Implications for Consumer Value in Electronic Food Retailing

Case: Amazon.com: Winning the Online Book Wars

Amazon.com has created a huge splash in today's financial markets. Ever since it went public, Amazon.com has been subjected to intense scrutiny, debate, and public attention. Before addressing the questions, you may wish to visit the web site to better understand its business design.

Assignment Questions:

• What innovation did Amazon.com bring about in the book-selling business? How would you contrast its business design with that of its competitors Borders and Barnes and Noble (before they created their own web-sites)? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the designs?
• Why has Amazon.com not turned a profit yet? When will profitability become important for Amazon.com?
• How can Amazon.com convert its attention and sales growth into profits? What line/brand extensions should it pursue? How can it sustain differentiation and improve margins?
• What characteristics of a service make it a good (or poor) candidate for delivery on the Internet?

Session #9 (October 30)

INTERNET RETAILING

Packet Reading: "Making Business Sense of the Internet," Shikhar Ghosh, Harvard Business Review, March-April 1998, 126-135 (98205)

"Note on Marketing and the World Wide Web" 9-597-037

Case: E-Business Innovation at Golfsmith

Golfsmith was initially established as a catalog distributor of golf components (shafts, grips, and heads) for sale to custom golf club-fitters and individuals. Subsequently, a retail store was opened in Austin, Texas for sale of name brand golf equipment. Golfsmith is considering who to use the Internet to improve customer satisfaction and establish another distribution channel.

Assignment Questions:

• Visit the Golfsmith retail store at the I-35 north of 183. Compare the experience with a traditional discount golf store.
• Check out the web storefront at Golfsmith.com and evaluate it from a customer perspective.
• Do you agree that brick and mortar firms risk extinction if they do not operate the online business independently or spin it off as a separate business?
• How could Golfsmith use the networked digital environment (E-Business Innovation) to redesign business processes, harmonize sales channel, and integrate the value chain? What business assumptions must be rethought?

CUSTOMER SUPPORT AND LOGISTICS IN E-COMMERCE

Packet Readings: "Service in E-Commerce: Findings from Exploratory Research" N9-800-418

Case: Service and Value in e-Commerce N9-800-384

The 1999 holiday season presented an opportunity for e-commerce firms to demonstrate their ability to deliver value (quality relative to price). This case is a collection of excerpts form newspapers and magazines that focus on service failures and the source of value in e-commerce.

Assignment Questions:

• What happened at eToys and some of its competitors during the 1999 holiday season?
• Was the holiday service disaster of 1999 inevitable?
• Where does value come from e-commerce?
• Does a company like eToys need to have a competitive advantage in customer support and logistics? How important are these functions to e-commerce firms?

Session #10 (November 6)

STAGING THE INTERNET CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Sage Book: Ch. 4, Exploiting the Service Concept for Service Design and Development

Case: Sothebys.com N9-800-387

This case describes the traditional "live" auction process used by Sotheby's and the online version of the same process. The role of Associates (dealers, approved by Sotheby's specialists) in leveraging a business is explored along with the fact that some costs may rise when a company takes its business to the Internet.

Assignment Questions:

• Contrast Sotheby's live auctions to auctions on the Sotheby.com site including all elements occurring before and after the actual auction.
• How important is customer support for the online auctions and is it different than for live auctions?
• How important are logistics for Sotheby's live and online auctions?
• What relationship does the quality of a web site have to other components of service quality for an online company like Sotheby.com? What are the important quality dimensions?

PROVIDING INFORMATION VIA THE INTERNET

Case: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts N9-800-385

The Four Seasons has traditionally avoided technology that would decrease its guests' perception of intimate service. Nonetheless, it has a sophisticated web site that provides more detailed information on its properties than the web sites of other major hotel chains.

Assignment Questions:

• What distinguishes the Four Season Hotels and Resorts chain in the marketplace?
• How does Four Seasons deliver service in their properties around the world?
• How does Four Seasons use technology? If Four Seasons had a "technology strategy," what would it be? Do you agree with it?
• What role do you see for the Four Seasons' Internet site? Should it be used to lower costs or enhance revenues? How important is it to Four Seasons, financial objectives?

MODULE 4: ISSUES IN NEW S ERVICE DESIGN

Session # 11 (November 13)

SERVICE GUARANTEE

Free Press Book: Ch. 10, Attaining Total Customer Satisfaction

Sage Book: Ch. 12, The Impact of Service Guarantees on Service Quality at Radisson Hotels Worldwide

Case: Westlake Cinemas: Designing a Service Guarantee 9-689-004

The CEO of a small chain of movie theaters is grappling with the design of a service guarantee. She is faced with the following issues: assessing customer needs, defining the service offering, determining current organizational capabilities, and determining the role that a guarantee would play in competitive strategy.

Assignment Questions:

• As Jo Brennan, design a service guarantee for your new theater. Consider what your guarantee will cover and what steps you will require customers to go through to invoke the guarantee?
• What customer requirements do you think should be part of your guarantee?
• Develop a list of guarantee related questions that your customers might pose.
• What are some issues that need to be resolved before the guarantee is offered?

CUSTOMER SELECTION AND RETENTION

Free Press Book: Ch. 4, Rethinking Marketing: Building Customer Loyalty

Ch. 5, Attaining Total Customer Satisfaction

Sage Book: Ch. 14, Models for Customer Selection

Case: Air Miles Canada 9-694-008

Loyalty Management Group was conceived as a shopping loyalty business for it's sponsoring organizations. Customers could join for free and receive air miles redeemable on major airlines based on regular everyday purchases from the sponsors. However, sponsors gained more than customer loyalty but also valuable information about their customers.

Assignment Questions:

1. How does a sponsor benefit from participation in Air Miles? What is the value of one Air Mile to Safeway?

• Air Miles represents a wealth of information about individual customer behavior across several products/service categories. In what ways could this information be used by Air Miles to create new services for the sponsors? By the sponsors to create new services for their customers?
• Does the Air Miles program have a sustainable competitive advantage? What must Air Miles do to grow and achieve profitability?
• What are the benefits to owning your own information versus participating in a program like Air Miles?

Session # 12 (November 20)

SIMULATION MODELING OF SERVICE SYSTEMS

Packet Readings: "Simulation Introduction Module," PROMODEL Corporation

Case: Renaissance Clinic

Assignment:Meet in the 5 th floor computer lab, CBA 5.325 - MOD East

Session # 13 (November 27)

SERVICE RECOVERY PLANNING

Sage Book: Ch. 11, Scripting the Service Encounter

Ch. 13, Service Recovery

Case: Northwest Airlines/Detroit Storm 9-800-053

Discussion Questions:

• What exactly went wrong? Why did it go wrong? Who, or what, is responsible - the weather, a particular organization, several organizations?
• Could this situation have been avoided? If not, could it have been mitigated?
• What should Northwest Airlines do in response to this situation?

Video: Northwest Airlines

CONSOLIDATION OF FRAGMENTED INDUSTRIES

Packet Reading: "The Consolidation of Highly Fragmented Service Industries: Rollup"

Case: VITAS: Innovative Hospice Care N9-800-031

The case places Vitas in the context of the history of the hospice movement, which began in Great Britain in the mid-twentieth century. Vitas is a for-profit national organization serving approximately 5,000 patients daily using "state of the art" management techniques.

Assignment Questions:

• Identify Vitas's strengths and weaknesses. Are there economies and diseconomies?
• Who benefits when Vitas enters a community?
• Is there a right growth strategy for Vitas?
• Should Vitas acquire the hospice under consideration?

Session # 14 (December 4)

PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

Fall 2001 NEW SERVICE DEVELOPMENT Fitzsimmons

Session Date Topic Case

Module 1: The Service Profit Chain

1 9/4 The Service Profit Chain

2 9/11 Building Profit Chain Capability Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Service Profit Chain in Action Taco Bell-1994

3 9/18 Designing Service Delivery Systems

Benchmark Service Design Southwest Airlines-1993

Module 2: New Service Development Process

4 9/25 New Service Innovation Alaska Airlines

Anticipating Service Needs

5 10/2 Creating a Strategic Service Vision Willow Creek Community Church

New Service Development

6 10/9 Conjoint Analysis and Service Design Sunday River Ski Resort

7 10/16 Creating a Service Culture Hal Rosenbluth (A)

Knowledge Intensive Services Hal Rosenbluth (B)

Module 3: Service and the Internet

8 10/23 Combining Click with Mortar Rosenbluth Travel & Biztravel.com

Delivery of Electronic Service Amazon.com

9 10/30 Internet Retailing E-business Innovation at Golfsmith

Customer Support and Logistics Service and Value in E-Commerce

10 11/6 Staging the Internet Customer Experience Sothebys.com

Providing Information via the Internet Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Module 4: Issues in New Service Design

11 11/13 Service Guarantee Westlake Cinemas

Customer Selection and Retention Air Miles Canada

12 11/20 Simulation Modeling of Service Systems Renaissance Clinic

13 11/27 Service Recovery Planning Northwest Airlines/Detroit Storm

Consolidation of Fragmented Industries Vitas: Innovative Hospice Care

14 12/4 New Service Design Presentations

New Service Development

Case Write-up and Discussion Choices

Team Members: _________________________________

_________________________________