Operations management for services

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Operations management for services has the functional responsibility for producing the services of an organization and providing them directly to its customers.[1]: 6–7  It specifically deals with decisions required by operations managers for simultaneous production and consumption of an intangible product. These decisions concern the process, people, information and the system that produces and delivers the service. It differs from operations management in general, since the processes of service organizations differ from those of manufacturing organizations.[2]: 2–7 

In a post-industrial economy, service firms provide most of the GDP and employment. As a result, management of service operations within these service firms is essential for the economy.[3]

The services sector treats services as intangible products, service as a customer experience and service as a package of facilitating goods and services. Significant aspects of service as a product are a basis for guiding decisions made by service operations managers.[4] The extent and variety of services industries in which operations managers make decisions provides the context for decision making.

The six types of decisions made by operations managers in service organizations are: process, quality management, capacity & scheduling, inventory, service supply chain and information technology.[5]

  1. ^ Bozarth, Cecil and Handfield, Robert (2006). Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson. ISBN 0-13-185804-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Malhotra, Manoj K.; Krajewski, Lee J.; Ritzman, Larry P. (2013). Operations management : processes and supply chains (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson. ISBN 978-0-13-280739-5.
  3. ^ Bell, Daniel (1973). The coming of post-industrial society; a venture in social forecasting. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465012817.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fitzsimmons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Heizer, Jay; Render, Barry (2011). Operations Management, 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0-13-611941-8.