How to Build an Effective Service Company

IESE Business School via Coursera

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/effective-service-company

Introduction

### Course Review: How to Build an Effective Service Company Are you an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned professional looking to improve your company’s service delivery? The Coursera course titled *How to Build an Effective Service Company* is an exceptional opportunity to gain actionable insights and strategies that can help transform your service operations. Developed by Professor Muñoz-Seca, this course introduces the innovative framework of Service Problem Driven Management (SPDM), fostering a structured operational mindset crucial for service-oriented businesses. #### Overview In the world of services, even the most brilliant ideas can falter. The course kicks off by addressing a fundamental question: Why do so many brilliant plans fail? This inquiry sets the stage for a comprehensive exploration of what it takes to make things happen correctly within service companies. The SPDM framework proposed in this course integrates methodologies like Just in Time, Lean, Agile, and Design Thinking, but takes a step further to ensure that service delivery aligns with both operational improvement and financial performance. #### Syllabus Breakdown 1. **Course Overview**: The course uses four different case studies from diverse industries—finance, gas, healthcare, and tourism—to illustrate the implementation of SPDM in real-world contexts. This hands-on approach allows learners to see the practical application of concepts as companies tackle their unique challenges and aim for enhanced service delivery. 2. **The Operations Puzzle**: This module delves into the core elements of service delivery: the five dimensions of promises (cost, time, range, innovation, and consistency), the company’s essence or DNA, and the crucial ‘moments of truth’. By understanding these components, students will learn to craft more effective service strategies. 3. **Unlocking Capacity to Tackle Higher Value-Added Tasks**: Here, the focus shifts to optimizing service and product mix, conducting capacity analysis, and using task benchmarks. This module is essential for those looking to streamline operations and ensure that teams can focus on high-value tasks that contribute significantly to customer satisfaction. 4. **No Hire, No Fire**: This thought-provoking module reexamines the approach to human resources in service companies. It discusses 'operational variables', end-to-end processes, and decision-making rules that can lead organizations to greater efficiency without the constant cycle of hiring and firing. 5. **The Problem Solving Machine**: In today’s fast-paced business environment, being able to solve problems efficiently is paramount. This module discusses critical thinking frameworks like the nine questions methodology and identifies knowledge gaps in the customer journey. Understanding these concepts can empower professionals to anticipate and resolve customer issues proactively. 6. **Conclusions**: The final module is a reflective synthesis of the learnings from the case studies. It encourages participants to summarize insights and apply them within their own organizations, ensuring that the knowledge gained can lead to actionable outcomes. #### Recommendations I wholeheartedly recommend this course for service managers, business owners, and anyone involved in improving service delivery within their organizations. The practical case studies and robust frameworks presented will equip you with the tools necessary to enhance your operations and achieve performance excellence. Moreover, the course is structured thoughtfully, providing a blend of theoretical understanding and practical application. The diverse industry examples ensure that there is something for everyone, regardless of your field. Whether you're tackling customer service in healthcare or optimizing operations in finance, the principles taught in this course are universally applicable. ### Conclusion In today's competitive landscape, mastering the art of service delivery is not just an asset—it's a necessity. Enrolling in *How to Build an Effective Service Company* on Coursera is an investment in your professional development that promises a return in the form of enhanced operational effectiveness and superior customer service. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to elevate your service company to new heights—sign up today!

Syllabus

Course Overview

In this course, you will follow four companies, each in a different industry (finance, gas, health and tourism), as they implement an efficient and cutting-edge operations model (SPDM) to address the problems that do not allow them to deliver an excellent service, and improve their results. Through these cases, and the application of this practical framework, you will gain a deep understanding of how to increase your efficiency while providing a 5 star service, as well as getting results and things done in your own company.

The Operations Puzzle

During this module, the following topics will be covered: promise and its five dimensions (cost, time, range, innovation, and consistency), essence or DNA’s company, flame red or the structure holding up the essence, client archetype, service specifications and moments of truth (MMT).

Unlocking Capacity to Tackle Higher Value-Added Tasks

During this module, the following topics will be covered: service and product mix, task=problem=knowledge, capacity analysis and matrix, load matrix and task benchmark.

No Hire, No Fire

During this module, the following topics will be covered: operational variables, E2E process & green benches, 7 times, operational rules and types of decisions.

The Problem Solving Machine

During this module, the following topics will be covered: nine questions, knowledge gaps, touch points in the costumer journey, distance to implementation and knowledge stock blockages and the knowledge extended enterprise.

Conclusions

During this module, the following topics will be covered; reflections and summary and learnings of the four companies.