PURPOSE OF THE WORKSHOP:

This seminar is designed to:

• sensitise you to the characteristics which distinguish goods and services,
• help you to identify the unique strategic challenges of services, and
• provide you with a new set of tools for managing these strategic challenges.

OVERVIEW

In recent years, most industrialized nations have moved away from traditional economies which rely on land-based activities and manufacturing, to systems which are governed by information, skills, and technologies. . . that is to say, services. Indeed, services comprise nearly 80% of the gross national product of the United States. 60 cents of every Canadian disposable dollar is spent on services. And more than ¾ of all Britons work in services.

Services, however, are fundamentally different from goods. Indeed, there is a unique set of characteristics which distinguish goods and services. These differences present unique strategic challenges to managers. And these unique strategic challenges require a different set of tools.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

The seminar is aimed at mid- to high-level executives who have operational and/or strategic responsibilities in services organizations, or in goods organizations in which services are becoming an integral part of the product mix. The seminar material is very accessible, however, and students with less business experience would also benefit from participation.

BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS

Upon completion of the seminar, participants should be able to:

• create a new strategic vision for the role of services in their organizations,
• develop tactical policies, procedures, and programs for implementing this strategic vision, and
• oversee the ongoing management of these tactical policies, procedures, and programs.