Service Thinking

by Hunter Hastings, Jeff Saperstein

Business paradigm shifts are rare. However, the shift to a services-dominant economy and to services-dominant value creation genuinely merits the designation. Almost 80% of GDP in developed economies is attributable to services, and some economists regard products as merely the physical embodiment of service delivery. Yet today's business analysis, business management, business organization, business processes, and business education emerged from manufacturing-dominant logic; the principles of service are often under-served and poorly understood. This results in lost opportunities for growth. Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME) has been slowly bubbling up and building learning and knowledge in academia for 30 years, with an acceleration in the last ten years. The disciplines, principles, insights and tools of SSME are now ready to transition to the mainstream business world, with transformative effect. . This book expounds the six principles of Service Science, including the all-important principle of value co-creation (between the producer and the customer, the employee and the hierarchy etc). The book contains compelling examples and clear direction for application. It describes the tools for application of the principles, from modular business architecture (a new form of business organization to achieve absolute advantage) to the global, mobile and social business tools that establish scalable platforms for fast, efficient growth in the service economy for Globally Integrated Enterprises--large and small/medium enterprises (SME). Service Science, as a field of academic study and research, is supported by 30 years of learning. This book brings this knowledge firmly into the business mainstream, addressing both the 'Why' and the 'How', and incorporating the tools for action.

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014