Units

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Sample subject outline - 6 Week Teaching Period - 6 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

The growing significance of services and the important contributions of sevice innovation to firm performance are gaining attention from researchers and practitioners in the private, public and non-profit arenas as well as in manufacturing. Service innovations can enhance existing products and services and enable businesses to penetrate new markets, attract new customers, achieve higher margins, reduce costs and help to shape new ways of working with stakeholders to sustain competitive advantage.

This unit has been included in the MBA program to provide students with the opportunity to explore the initiation and application of service innovation in varied contexts and new ways of creating value for the firm and its stakeholders.

This unit has been positioned in the latter part of the program. Exploring how to manage service innovation requires students to have a broad multidisciplinary, "big picture" view of businesses and how they operate. This unit builds upon the learning in GSN490 Managing Technological Innovation and complements the other units in the Entrepreneurial and Innovation elective pathway.

Aims

The mission of the MBA and associated programs is to provide world class, graduate business education and stimulating real world learning opportunities to develop current and future business leaders and managers to confidently lead in complex environments.

The aim of this particular unit is to help managers develop a thorough appreciation of the importance of service innovation, and to develop an understanding of how to manage the process of service innovation with practical frameworks to guide decision-making at a strategic level.

Objectives

Course Learning Goals (Postgraduate)

The QUT Business School has established the Assurance of Learning (AOL) Goals to meet contemporary industry needs and standards. Achieving these learning outcomes will assist you to meet the desired graduate outcomes set at QUT - aligned with other internationally renowned business schools. Students will develop the following capabilities relevant to a contemporary global and sustainable business environment:

Have knowledge and skills pertinent to a particular discipline (KS)

1.1 Well-researched knowledge and critical understanding applied to issues at the forefront of a specialised discipline area
1.2 Ability to select and use effectively a range of tools and technologies to locate and/or generate information appropriate to the disciplinary context

Be critical thinkers and effective problem solvers (CTA)

2.1 Apply logical, critical and creative thinking and judgement to generate appropriate solutions to problems in the disciplinary context

Be professional communicators in an intercultural context (PC)

3.1 Ability to create and present professional documents and/or reports using high levels of analysis/synthesis/evaluation for a range of contexts and audiences
3.2 Ability to orally communicate and justify ideas and information, at a professional level, for a variety of contexts and audiences, including peers and discipline specialists

Be able to work effectively in a Team Environment (TW)

4.1 Operate effectively and with flexibility to achieve common goals in collaborative settings, using a range of skills, including leadership, negotiation, reflection, proactivity and support for team members

Have a Social and Ethical Understanding (SEU)

5.1 Apply knowledge of the ethical, social and cultural dimensions relevant to business situations, including appropriate standards or codes of practice, to provide courses of action

Unit Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. analyse service innovation strategies in multple industry contents, articulating the processes of service innovation development. CTA 2.1(MBA 4)
2. implement and use tools for service innovation including co-production strategies KS 1.1 (MBA 1)
3. design and develop new service innovation processes in a given business context, engaging multiple stakeholders in the co-production of the new processes. KS 1.1 (MBA 1), CTA 2.1 (MBA 4), PC 3.1 (MBA 3)
4. recommend actions for embedding ongoing service innovation processes and practices in the organisation KS1.1 (MBA 1), CTA2.1 (MBA 4), PC3.1 (MBA 3)

The specific course learning goals and unit objectives that apply to this unit are shown in the assessment section of this unit outline.

Content

1. Service and service innovation: models, sources, types and patterns of innovation

2. Service innovation in multiple contexts

3. Manufacturing forms offering significant new-service innovations:
a) Service firms with innovative offerings e.g Banking, Professional Services, health care
b) New-entrant services innovation
c) Professional service firm innovatin capability

4. Research and development in services across multiple sectors

5. Designing and implementing service innovation, using co-production and design methodologies

6. Organising for service innovation; managing the innovation process and customer/stakeholder interface

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit adopts a blended learning approach and as such, includes a variety of teaching and learning approaches.

Three hour face-to-face class sessions are supplemented by a textbook and a range of online materials that are designed to support and extend learning prior to, during and after class sessions. Online materials are available in the unit Blackboard site. Given the importance of the unit Blackboard site to the teaching and learning strategy used in this unit, a computer or tablet device with internet access is strongly recommended for all students.

The principal purpose of the lectures and readings is to build upon the key concepts that were introduced through the Preparation for Class activities and readings. The purpose of the case study work, experiential learning tasks and all assessment tasks is to help the student develop their understanding of the concepts and enable them to be applied within a range of business contexts.

There is an expectation that the student will participate in class sessions, to take advantage of the opportunity to discuss important issues with their instructor and their peers in an informal environment. These sessions also provide students with an opportunity to hone important generic skills that are in high demand in the business.

It is expected that students have completed all Preparation for Class activities and readings identified in the unit Blackboard site prior to coming to class to be able to maximise the learning opportunities of the class sessions.

A variety of learning activities designed to engage students in their learning will be incorporated into the lectures/workshops. Such learning activities may include short lectures, class discussions, debates, role plays, group work, guest speakers, student presentations, simulations, case study analysis, videos, readings, wikis, media/current events reports, web searches, etc.
There is a commitment to critical inquiry and intellectual debate in regard to the material covered. Students are encouraged to relate the theories and research discussed to situations known to them and will be encouraged to share their experiences in professional and persuasive communication with the class to enrich the overall learning experience of all students.
Expanding the awareness of Australian management policies and practices into intercultural and international perspectives is fostered within this unit. Typically, students enrolling in this unit have extremely varied backgrounds. There is diversity of professional background and socio-cultural background. Students are reminded that this is to their advantage and they have much to learn from one another. To this end, students are strongly encouraged to be sensitive to cultural, gender-related and international issues.

Assessment

Students will receive a variety of formative feedback throughout this unit.
Informally, feedback will be given verbally in class through class discussions and during the debriefing of learning activities.
Direct feedback will be available to those students who request a private or group consultation session with the lecturer.
Formal feedback will be received on both formative and summative assessment tasks through a Criterion Reference Assessment sheet which will also include written feedback on the assessment task. The Criterion Reference Assessment Sheet will be available in the unit Blackboard site at the commencement of the unit. Students will receive feedback on their formative assessment task prior to their summative assessment task being submitted.

Assessment name: Presentation and Reflection
Description: The class will be formed into groups from Module 1 to work through the exercises and workshops of the unit.

A Service Innovation Workshop will be carried out across Module 2 and 3 based on the needs of a Service Provider from industry. In Module 2 the Service Provider will meet with the class and pose the challenge or problem the organisation faces, outlining the goals and objectives of the organisation. The Service provider will work with students to carry out a Stakeholder mapping and analysis, to identify the customers and ways to gain information about conditions.

In Module 3 the service design Workshop, students will be introduced to strategies that help them to bring ideas together to generate possible solutions and how these could be implemented.

In Module 4, each group will give a 10 minute PowerPoint, Prezi presentation or similar that summarises:
- the phases of engagement with the stakeholder, the service design process and the current outcomes
- the approach taken to create new services
- internal and external drivers of change
- methods for identifying the need for new services, potential stakeholders
- the design process used to generate new ideas and apply solutions

Each group member will provide an individual personal reflection of the processes used and their learning.

Length/Duration: 10 min presentation plus presentation slides with notes + 500 word reflection.

Formative and Summative

Group presentation 30%, Individual reflection 10%
Relates to objectives: Unit Objectives 1, 2 and 3
AOL Goals KS 1.1, CTA 2.1, PC 3.2, TW4.1
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Week 4

Assessment name: Designing New Services
Description: Students working individually must identify an opportunity for a new service innovation within their own organisation or alternatively, with another organisation, seeking to improve their customer engagement through a service innovation.

Students are required to investigate this opportunity and prepare a written report to the organisation which:
- diagnoses the issue
- identifies realistic potential solutions
- includes specific details in how this could be implemented
- explain how they engage with stakeholders

It is expected that students would engage stakeholders as part of their investigation into this opportunity and test their proposed solutions with these stakeholders. This assessment task requires stakeholders to complete a one page feedback form on the feasibility of the proposed innovation and the level of engagement with the student.

Length: 2500 words
Formative/Summative: Summative
Relates to objectives: Unit Objectives: 1, 2, 3 and 4
AOL goals: KS1.1, CTA 2.1, PC 3.1
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 7

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Prescribed Text: There is no prescribed text but articules from relevant sources

Other resources: GSN499 Blackboard site

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with lectures or tutorials in this unit. You should, however, familiarise yourself with evacuation procedures operating in the buildings in which you attend classes and take the time to
view the Emergency video.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 30-Oct-2012