Service Design for International ContextsLaajuus (5 ECTS)

Objective

The dawn of the 21st century was marked by the rise of globalization and the struggle to compete, first with products and later with services, in the global markets. This course focuses on discussing service design practices that help industrial companies to tap into the new service opportunities or improve the existing service offerings. The objective of the course is to gain an overview of the main perspectives to service design (customer or product oriented, experience oriented, process oriented) and available tools and practices for designing a service (blueprinting, business modelling, etc).
The course also raises awareness of the cultural component in international business encounters and, more specifically, in service business practices. Although globalization results in blending business cultures, business practices often have foundations in local traditions. The course also touches upon best practice and challenges encountered by international businesses when designing or running services in an international context.
An additional objective is to apply the newly acquired competences and skills in a team assignment that analyzes service design practices of selected companies. The assignment requires working on the common topic, with team discussions and presentations, and gaining insight from team analysis.

Upon completion of the course, the student
- distinguishes a variety of perspectives to service design
- gains an overview of tools and practices used for service design, and gains insight from analyzing real-life service design practices, in a team assignment
- improves the skills to communicate with customers and professionals across borders, based on recognizing intercultural diversity.

Content

Topics for course III include, among others:
08. Service design perspectives
09. Service design: tools and practices.
10. Digital services. Service design process
11. Working across cultures: approaches and tools

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

The coursework meets with several of the five criteria below. The student performance shows satisfactory performance in three or more of the criteria.

The following criteria are used for assessing the IM Master’s coursework (workshop involvement, discussion, interviews and their documentation and discussion leaders).

•The student shows an understanding of the relevant course content in relation to the contents of the articles, lectures, informant interviews and discussion.
•Student texts/presentations demonstrate an understanding of the source content and an ability to select, interpret and justify key messages in a grounded manner.
•The student shows interconnections between the proposed concepts and current business practice, showing abilities of reflection, evaluation and discussion.
•The student shows professional initiative, active participation in team discussions and responsibility in preparation, production and presentation of team work.
• The student shows the ability to collect valid knowledge for his/her topic from outside the course sources by using scholarly search tools, by questioning current business practice and by practicing source critique

Assessment criteria, good (3)

The course work meets with most of the above five criteria.

Additionally the assignment shows good quality (=3) or very good (=4) performance in three or more of the criteria or otherwise good interpretation.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Assessment criteria, excellent (5).The coursework meets with all the above five criteria.

Additionally the assignment shows excellence in three or more of the above criteria or otherwise deviating excellence.

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

The following criteria are used for assessing the IM Master’s coursework (workshop involvement, discussion, interviews and their documentation and discussion leaders).

•The student shows an understanding of the relevant course content in relation to the contents of the articles, lectures, informant interviews and discussion.
•Student texts/presentations demonstrate an understanding of the source content and an ability to select, interpret and justify key messages in a grounded manner.
•The student shows interconnections between the proposed concepts and current business practice, showing abilities of reflection, evaluation and discussion.
•The student shows professional initiative, active participation in team discussions and responsibility in preparation, production and presentation of team work.
• The student shows the ability to collect valid knowledge for his/her topic from outside the course sources by using scholarly search tools, by questioning current business practice and by practicing source critique