Management in a Service Economy

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Over 70% of the world's economy is services. The ability to create and deliver reliable customer - centered service is a differentiator for business today. In many industries, profit margins on product sales have shrunk enormously, leading to an increased focus on generating profits through value-added services. Thus, the best firms now bundle customer-centered service with a manufactured product and create service centered solutions. Some, like IBM have moved completely to service and solutions.

Service management, as a body of knowledge is still in the early stages of development. Very few universities in the world have responded to the demand for the creation of expertise in this area. The University of Buckingham is among the very few to have established a track-record of success in this area.

The Buckingham MSc in Service Management is designed to enhance and develop executives´ skills and knowledge so that they can play effective roles in helping their organizations win through service.

Teaching across all of our postgraduate programmes is via a combination of formal lectures supported by tutorials and seminars. However, our lectures aim to be highly Socratic with healthy dialogue encouraged between faculty and students and between students themselves. A key feature of the Buckingham teaching method is the use of small tutorial groups, which provide a most effective means of ensuring that the students benefit from the academic expertise at their disposal. It is also the philosophy of the Business School faculty to be available to students outside the scheduled tutorial times and to build sound staff/student working relationships.

The use of case studies as a teaching and learning vehicle features prominently at postgraduate level. Some courses use business simulations / games to replicate decision making in the real world. Role-play and group problem-solving exercises are also typical classroom activities designed to apply some of the theoretical concepts delivered in lectures. We are increasingly using action-based learning whereby students undertake individual or group projects with local companies on topical business issues. Finally, more and more course material is being made available on the Universitys own Virtual Learning Environment ( VLE ).

Study Options
Students may study full- or part-time over 12 or 24 months.

Generic Route:

For those who opt for the generic route, opening up career options in diverse industries and functions areas, the next phase is a six-month dissertation normally built around a live, current issue faced by an industry or specific organisation. This shall consist of an in-depth supervised study of an empirical or developmental nature, selected in consultation with the students supervisor and shall normally be between 18,000 and 20,000 words in length. Past students have worked on issues including: Internal / external customer satisfaction, service delivery system design, services auditing, the impact of downsizing and outsourcing on employee motivation and retention, the loyalty chain from shareholders to end customers, supply chain management, organisational transformation, human resource accounting for employee attrition, human resource planning and development, scenario building for future trends and human motivation for quality performance.

Specialisation Route:

For those that opt for the specialisation route, may choose to specialise in Human Resource Management. A combination of taught classes and intense secondary research will result in an assessed written project in the area of specialisation. The final, three-month phase for the specialisation route will consist of a written dissertation dealing with current issues in the chosen area. This shall consist of an in-depth supervised study of an empirical or developmental nature, selected in consultation with the students supervisor and shall normally be between 12,000 and 15,000 words in length.

Dissertation
Students carry out a dissertation for 6 full months in industries across UK, and in other countries that have included Thailand, India, Seychelles, Ghana, Germany and the USA. Dissertations have covered a wide range of topics such as:

* Service strategy development
* Organisational transformation through extensive and intensive service involvement
* Development of audit tools for assessment of service expectations and perceptions
* Human resources accounting to measure cost of employee turnover
* Service quality gap analysis
* Identification of value-added services required by markets
* Audit of service delivery systems in professional service firms
* Study of the impact of after sales service on sale of products such as cars and computers
* Measurement of customer defection rates with suggested corrective measures

The following indicates some of the vertical markets we have worked in through the unique academe-industry links forged through the various dissertations:

* Utilities (Anglian Water Group)
* Airlines (Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, THAI Airways, Royal Brunei and Air Seychelles)
* Telecom (Orange in India)
* Governments (Seychelles, India and The Gambia)
* Financial Services (Citibank, Abbey National, PriceWaterCoopers, KPMG, Prudential Mutual Funds)
* Education (University of Buckingham, Highbury Polytechnic)
* Food (Granada Forte, Taj Group of Hotels in India, Cearns & Brown)
* Retailing (Marks & Spencer, Woolworths)
* Automobile (Daimler Chrysler, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Volvo)
* Small and medium enterprises (local takeaways, pubs, hairdressers, estate agents, etc.)
* Travel related services (Thomas Cook)
* Police (Thames Valley Police, Surrey Police)
* Oil (Texaco)
* Insurance (Housing Development Finance Corporation in India, Miller Fisher)

Sound dissertations resulting from such live projects in industrial settings have a multiple impact:

* Creation of cutting edge knowledge in the area
* Beneficial impact on the reputation of the University as a global centre of excellence in the area
* Enrichment of the individuals learning experience and quality of education from the institution by carrying out a real-world project
* Providing the outside organisation with meaningful data to identify how it is performing or what it needs to do in order to improve the services it provides to its customers anywhere in the world
* Establishing an effective network of organisations that have become active partners in creation of new knowledge in the Management of Service

First or Second class honours degree in a related field | IELTS of 6.5 or TOEFL of 233 English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 CAE score: (read more) Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) is part of the Cambridge English suite and is targeted at a high level (IETLS 6.5-8.0). It is an international English language exam set at the right level for academic and professional success. Developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment - part of the University of Cambridge - it helps you stand out from the crowd as a high achiever. 60 (Grade C) TOEFL paper-based test score : 570 TOEFL iBT® test: 90 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.

Bursaries and scholarships can be a great way of financing your studies, and enabling you to achieve your potential. If you win a scholarship, you receive a discount on your fees and, most important, a scholarship on your CV will make you stand out to future employers.

How many bursaries and scholarships are available?
A number of scholarships and bursaries are awarded annually by the University which vary from partial fee to full-fee awards. These are thanks to the donations received from supporters of the University, including the Audrey Osborn Trust, The Headley Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Brunner Family Trust, RM & D Gregory, Eranda Foundation and John Desborough Memorial Bequest.

Applications are now closed for July and September 2012 applicants. We will be considering January and April 2013 applicants from Monday 17 September, the deadline for submission will be Friday 2 November.

The following Scholarships have specific entry criteria and / or deadlines:

* Sir Ray Tindle Scholarships
* The Paul E H Davis Awards Deadline for applications: 31 October 2012 for Exhibitions & flexible for Research Scholarship.

Entry requirements & procedure
It is the Universitys policy to ensure that bursaries and scholarships are awarded to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to benefit from a University education. In the case of some scholarships, at the request of the donor, academic merit will also be taken into consideration.

All awards are subject to your meeting the Universitys academic entry requirements and abiding by the rules and regulations. To be eligible to apply for a scholarship you will need to have been offered a place to study at Buckingham. In the case of UCAS applications, if you are made an award you will need to select Buckingham as your firm acceptance choice.

Please note: these awards are made to new students only, current students are not eligible to apply.