3. Service operations

Services are different from goods in many ways. Therefore, managing service operations requires a different focus than managing manufacturing operations. The service industry often uses the service-profit chain as a model for building a successful business.

Use your knowledge of the service-profit chain to select the three labels missing from the following diagram.

A.
B.
C.

Sources: R. Hallowell, L.A. Schlesigner, and J. Zornitsky, Internal Service Quality, Customer and Job Satisfaction: Linkages and Implications for Management, Human Resource Planning 19 (1996) 2031; J.L. Heskett, T.O. Jones, G.W. Loveman, W.E. Sasser Jr., and L.A. Schlesinger, Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work, Harvard Business Review (MarchApril 1994): 164174.

Which of the following is a key concept behind the service-profit chain?

Customer satisfaction and success begin with how well companies treat their employees.

The service-profit chain pertains only to the relationship between an employee and a customer.

The service-profit chain begins with providing quality customer service.