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Most Western countries are demonstrating a trend in the public and private sector away from traditional manufacturing operations. This has resulted in customer‐led pressure for Production/Operations Management teachers to give service operations equal time with manufacturing. Service industries have the same operating issues as manufacturing but for effective teaching two aspects must be considered. The first is the context of service operations and the second is those differences that do exist between manufacturing and services. A teaching strategy is proposed. This emphasises the use of service cases and examples to illustrate the application of operations management approaches; an understanding of the key contextual differences in the service environment; and the development of electives focusing on specific service features in operations management. Examples from undergraduate and postgraduate teaching are given.

The paper seeks to evaluate the drivers of customer satisfaction (CS), specifically exploring the impact of business process management (BPM) on service quality and CS.

A longitudinal case study uses quantitative and qualitative data to test six propositions derived from current literature.

Analysis confirms the role of staff satisfaction and service quality as key drivers of CS, suggested in the service profit chain, but proposes a more complex set of relationships. Technical service quality (TSQ) is found to play a critical role in determining CS and a strong causal link is found between TSQ and BPM.

Findings are based on a single case, in a fast‐changing sector.

Findings suggest that managers should focus on TSQ as a priority. End‐to‐end BPM is identified as a key enabler of TSQ.

The research challenges the adequacy of the service profit chain and the emphasis on soft factors evident in much of the existing marketing and service operations literature. In examining the drivers of CS, this research offers an alternative perspective which places BPM at the centre of the debate.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and customer satisfaction (CS) as perceived by managers' perspectives in Malaysia's service sector.

The data are collected from 140 managers of Malaysia's service firms. The structural analysis is conducted to test the hypotheses in this paper.

Results reveal that leadership, customer focus, information and analysis, and human resource focus are found to have significant and positive association with CS as perceived by Malaysian service sector's managers.

There are a few limitations for this paper. First, the time sequence of the relationships between the variables could not be determined since cross‐sectional data are used. Second, this paper is confined only to service industry. Lastly, the paper is only focused on managers instead of study employees at different hierarchical levels.

This paper serves as a valuable guideline for top management to review their TQM programs and conduct assessments on a regular basis in order to facilitate CS within their organizations.

This paper shows the importance of TQM in contributing to CS within the service context which is not studied in many past researches. This paper only looks at TQM practices from the Malaysian service industries. As Malaysia is a developing country which is moving towards the service sector, this paper will help many organizations that are in other fast growing developing nations which are moving towards the service industry.

An examination of the extent to which design principles based on commercial ideas of customer satisfaction and resource productivity are relevant in operating systems where there are multiple customers for the service, or where the customer is dependent on the service provider is carried out. Three types of dependency are identified: benefit‐related, professional and monopolistic. It is argued that, in the case of dependent customers, there are pressures which encourage the use of design principles based on customer satisfaction and resource productivity, but that there is little direct incentive to do so. Where there are multiple customers, identification of what constitutes customer satisfaction is complex, and the application of design principles based on customer satisfaction is difficult. One strategy used to accommodate multiple customer needs, professionally dependent customers, and resource utilisation demands is described. Some design features drawn from this case form the conclusion.

Traces the historical development of operations management from its factory management origins. Explores how the subject has tried to incorporate service inspirations issues from the mid‐1970s and its association with service management in the 1980s and 1990s. There is now a significant body of knowledge on service operations management though it appears to have had only limited recognition and inclusion in the developing subject of service management. Suggests that the key challenge for operations management academics is to try to embrace the service imperative more fully into the mainstream discipline. To bring this about some operations management researchers will need to shake off their inward‐looking, efficiency‐oriented view of operations which seems to be more concerned with the application of quantitative techniques to operational subsystems rather than the design and control of operations to meet the needs of customers. Also suggests that service management academics need to ensure the inclusion, and recognition, of operations issues and perspectives into the subject. Without operations there is no means or capability of delivering service promises.

The role of tourism/hospitality industry management in ensuring service quality is now generally regarded as being of considerable importance. Notwithstanding this, relatively little is known about the preconceptions and expectations regarding the management role that potential tourism/hospitality industry employees bring to the workplace. This study has examined the expected problem‐solving styles of hospitality industry management when faced with a complaint about visitor‐staff conflict. The sample was drawn from school leavers in a major district community, many of whom would soon seek employment and careers in the tourism/hospitality industry. Two major problem‐solving styles were identified, one involving Investigation of the complaint, and one involving Avoidance and possibly rudeness. Major Service Quality Ideals were also identified as predictors of each management problem‐solving style. Finally, the implications of these findings for tourism/hospitality industry management and for employees are explored.

An examination is conducted of customer dependency followed by an analysis of what can create customer satisfaction. The problems caused for enhancing productivity are then explored in terms of customisation and standardisation, resulting in conclusions about system design to deliver both customer satisfaction and productivity.

A comprehensive review of the literature established that several investigations have been made of operations management teaching in the USA, whereas almost nothing has been published on European teaching. Therefore, an exploratory investigation was made of operations management teaching on the MBA courses of ten leading European business schools. The results show that course content is similar across schools, but there are large variations on three dimensions: the time allocated by schools to the subject; the balance between operations strategy and tools and techniques in teaching; and the level of emphasis given to service operations. The results also indicate the emerging importance of integrating operations management with other subjects in the MBA curriculum and the key challenge facing faculty ‐ the need to raise the perceived importance of operations management. The comparison of courses will be of interest to all operations management faculty who teach core courses and particularly those who are looking for ideas on how to re‐design courses.

Increasing competition in the service sector provides an opportunity for firms to differentiate their services from the competition by providing and improving service quality. The development of a quality strategy to improve service quality is presented and the critical points in customer processing are identified.

Suggests that, in many cases, where formerly excellent manufacturing companies have suffered a decline in their fortunes, they failed because they did not change with their customers; their operations were too remote. Considers how this might be avoided by applying a service quality model to manufacturing. Examines the differences between service and manufacturing operations and highlights the difficulties which manufacturing companies have in being close to their customers. Provides definitions of quality for products and services before presenting the model. Describes the features of the model – taking a total view, achieving a balance between expectations and delivery, system design and response to change‐as they apply both to service and manufacturing. Highlights the need to exceed expectations to maintain a competitive edge. Argues that, whilst this is achieved through committed staff in service industries, this same commitment can, with appropriate communication, be achieved in manufacturing companies.