In today’s global business arena, expanding knowledge and expertise in services management is essential to success. As services become increasingly competitive, it is important to have a systematic and innovative approach to identifying, creating, and delivering services solutions. Working first with IBM and later with Xerox and other companies, the college has developed this concentration to meet a growing need for individuals who can contribute to the expanding services industry.
You cannot talk about services without talking about people, both in terms of building and maintaining relationships and understanding the interface between people, business strategy, business processes, and technology. Service engagements must be designed and managed to meet client and provider expectations and achieve satisfactory returns and performance. This requires cross functional skills in the areas of customer analysis and engagement management.
The NC State Jenkins MBA Program’s Services Management concentration focuses on the relationships that are critical in the services industry. This relationship management curriculum provides essential tools and frameworks for effective customer analysis and engagement management, as well as practical experience working in cross-functional teams and collaborating with companies on real projects.
The curriculum applies insights from scientific, management, and engineering perspectives to determine how to align people and technology effectively, in order to generate value for both services providers and clients. MBAs with a services management concentration will be prepared for positions in consulting or with companies that buy consulting services. Graduates will leave with strong competencies in business process reengineering, outsourcing, and an understanding of the technologies used in the field.
This curriculum is aligned with the college’s Services and Product Innovation Initiative, which works closely with companies seeking to develop this field of study.
Dr. Thomas Hollmann, a professor at NC State's Jenkins MBA program, talks about the Services Management concentration. This concentration prepares students for a variety of roles in industries such as consulting, financial and retail. The Services Management concentration is ideal for students who desire to move from one function to another in a variety of different roles.