Harvard Business School Executive Education Program Looks Beyond Providing Good Customer Service for Business Growth

Program reveals sustainable service models that integrate customer, investor and employee needs

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harvard Business School (HBS) will host an executive education program, Achieving Breakthrough Service: Driving Performance and Profitability, from April 21–24, 2013 on the HBS campus. Achieving Breakthrough Service will teach participants how to design and deliver exceptional service models that take into consideration the needs of employees, owners and customers.

“This program helps executives develop proven service models specific to their organizations and industries that bring together those three elements – customers, employees and growth – in a powerful and sustainable manner.”

“Service providers, regardless of what they are providing, are universally challenged with exceeding client expectations, increasing employee engagement and accelerating firm growth,” said Das Narayandas, James J. Hill Professor of Business Administration, Senior Associate Dean, chair of Executive Education and Publishing and cochair of Achieving Breakthrough Service. “This program helps executives develop proven service models specific to their organizations and industries that bring together those three elements – customers, employees and growth – in a powerful and sustainable manner.”

The Achieving Breakthrough Service program is specifically designed for team learning and development. The curriculum covers essential concepts for all service organizations, including defining a strategic service vision, the economics of client relationships and the link between customer satisfaction and behavior. Teams will also have in-depth discussions with examples of tools used to leverage information technology and process reengineering for competitive advantage.

Participants will study and discuss leading-edge research, real-world case studies and actionable ideas to build understanding of critical topics like enhancing the value equation of employees, customers and investors; developing a value-centered method of measuring and recognizing performance; and aligning the "performance trinity" components—management and leadership, culture and values, and strategy and vision.

By aligning the ‘performance trinity’ – management and leadership, culture and values, and strategy and vision – to their business models, participants will learn to enhance their companies’ ability to increase client relations while, concurrently, satisfying employees and investors. The program aims to help participants interact with these three key constituent groups while invoking organizational change to enhance the lifetime value of their organizations.

This program is specifically designed for senior leaders in service or manufacturing firms with the authority to initiate change across the organization. While individual leaders are invited to attend, teams of senior executives will gain the most from this intensive offering. Attending service teams, consisting of at least four senior managers, will work with a faculty adviser to develop a customized service model for the team’s organization.

Once the program concludes, there is an optional session offered for teams to present their proposed model for critique. The course will consist of thought-provoking lectures, interactive case studies and hands-on workshops designed to create a dynamic and interactive learning environment.

Program Details:

Achieving Breakthrough Service: Driving Performance and Profitability will run from April 21–24, 2013 and will take place at Harvard Business School. Please visit http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/abs/ for complete curriculum details and to apply.

Achieving Breakthrough Service: Driving Performance and Profitability

(April 21–24, 2013, Harvard Business School)

Faculty:

Dennis W. Campbell, Associate Professor of Business Administration and Marvin Bower Fellow.

Frances X. Frei, UPS Foundation Professor of Service Management and faculty cochair of Achieving Breakthrough Service.

Das Narayandas, James J. Hill Professor of Business Administration, Senior Associate Dean, Executive Education and Publishing and faculty cochair of Achieving Breakthrough Service.

Ananth Raman, UPS Foundation Professor of Business Logistics.

W. Earl Sasser, Baker Foundation Professor.

About Harvard Business School:

Harvard Business School Executive Education, a division of Harvard Business School, is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston, Massachusetts. HBS faculty develop and deliver over 80 open-enrollment Executive Education programs and more than 60 custom programs for leading organizations worldwide. Last year, more than 9,000 business executives attended programs in classrooms across the globe, including Boston, London, Mumbai, and Shanghai. With global research centers in seven key regions, HBS faculty continue to develop groundbreaking research, forge powerful alliances with global organizations, and fulfill the mission of educating leaders who shape the practice of business and innovation.