Educational Innovation In Problem — Based Learning: Teaching Service Management Through Team Teaching And With Quality Techniques

Abstract

The Service Management course, which is taught in the final year undergraduate Business programme at the University of Buckingham, grew out of a recognition of the increasingly important role of the service sector and the requirement to provide students with a degree programme structure which remains relevant to student aspirations. From the outset the aims of the course were not only to provide students with up-to-date knowledge and appreciation of management in the service sector, but to also give students practical experience of relevant tools and techniques. From an academic point of view, the problem with a course aimed at the service sector is that it does not fit neatly into the traditional academic “silos” found amongst staff members at business schools. This is because Service Management is lateral, taking in amongst others marketing, operations, and organisational behaviour. This paper describes two related approaches that have been adopted to introduce students into the multidisciplinary approach that lies at the heart of good service. The two approaches are the team teaching of case studies, and the use of integrative tools which emphasise the multidisciplinary approach to service.