On Service Systems: a Systems Approach

On Service Systems: a Systems Approach

ISSIP, June 18, 2014

Dr. Manuel Mora (UAA, Mexico)

Information Systems

Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico

[email protected]

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1. Foundations of Systems. 1.1 Origin of the Systems

Approach.

1.2 Concept of System.

1.3 General Typology of

Systems.

2. Foundations of Services. 2.1 Services: their

economical relevance.

2.2 Concept of Service

(Classic View).

2.3 Concept of Service

(Modern View).

3. On Service Systems and

SSME. 3.1 Service Systems.

3.2 SSME.

4. Conclusions and Q&A.

Dr. Manuel Mora T.

Information Systems

Department,

Autonomous University

of Aguascalientes,

Mexico

[email protected]

On Service

System: a

Systems

Approach

Themes

( 20 minutes)

Speaker Theme


mailto:[email protected]







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OUTLINE

1. Foundations of Systems. 1.1 Origin of the Systems Approach.

1.2 Typology of Systems.


2. Foundations of Services. 2.1 Services: their economical relevance.

2.2 Concept of Service (Classic View).

2.3 Concept of Service (Modern View).

3. On Service Systems and SSME 3.1 Service Systems.

3.2 SSME.







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Source: Ackoff (1971)

Source: von Bertalanffy (1972)

1.1 Origin of the System Approach.

1. Foundations of Systems.



Introduction to SSME,

Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Mexico.

August 10, 2009


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1.2 The Concept of System.


A system is a natural or

artificial whole contained

in an environment, and

comprised of another two

or more entities (called

subsystems), which

pursue their own functions

and interact among them

for pursuing the system’s

purpose, and that has

unique properties (called

emergent ones) no owned

by any subset of its

subsystems.

System

B

System

C

Emergent properties

Sub-System

A.1

Sub-System

A.2

Sub-System

A.x

System’s Environment

Supra-System of A






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SYSTEM’S ARCHITECTURE

A.1 PURPOSE AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES (why)

A.2 FUNCTIONS (what)

A.3 SUB-SYSTEMS AND I-O INTERRELATIONSHIPS (how)

A.4 EMERGENT PROPERTIES

SYSTEM CORE HIERARCHY

ENVIRONMENT

SUPRA-SYSTEM

SYSTEM

SUB-SYSTEM

COMPONENT


System

B

System

C

Emergent properties

Sub-System

A.1

Sub-System

A.2

Sub-System

A.x

System’s Environment

Supra-System of A







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E1: EFFICIENCY= f( outputs, inputs )

E2: EFFICACY = f( real outputs, planned

outputs)

E3: EFFECTIVENESS =f( outcomes)

(effects on the supra-system)

E4: AESTHETICS = f( cognitive needs,

psychological needs)

E5: ETHICS = f( compliance to highest

non-negotiable human values)

CORE SYSTEM

PERFORMANCE

METRICS

(Checkland, 2000)







August 10, 2009



Based on: Checkland (1983)

World

Systems of Type 1: (Natural

World)

Systems of Type 2 (Artificial World )

Systems of Type 3 (Social and HAS)

• These systems are

designed by nature

according to meta-

natural/physical laws.

• These systems are

designed by human beings

according to physical laws.

• These systems are socially

inter-built by human

individuals and groups

according to socio-political

mechanisms and

structures.







August 10, 2009



OUTLINE








3.2 SSME.







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2. Foundations of Services.

2.1 Services: their economical relevance.

IfM and IBM. (2008). Succeeding through service innovation: A service perspective for education, research, business and

government. Cambridge, United Kingdom: University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing.






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A traditional view of Services considers them as people-intensive (not capital & technological based) activities, thus …

… their quality levels vary with emotional states of employees (e.g. discretionary service (Levitt, 1972, p.44) or customer power, rather than with the quality of manufacturing process, machines and materials. … these do not demand strong financial investments for technology, training and methods, except by asking to employees that they be responsible of improving them. … high-status employees serves in “ritualistic mode” (Levitt (*), 1972, p. 43 (middle and low level) by “obligation” (we need to obey).

… these cannot be designed and improved, except by the human-based component (via motivational issues).

(*) T. Levitt. Emeritus Professor of Harvard Business School, University of Harvard, USA.








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Services (modern view by visionaries) are:

Acts that … “provides added value in forms (like as CONVENIENCE, AMUSEMENT, TIMELINESS, COMFORT, or HEALTH) that are essentially INTANGIBLE concerns of its purchaser” (Quinn, 1992)

… “the application of competences for the benefit of another, meaning that service is a kind of action, performance, or promise that’s exchanged for value between provider and client.” (Spohrer et al., 2007).

… integrated activities that deliver value and that must be considered with the same objectivity view as a manufacturing process. It implies that the SERVICES must be: planned, designed, monitored, quality-based controlled, evaluated, and improved (based on Levitt, 1972).








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Services are (an innovative and challenger definition !) :

a 3-dimensional concept perceived as: CURRENT INTERACTIONS, END

ATTRIBUTES CHANGES, and POST-OUTCOMES in customer and supplier

sub-systems.

SOURCE: Mora, Rainsinghani, O’Connor & Gelman (2009)






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OUTLINE








3.2 SSME.







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Classic Model v.1 • THERE ARE NOT SERVICE SYSTEMS !

• Service is a residual activity with non-specified responsibilities

• Service is evaluated only by short-term expected effects

• Services are people-based discretionary received actions

• Service quality is a random variable (with high variance) !

• Service is a total provider’s responsibility (based only on people)

• Optional feedback except in complains but toward external entities

3. On Service Systems and SSME

customersExternal

entities

3.1 Service Systems (classic view)






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A Service System is:

… “is a value co-production system of people, technology, other internal and external service systems, and shared information, which comprises a service provider and service clients working together to co-produce value. The key idea is that providers and clients work together to create value” (derived from Spohrer et al., 2007)


3.2 Service Systems (modern view)






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Modern Model v.2




• Service is joint responsibility of facilitator and appraiser subsystems but it

can be distributed in several loads ( 80/20, 50/50, 20/80)

• Short, mid-term and long-term expected effects

• External influences can affect the system and be affected by it

• Service is a 3-dimensional concept (interactions, attributes and outcome)

Service

Facilitator

Service

Appraiser

Service System Regulator

system

Competitor

system

Partnership

system

(extended from Mora et al (2008)) service-fα*

service-f(sf1, sf2, …)

service-a(sa1, sa2, …)

service-f(f1, f2, …)

service-a(a1, a2, …)






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SERVICE

FACILITATOR

SERVICE

APPRAISER

SERVICE

SYSTEM

ENVIRONMENT








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SERVICE

FACILITATOR

SERVICE

APPRAISER

SERVICE

SYSTEM

ENVIRONMENT








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3.2 SSME

“SSME: Service Science, Management and Engineering

(SSME), or in short Service Science, is an emerging field. It

includes curricula, training, and research programs that are

designed to teach individuals to apply scientific, engineering,

management and design disciplines that integrate elements of

computer science, operations research, industrial engineering,

business strategy, management sciences, social and legal

sciences, and others in order to encourage innovation in how

organisations create value for customers and stakeholders that

could not be achieved through such disciplines working in

isolation.”

IfM and IBM. (2008). Succeeding through service innovation: A service perspective for education, research, business and

government. Cambridge, United Kingdom: University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing.







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OUTLINE








3.2 SSME.







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Systems Approach provides a rich conceptual/theoretical

corpus of knowledge for a better understanding of any kind

of systems.

Systems is about wholes (parts + interrelationships +

environment)

5E’s Metrics can be useful to design and evaluate systems.

Systems Theory claims that “parts should work for the

system rather than work for their self-benefit”. If the system,

is well-designed and implemented, all parts will receive their

fair benefits !

System are affected by their parts and by the environment !







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SERVICE is a complex concept whose meaning is differently

perceived or understood in management, systems/software,

and IT domains.

SERVICES can be considered: acts/activities + intangible

direct changes on attributes/outputs + intangible valued

outcomes

SERVICE SYSTEM can be the most important concept for IT

domain in the very near future (and for many disciplines) !







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List of Main References

Ackoff, R. L. (1971). Towards a system of systems concepts. Management science, 17(11), 661-671.

Checkland, P. (2000). Soft systems methodology: a thirty year retrospective. Systems Research and

Behavioral Science, 17, S11-S58.

Checkland, P. (1983). OR and the systems movement: mappings and conflicts. Journal of the

Operational Research Society, 661-675.

IfM and IBM. (2008). Succeeding through service innovation: A service perspective for education,

research, business and government. Cambridge, United Kingdom: University of Cambridge

Institute for Manufacturing.

Levitt, T. (1972). Production-line approach to service. Harvard business review, 50(5), 41-52.

Mora, M., Raisinghani, M. S., O’Connor, R., & Gelman, O. (2009). Toward an Integrated

Conceptualization of the service and Service system Concepts: A systems approach.

International Journal of Information Systems in the Service Sector (IJISSS), 1(2), 36-57.

Quinn, J. B. (1992). The intelligent enterprise a new paradigm. The Executive, 6(4), 48-63.

Spohrer, J., Maglio, P., Bailey, J. & Gruhl, D.. (2007). IEEE Computer, 40(1), 71-77.

Von Bertalanffy, L. (1972). The history and status of general systems theory. Academy of Management

Journal, 15(4), 407-426.






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Short CV of Expositor.

Manuel Mora is a full-time Professor and Researcher in the IS

Department in the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes (UAA),

Mexico. Dr. Mora holds a B.S. in Computer Systems Engineering (1984)

and M.Sc. in Computer Sciences (Artificial Intelligence area, 1989) from

Monterrey Tech (ITESM), and an Eng.D. in Engineering (Systems

Engineering area, 2003) from the National Autonomous University of

Mexico (UNAM). He has published about 80+ research papers in

international top conferences, research books, and refereed journals.

Dr. Mora is an ACM Senior Member (since 2008), of IEEE SMC Society,

of AIS, EiC of IJITSA journal, member of the Mexican Research System

(Level I), and serves in the ERB of several international journals. His

main research interests are: design and evaluation of DMSS, design

methodologies for IT services, software and systems engineering

standards, and interdisciplinary systemic research methods. Dr. Mora

has co-edited four international book on DMSS and ITSM, and several

special issues for academic journals. He can be reached at:

[email protected].






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Thanks! and Q&A.



On Service Systems: a Systems Approach

Presentations & Public Speaking