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Tom Roberts, director of audit operations, is responsible for assigning individual accountants to projects. Describes the current scheduling and assignment system, and the specific concerns of two staff members. Are any changes required in the system?

In the two decades following World War II, U.S. productivity grew at an annual rate of 3%. But since the beginning of the 1970s, it has grown at only about 1%. What is preventing a productivity revival in the U.S. economy? Clearly not the manufacturing sector, which has rebounded since the early 1980s. The service sector, on the other hand, has seen productivity growth rates stagnate during the same period. Why? Michael Van Biema and Bruce Greenwald believe that the usual explanations are incomplete and have resulted in some serious misconceptions. The authors point out the limitations of those explanations and offer one of their own. They lay the blame in two places: the ineffectiveness of many service-sector managers at improving productivity and the inherent complexity of the sector itself.

As the traditional system of health care in the United States gives way to a regime run increasingly by the private sector, a powerful force is emerging: the patient. According to Harvard Business School professor Regina Herzlinger, health care is much like other service industries. Providers that hope to survive must cater to increasingly demanding and well-educated consumers. In a review of Herzlinger's book Market-Driven Health Care: Who Wins, Who Loses in the Transformation of America's Largest Service Industry, Alexandra Wyke, managing editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit, argues that the path to consumerism in medicine will be longer and bumpier than Herzlinger suggests.

The Mall of America's public relations manager considers whether to institute an escort policy aimed at curbing the disruptive behavior of some teenagers who frequent the Mall. Support for the policy is mixed. Mall visitors and merchants are generally in favor of the policy, while teens, some community residents, and activists argue that it is too extreme. To make a decision, mall officials must evaluate the policy from the point of view of multiple stakeholders.

On November 3, 1986, after a three-hour board of directors meeting, Union Carbide decided to accept First Boston's proposal to embark on a $2.5 billion recapitalization program. Jameson and his associates' efforts had paid off. Jameson had reason to be excited: He had changed a weak relationship between First Boston and Union Carbide into one that would generate tens of millions of dollars in revenues for his firm. In the highly competitive world of investment banking, it was a particularly sweet victory, since First Boston had won the business from Union Carbide's traditional banker, Morgan Stanley. A rewritten version of an earlier case for courses in service management.

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.com, an Internet-based bookseller, has created one of the most successful ventures for electronic commerce on the Web. With revenue growing at a pace of 30% per month, Bezos attributes the success of Amazon.com to its value proposition--selectivity, availability, price, and service. Even so, Bezos is faced with new challenges in early 1997--competition from the mainstream bookstores Borders, Inc. and Barnes & Noble.

Describes the operations and strategy of the world's largest, fastest growing branchless bank. Using a person-to-person interface over conventional phone lines, First Direct provides standard banking and related financial products to nearly 700,000 customers throughout the United Kingdom. By employing a sophisticated customer information system and a highly educated workforce on the frontline, the bank has achieved customer satisfaction and retention levels that are roughly twice those of its nearest competitor in either direct or traditional retail banking services. This outcome was achieved through the use of information infrastructure to personalize services, model preference profiles, and cross-sell relevant products in the course of over-the-phone banking interactions. This breakthrough service model has demonstrated that banks may deliver greater quality of service at significantly lower costs by exploiting virtual or "marketspace" channels for service delivery and customer relationship management. The question facing the bank, a unit of Midland plc (which was, in turn, owned by HSBC), was how fast, in what manner, and in what market segments the organization should grow.

If you're in the business of service delivery, investment in the training and development of your staff is one of the keys to your company's success. But what's the best way to design and implement your investment? In 1994, Fidelity Institutional Services Co. (FIRSCo) needed to ensure that its rapidly expanding staff maintained the company's high levels of customer satisfaction. The solution, according to Ellyn McColgan, formerly an executive vice president of FIRSCo and now the president of Fidelity Investments Tax-Exempt Services Co., was to reach out to its service associates with a powerful new model for training and development called Service Delivery University. McColgan explains how FIRSCo overcame resistance to this sweeping change in employee education. (Time was one obstacle: each associate receives 80 hours of training per year.) In addition, the author discusses the fine art of measuring the success of a program like SDU. She finds that the company's investment has paid dividends to the staff, to the organization as a whole, and to FIRSCo's customers.

Global Financial, a subsidiary of a major heavy equipment manufacturer, makes loans to customers for purchases of the parent company equipment. Global Financial's loan application process is the major subject of this case. Customers are unhappy with the slowness of the process, and a major competitor promises to process loans much faster. The details of the processing system, including historical data, are included. This allows examination of bottlenecks in the system, and suggestions for possible system design changes.

Illustrates the "Service Profit Chain" in action. QVC, whose initials stand for Quality, Value,, and Convenience, demonstrates clearly how a strong customer focus can lead to establishing a strong franchise in the retail sector and a highly profitable business whose revenue has grown 14% per year for 1992-96--usually at the expense of the rival Home Shopping Network and through higher customer retention.

Police Commissioner Bratten and his staff have led a process designed to create a results-oriented police department from one that previously emphasized and measured effort. With increasing budgeting pressures, the next phase of effort calls for increasing emphasis on productivity as well as a reduction in crime.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 396-293.

Virtual Vineyards markets wine from small California vineyards directly to consumers through its site on the World Wide Web. It also facilitates fulfillment of customer orders. The case focuses on the ways in which Virtual Vineyards provides value to end consumers through cofounder Peter Granoff's accessible but informal evaluations of individual wines and through its electronic Internet with the customer.

Supplements the (A) case.

Founder and CEO Bill Warner is faced with critical decisions regarding the product lines, target markets, and technology platforms that his start-up, Wildfire Communications, Inc., will pursue. In addition to the question of strategic focus across these lines of business, Warner must decide whether changes in the organizational process will increase his company's effectiveness.

Mike Connors, president of AOL Technologies, examines several efforts to correct operational problems inhibiting the company's growth. What will need to be done to support growth and counter competition from Prodigy, Compuserv, and Internet-related services?

Is investing in new technology always the right choice for a company and its customers? Allan Moulter, the CEO of Quality Care, isn't sure he wants to invest in the computerized reception system that consultant Jack Zadow has outlined for him. But in this HBR case study, the argument Zadow makes is impossible to ignore. Quality Care's rivals have invested in similar systems or are planning to do so. The new system promises to take care of routine busywork, freeing staff up for other interactions with patients. It seems as if the competition hasn't even cut staff and is counting on increased customer retention to pay for the investment. And yet, Quality Care's surveys of its own customers show that they prefer the human touch when checking in. How would customers feel if the first "person" they met when they came in the door turned out to be a machine? Six experts weigh the costs and benefits of technology in a service industry. In 96106 and 96106Z, commentators Thomas O. Jones, Mary Jo Bitner, Eric Hanselman, Christopher A. Swan, Teresa A. Swartz, and Terri Capatosto offer advice on this fictional case study.

Is investing in new technology always the right choice for a company and its customers? Allan Moulter, the CEO of Quality Care, isn't sure he wants to invest in the computerized reception system that consultant Jack Zadow has outlined for him. But in this HBR case study, the argument Zadow makes is impossible to ignore. Quality Care's rivals have invested in similar systems or are planning to do so. The new system promises to take care of routine busywork, freeing staff up for other interactions with patients. It seems as if the competition hasn't even cut staff and is counting on increased customer retention to pay for the investment. And yet, Quality Care's surveys of its own customers show that they prefer the human touch when checking in. How would customers feel if the first "person" they met when they came in the door turned out to be a machine? Six experts weigh the costs and benefits of technology in a service industry. In 96106 and 96106Z, commentators Thomas O. Jones, Mary Jo Bitner, Eric Hanselman, Christopher A. Swan, Teresa A. Swartz, and Terri Capatosto offer advice on this fictional case study.

Is investing in new technology always the right choice for a company and its customers? Allan Moulter, the CEO of Quality Care, isn't sure he wants to invest in the computerized reception system that consultant Jack Zadow has outlined for him. But in this HBR case study, the argument Zadow makes is impossible to ignore. Quality Care's rivals have invested in similar systems or are planning to do so. The new system promises to take care of routine busywork, freeing staff up for other interactions with patients. It seems as if the competition hasn't even cut staff and is counting on increased customer retention to pay for the investment. And yet, Quality Care's surveys of its own customers show that they prefer the human touch when checking in. How would customers feel if the first "person" they met when they came in the door turned out to be a machine? Six experts weigh the costs and benefits of technology in a service industry. In 96106 and 96106Z, commentators Thomas O. Jones, Mary Jo Bitner, Eric Hanselman, Christopher A. Swan, Teresa A. Swartz, and Terri Capatosto offer advice on this fictional case study.

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, the nonprofit performing-arts industry in the United States enjoyed unprecedented growth. But in recent years, the arts have been hard hit by shrinking audiences, rising debt, and cuts in government funding. Can arts organizations succeed in this environment and fulfill their own special mission? The authors have observed one way in which they can succeed: through strategic collaborations--intensive, durable commmitments created for mutual gain.