The service process design landscape is changing, with many of the previous limitations disappearing on how and by whom services are delivered. Opportunities for new service design configurations are being enabled, to a large extent, by technology-driven service innovations, and tasks previously performed by the service provider may now be performed by either the customer or service provider. As a result, customers are taking a more active role in the service delivery process, not only through self-service but by providing information to the service provider to create a more personalized service experience. In addition, as the options for "who does what" in the service processes expand, issues such as enabling customers to perform desired activities, relieving customers of undesired tasks, and determining "who should do what" become more and more critical. Although the recent trend has been toward increasing levels of self-service, service providers are finding that "super service" offerings, an opposite trend in which the service provider performs most of service tasks with little effort required by the customer, are also part of the expanded set of options in the emerging service process landscape. With the growing number of alternatives for designing service processes and determining who performs the various service tasks, service performance outcomes are increasingly dependent on the physical, skills, and knowledge resources of both the service provider and customer. Service Process Design for Value Co-Creation explores how the integration of service provider and customer resources co-creates value, how service processes can be designed to leverage and "unlock" the capabilities embedded in these resources, and how the task boundary between the service provider and customer can be shifted to realize even greater value.

This Research Handbook offers, for the first time, a comparative approach to current diversity management concerns facing nations. Spanning across 19 countries and pan Africa, it covers age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, and the intersection of various dimensions of diversity. The multicultural and multi-country teams of contributors, leading scholars in their own countries, examine how the various actors react, adopt, and manage the different dimensions of diversity, from a multitude of approaches, from national to sectoral and from tribes to trade unions, but always with a comparative, multi-country perspective. This book represents the efforts of multicultural and multi-country teams of contributors who are prominent diversity scholars in their respective countries. Offering comparative approaches to diversity management and comparative public policy on multiculturalism, it explores comparisons at both the macro-environmental and meso-organisational levels. Topics covered include Pan African tribal diversity management, diversity in the South Pacific, youth labour market exclusion and LGBTQ rights in selective countries. This comprehensive review of diversity management will appeal to both academics and graduate students, as well as public policy makers, industry practitioners, top leadership, middle managers and HR managers. Contributors include: P. Apascaritei, E. Aydin, S. Bacouel-Jentjens, L. Booysen, J. Burgess, K. Callison, S.I. Carlier, L. Castro Christiansen, G. Combs, N. Cornelius, E. French, I. Gutierrez-Martinez, J.M. Hoobler, S. Le Queux, W. Lillevik, T. Merriweather Woodson, I. Metz, T.A. Nelson, E. Ng, S. Nkomo, A. Ollier-Malaterre, E. Ozeren, J. Ramon Pin Arboledas, K. Ravenswood, G. Strachan, E. Stringfellow, E. Suarez Ruz, L. Susaeta, A. Thomas, H. Wishik, D.B. Zoogah

Workflow, process, or business process mapping has been discovered by organizations of all kinds as being a powerful tool to analyze and improve their internal processes. It has attracted major attention from software vendors, including Oracle and IBM, who market systems that are designed to map processes and quantify all aspects of their operations. These systems can be very effective at capturing the formal or explicit knowledge inherent to any workflow; however, a long-term problem with these approaches is that the full 'knowledge base' underlying these processes contains many elements which are 'tacit knowledge.' Despite being outside of the formal knowledge base, tacit knowledge must be addressed when describing the nature and functioning of processes. A key feature of the mapping method used in this book is that it makes both formal and tacit knowledge explicit in the workflow maps it produces. Much of what has been learned in the years of applying and teaching this method is that software-driven approaches are hobbled by the complications presented by tacit knowledge in workflows. Until both formal and tacit knowledge are understood these software-driven approaches cannot achieve their full potential. Consequently the mapping process here, by necessity, becomes a method for managing knowledge as well as a method of mapping the flow of materials and information. While it is a basis for process improvement in its own right, it can support development of both software-driven process mapping and the creation of dynamic programs on the basis of accurate understanding of existing workflows.

Why do companies exert high effort to reduce the costs of products that are production? Because they can! Because unnecessary product costs were not removed during product development. C-O-S-T, short for Cost Optimization System and Technique, details how a company's product development teams, their supporting functions, and company leaders can optimize product costs before production starts and thereby maximize lifecycle profits. Since product development teams determine product costs imparted to new products, much of the book details how these teams optimize product costs. The book also includes ways company leaders can create and sustain company-wide engagement in optimizing product costs and keeping the resulting increased profit margins. The reader is entertained while observing a three-day workshop where executives of a fictitious company, Defender Products, Inc. are being taught the C-O-S-T system by its developers. The story flows like a business workshop with slides, dialog, and break-out sessions. The content will benefit all companies that design, develop and manufacture products.

This Companion provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview and critical evaluation of existing conceptualizations and new developments in innovation research. Arguing that innovation research requires inter- and trans-disciplinary explanations and methodological pluralism at various levels, it draws on multiple perspectives of innovation, knowledge and creativity from economics, geography, history, management, political science and sociology. The Companion provides the definitive guide to the field and introduces new approaches, perspectives and developments. The Companion systematically analyzes the challenges, problems and gaps in innovation research. Leading scholars reflect upon and critically assess the fundamental topics of the field, including: innovation as a concept innovation and institutions innovation and creativity innovation, networking and communities innovation in permanent spatial settings innovation in temporary and virtual settings innovation, entrepreneurship and market making innovation governance and management. Innovation researchers and students in economics, economic geography, industrial sociology, innovation studies, international business, management and political science will find the Companion to be an essential resource. It will also appeal to practitioners in innovation and policy makers in economic development, public policy and innovation policy. Contributors include: H. Bathelt, N. Bradford, T. Burger-Helmchen, M. Callon, U. Cantner, P. Cohendet, D.H. Cropley, L. D'Adderio, P. Desrochers, U. Dewald, G. Dosi, D. Dougherty, J.Y. Douglas, J.R. Faulconbridge, M.P. Feldman, M. Ferrary, D. Foray, N. Geilinger, E. Giuliani, J. Gluckler, B. Godin, F. Golfetto, G. Grabher, M. Granovetter, S. Haefliger, I. Hamdan-Livramento, A.B. Hargadon, A. Hatchuel, S. Henn, J.-A. Heraud, A.J. Herod, C. Hussler, O. Ibert, A. Lagendijk, P. Le Masson, S. Leppala, D. Leslie, S. Lhuillery, P. Li, N. Lowe, B.-A. Lundvall, E.J. Maelecki, L. Marengo, S. McGrath-Champ, J. Merkel, S. Ogawa, F. Pachidou, G. Parmentier, J. Penin, G. Pickren, A.C. Pratt, J. Raffo, A. Rainnie, A. Rallet, N.M. Rantisi, D. Rinallo, J. Roberts, R.G. Shearmur, L. Simon, B. Sinclair-Desgagne, B. Spigel, J. Szurmak, A. Torre, B. Truffer, A. Van Assche, W. Vanhaverbeke, S. Vannuccini, C. Vellera, E. Vernette, G. von Krogh, B. Weil, D.A. Wolfe

The phenomenon of aging results from the transition from a demographic model whose birth and mortality rates are exceptionally high to another model in which both demographic factors are increasingly lower. Today's organizations will encounter issues related to the aging of their workforce. It is necessary to consider and implement new strategies through age management that can contribute to society at various phases of life. Examining the Aging Workforce and Its Impact on Economic and Social Development builds on existing literature in the field of the aging workforce for the economic and social development of countries while providing additional research opportunities in this dynamic and growing field. This book reflects on this critical issue, increasing the understanding of the importance of the aging workforce in the context of the business and management area, and providing relevant academic work, empirical research findings, and an overview of this relevant field of study. Covering topics such as hiring practices, workplace age diversity, and retention practices, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for government officials, business leaders, human resource managers, sociologists, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

Supplying a product to the most customers possible in an effective and cost-efficient way is the primary goal of the sales and distribution sector of a business, since the profits from sales are responsible for the majority of an organization's revenue. However, with countless brands vying for the customers' attention, the ability to create a demand for a product and subsequently supply that demand is often the key to a business's success. There is a need for studies that seek to understand the complementary roles of an organization's sales force and distribution team to ensure relevancy in today's globalized world. Sales and Distribution Management for Organizational Growth is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the organization of sales and the sales force, their geographic deployment, and distribution and channel management including how to develop customer-oriented distribution systems. While highlighting topics including expense control, personnel training, and channel design, this book is ideally designed for business students, marketing professionals, executive members, finance analysts, operations employees, academicians, industry professionals, researchers, and students seeking current research on implementing sales strategy and distribution systems to maximize profits and remain a marketplace competitor.

In the digital age, numerous technological tools are available to enhance business processes. When used effectively, knowledge sharing and organizational success are significantly increased. Social Media for Knowledge Management Applications in Modern Organizations is a pivotal reference source for the latest research findings on the role of social media, information technology, and knowledge management in business today. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as digital business, resource management, and consumer behavior, this publication is an ideal resource for managers, corporate trainers, researchers, academics, and students interested in emerging perspectives on social media for knowledge management applications.

With advancing technology and the digitization of the modern era, businesses are required to adopt the latest innovations computer science and information technology have to offer. The field of home healthcare must utilize the finest available operations management systems in order to remain relevant in a globalized world while also providing the best treatment possible to its patients. Transportation, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management in Home Healthcare: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that provides theoretical and empirical research on logistics management and transportation and scheduling routing and their applications in home healthcare and logistics. While highlighting topics such as hybrid energy, scheduling optimization, and forecasting techniques, this book is ideally designed for outpatient doctors and nurses, transportation professionals, logisticians, home healthcare managers, computer scientists, logistic engineers, health practitioners, academicians, researchers, and students.