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Professional service supply chains

From the sub-prime mortgage backed securities meltdown to the Mediator drug scandal, from the Enron-Anderson bankruptcy to getting the Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkway collapse, from child protection horror stories to finding relief for that recurring back-pain problem, complex chains of interfacing professionals are at work.  These chains evolve and adapt to subtle and brutal changes in their environment much as natural systems do (think of a virus adapting to a new vaccine).  They are complex adaptive systems capable of non-programmed, but non-random, responses to efforts aimed at bringing them under control, often making the latter counterproductive.

This paper explores commonalities and differences between projects and processes, and between project management and process management, with a view to challenging this dichotomic typology, clarifying the gray areas in between and proposing better ways to classify and manage different endeavors. The current paradigms engender a number of organizational endeavors, which are actually complex processes being managed as projects, using the PMBOK. Because each instantiation takes a somewhat different form, it is treated as a one-of-a-kind undertaking, whereby many of the opportunities for learning and continuous improvement associated with process management are lost. A reframing and typology is proposed to clarify the central notions involved.

HARVEY, J. and AUBRY, M. “Project and processes: a convenient but simplistic dichotomy.“, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 38(6), June 2018, pp. 1289-1311

Quality Press, American Society for Quality, Milwaukee,  165 pp.

The purpose e of this book is to introduce the reader to basic notions regarding services. It is written for people familiar with the basic concepts and precepts of business management. Experienced managers, business students, and people who have recently assumed managerial responsibilities, or plan to assume them in the near future, will find the content easily accessible. Most professionals and university graduates with a few years of work experience will probably require a bit longer to plow through the material, and some chapters may require more than one reading.

The book can be used as a stand-alone document, as it does not require prior or concurrent reading of any other material. Used as such, the book will make the reader a better service manager, whatever field of endeavor she may be engaged in or may be planning to get involved in. The book clarifies such basic notions as service experience, positioning, service concept, job concept, value proposition, service strategy, operations strategy, service standards, service design, and a host of others (an extensive lexicon is provided).

The book can also be used as a companion to Complex Service Delivery Processes (CSDP), third edition.

This fourth edition comes with a new focus on the impact of artificial intelligence in complex services. Many video clips and podcasts are available to complement the written words and offer reader alternate paths to learning. They also make it easier to share specific aspects with friends and colleagues.