We live in a service economy
Most of the jobs of our future graduates will be in the service sector. Today services account for 70 percent of employment in the US and Japan, 53 percent of employment in Brazil and 35 percent of employment in China. These numbers will only increase as productivity continues to climb in agriculture and manufacturing.
What is service engineering
In the goods-producing sector of the economy, money changes hands in return for the delivery of a product. In the services sector the customer pays the provider to perform a task or provide a capability. Service transactions tend to be highly customized, thereby creating a challenge for determining how activities can be replicated or scaled.
IBM coined the term service science management engineering (SSME) to describe a new discipline that is concerned with the study of services. This term is similar to computer science that IBM helped establish in the 1950s. Service engineering is specifically concerned with the study of services as they relate to the business use of information technology (IT).
Why study service engineering?
We have already seen the threat posed by offshore outsourcing and global competition in the goods-producing sectors of our economy. In North Carolina we have witnessed the decline of traditional industries such as textiles and furniture manufacturing. Already many programming and customer support jobs have migrated overseas.
Companies will be able to maintain their competitive edge by selling services, rather than just software and hardware equipment. The modern IT engineer should be aware of this business model and should be capable of advancing and significantly contributing within such an environment.
Course requirements
Students interested in pursuing service engineering, should follow the program requirements outlined in Program Requirement, with the following exceptions:
Option B MS without thesis
- The business core course should be CSC/ECE591x or BUS/ 590x Service Management"
- The following three courses should be taken as electives:
- BUS 590x - Process Analysis and Design
- BUS 530 - Managing People in a High Tech Environment
- BUS 590x - Management of Technology
Option A MS with thesis