Service science : a South African institutional management perspective

Abstract

Services is the most rapidly developing sector of the global economy and currently constitutes the major component of the South African economy, presently accounting for 63% of the country’s gross domestic product. Increasingly South African institutions are attempting to offer clients a bundle of services and products in order to gain a competitive advantage in a highly competitive services dominant global economy. Seen within this context the objective in this paper is to gain an insight into the nature of the services economy, its impact on an enterprise and the management challenges associated therewith. In so doing specific attention is given to the culture and skills related implications involved in moving from a predominantly manufacturing to a services inclusive operational setting.