Services are an increasingly visible and important facet of everyday life. The UK economy is described as a service economy, and effective service operations management is of critical importance now to public, private and third sectors alike. This module will familiarise students with the concepts, principles, practices and problems typically associated with service operations. Service operations management covers the full lifecycle of service planning, building and operation and is concerned with the continued provision of service quality in the face of changing circumstances, such that customer value expectations continue to be met. The module will focus on key service operations best-practices and provide students with an overview of prevailing theoretical debates. Contemporary research in public and third sectors will be used to provide real-world perspective on key principles.