The overall objectives of this course are twofold. This course first examines the development, management, and improvement of service delivery systems used by service organizations (i.e., hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and health care) on the supply side through the lens of quality management. Secondly, the course examines customer requirements on the demand side by focusing upon how customer experience design shapes customers’ thoughts, actions, and decision processes. Students will learn techniques used for diagnosis, measurement, and continuous improvement of successful customer experience. There are three major sections in this course. Section 1 focuses on understanding the paradigm of customer experience, identifying the drivers of customer satisfaction, formulating strategies to optimize the customer experience, and managing service operations through the development of a service blueprint. Section 2 focuses on the role of exponential technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, and data analytics, in creating exceptional customer experiences. Section 3 discusses the creation of exceptional luxury customer experiences, incorporating technology, and describing how brands go beyond traditional branding frameworks to create luxury experiences.

Meetings, incentives, conventions and events (MICE) industry continues to grow. Organizations stage events, hold conventions, celebrate achievements and motivate people. To respond to this complex demand, contemporary event planners must know how to plan, execute and evaluate any type of event. To be effective, they must go beyond traditional event production (design, catering, promotion, etc.) and understand broad skillsets such as service personalization, social media platforms, chatbots, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, etc. This course provides students the knowledge and skills required to plan, develop, and execute an event. This includes market research and financial planning.