NOVEMEBER 2026
Course Title
The Japanese Model for Service Excellence
Professor
Gail Ayala Taylor - Clinical Professor of Business Administration; Research Scholar
Robert Shumsky - Professor of Operations Management; Co-Faculty Director, Master of Health Care Delivery Science
Date
November 2026
Destination Cities
Tokyo and Kyoto
Course Description
Through an integrated lens of marketing, operations, and human resource management, students will analyze how organizations align brand promise, service design, employee experience, and operational processes to create coherent and sustainable customer experiences. Japan is an ideal place for studying service excellence, given its focus on developing superior quality, its economic history and its distinct service culture.
Within that culture, one of the foundational concepts is Do, a Japanese term derived from the Zen concept of “the way” or “the path.” This reflects a commitment to continuous improvement and mastery over time. In this course we will see how the design, delivery, and marketing of services in Japan are deeply shaped by this philosophy, where culture, process, and people operate in continuous alignment.
We will visit legacy firms and innovative start-ups across multiple industries to observe how enduring service principles are embedded within modern systems. Participation in the Tea Ceremony (Chado, “The Way of Tea”) will provide insight into the cultural roots of attentiveness, precision, and respect that inform Japanese service design. The course will also explore how robotics and AI are integrated into contemporary service systems and evaluate how these technologies influence service economics, workforce practices, and the customer experience.