Service, Modular Construction And Applied Research

Service has played an important role in the evolution of social economy. Service is embodied in various forms, such as the added value attached to commodities, independently-operated departments and actions towards customers. Due to service's intangibility, heterogeneity, perishability and synchronicity, it is hard to manage the quality of service. In addition, how to effectively fulfill customers'different needs has long been an issue and there is no uniformed standard of service quality. Therefore, entrepreneurs and service organizations have explored the ways to enhance service quality, so as to find an improved operational modes, work out a service system both customized and standardized, and guarantee the stable and replicable service quality on the basis of meeting customers'demands.Evolving from industrial products and manufacture process, characterized by standardized control units and flexible combination, the theory of modularity is suitable for the modern production pattern featured by standardized manufacture and customized demands. Modularity system consists of standardized function modules, interfaces and specific rules of connection. Applied in service conducts and supply of service, it can build standardized and controllable service modules, which can provide a more flexible service modularity system. It is conducive to the analysis of service conducts and replication and transplant of service function, helps present model service at different time and different places and is beneficial for the expansion of service organizations and outsourcing in order to achieve the benefits of scalable economy and comparative advantages.Based on the theory of modularity, the research uses the designing method of service blue-printing to develop the structure of service modularity, applies the level structure of discrete event to decompose the complicated service system into resources-based service conduct, and takes advantage of the cutting method of invested resources to divide service conducts into four modules—personnel, technology, information and hardware equipment. During the process, models are built and optimized by simulation, the operational standards are based on the controlling mechanism of functional units. In many real cases, service conducts have the similar components and mechanism as modules. The paper highlights several relevant service cases and explains the levels of service conducts and constitutes of modules to serve as the proof for the theoretical modularity and real application.The development and successful application of service modularity will be conducive to the management of service operation. Apart from the detailed decomposing and analysis of complicated systems, it helps effectively control and manage the problems occurred in the service. In terms of control and management of functions, it can meet different demands, bring the potentials of various divisions into full play and improve organizations. Through outsourcing and module manufacturers, time for research and development as well as the cost incurred by failures can be saved, so that external resources can be obtained, other research achievements can be gained and the conflict and encouragement among different cultures and techniques will exist, which will exert positive influence on service organization, replication of management, development of chain business and global standardized management.