The SOE approach, as advocated in hospitality operational service settings
represents a modification of the approach, originally proposed by De Groote (1995).
This modification is required due to the unique and open nature of the hospitality
service operational system. In addition, such modifications take into consideration the
intangible, yet important people-orientation of this service operational system. In such
system, operational activities, tasks, and resources (people, technology and know-how)
are blended systematically to ensure the effectiveness of the service encounter from the
unique perspective of each customer (see Figure 1). Thus, the customer is an integral
part of the service operational system