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Research paper : Introduction to service engineering (H. Yoshikawa)−105 Synthesiology - English edition Vol.1 No.2 (2008) action is the response. However, as it will be explained later, service structure that is equivalent to stimulus-response possesses unique structure as shown in Figure 2, and true nature of service cannot be discussed without clarification of this structure. The stimulus-response model may be applied if the service is discussed in a macroscopic or phenomenal perspective without considering this structure.2.2 Donor of serviceOne who donates service is called a “donor” and takes an action according to some motivation. Motivation can be diverse, but it can be divided into autonomous or intent and heteronymous or order. Intent and order indicate the main effect to be extended to the service receiver called “receptor”. When an intent or an order is expressed, the service action that is useful for realizing the effect is designed. Sometimes it can be designed by the receptor who places the order, but in most cases it is designed by the donor. As it will be mentioned later, a specialist who is called a (professional) service designer may emerge as the service is socialized, but this may weaken the communication between the donor and the receptor, which is often a major issue in the service. This must be discussed separately (an issue of ready-made service in manufacturing industry).In case the donor handles the design, the donor acts according to the design, and part of this action is delivered to the receptor as a useful service. Here, a gap may form between the order and the service, depending on the excellence of the design to fulfill the intent or the order, mastery of maneuver or expression of donor’s action, and the communication efficiency. This gap arises from the donor, and depends on the donor’s total ability, and the ability to control this gap is called the service-realization ability of the donor. These will be defined later.2.3 Receptor of serviceWhen a receptor receives a service from a donor, he/she takes a certain action and the result of this action becomes the effect. Effect includes a physical change (such as a change in the situation or the location), a corporeal or a physiological change (such as a recovery from disease), and a mental change (such as an increased knowledge). The latter two are changes in the status that cannot be expressed in terms of a physical quantity. The receptor who will receive a service has an expectation previously for the main effect that will result from the reception, and this expectation is expressed as an order.It should be emphasized that in this paper, the change in receptor’s status is not given heteronomously, but is caused by the own action of the receptor. That is, the flow is as follows:Service donated → Receptor’s action → Change in the receptor’s statusThe action here is not necessarily receptor’s voluntary action. For example, a patient who underwent a surgery is taking action as he/she recovers even while anesthesia is still in effect. Whether voluntary or not, recovery will not take place unless there is a physiological action of the patient. Such action of receptor includes physical, corporeal, and mental aspects.This implies that the potential ability within the receptor is brought out by the external stimulus or service, becoming a receiving action, that causes an effect on the receptor. The fact that the effect of service is caused by the action of the receptor themselves, makes the issue of service return to an issue characterized by the basic property of living matter.The reason for above thought process is because the concept where the service donated by the donor directly changes the receptor’s status is similar to the concept of human as a passive machine. This blurs the independence of the receptor which is the main subject of the service. In other words, the essence is to position the receptor’s action as an exertion based on the independent decision according to the receptor’s potential ability caused by donor’s stimulus, and then to think about the effect which this own action will have on the receptor. In this case, we must be careful not to lose sight of the essence of the service by ignoring the intrinsic structure of response. When a donation of the service and the realization of main effect are considered macroscopically to be stimulus-response phenomenon, the direct relationship between the two can be called a service receptivity, and the numerical value can be called a reception sensitivity.Based on the above thinking, the service donated to oneself can be understood as follows. A person has an expectation that a certain effect will occur, and he/she takes a certain action to realize it. This is a donating action, and the receiving action occurs simultaneously or sequentially. The receiving action brings about an effect. Here, the donor and the receptor are the same person. This is a case of a degenerate service, whereas a service is normally donated by one person to another. Under this premise, the reason for receiving service from another is because the degenerate service cannot be donated or a person does not want to donate a service to themselves. The fact that there may be situation where the service cannot be donated themselves or a person does not want to donate the service to themselves is the exact reason that the service exists socially.For a receptor, the quality of the service received can be measured by how much the service donated meets the receptor’s expectation. This is called a fulfillment level of service. The receptor’s expectation is reflected in the receptor’s order. The most difficult point in the service issue is the fact that the receptor him/herself does not completely understand this order. It is usually decided by the receptor’s values and sensitivity as well as the receptor’s circumstance (33)−

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