...1. The 4 V’s Overview All operations processes have one thing in common, they all take their ‘inputs’ like, raw materials, knowledge, capital, equipment and time and transform them into outputs (goods and services). They do this is different ways and the main four are known as the Four V’s, Volume, Variety, Variation and Visibility. 2. The Volume Dimension A great example of this is McDonalds, they are a well known example of high volume low cost hamburger and fast food production. The volume of their operation is key to how their business is organised. Essential to their operation is the repeatability of the tasks their employees are doing as well as the systemisation of the work, where standards and procedures drive the way in which each part of the job is carried out. This combination provides a low cost base. In contrast a local café has a much lower volume of output, less labour, less systemisation, and each staff member completes a wider variety of tasks which results in higher unit costs. 3. The Variety Dimension A common example used to describe the variety dimension is the contrast between a taxi and a bus service. Both offer hired transportation services but a taxi service has a much higher variety dimension as they will basically pick you up and drop you off wherever it is you need to go. A bus offers a defined route and schedule. Whilst they offer a similar service, variety and flexibility is high for the taxi company and low for the bus company. It is...
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...Low Visibility Through history, many terrible events have happened. You could mention the 2nd World War, where the war had not ended if it had not been for the Allies, who took action, because it was necessary. But it is also worth mentioning the ordinary people who fought for their liberty in their own countries during the war. Such people we often call rebels. They have the courage to take action against something they think is not fair, and they face their worst fears. The short story Low Visibility by Margaret Murphy is about taking action and doing something about the things in your life that you are not satisfied with, and facing the dangers about it. The story is about two people; a husband and a wife. The husband, John, is a violent person with a rough background, who does not really care too much about his wife, whose name is not mentioned. It becomes very obvious throughout the story that John only sees his wife as an object, which he can do with whatever he decides. “”Nothing to contribute?” Her heart flutters in her chest. “No sharp insights into the situation?” She is wordless, stripped of language, of the liberty of expression. She doesn’t know the right thing to say, because he changes the rules each time. So she says nothing. It’s safer - less painful” (page 2, line 39-44). She is obviously afraid of him, and he can treat her just the way he wants to. They are sitting in their apartment, watching the news on TV, where they show something about a huge revolt on...
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...“Low visibility” is a short story written by Margaret Murphy. People have always felt the need to secede from society; this comes to expression in the text. However, the leaders of the society believe that it is their duty to take control, and create a place where everyone is welcome. What happens when people feel unwelcome? Chaos breaks out, the politicians blame one another, and most importantly people turn against the norms of society. Laura is our protagonist. Laura was a woman with a free and strong spirit, delightful humor and most prominent happiness; however, this all changed when she met her John. John is a demanding person with a lot of hatred dwelling inside of him. “What are they protesting about?” John demands. “Their own shitty lives?” John thought that by marrying Laura, his life would change that maybe one day he would change, but Laura was the one ending up being devoured by the lust and hatred of John. Laura and John are like the principle of Yin, and Yang, darkness and light, if there is no equilibrium, there will be no order, and one will consume the other. Leading to chaos, which is one of the many signs, the couple shows. You can compare the riots on the street with Laura and John’s relationship. Laura reminds us of the riots; she has been suppressed throughout their marriage, and in the end of the story Laura chooses to fight back. John is the oppressor; Laura gradually starts to rebel, even though she is not aware of this “Don’t.” the sound of her...
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...Essay:”Low Visibility” The short story ”Low Visibility” involves Laura and her husband John. Laura is John submissive, and she has nothing to say at home. Before she met John, she was the kind of person who could make a room laugh; she had a good humor, lots of energy and a good spirit. But John changed her; from being full of life, he made her into a person who barely speaks at home out of fear. In the text it says “She wishes she could protest, but has forgotten how.” This clearly explains how submissive she has become, when she cannot stand up for herself anymore. When they watch television, one of his hands is on her lap, holding it tight - so hard that her thigh bruises. John is a very violent person, and at a time he moves his hand higher up her thigh and presses, this is his foreplay because he does not know romance. When the riots enter the apartment below theirs, John gets pissed and flings the door open, ready to fight. As he flings the door open, Laura says “Don’t” and she is surprised over her own act, because she has not spoken a word of command for four years. This shows that maybe she is beginning to find herself again – starting to be independent of John. In the end when John lies on the ground and “ask” for a hand, she turns around and walks away, meanwhile a window explodes behind her, she is not harmed though. Another proof of the fact that she has found out that she does not need John in her life. The riots in the street are very violent. The rebels throw...
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...Low visibility The story is a about a woman and her husband. Their names are Laura and John. The story is written in 3rd person and we get a clear feeling of what they are thinking. The text describes the condition of their marriage as bad and it’s becoming worse and worse. John makes Laura feel invisible and a bit insignificant. The reason why she feels invisible is that she wants to feel invisible. She feels invisible because she tries to ignore John and just let him do his thing. Even though it hurts she tries to stay calm and silent since that reduces the chance of John abusing her. Laura used to be able to fill a room with laughter but now the tides have turned. She was happy but now she is suppressed by her husband. John expected that when he married Laura she could make him happy because of her kindness and humor. However that wasn’t what happened. Instead of him becoming happy, he turned Laura into a hostage, whom got psychologically broken down. John no longer respects Laura’s opinions. He only does as he pleases. When the riots, which they saw on the TV as John was abusing Laura, came to their street Laura found her gemstone, which is called the tiger eye. Personally I think the remote control to the TV is a symbol of John’s control of the relationship. He has the remote control meaning that he has the power to control the TV and Laura. “The tiger eye, creates harmony out of chaos,”(line 109). This obviously means that she can use it to gain or create harmony out...
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...Low Visibility Low Visibility is a short story written by Margaret Murphy in 2008. The story is about a married couple, and their names are John and Laura. The story is about how it is to be the victim of a broken and violent relationship, and how Laura brakes free from the chains of fear. The story takes place in their city apartment, in Liverpool, at the same time as a riot is going on. The two main characters are the married couple Laura and John. As mentioned before Laura and John are in a broken relationship, as John tends to be violent towards Laura. For example, when they are sitting on the couch watching TV, he’s hand is grabbing her thigh. He is holding it so hard that it bruises. Ad every time he – for some reason – lets go, and puts the hand back, he moves it higher up her thigh. This is what he considers foreplay, and it indicates that there is no romance what so ever, in their relationship. Therefore Laura has become submissive. She barely speaks, and has become full of fear. She was a completely different person before she met John – “Once, she was a girl who could set a room to laughter”. And it was because of her good spirits that John wanted her; he thought that he himself would become happier if he was with a happy person, but instead he smothered her happiness and joy. He “held her too tight” and she became a hostage in her own life. The riots in the streets are very violent. The people throw bricks and Molotov cocktails at the police, and every time they...
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...Low Visibility Low Visibility is a short story written by Margaret Murphy from 2008. The story is about the woman Laura, and her marriage with her abusive husband John. They are watching the News where they follow the street riots all over town. Laura doesn’t speak and doesn't move, in terror of what her husband will do to her. However, even when she doesn’t draw attention to her self at all, her husband John, slowly but surely punishes her absentmindedly. The street riots spread to their apartment building and the store under them gets broken in to. John goes down to make them stop and ends up getting beat up. Laura goes down to the street and finds her husband lying on the ground in bad shape. When John asks for her hand as help, she neglects to do so. A rebel passes them on the street, and winks at Laura and doesn’t see John at all, who is begging for help. Laura asks the man if he isn't scared of getting caught, whereto he answers " Not me girl. I’ve been invisible all my life.” Laura walks away from John, surrounded by explosions, without helping him. The story is narrated by a third person, and therefore we know what Laura and her husband are thinking, while we at the same time, have a full overview of what is happening physically in the story. The main character of the story is Laura. She is described as being a frightened person who is so scared of her husband that she doesn't even dare contribute with a single word. The silence that appears is like white...
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...secondary particle formation on visibility during heavy haze events in Beijing, China Qiang Zhang a, Jiannong Quan a, Xuexi Tie b,c,⁎, Xia Li a, Quan Liu a, Yang Gao a, Delong Zhao a a b c Beijing Weather Modification Office, Beijing, China SKLLQG and Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xian China National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA H I G H L I G H T S • • • • The cases of haze formation in Beijing, China were analyzed. The effects of RH on PM2.5 concentration and visibility were studied. Gas-phase to particle-phase conversion under different visibility was analyzed. With high RH, the conversion SO2 to SO4= accounted for 20%. a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 25 July 2014 Received in revised form 5 September 2014 Accepted 24 September 2014 Available online 7 October 2014 Editor: P. Kassomenos Keywords: Beijing Hazes Visibility PM2.5 PBL Secondary particle formation a b s t r a c t The causes of haze formation in Beijing, China were analyzed based on a comprehensive measurement, including PBL (planetary boundary layer), aerosol composition and concentrations, and several important meteorological parameters such as visibility, RH (relative humidity), and wind speed/direction. The measurement was conducted in an urban location from Nov. 16, 2012 to Jan. 15, 2013. During the period, the visibility varied from N 20 km to less than...
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...In any given situation, it is crucial to prevent yourself from falling into invisibility. One must step into character and create certain clarity about yourself and your worth. If you do not, one day you will vanish, both physically and psychologically. The main character of the short story “Low Visibility” by Margaret Murphy from 2008 is one of the more fortunate that acts before it is too late. The story is about a woman named Laura, and her marriage with her abusive husband called John. Sitting in the living room one evening they follow the street riots all over town on the local news channel. Laura does not say a word nor move, in terror of what her husband might do to her. Even though, Laura does nothing to draw attention to herself, John slowly but surely punishes her absentmindedly. While they are watching TV the street riots spread to their apartment building and the store underneath gets broken in to. In anger, John goes down to make the rebels stop, but instead ends up getting beaten up. Laura goes down to the street only to find her husband in a bad shape covered in blood. When John asks for her help, she neglects to do so. A rebel passes them on the street, noticing Laura and does not see John at all, who is begging for help. Curious Laura asks the man if he is not afraid to get caught, to which he answers “Not me, girl. I’ve been invisible all my life” (p. 12 l. 165-166). In the end Laura ends up leaving John behind, walking away surrounded by explosions. We...
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...advertising/marketing websites should be established to promote the site and increase visibility. • There should be exceptions as to what products can be ordered online. For example, online shopping may be limited only to smaller items so that customers will still have a reason to visit the store when buying larger items. • Website should include a help section, tutorial section, videos section, etc. where customers can browse for any power tool demonstration, help in tool operation, or training courses. • Customers should be encouraged to create accounts on the website to access more features. This is also to reduce the risk of attackers abusing the website. • The site should include an online consultation feature where customers can seek for help regarding the products sold at HHI. • Security should also be a main focus because increasing the site’s security can add to the customers’ online experience. • An online bulletin can be put up where HHI, customers, suppliers can post announcements, ads or notices about tools or services they offer. • Users should be allowed to subscribe to this bulletin so that they can receive email updates whenever news is posted. • So as not to lose the relationship with customers, HHI should still encourage the customers to visit the stores occasionally or arrange gatherings where customers can consult with the personnel for matters that cannot be discussed online. • Careful consideration should be made in terms of the development of the website. Requirements...
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...2.2 Usability Evaluation Techniques 2.2.1 Pluralistic Usability Walkthrough The Pluralistic Walkthrough (also called a Participatory Design Review, User-Centred Walkthrough, Storyboarding, Table-Topping, or Group Walkthrough) is a usability inspection method used to identify usability issues in a piece of software or website in an effort to create a maximally usable human-computer interface. The method centres on using a group of users, developers and usability professionals to step through a task scenario, discussing usability issues associated with dialog elements involved in the scenario steps. There are however limitations due to this technique being only as quick as the slowest person in the group. 2.2.2 Heuristic Evaluation A heuristic evaluation is a usability inspection method for computer software that...
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...Signs Expansion Proposal 1 Signs and Design Business Expansion Proposal Signs Expansion Proposal Signs and Design Business Expansion Proposal E-Commerce Solutions The E-Commerce solution I recommend for Howard Signs and Design to leverage is the Intuit Online Payment System and Payment Network (IPN.intuit.com). This benefits the business because it is inexpensive. There are no setup fees, monthly fees or cancellation fees. Each inbound 2 bank transaction has a flat fee rate of fifty cents for payee and is free for all payers. Automatic bank to bank payments are quick, most are next day. Online invoicing is easy and payment requests can be sent directly to email, pay buttons are available for the business Web site and payment links can be put in invoices, emails, anywhere. Also, this same system can provide outbound payments to suppliers and vendors. This centralizes accounts receivables and accounts payable in one system without anyone else needing a payment network account. It is completely integrated with the current accounting system used by Howard Signs and Design providing seamless reconciliation with QuickBooks. The vendor benefits by earning the transaction fee and integrated revenue from QuickBooks business accounting software and Intuit tax return software which this business currently leverages. Web site banner advertising/affiliate marketing for Intuit as well as social media connections with Howard Signs and Design will also benefit the vendor. ...
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...proposed electronic commerce website. Strengths The following are the strengths of the proposed electronic website: Ease of transaction( Improve accessibility of products( Widen area of coverage( More visibility and advertisement( The proposed electronic commerce website may be very helpful in increasing the ease of transactions since, based on the narrative, the owner plans to add an online shopping feature to the website. Through this, customers no longer have to travel to buy items from AHI. This is in corollary to another strength, which is the improvement of accessibility of products. A website is also found on the Internet, which is the network of networks. This characteristic of a website is very helpful in widening the area of coverage of AHI because a website can be viewed from anywhere in the world where there is access to the Internet. Finally, more visibility and advertisement means that AHI can be viewed by more people, even non-regular customers, and can gain more advertisement, especially from sites like Google that have advertising programs. Weaknesses The following are the weaknesses of the proposed electronic website: Cost of installation and configuration( Additional maintenance cost( Additional personnel cost to maintain the website or keep the site( updated Coupled with the strengths of an electronic commerce sites are weaknesses. For the most part, these weaknesses revolve around the cost of running a website, specifically its Total...
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...centerpieces; full catering of the event, including professionally decorated cake and hosted bar. The business is currently experiencing a significant decline in hall bookings. During my internship, my goal will be to increase the visibility of this business in the market, thereby increasing future hall bookings. I also plan to begin the process of incorporating the business into a C-corporation. Project Description and Deliverables: I plan to increase Five Star Banquet Hall’s visibility within the English-speaking market via the internet. This will be done in an effort to boost future hall bookings and therefore, revenue. It will be accomplished by creating a company website and increasing the company’s presence on internet directories. Currently, the company has no internet presence whatsoever. Repeat customers and word-of-mouth generate most of the revenue for this business. In addition, I begin the process of incorporating the small business into a C-corporation. Project Activities and Actions: Target Timeline: 1. Research and compare banquet hall websites. February 19, 2007 I will research banquet hall websites to: • Learn about the types of services that other banquet halls offer • Determine possible layouts for our website • Compare pricing information • Obtain ideas about he types of external links possible In my integrated analysis report, I will include screen shots of the top five best web sites found, a paragraph explaining what...
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...topics of discussion discussed below will include 3 important elements that are essential in the development of a successful website. These will include the target audience, the purpose of the website, and structural elements such as the navigation and layout of the website. The goal of this paper is to concentrate and discuss these elements listed. These elements are also associated with the websites ‘look and feel’. Website Purpose is based on principles of providing reliable services. Marketing, gaining visibility and attracting new customers are also the main objective of the proposed website. The website will help provide convenient access and user-friendly features for clients who use the website. These features will include helping client’s book appointments which include various other features that will help clients with their experience in using the website. Another purpose of the website is to also help clients who wish of their own home or businesses. The company will be represented directly from the website so it is of up most importance in constructing the website to attract new customer, yet the design be simple to ensure client’s easy navigation through the website. Target Audience The targeted audiences the website will attract include a various clients, both home- owners and professional businesses. A particular consumer the website should attract are those who ordinarily need upholstery carpet cleaning services such as restaurants, professional and non-professional...
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