Product and Services Design

Design is one of the components of the operations management. Specifically, product and service design is one of the processes of the design. As states in Morris (2009, p.22), Product design is defined as the idea generation, concept development, testing and manufacturing or implementation of a physical object or service. â€Å"Service design is the activity of planning and organizing people, infrastructure, communication and material components of a service, in order to improve its quality, the interaction between service provider and customers and the customer's experience. Service design methodologies are used to plan and organize people, infrastructure, communication and material components used in a service. The increasing importance and size of the service sector, both in terms of people employed and economic importance, requires services to be accurately designed in order for service providers to remain competitive and to continue to attract customers.† (Morelli, 2002, p.3-17) According to Slack, N., Chambers, S. & Johnston, R. (2010, p. 113-134), good products and services design is important for both companies and its customers. It fulfils the customers’ wants from the product and service design and also generates the profit for the companies. The performance of the product and service design is measured by its quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost. The stages of product and service design include concept design, concept screening, preliminary design, evaluation & improvement and prototype and final design. All of these stages finally run out a fully developed product. As a result, a concept, a package and a process is designed in the product and service design. â€Å"A concept is the understanding of the nature, use and value of the service or product; a package of ‘component’ products and services that provide those benefits defined in the concept; the process defines the way in which the component products and services will be created and delivered.† (Slack, N., Chambers, S. & Johnston, R., 2010)

7 Smart Questions to Ask in a College Interview

7 Smart Questions to Ask in a College Interview When it comes to college interviewing, remember that youre not the only one being interviewed. After submitting your personal essay, high school transcripts and SAT scores, it may feel like the admissions boards are the ones in the drivers seat and youre just along for the ride. In fact, once you reach the college visits and interview process, you have a lot of say in what happens next. In order to get the most out of your college interview, its best to prepare some questions that will make a difference in whether or not you choose this school. Admissions interviewers will always give you a chance to vet them, so take the time to consider whats most important to you in your college experience. Here are some examples of great questions to ask your interviewer: What kinds of internships or study abroad experiences are available? Many schools have connections with organizations and businesses outside of the college in order to build a bridge between studying and real-life work experiences. Study abroad programs are also sponsored by most schools. Find out about the options at your school if this is an experience you would like to have. How does it work? What courses are available? Are language lessons included? Will you stay on campus at the other school or with a host family? Is there a ___ team? If you play a sport and would like to continue playing it at college, ask about it. You may want to know how competitive their team is. Did they rank high against other schools in the last few seasons? How much does the college invest in this sport? Is the equipment new and up to date? If this sport is something youre passionate about, find out how valued your participation would be at this school. What type of social activities does the college offer to students on weekends? Social life is a big part of college. Even the most serious student needs to have some time to relax and enjoy some social activities. Find out what kind of entertainment the college organizes for its students. Are there dances, parties, concerts, movie screenings on the campus lawn? Do most students participate in these events or do a lot of students find entertainment off the campus? What do students generally like most about this college? And what do they like least? Interviewers can usually answer this question quite easily. They know the schools strengths and weaknesses. Its a great question for you to get a feel of how happy you would be at this school. If their biggest strength is campus community and this is an important aspect for you, then you should check that in the plus column. If their biggest weakness is lack of investment in college sports but youre not an athlete, then it wouldnt make a difference for your decision. How would you define the educational vision of the college? Most colleges have a mission statement that defines their goals and shapes their policies and campus climate. Getting to know the most deeply-held values of a school is a great way to determine if you belong there or not. Some schools are very academically and research driven, striving for excellence at any cost. Others take a more holistic view of education and value the importance of social and cultural factors. Its one of the best ways to find out the bottom line of the schools you are applying to. How much interaction and attention can I expect from my professors? Depending on the size of the school, you may have very limited access to your professors. At smaller schools, professors may be able to offer more personal attention and guidance to students. If this is an important aspect of learning to you, ask about it. Im planning to major in ___? What does the ___ department of this college have that makes it stand out from other schools? If you know your major already and youre aiming to attend one of the best schools in this field, go ahead and ask about it. Find out if this school can offer you the best opportunities or if theyre merely mediocre. Maybe theyre not known for this department, but they happen to have a great internship to offer in this area or next year theyre hiring one of the leading researchers in this field. The only way to find out is to ask.

Hans Bellmer Essays

Hans Bellmer Essays Hans Bellmer Essay Hans Bellmer Essay 1 The Message of Hans Bellmers Dolls The dolls that Hans Bellmer constructed and photographed during the 1930s remain disturbing and controversial to this day. Although his work is well known for its iconic and conceptual ideals connecting with surrealists and Dadaists at the time, his work deliver a strong relationship to the cruel social and political conditions that were occurring inside Nazi Germany. It was only fitting that the birth of Hans Bellmers girl- doll collection came about at the same time as the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich. These dolls were constructed in response to the rise if fascism in Germany. These images were an attack on the typical Nazi art and aimed to rebel against the ideal female body and gender construction. I believe that Bellmer wanted to redefine, expose and overturn how gender and sexuality was critiqued in Nazi Germany, while also expressing some internal anxieties on his own. In the year 1933, the Nazis came to power in Germany. It was at this time that Bellmer gave up all work that might contribute to the government. During this time is went he produced a body of work that would receive a critical response from its viewers. He constructed his series f doll in his response to his thought that if the origin if my work is scandalous, it is because for me, the world is a scandal. Although the society in which he lived in did play a large role in the constructions of these dolls, and scene of this father role and identity connecting to (his) a farther fgure did come about in some of his works. In the article by Taylor, he goes into detail about the meaning behind the work of Bellmers dolls. : He points out that much of where he starts from portrays an ideal that much of his works involving dolls, toys, and games derive from this childhood anxiety. Bellmer stated, mies, my dolls were the beginning. Obviously there was a convulsive flavor to them because they reflected my anxiety and unhappiness. He later on went to say that idea these dolls were representational to the thought of rejecting his adult life and the attempt to return to his childhood that became this erotic liberation for him. Bellmer constructed two series of dolls that imaged that of adolescent girls. These were modeled assuming various poses in different settings that were then photographed to create a complex narrative. These dolls are staged in unsettling scenes and alternate orderings of the female body. The contrast between the realistic body parts being organized in unnatural way, in everyday day environments is what made these so strange. These physical permutations, multiplications of limbs and fragmented parts, many be viewed as a complication of male anxiety, as well as male fantasies or erotic domination and control. In one of the paintings in Die Puppe (1934), Bellmer incorporates objects from a nursery or playroom such as the marble, puppet, and cigar box. The riveting of the marbles spiral intrigues him, almost as if they were, what he referred to as the frozen cstasy. In this piece Bellmer incorporates the marble in to the piece as a sign of tension that have these supernatural powers that are within this glass globe. This scene depicts a leg in a black boot, breasts misplaced, and head detached, as it 2warps its thigh around the oversized marble, creating the thought of intercourse or pleasure is taking place. On the reverse side of this painting, Die Glasmurmel foreground. This multicolored object is featured many of times in the Memories of the Doll Theme. It can be said that the connection between both of these paintings s the use of the marble, creating this thought of frozen ecstasy that can clearly be viewed in both. A certain theme of childhood and detachment has surrounded the though t behind most of the work that he had done. In another work that was published in Die Puppe (1934), Bellmer presents a dolls detached legs, with a white rose emerging from where the two legs meet. He then positions a womans high- heeled shoe; extending forward to almost look as if it is symbolizes female genitals. It is clear that this is not a accurate representation of a woman, about a woman, or femininity. It is about the underlining message of most of he work is about, this masculine anxieties that are inspired by the female sex. Frued goes on to explain Bellemers work and locates the anxiety that produces the conflict of the fetish. The fear comes from the thought the young child who feels detachment and densification towards his mother, because she no longer has her genitals. The anxiety that builds throughout these works is not fear of castration but fear but rather fear of separation. There is also a strong sense of insecurity and alienation Bellmers personal, financial, and political life that come forth. Much of Freuds insight allowed us to se Bellmers devotion to dolls in a different light. This was a lifelong profession of farther hatred and anxiety producing homosexual desires. These dolls were inspired by Bellmers attraction to his mothers sisters daughter, whom he viewed as an object. The dolls represent the chain of female relations that he has towards this attraction and then the possession that his farther has over all of it. This is why his feminine identification with dolls and the female body is so prominent throughout this career. Bellmers dolls also have a nightmare like quality to them. In one particular photograph of The Doll (1935), he shows a struggling, naked woman hanging from a tree and in the back ground what appears to be a shadow of a man. One can ask is this photo about rape or is this about something more complex. All of the dolls in which he constructed had this feeling of hurt and but their attacker is never revealed. This leads the viewed to think question where this person is that is causing these figures such harm and more importantly why they are in the positions that they are. In much of Bellemers later work Frued goes on to point out the onnection between his childhood and his detachment between his father and the society of the Nazi Germany world that surrounds them. Bellmers girl-doll collections were used to not only express the way in which he thought that the government was acting at the time, but also a way to express this internal fantasies. These images were an attack on the typical Nazi art and aimed to rebel against the ideal female body and gender construction. Hans Bellmer wanted to redefine, expose and overturn how gender and sexuality was critiqued in Nazi Germany, and while doing so he also expressed the internal anxieties on his own.

Definition of Armature - Art History Glossary

Definition of Armature - Art History Glossary (noun) - In art, an armature is an underlying, unseen, supporting component (usually of wood or metal) for something else. Armatures are useful in sculpture, lost-wax casting (to help make the initial model three-dimensional) and even stop-motion animation puppets. Think of the chicken wire frame upon which plaster or papier mache strips are affixed in a sculpture, to get a mental visual. An even more dramatic example, designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, is the iron armature inside Frà ©dà ©ric Auguste Bartholdis Statue of Liberty. Pronunciation arm ·a ·chur Common Misspellings amature, armeture Examples When this armature has been fixed, the artificer begins to take some fine earth, beaten together with horse dung and hair, as I said, and carefully lays a very thin coating all over which he allows to dry, and so on time after time with other coatings, always allowing each to dry until the figure becomes covered with earth raised to the thickness of half a span at the most. - Vasari on Technique (1907 trans.); pp. 160-161.

Price Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Price Discrimination - Essay Example According to the research findings, customers can benefit from research and development as a result of increased revenue that companies earn. In the service industry, some of the customers will benefit from the low price on off-peak time and the firms will benefit on the peak time due to high prices on services and products. Some of the firms will increase revenues and be able to be a going concern in business and even expand.According to the research findings, customers can benefit from research and development as a result of increased revenue that companies earn. In the service industry, some of the customers will benefit from the low price on off-peak time and the firms will benefit on the peak time due to high prices on services and products. Some of the firms will increase revenues and be able to be a going concern in business and even expand.Price discrimination may attract administrative cost when engaging in market segmentation and predatory pricing may be funded by the profi ts gained . Since P>MC, some of the higher prices charge may be allocated inefficiently to the unintended consumer. Some of the customers may be charged high prices. The high prices may be unintended for the rich but the poor may end up also paying that high price (Patel, 2012). In conclusion, the rationale of price discrimination on shelves in supermarkets would be influenced by the type, the strategies used in pricing and the methods that influence price discrimination. Products that are placed at the top of the shelves will have a different price to those at eye level and bottom shelves. Price elasticity of demand also influences the products placed on the shelves as those products place at eye level to have more demand at relatively cheaper prices. Also, certain reasons would influence price discrimination in a monopolistic market such as, service that involves specialization or professionalism and geographical distance. Lack of availability of information also has an impact on price discrimination.

Consumer behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer behaviour - Essay Example These characteristics cannot be controlled by the companies; therefore, a need to assess these elements in order to create an effective marketing plan. Marketing plans and strategies would be incomplete without paying much consideration to the customers. Customers will and should always be a part of the agenda in any marketing plan of any company. Because of the implications for profitability and growth, customer retention is potentially one of the most powerful weapons that companies can employ in their fight to gain a strategic advantage and survive in todays ever increasing competitive environment (Lindenmann, 1999). Consumers purchase products and services for the benefits derived from their use. While the study of economics focuses on outcomes, consumer behavior emphasizes the process. Rather than assuming perfect conditions, researchers of consumer behavior explicitly recognize the impact of situational elements on behavior and the variance among individuals faced with the same conditions† Which means that consumers buy products for the benefits they reap out of it, the study of consumer behavior investigates the steps, or the processes involved regarding the decisions made by the consumer (Jobber, 2007). Values are basically the basis of one’s attitude or restriction in attitude. Some examples of values include freedom, pleasure, inner harmony, and happiness. Heroes, on the other hand, refer to icons in the society that may have an impact on people of different levels. Examples of heroes are sports figure or pop culture figures. As stated that heroes may influence consumer behavior through their association with certain products and brands. The same goes with rituals, or symbolic activities commonly performed over and over, such as bathing, tooth brushing, attending to mass, to school, etc. Their involvement on the consumption of consumer products makes them important for consumer behavior. Finally, these symbols are equally important

Comparing Vulnerability to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among War Research Paper

Comparing Vulnerability to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among War Veterans and the General Population and Gender Differences in Developing the Disorder - Research Paper Example This criterion was based on the fact that it would be almost impossible to get members of the general public who have been to battlefields, majorly because the number of such participants is merely restricted to victims of war, journalists, and aid workers all of who are deemed to comprise a very small proportion of the population. This decision was also motivated by the fact that in the present survey, none of the non-veteran participants indicated as having served in any warzones for any length of time. Using this criterion, the average length of time spent in warzones by the participants was 12.9 (std. dev. = 19.07) months. While some veteran participants had never been to warzones, the longest amount of time served in such regions by any of the participants was 60 months. Uncharacteristically, the standard deviation for this data is larger than the mean, implying that the rate of variation form the mean was particularly huge. The inferential tests were undertaken at the 5% level of significance. Ten out of the 13 participants diagnosed with PTSD were veterans, signifying that this group made up 76.92% of all cases of the condition diagnosed within the sample. The non-veterans were, therefore, more likely to fail the PTSD test, recording 13 (72.2%) of all failed PTSD tests. Using the ‘chitest’ function in Excel, the significance of associations between pairs of variables was assessed. The association between veteran status for individuals and PTSD prevalence was statistically significant (χ2 = 7.30, df = 1, p = 0.007). Clearly, the above result confirms the significance of the difference in the ratios indicated above, with the implication that the prevalence of PTSD was significantly higher among veterans than among the non-veterans. The Pearson chi square value for the association between PTSD status (either being diagnosed with the condition or failing to show signs for the same) and gender