Looking at Two Paintings in the Boulder Public Library :: Personal Narrative Writing

Looking at Two Paintings in the Boulder Public Library I love to kill time. It was once said by a wise man that the one thing we’re all given an equal amount of is time, and how we use this time is what will ultimately determine the course of our lives. These days, there are plenty of instructions for those who are still unsure how to use time. â€Å"We need revision .02 living with upgraded busyness. So download the latest groupware and be sure to e-wire all those efforts to the 5 to 9 and 27/4 multitaskers.† At least it’s something like that, I can ususally pay attention until they start in with the math. At any rate, it’s needless to say that instead of working late to pay for a bigger roof, I prefer to leave early and catch the setting sun. Instead of spending Saturday morning taped to a desk, I prefer to wander the wide aisles of the local library, where coincidentally, this paper takes place. A library is like a compact, concrete garden of the globe. Where all the world’s diverse words are arranged by their type and placed in orderly rows. Now, Boulder is known somewhat for its diversity, and the library doesn’t stick out here for that reason. It’s more like the official logo stamped on the place, the swoosh under the Nike lettering. Here it was that wandering round the bookstacks, I came to a section of wall that had two paintings on it. They were both painted by the same two people, Leo and Diane Dillon, in the same year, 1978. Having paid the bills, and stocked the fridge some weeks previous, I was pleased to realize I had a little time to kill and could afford a closer look. The first painting, the one on the left, is entitled â€Å"Owl Woman†. The woman is sitting against an orange backdrop in a wide, deep brown dress that flows off the lower left hand corner of the painting. On her right hand is a rough leather glove, where perches a little orange and white owl. Her left hand is ungloved and is nestled in her lap. Worn around her head and down her shoulders all the way until it seems to be perched in her lap is the semi-transparent image of a gigantic owl. The owl’s head itself is not transparent, and is worn over the woman’s head like a snug bonnet. The woman’s face is clearly visible.

Strategic Operations Issues

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS ISSUES Elizabeth Kelly ABSTRACT This paper identifies an operational issue of a national food-chain. The problem is identified with the demonstration of the functional relationships and process flow analysis. With the use of concepts of operations and process management, the problem is analyzed and methods sought to provide recommendations and an implementation plan. TABLE OF CONTENTS Background of Hi-Lo Food Stores†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Problem Identification†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Background of the LINX Operating System†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Analysis using Concepts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7Recommendation and Implementation Plan†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 BACKGROUND OF HI-LO FOOD STORES Hi-Lo Food Stores is a supermarket chain operating in Trinidad since 1950. With 17 outlets spread throughout the length and breadth of the country, Hi-Lo Food Stores employs over 1800 employees. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION At Hi-Lo Food Stores, which is considered a mass service process type (Slack et al, pg. 114) customers are afforded the option of different payment methods. Payment methods include cash, credit cards and debit cards.In an effort to continue to provide better options for settling of payments to merchants and customers alike, the company Infolink was formed. Infolink is a joint venture company owned by the four commercial banks of Trinidad and Tobago whose focus is to provide state of the art financial transaction-switching technology by way of debit card payment. In recent times, it has been observed that on peak commercial periods, Hi-Lo Food Stores terminals have not been able to process debit card payments. The message ‘No Communication Field’ is generated when debit card transactions cannot be processed.The customer is either forced to use a credit card or use cash. The nature of the business of Hi-Lo Food Stores would in some instances cause for a large sum of money at the check-out terminal. Customers, who do not have a credit card facility available, are then forced to leave their merchandise at the store and locate an Automated Banking Machine (ABM) to withdraw cash and then return to the store to complete the transaction. Hi-Lo Food Stores is then faced with the issue of storing in a secure manner those items selected and already bagged for the prospective customer and can only be delivered until payment is tendered.This then causes a storage issue since these items are usually placed at the termina l the customer was accommodated at. Sub-issues of pilfering and bottlenecking of check-out counters have also been evident. The second issue arises when the customer does not return for reasons such as, no ABM facility within range of Hi-Lo, and then causes the customer to leave to a more convenient supermarket. This leaves Hi-Lo with spoilage and re-stocking of the items already held at the terminals. Customer dissatisfaction sets in and an erosion of brand loyalty occurs.The impact on Hi-Lo Food Stores can then be summarized to include increased check-out times at terminals, customer dissatisfaction and decreased sales. BACKGROUND OF THE LINX OPERATING SYSTEM In 1992 saw the advent of the LINX shopping experience to Trinidad and Tobago. Infolink Services Limited is the facilitator of the LINX Network where debit cards from any commercial bank in Trinidad and Tobago would be processed at all Automated Banking Machines (ABMs) regardless of the commercial bank the customer so belonge d.This system led the way for merchants to employ the LINX Network at their Point-of-Sale terminals thus allowing debit cards issued at any commercial bank in Infolink’s Accredited Partners to be accepted at these participating merchants. While the LINX system proved seamless during its pilot project phase of operations, in recent times as the service became more widely accepted by the general public, LINX seemed to be unable to manage the demand of merchants. Evidence has not been offered on the number of transactions over a structured period, in order to ascertain the workload capacity of the Infolink Services Limited’s system.As the writer has evidenced at Hi-Lo Food Stores, the debit card payment system seemed unable to handle the workload during peak periods of demand. ANALYSIS USING CONCEPTS The use of technology to supersede traditional methods of payment can be seen to deliver great advantages and benefits to Hi-Lo Food Stores. The process design of the debit c ard system in its conception can be seen to provide great advantages to the mass service process type. This payment method can be seen as an internally supportive method of increasing operations capabilities.For example, in times prior to the LINX operations, Hi-Lo Food Stores terminal processing time was generally a longer process. This could have been caused by the customer having to present a personal cheque for payment along with a cheque guarantee card, if applicable. The second step would be for the cashier to examine both card and cheque for validity. In instances where the cheque was written in excess of the card guarantee amount, a supervisor would then be referred to for authorization.A process that would guarantee a longer turnaround time than the now widely used LINX service, debit card payment option. In analysis of the process however, we must measure the impact of the unreliability of the service and how it causes delays and decreased outputs. These delays then impact on the cycle time at checkout counters. In carrying out a process analysis, it is obvious that the LINX operating system has a process capacity which has not yet been determined. In identifying the system’s capacity, resources may be input into the process for improved reliability and performance.As can be seen the debit card payment system when effective can have a positive strategic impact on operations performance objectives. By firstly, impacting on the speed by which customers is processed at check-out terminals. When you have a quick turnover time you reduce the traffic and congestion in the supermarket which can result in breakage and accidents. Secondly, the LINX system has impacted on flexibility by allowing the customer the option of choosing a more direct form of payment as opposed to credit cards.Dependability can be seen as a performance objective where the system can be relied upon. The above performance objectives, speed, flexibility and dependability have bee n negatively impacted on as the debit card system has become unreliable during peak operating times as such the issues Hi-Lo has experienced relates to its inefficiency of its customer experience, its quality of service is risked, thus losing the trust and loyalty of some customers. RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION PLANIt is the writer’s recommendation that an immediate sourcing of an Automated Banking Machine (ABM) be allocated to all branches. This ABM facility will give the customer the ability to exact cash to the check-out terminal without leaving the premises. The ABM facility will have the effect of speeding up turnaround time at terminals for payment. The added advantage of the facility not only being available to check-out customers but the facility will encourage more traffic with customers who may need just the convenience of an ABM facility.The ABM facility will be strategically placed in an area just after the bank of check out tellers, but away from the main e ntrance point. This would force the person who came for the convenience of the ABM facility only to line up, surrounded by small convenient items that may encourage purchasing of candy, gum, magazines etc. In the hopes of a long term resolution, Hi-Lo Food Stores conduct a process design-analysis. This analysis will determine the throughput time and impact upon the flow rate of customers by measuring the number of successful or unsuccessful attempts using the debit card system.In conducting this analysis, list the customers alternate payment method used and whether immediate payment was affected. The system of process mapping can assess the processes for example, Hi-Lo Food stores must also account for those customers who are inconvenienced by having to visit an ABM to use cash as a payment method. List those persons who in fact will follow through and complete the transactions as against those persons who find it far too inconvenient to return to Hi-Lo.With the use of this data, Hi -Lo food stores will then be able to account for manpower used at the terminal for processing a void transaction, storage of items, spoilage of perishable items which may occur and hours of duty time spent re-stocking. Finally, Hi-Lo in conjunction with Infolink needs to formalize a structured plan of action to implement a larger capacity for processing of debit card transactions, and for Hi-Lo to ascertain its feasibility. ACTIVITY| TIME| OWNERSHIP/RESPONSIBILITY| 1. 1 Source a consultant | 2 weeks| IT Department| 2. 1 Identify number of transactions incomplete| 6 weeks| IT Department| 2. Identify time periods for ‘down’ time| 6 weeks| IT Department| 3. 1 Identify source of problem| 1 week| Consultant| 4. 1 Make recommendations| 2 weeks| Consultant| 5. 1 Implement changes and test| 6 weeks| IT Department| 6. 1 Gather feedback from customer| 2 weeks| Marketing Department| 7. 1 Make further recommendations| 1 week | Consultant| 8. 1 Implement and test| 3 weeks| IT Depart ment| | | | REFERENCES Slack, N & Chambers, S & Johnston, R & Betts, A 2009, Operations and Process Management, Principles and Practice for Strategic Impact, 2nd edn

The Relationship Between Finance and Accounting Essay

Although finance and accounting are both involved with the financial aspect of a business or organization, the managers and employees in these departments deal with finances in completely different ways. Accounting deals mainly with preparing and examining financial records and ensuring their accuracy, making sure taxes are paid on time and properly, and assessing financial operations to help ensure that organizations run efficiently. On the other hand, finance deals primarily with making important financial decisions for an organization and helping â€Å"develop strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of an organization† (Financial Managers 2012). It is also important to note that financial managers use the financial information†¦show more content†¦However, financial managers depend heavily on the financial reports and other financial information organized by the accounting department in order to make sound decisions that will hopefully keep their hea lth care organization running effectively and efficiently and continue financial viablility within its community. Since accounting and finance do both deal with the financial position of a health care organization, in many smaller businesses with narrow portfolios of management skills, the same person is usually the financial and accounting manager. However, in larger businesses, these roles are held by separate managers and/or groups of finance and accounting employees (Jana Kajanovà ¡ 2006). Secondly, even though finance and accounting deal with the financial aspect of a health care organization in relatively different ways, they are still both very important to the continued financial viability of an organization. The financial viability of an organization â€Å"requires the receipt of funds in amounts sufficient to meet their financial requirements† (Cleverley, J.O., Cleverley, W.O., Song, P.H. 2011), which calls for finance and accounting departments to both run effectively and efficiently. For example, â€Å"deciding which capital projects will be undertaken is not an easy task; the allocation of limited resources to specific project areas directly affects the efficiency and effectiveness and, ultimately,Show MoreRelatedRelationship Between Business And Finance And Accounting779 Words   |  4 PagesIn the world-at-large, Finance and Accounting are often erroneously linked together. As if to say, they are one-and-the-same – a sort of a misnomer, you c an say. 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