buy custom Digital Camera essay

buy custom Digital Camera essay Today, the evolutions of the digital camera have become significant. There are a lot of specifications for different types of digital cameras. Some operate on segments of storage on which it records video and takes pictures of high quality, which can be seen, because of magnificence and beauty, clarity and high fidelity. Furthermore, there are other details for cameras, such as lenses which enable every snapshot have the specially suited lens. Examples of the different lens are outlined below; Macro lens, for small objects or organisms like insects. Normal Angel Lens characterized bydeliriouslensprovide awide-angleviewand depth of fieldhence used to shoot very large places. Wide Angel Lenseshavemany advantages. It capturesa wide area of the scene using its widedepth of field. Fish-eye Lens specially designedto give thefield of viewup to180 . Telephoto Lens used to getgreat picturesofthe subject far from thecamera. It also givesalengthgreater than 50mm hence its common use insportsphotographyandfilminganimals, birds andremotetarget (Camera Lenses Types of lenses). When taking pictures for any one or on a landscape, it is important make it have effects that pleases the viewer. For purposes of editing such softwares like Photoshop, Light room and Photo Instrument can be used. Each of these programs has distinguishing characteristics. The Photoshop helps a photographer make some changes on the taken picture. These changes involve color change, addition of shadow, mixing of picture layers and manipulation of the image to add different effects. There are three key things for good photography: the camera, lighting and Photoshop (Banks, Tyra). Adobe Photoshop is a product of Adobe Sytems who edited and developed it. Photoshop uses color models, which include Red, Green and Blue (RGB) and grayscale. Photoshop also reads and writes faster and change image formats into forms such as EPS, PNG, GIF, and JPEG. Photoshop links with other Adobe softwares for media editing, animation, and authoring. Significantly, Photoshop saves time because it can process many raw images at once without destroying the image through editing which involves, including color settings, cropping, straightening and more. It is possible to process images while continuing with editing (Adobe Photoshop cs2, P5). Some people could not understand how to use Photoshop for a reason of not understanding the tools and their significance. However, today the adobe company tries to support most languages in the world. Therefore, people can learn how to use Photoshop with their own laguage. Currently, Photoshop is now obtainable in Brazilian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Dutch, English, among other languages. Adobe Photoshop helps tutors prepare students to succeed through the provision of digital communication tools and skills required in todays workforce. There are many online lessons for learning that Photoshop provides. The second program named Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is used to manipulate colors and light; hence its name Lightroom. The program can be used to give different effects of lights to satisfy viewer of the picture. It can also make a picture appear old by not only using black-and-white colors, but also using gray and brown colors. There are three editions of this program. The publishing of the first version was in 2007, the second edition on 2008, and the last and the best called Light room 3.0 published in 2009. The latest program has noise reduction feature, improved sharpening tool, new import pseudo module, watermarking, new luminance noise reduction and point curve for the coolers. The quality and nature of image matters most, even before editing. Thereafter, using different tools, one can manipulate the image using such programs as light room to change color, reduce noise if it is a video, as well as sharpening of picture. Virtually, every tool that makes photos stunning is available. As a beginner in photography, it is advisable to use another program before coming back to Lightroom for light effects changes and shadowing. An example of this simpler program is Photoinstrument which has some sample tools that can be used for color change, sharpening and other changes. Photoinstrument has tools so powerful and easy to learn graphics for an editor of digital photographs. Most problems in a digital photo can be solved by few clicks. This makes any photo look professional. The resulting picture enables an editor distinguish the quality before and after use of Photoinstrument. Photo Instrumentis a recommendable easy to learn tool for editing and correcting photos. Photos send messages in daily life. Images can be used in different areas of life for different purposes. It educates, advertises or even expresses feelings. Images were used as a language in the ancient times. There is heritage in the preservations of language in the simple nature of pyramids in Egypt. Today, images can be used to learn another language. For example, an international student in USA uses pictures to learn vocabulary such as pen, umbrella and more. Oxford Picture Dictionary remains an excellent book that comes in handy while learning English. Police have many cameras in a street not only to keep the citizens safe, but also to control and help them in investigations to find and arrest criminals. If, for example, a person is walking late at night in the streets and he or she gets robbed, it is easier for police to check the criminal using cameras. In this case processing and capturing, images helps in identifying the offender, and deliver the truth. The use of three dimensional (3D) facial recognition can be used to take a picture in the dark since there is a possibility to distinguish a criminal at various angles of view reaching potential of up to 90 degrees (a face in profile). Police have a series of gadgets they use in this identification. Most company use advertisement to show out goods and sell it to people through the promotion of propaganda image like what is in television, magazines and the internet every day. Photography can also be used to show the talent in designing by expressing the collections using images. It is crucial to consider the effects of pictures or images to the viewers. Images give persuasion if exposed to somebody for a long time. This concept applies to marketing and even in the political campaigns. Images played a significant role in President Bushs soliciting for support on issues regarding to terrorism; he used images of aircraft attack on World Trade Center. Images can also be used to pass a warning message in health matters. The best example is the packaging of tobacco products. Despite, the reduction in profitability of tobacco companies, World Health Organization emphasizes the use of imagery for warning against tobacco abuse. Warnings appear in the form of pictures. The former CEO of British-American Tobacco commented that there is a debatable balance between business and health of tobacco abusers. The questions elicited by photos in the tobacco packages are important since it discourages abusers of the drug. Imagery has different effects on the viewer. The impacts of the photos or images can be negative or positive. This explains the use of photos as a message in support of ideas or opinions to the public. As a recommendation for people who want to use images to give impact, it is essentially significant to embrace technology and design programs for high-quality photography. Summary In acknowledgement of the advancement in technology, the usage of digital cameras helps a great deal. The development of lenses which vary and give different workability comes in handy in the presentation of high-quality pictures. The Adobe Company has also been involved through the consistent production of quality programs which enables photographers deliver satisfactory service. The insurmountable significance of quality of images and pictures is open, and highly dependent on the users themselves. There is no doubt that the future of photography is bliss. Buy custom Digital Camera essay

The Dangers of Relying on Spell Check and Grammar Check

The Dangers of Relying on Spell Check and Grammar Check Almost all word processing programs come equipped with a tool for checking both spelling and grammar. However, writers should be wary of the dangers of relying too heavily on these tools. For example:Spell check will not fined words witch are miss used butt spelled rite!An ordinary spell checker will find few or no errors in the above sentence. This is because spell checkers can only detect if words are spelled correctly, not if they are used correctly.That being said, a spell checker is a handy tool and, therefore, should not be completely abandoned. However, writers should be cautioned from relying on it to catch every error. Spell check should be your first step in editing your document, not the only step!The problems with trusting spell checkBelow are just some of the dangers of relying on spell check:Spell check cannot help you with some proper names, such as Heston or Jolie.Spell check will not detect the improper use of homonyms, such as their and there.Spell check may flag wo rds as errors which are indeed correct.Spell check does not always offer useful spelling suggestions for severely misspelled words.For example, the following are some commonly misused words that standard spellcheckers will not catch:advise/adviceloose/losepassed/pastdessert/desertweather/whetherthen/thansite/sight/citeThe limitation of traditional spell checkers is epitomized by the often quoted poem, Ode to the Spell Checker.Eye halve a spelling checkerIt came with my pea sea.It plainly marks four my revue miss steaks eye kin knot sea.Eye strike a quay and type a word and weight for it to sayWeather eye yam wrong oar write.It shows me strait a weigh as soon as a mist ache is maid.It nose bee fore two long and eye can put the error rite.Its rare lea ever wrong.Eye have run this poem threw it,I am shore your pleased to no.Its letter perfect awl the way.My checker told me sew.Jerrold H. ZarThe lawyer and the sea spongeAlong these same lines, there is an amusing story that has circulat ed in the legal community regarding the dangers of spell check. According to the story, an attorney inadvertently replaced the words sua sponte (a Latin phrase for on its motion) with the words sea sponge throughout his brief. This lead to some very embarrassing sentences, such as:An appropriate instruction limiting the judges criminal liability in such a prosecution must be given sea sponge explaining that certain acts or omissions by themselves are not sufficient to support a conviction.It is well settled that a trial court must instruct sea sponge on any defense, including a mistake of fact defense.As one would expect, the attorneys error, while certainly entertaining to the rest of us, drastically weakened his credibility in the eyes of the court and made him the butt of many of his colleagues jokes.Although spell checkers are fairly straight forward and user-friendly, they are only as good as the writers ability to use them. For example, most spell checkers include options to c ustomize the dictionary to include proper nouns and acronyms. Other features include setting the spell checker to auto correct which automatically corrects the spelling of frequently misspelled words. These features can all improve the tools effectiveness.The limitations of grammar checkersUnfortunately, grammar checkers are similarly limited. They are, in fact, more limited than spell checkers. The limitations have nothing to do with technology or software, but rather are caused by the nature of grammar itself.For example, a traditional grammar checker will detect no problems with the following passage.Marketing are bad for brand big and small. You Know What I am Saying? It is no wondering that advertisings are bad for company in America, Chicago and Germany. ... McDonalds and Coca Cola are good brand. ... Gates do good marketing job in Microsoft.This is truly frightening considering that each of the sentences in the passage contains numerous grammatical errors!Also, consider the f ollowing sentence:Thinking it was open, the door was really closed.Grammar check will alert the writer that the main clause may contain a verb in the passive voice. But there is no passive voice here, just a thinking door.Grammar check also frequently flags perfectly good grammar as bad. Type the following sentence into a document:How was your sons wedding?When you run grammar check, was your sons is flagged as incorrect and the phrase your son wass is suggested. In this case, your grammar check has turned a perfectly fine sentence into a garbled mess! Therefore, it is wise to think about the change suggested, rather than simply accept it as correct.Great grammar resourcesLooking up the correct spelling of a word is as easy as using an online dictionary; looking up proper grammar, however, can be more difficult. Most of us do not remember the finer points of grammar that we learned in the sixth grade, such as gerunds and dangling modifiers. Therefore, it is helpful to have a referen ce book on grammar handy. Strunk and Whites The Elements of Style is the classic book on the subject, but professional writers are also fond of Working with Words and When Words Collide.The bottom line is that technology, while useful and time saving, is still not advanced enough to substitute for old-fashioned human proofreading. Therefore, writers should always allow ample time for proofreading and learn tools to improve their proofreading skills. One of the best ideas I have learned is to make a list of spelling and grammar errors that you make frequently so that you can proofread every document with special attention to these problem areas. Remember, you need to pick up where your spell checker and grammar checker leave off!

Disabled People and the Rights to Social Citizenship Essay

Disabled People and the Rights to Social Citizenship - Essay Example The British government has proffered different definitions of a citizen as components of the various solutions proposed in respect of the extant social, economic and political problems and these solutions have affected the rights of individuals (Young, 1985). The Conservative government under John Major introduced a Citizen's Charter in order to subject public services to market forces. Accordingly, citizens obtained the right to choose. This development in conjunction with privatization was considered to be the panacea for the ills of the inefficient public services. Citizenship can be perceived either by the individualist approach in which the nature of citizenship is determined by individual choice or the structuralist approach in which the determining factors are social and economic in nature. Further, "Choice based theories are exemplified in their purest form by economics. In this world, individuals seek to maximize their utility by obtaining the highest return at the minimum cost from any course of action which they undertake" (Pattie, Seyd and Whiteley, 2004, pp 138-139). Consequently, "Citizenship is a status bestowed on those who are full members of a community. [and who] are equal with respect to the rights and duties with which the status is endowed" (Marshall, 1950, p. 28). These rights are of three kinds civil, political or social. The Civil rights are, "liberty of the person, freedom of speech, thought and faith, the right to own property and to conclude valid contracts, and the right to justice" (Marshall, 1950, p. 10). Political rights comprise of "the right to participate in the exercise of political power" and social rights are "the whole range from the right to a modicum of economic welfare and security to the right to share to the full in the social heritage and to live the life of a civilized being according to the standards prevailing in the society" (Marshall, 1950, p. 11). The absence of the disabled person's perspective in discussions involving citizenship is ubiquitous (Meekosha and Dowse, 1997, pp. 49-72). To achieve equality, disabled citizens need to possess freewill and involvement. Societal impediments rather than the disabling impairment, play havoc with the disabled person's endeavour to be full and equal citizen. Hence, civil society has been defined as "an arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values" (Centre for Civil Society, 2004). In order to provide disabled persons with equal access a modicum of restriction has to be enjoined on the freedom of the non-disabled people. The enactment of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) on the 8th of November 1995 was the culmination of a protracted battle to enforce the rights of the disabled. This enactment led to several measures being adopted in order to prevent discrimination against disabled people and to grant them additional rights Vis - a - Vis employment, purchase and lease of real estate and access to goods, facilities and services. The DDA has empowered

Youth Work in Schools Research Methodology Essay

Youth Work in Schools Research Methodology - Essay Example al, 2008, 63). Much more specifically, however, the authors attempt to better understand how and to what degree youth work can affect learning outcomes of margenalized and disengaged students, including the so-called â€Å"quietly disengaged† that may not frequently the central topic of educational research (Morgan et. al, 2008, 2), because of the lack of their obvious need when compared to other similarly marginalized students. In particular, this work attempts to dissect many of the ‘soft’ educational outcomes that may be improved or affected by youth work, such as â€Å"raising self-esteem, increasing young people’s confidence, building relationships, challenging values and beliefs etc† (Morgan et. al, 2008, 46). These outcomes, though obviously incredibly important for the healthy development of young people in any educational environment, can be a difficult target to track or put political will into because of the lack of measureable objectives. This research attempts to uncover the degree to which youth work can be effective in achieving these soft outcomes, while simultaneously understanding how youth work, an informal educational tool, can be integrated into the formal educational environment of schools. ... Furthermore, qualitative analysis gives the researchers the ability to use the findings of educational professionals in their own words, which obviously helps generate increased validity and a more thorough understanding of the subtleties and complexities involved in the research (Cohen, et. al., 2000, 31). The researchers used a soft form of coding, whereby they would group similar types of responses together and attempt to give their reader a good idea of majority or frequently cited opinions, often to be immediately followed by a few specifics either paraphrased or given in full quotation. When describing the first question of interviews, for instance, the researchers said that â€Å"while the youth workers launched into a straightforward response by outlining their work the schools perceived ‘informal’ education in quite a different light while those from Youthreach understood it in the context of a programme that was, in the first instance, divorced from schoolâ₠¬  – giving a characterization of frequent responses, followed by analysis, and finally specific examples which are not quoted here (Morgan et. al., 2008, 70). Obviously one significant issue with this type of qualitative analysis is that it grants the researcher incredible amounts of leeway in characterizing results, and deciding where to put emphasis: this can be either beneficial, focusing on small ideas of great importance, or detrimental, such as possibly ignoring or under-representing important trends or frequent responses. This research piece used a wide variety of different qualitative research methods: â€Å"In-depth interviews with key informants from youth work, schools and Youthreach; A worksheet/questionnaire for young people with experience of informal practices in formal settings; Focus

The Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato Essay Example for Free

The Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato Essay Plato believed in an ‘ideal state,’ the Republic, which is ruled and sustained by an ‘ideal’ group of people whose main objective should be to seek their highest good for the benefit of both the state and the society. â€Å"Only those who know what the good is are fit to rule†(Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 1995).   To know what is good, one has to â€Å"undergo long and rigorous intellectual training that will yield this knowledge† (p. 1541). Plato believed that the function of education is to help people embody their true nature of good because they will become the fuel that will keep the Republic running. Here, higher education is meant to pave the way for the development of the individual because it is crucial to the Republic’s existence. The failure of an individual to reach his highest good, albeit in theory of a secondary importance, would be the failure of the state as a whole.   In Plato’s view, it is the development of the individual, supported by education, which serves as the groundwork of the Republic and ensures that the latter does not collapse.   One can say that it is truly education which holds the state’s future in its hands. The true purpose of Higher Education is best depicted in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. The Allegory of the Cave represents the different levels of knowledge that man must go through in order to achieve enlightenment.   Men were depicted as cave-dwellers in the depths of nothingness where there is a total absence of knowledge. â€Å"Most mankind dwell in the darkness of the cave. It is the function of education to lead men out of the cave into the world of the shadow† (Tulio, 2005).   Those who are able to escape the confinements of the cave would able Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato to acquire the knowledge that will lead to their evolution and form the ruling elite who will sustain the Republic. According to Kemerling (n.d.): â€Å"The highest goal in all of education, Plato believed, is knowledge of the Good; that is, not merely an awareness of particular benefits and pleasures, but acquaintance with the Form itself. Just as the sun provides illumination by means of which we are able to perceive everything in the visual world, he argued, so the Form of the Good provides the ultimate standard by means of which we can apprehend the reality of everything that has value† (Kemerling, n.d). Plato believed that education is a right given to a few. He saw society as a conglomeration of individuals organized into different classes â€Å"according to the value of their role in providing some component part of the common good† (Kemerling, n.d.). In this set-up, it is the person’s social class which determines whether he should be educated or not. Plato thought that the philosopher-class should have the right to receive education because â€Å"it is the philosopher above all others who excels at investigating serious questions about human life and at judging what is true and best† (n.d.). Dillon (2004 as cited in Plato’s Republic) also added:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦those fit for a guardians education must by nature be philosophic, spirited, swift, and strong.† The guardians must be lovers of learning like noble puppies who determine what is familiar and foreign by knowledge and ignorance† (Dillon, 2004). The problem with this kind of set-up is that only a few are permitted to improve themselves while the rest of the world is forced to fulfill the roles that society has imposed upon them. Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato Kemerling (n.d.) explained the importance of the future role of philosophers: â€Å"Thus, despite prevalent public skepticism about philosophers, it is to them that an ideal society must turn for the wisdom to conduct its affairs properly. But philosophers are made, not born. So we need to examine the program of education by means of which Plato supposed that the future philosopher-kings can acquire the knowledge necessary for their function as decision-makers for the society as a whole† (Kemerling, n.d.) Plato viewed the development of the individual as serving an autocratic social usefulness as far as education is concerned (although most believe that Plato advocated democratic principles in his theory of education). Education for the popular mass was never Plato’s ideology. He advocated educational reforms intended only for the philosopher and the warrior class. â€Å"Plato believed that the interests of the state are best preserved if children are raised and educated by the society as a whole, rather than by their biological parents† (Kemerling, n.d). The true essence of self-actualization, therefore, was just a privilege given to this ruling class because of their access to education.   It did not have any self-serving interests even if self-development was an initial pre-requisite for the success Plato’s ideal state. Education is solely for the purpose of the good of the Republic. Oxford Companion to Philosophy (1995) stated:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"They will govern with a view to maximizing the happiness of the state as a whole, but Plato thinks that the way to achieve this is to impose a strict censorship to prevent wrong ideas being expressed, to ensure that each person sticks to his Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato own allotted job, so that he does not meddle with affairs that are not his concern, and so on. Plato was firmly against democracy, and seems to have seen no connection between happiness and individual liberty† (Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 1995). But as much as education serves a state function, it cannot completely detach itself from its secondary aims of self-development. According to Scolnicov (n.d) in his paper Plato on Education as the Development of Reason, â€Å"the ultimate educational objective, then, is to bring about a revolution in the educands perception of the role of reason† (Scolnicov, n.d).   He continued, â€Å"Platos theory of education aims at specifying the conditions of the growth of the socratic man, whose soul is free from contradictions and whose excellence is justified knowledge† (n.d). For Plato, man’s rationality can be shaped through an educational curriculum that teaches these specific subjects: music, story-telling and gymnastics. Musical education should be started in childhood because it is an age where children are still ‘pliable.’ There should be censorship in the telling of tales because children still do not possess the quality to discern what is good and bad.   It is Plato’s view that children have no moral nature when they are born, but education will instill in them virtues of courage, moderation and justice that will help them seek the nature of good. â€Å"Through the telling of carefully crafted tales, mothers and nurses will shape their childrens souls (Dillon, 2004 as cited in Plato’s Republic). Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato The narrative style of tales is the second part of the ‘philosophical education.’   Imitation or Mimetic poetry is only acceptable if the individual will imitate virtues that were taught to them in childhood. Crafting of tales are important â€Å"because they are the most effective method of educating guardian’ souls† (Dillon, 2004). Here, one can see that rationality does not only pertain to reason (of the mind) but also of the soul. Gymnastic education, on the other hand, affirms the symbiotic relationship between the mind, the body and the soul: all the components that lead to the total development of the individual. For Plato, â€Å"that a good soul produces a good body, and that a healthy intellect ensures a healthy body† (Dillon, 2004 as cited in Plato’s Republic). One component missing will ultimately result in the demise of the other. Dillon   (2004) stated: â€Å"Although music is the most important component in the guardians education, equilibrium between music and gymnastics is important for the production of moral guardians. Because a solely gymnastic education causes savagery and a purely musical education causes softness, the two must be balanced† (Dillon, 2004). The educational requirements of learning music, story-telling and gymnastics would determine who will ultimately become the guardians of society. Those who are able to possess the nature of good throughout the educational process will win over those who â€Å"will rebel against the city’s ideology† (Dillon, 2004). Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato References Cornford, F. (translator) (1945). The Republic of Plato. London: Oxford University Press. Dillon, A. (2004). Education in Plato’s Republic. Retrieved December 25, 2007 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/dillon/education_plato_republic.html Honderich, T (ed.) (1995). Oxford Companion to Philosophy. New York: Oxford   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  University Press. Kemerling, G. (n.d.). Plato: Education and the Value of Justice: Plato Life and Works. Retrieved December, 25, 2007 from http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2h.htm. Tulio, D. (2005). Historical, Philosophical, Legal and Technological Foundations of Education II. Manila: National Bookstore Publication. Scolnicov, S. (n.d.). Plato on Education as the Development of Reason. Retrieved December 25, 2007 from http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Anci/AnciScol.htm

My Personal Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Teaching St

Philosophy of Education Relating my reasons for becoming a teacher was not a very difficult task for me; to accomplish this task I simply needed to reflect upon and describe some of my own personal experiences. I relied basically upon my memories and thoughts about my own educational experiences. However, describing my philosophy of education was much more difficult task for me to accomplish. First of all, before I could properly describe my philosophy, I realized I needed a working definition of the concept of philosophy. My search for this working definition of the term philosophy led to further research which provided further insight into viewpoints of various well-known philosophers; some of whom we discussed in class. Therefore, the purpose of my research became twofold, the first purpose was to obtain a working definition of the concept of philosophy. The second purpose was to become more familiar with some of the ideas of a few well known philosophers which would help me compare my own lines of thinking with some of their viewpoints and help me conceptualize my own philosophy of teaching. As I stated before, my reasons for becoming a teacher were easy to identify and describe. First of all, I have always very much enjoyed being around children of all ages and view teaching as the profession that will allow me to do something I truly enjoy. Secondly, I also strongly feel that in order to successfully teach in any discipline, one must be interested in, and be proficient in, the content of the discipline. Therefore, I chose the field of physical education primarily because of my lifelong interest in physical activities of all kinds and also because of my personal successes in the sport o... ...h development of strategies that will allow students to overcome their weaknesses to the fullest extent they can be. I feel that development of their strengths and strategies for overcoming their weaknesses will allow my students to develop self-knowledge and confidence in their own abilities, which in turn, will encourage them to make good choices throughout their lives. I will strive to practice this above stated philosophy throughout my teaching career, and create risk reduced environments and also assignments such as this one. This assignment encouraged me to think deeper and connect with the thoughts of others and I always found that assignments that encourage deeper thought help me to develop further self-knowledge. Finally, I will always emphasize the importance of education and encourage its pursuit as a valuable lifelong mission for all.

Operations Management Essay

Introduction A conventional â€Å"bricks and mortar† grocery does not have an online presence, only a physical one. It is built on a face-to-face customer service, and usually always has a building for their operations. A â€Å"brick and mortar† grocery has advantages and disadvantages compared to an online operation, like Theorganicgrocer.com. First of all, their major disadvantage is the overhead. The cost of property, insurance, taxes and staff is much higher for a â€Å"brick and mortar† operation than an online operation. The biggest advantage for a â€Å"brick and mortar† operation is customer security. To a customer, if a company has physical presence, it is seen as more reliable as the company is far less likely to fold overnight and disappear. Online operations on the other hand seem to have maximum exposure and increased profits. Most people however, seem to be under the impression that running an online operation will be an easy task but it can be somewhat challenging. Online operations require less investment and more decision making. Decisions are practically the biggest investments made in the online world. Decisions on what the website should look like, how the products are going to be listed, in which way should the products be marketed would have to be made. Theorganicgrocer.com is based on market research and they focus on dependability, reliability, timeliness, quality, and price. They offer delivery, organic produce and customer specified date and time of delivery. Apart from that, they make sure that their website is constantly updated to reflect the current price. They believe that the key to their success is the simplicity of use of their website. Question 1 What are the comparative operational differences of a conventional â€Å"bricks and mortar† grocery to an online operation? What are the comparative value chains for each system? Comparative Operations| Bricks and Mortar Operation| Online Operation| Display | Customers are able to physically touch and handle items that they are interested in buying.| Customers can only see pictures, graphics and texts that describe the product that they are interested in buying.| Expense| Usually require a bigger budget to lease space, rent property and to pay for other location expenses. | Smaller budget as they do not have to worry about building leases or property expense.| Location| Has a physical business location which limits the amount of customer traffic and foot traffic from shoppers, especially if they are not in a bigger city or metro area| They are not limited to one location and have no geographical boundaries.They can service local, national, and international customers.| Communication| There is face to face interaction with customers. | It is hard to communicate with customers through an online store.Online retailers may have a hard time getting information acr oss to the customer and must be sure to answer all possible questions by the customers through text and graphics on the site so there is no confusion during the purchase. | Technology | Uses the same technology that has been around for years and rarely changes.| Technology is constantly changing and there is a need to keep up and adjust accordingly. | Inventory| Has a large amount of Inventory on hand. Re-orders before the inventory runs out and there is a shortage of stock.| Has a lesser amount of Inventory on hand.Only re-orders when customers request for it.| Work Hours| Have traditional or at least set hours. This helps local customers know when the business is open.| Has varying or non-traditional hours. This is helpful when dealing with an international customer as it accommodates with their time zone. | Reliability| There is a sense of trust and reliability that comes with having your own brick and mortar store.Customers still feel safer buying from a store.| Customers do not feel safe as there are shady websites everywhere.| In a â€Å"brick and mortar† operation, there are primary activities and support activities Primary activities are directly concerned with the creation or delivery of a product or service and can be grouped into five main areas: inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. Each of these primary activities is linked to support activities, which help to improve their effectiveness or efficiency. There are four main areas of support activities: procurement, technology development (including R&D), human resource management, and infrastructure (systems for planning, finance, quality, information management etc.). The chain consists of a series of activities that create and build value. They conclude in the total value delivered by an organisation. The ‘margin’ depicted in the diagram is the same as added value which expresses the way a business differentiates itself through configuration of its value chain. The drivers for product differentiation and value creation are policy choices (what activities to perform and how), linkages (within the value chain or with suppliers and channels), timing (of activities), location, sharing of activities amongst business units’ learning, integration, scale and institutional factors. Eg: – Inbound Logistics (receiving and storing materials for distribution for production) Registration * Provide information Eg.: -Categories Product -Build Database -Paypal Operations (transforms inputs into finished products) Eg.: Advertisement Value Chain Model of E-bay Sales and Marketing (promoting and selling the product) Outbound Logistics (entails storing and distributing finished products) Eg: -Removed Product Eg: -Before Sale Service Service (maintenance and repair of the firm’s goods and services) -Shipment -After Sale Service The ‘Virtual Value Chain’ However in an online operation, value chain goes through three phases. The first phase is Visibility, where businesses co-ordinate, measure and at times control business processes. The second phase is Mirroring Capability, where physical steps in the value chain are substituted with virtual ones to make a parallel value chain in the marketplace with methods that are better, faster, more flexible, and lower at cost. The third stage happens when companies use the flow of information in their virtual value chain to create new customer relationships by delivering value to customers in new ways. There are different approaches to changing the value chain and it is not necessarily shorter. This is called Intermediation. In some cases however, one or two links have been removed in the value chain. For example, a business that had previously sold to retailers via distributors might make a decision to sell direct automatically. This approach is called Disintermediation. In shortening the value chain, it reduces costs and there is a more responsive and efficient service. Online businesses also at times, introduce new steps to the value chain as new players find fresh ways to add value to the process. This is known as Reintermediation. Examples of online operations that take this approach are shopping portals and electronic insurance brokers. The creation of new intermediaries that could not have existed before the arrival of the online business and the Internet is called Cybermediation. Cybermediation comes in categories, including Searching, Price Discovery, Logistics, Settlement and Trust. Examples of online operations that use cybermediation are comparison-shopping sites such as Kelkoo and bank account aggregation services like Citibank. Theorganicgrocer.com bases their business on market research. The payments made by the customers are made online using a protected encrypted facility administered by a national bank. Apart from that, they have a vehicle route that makes sure that deliveries are maximized, and aggregated ordering of stock that only produces products that are ordered and purchased by customers. Theorganicgrocer.com also has a financial system which is a computer application that calculates all the generated profits and all its other needs. There is also another separate computer package that generates advertising material and mail-outs. Question 2 What are the key processes in the online operation? Providing Efficient Services Online operations basically simplifies life for those who do not enjoy shopping, those who are too stressed from work to shop in supermarkets and stores by combining technology with business strategy. Online businesses provide efficient service that eradicates most of the steps in traditional shopping. Online shoppers go on websites while being able to view pictures and descriptions of the product. Customers also have the option of selecting specific items by name, to work from established personal shopping profiles or lists, and to browse through electronic aisles. Apart from that, online operations make it easier for customers by accepting payment in more than one method such as, credit cards, bank debit cards, electronic funds transfers, personal cheques, and money orders. For example, eBay is a company operating on the Internet that allows for vendors of any kind to auction or sell merchandise of a variety of types. People and companies from across the world use eBay to sell items on the website. This allows people shopping for items to search through the various offerings, make bids, or opt to make direct purchases. It has become a great location for looking for hard to locate items, like collectibles. Many people also use the site to search for bargains on used items such as electronics, small household appliances and others. With the exception of a few illegal to sell things, at any given time eBay has a huge selection. Customers can shop by category and by specific item, or they can simply browse listings. Assembling Online Orders Apart from that, online operations will also assemble orders from online shoppers. There are mainly two common models for assembling the online orders, which are the warehouse and store model. A business usually uses a company-owned and operated central distribution warehouse to store, pick up and pack orders for delivery using the warehouse model. The warehouse model is popular among online operations as it reduces overhead costs, generates the lowest-fees possible to customers, and is very efficient. With the store model, orders are picked off the shelves of local retail stores or supermarkets. Grocery Gateway, an online grocery operation uses a direct-to-consumer online shopping model, which is the warehouse model as it uses a market centre to store, pick, and pack the ordered groceries for delivery. The model has a supply chain management system that lets groceries be delivered directly from Grocery Gateway’s market centre to consumers’ doors. The company’s Customer Fulfilment Centre that provides an extensive selection of food, grocery products, and household goods, which improves the company’s inventory and delivery management. The centre also helps manage the company’s growth by allowing more space capacity and helping to improve the company’s accuracies by using technologically advanced radio frequency picking tools, conveyors, and scanners to make sure the processing of orders is fast and accurate. Delivery Lastly, online operations offer delivery. Some online businesses have a delivery computer program that provides time management information and point-to-point directions throughout delivery. The program takes traffic conditions, rush-hour volume, road construction, and other uncertainties that can be predicted into account. Some companies require customers to be at home to wait for the delivery. Not many can be able to stay at home; therefore, other companies offer the option of unattended delivery.