Website for Kudler Fine Foods Essay Example

Website for Kudler Fine Foods Essay Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) mission is to provide customers the best produce, wines, and associated needs in an unparalleled customer setting. Kudler brings its customers the finest products from around the world. Kudler Fine Foods wants to improve the functionality of their current website to be more competitive and to offer their unique products to customers everywhere. History The founder of Kudler Fine Foods is Kathy Kudler; she brings knowledge from a previous career as a vice president of marketing. As Kathy relieved her stress by gourmet cooking, she found it hard to find all ingredients in one place. Kathy recognizing a need for an upscale gourmet store in La Jolla, CA, she sought financing with a business plan in hand, and opened her first business June 18, 1998. To Kathy’s surprise, the store was profitable within the first nine months. In 2000, Del Mar became the location for the second store and a third store in Encinitas was in operation in 2003. Kudler Fine Foods is now ready to offer these great products to customers around the world with a new e-commerce website. We will write a custom essay sample on Website for Kudler Fine Foods specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Website for Kudler Fine Foods specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Website for Kudler Fine Foods specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Sales and Marketing Kudler Fine Foods is experiencing growth in the gourmet market, the time has come to grow in the service area, improve upon the effectiveness of its business and increase loyalty and profitability by increasing the purchasing power of its consumers. If the opportunity is favorable, Kudler Fine Foods will launch stores in Florida and Connecticut. Kudler Fine Foods focus has been on the development of services to the customer and adding a frequent shopper program to help increase profits. Now the business will incorporate the frequent shopping program and sales into the new web design that will take Kudler Fine Foods to the next level of business opportunities. Point of Sale The current Point of Sale (POS) module is NCR RealPOS 30; it gathers customer files and details of items purchased. The POS system permits growth with ecommerce; it can capture the same information online as well as in-store purchases. The new website will interface with the current POS system. Gathering customer information brings on the responsibility to guard personal information. Modern businesses deal with an elaborate system of laws and regulations. Business owners cannot survive without basic knowledge of these laws and regulations. KFF’s business has superior ethics that inspiring to do what is best for the customer, not just try to make a profit. Frequent Shopper Program Kudler Fine Food’s tracks the purchase behavior of the customer at the individual level. KFF provides incentives from joint ventures with companies with a program based on points accumulated from purchases. Kudler customers are not focusing on price; they want quality and variety of gourmet foods. The web is a great place to offer such merchandise to customers by using pictures and videos to offer how- to on using gourmet foods. The firm’s relational attitude often comes to life by the articulation of frontline employees whose characteristics and behaviors’ can apply considerable impact on the results of interactions with the customers according to Arbore, Guenzi, and Ordanini (2007). The same is true with service level for a website; the site must also meet all the needs of the customer. Focus Group The focus group for the development of an e-commerce website will be Kathy Kudler, the Director of store operations, sales staff, accounting clerk, computer support specialist, purchasing manager and IT staff. According to Woodward (2008), a website can expand a company’s geographical reach and its ability to provide customer service at a low cost. Current System The current system is a Norvell 4. 11 server with four POS windows PC’s at each location with a 56k modem connected to the Internet and each store has a standalone UPS modem. La Jolla and Del Mar each have a PC with PII NT server with built-in modem and cd-rom reader and a PC with PC 64 mg ram with windows and office 97 using server, a bubble jet printer and a stand along cd burner. Purpose Kudler Fine Foods is a unique type of store with a unique clientele. There are very few specialty stores in the United States so the use of a website will open a new business to web users to obtain gourmet foods delivered right to their doorstep. In staying with their specialty branding, Kindler’s executives and the sales and marketing department are enthusiastic about the se of the e-commerce website. Detail Design Kudler will need to implement an up-to-date server. We recommend that a server be purchased and the current one scrapped. The server will also need to run a more up-to-date version of the Windows operating system. I recommend Windows server either 2003 or 2008. I chose the Windows server edition because of the company’s already existing famili arity with the Windows server operating system. I also believe that learning the Linux operating system might slow down business operations and this is why in this situation a newer version of Windows would be a more reliable choice. Windows Server 2008 R2 builds on the successes and strengths of its Windows Server predecessors while delivering valuable new functionality and powerful improvements to the base operating system. New Web tools, virtualization technologies, security enhancements, and management utilities help save time, reduce costs, and provide a solid foundation for the information technology (IT) infrastructure (Microsoft. com, 2009). After the purchase of a server, and the launch of the website, we can keep the Kudler Fine Food checkout lanes open around the clock. The website will be written in hypertext mark-up language (HTML). Html is the standard programming language that information for the web is created in. The site will include JavaScript and Ajax with Meta tags to help search engines keep Kudler Fine Foods at the top of search results. We recommend that we change the current Internet access from a 56k dial up modem to modern like a high-speed xdsl or cable internet access. In addition, other options available, but I think cable or xdsl Internet access will give Kudler more than enough Internet bandwidth. This will enable the Kudler website to handle the traffic to their site in a faster manner. The modem upgrade will also enable the company server to send e-mail without worrying about the bottlenecking or choke points that occur due to the limited amount of bandwidth that is available to a dial up network. This will also be an improvement for those employees who need to access the network remotely. After signing up at the website, the customer will have agreed that his or her actions will be tracked while on the website via the user agreement or the terms of service. This will help Kudler tailor its business around the user. This will be more effective because Kudler can suggest the items that the customer is most interested in, and offer deals on those specific products. I believe that this will result in more customers who are pleased with their experience at the Kudler website and more sales for Kudler. This service will also enable customers to create online shopping list, and enable them to pay from home and pick up in store or have the items shipped. Test Process summary After all code is tested, a testing environment will be set up for users to test all web pages on different browsers. Testing for the website will be done using IT staff and in house employees. The functionality must appear seamless while the system must integrate with all aspects of the current POS system with enterprise wide software, online shopping and the Content Delivery Network (CDN). According to O’ Kennon (2010), using (CDN) as a server hosted by a third party, the content will be geographically closer to the users that request the content of the Website from Kudler Fine Foods. This will provide high-quality service quickly to keep the users attention. Software To start the testing, using the website interface and database software, the first step is the testing of the enterprise wide analytics software by integrating the current Access database; this will help expedite the testing and integrating tasks. The current Access database contains all vital records to the company. The enterprise wide software must be able to show the important fields within the database for each department. Testing of this software will be conducted offline to ensure the proper interfacing to the purchasing system works. Sales employees communicate with the customers; they would have firsthand knowledge of what the customer likes. If all looks good offline, then once the server is up and running transition to the website interface will begin. Hardware During the software coding, hardware testing will be used to validate the proper transition. A new server will be purchased and tested within the Kudler system as an addition. Once the server seems viable transferring information from the old servers to the new one will begin. As the software becomes available all testing between hardware will be with the new server. This will ensure that no additional testing will be needed on unused hardware. Testing will include data transfer and communication between location and external Internet connectivity. Support and Maintenance Summary Because Kudler Fine Foods is a smaller company, an offsite support company or outsourcing would make better business sense. The company does not have to employ a service person to maintain the website as well as any hardware for the system. This will be a cost savings for the company; in the event that hardware has problems, they can inform the support company. A super user at each location will help other employees and customers if they have issue that come up with the website. References Arbore, A. Guenzi, P. and Ordanini, A. (October 12, 2007). Loyalty building, relational trade-offs and key service employees: the case of radio DJs. Emerald Journal retrieved April 23, 2010 from the University of Phoenix Microsoft. com. (2009). Microsoft Windows Server Edition 2008R2 Product Information. Retrieved April 23, 2010 from http://www. microsoft. com/windowsserver2008/en/us/product-information. aspx O’Kennon, C. (2010). Content Delivery Networks. Retrieved May 7, 2010 from http://www. apollolibrary. com/Library/err/ElectronicReserveReadings. aspx. Woodward, K. (2008). Evaluating Web Site Goals and Needs. Retrieved May 7, 2010 from http://www. apollolibrary. com/Library/err/ElectronicReserveReadings. aspx.

Opaque and Articulate Design Essay Example

Opaque and Articulate Design Essay Example Opaque and Articulate Design Essay Opaque and Articulate Design Essay Looking at another field of study, industries also affect the society’s sustainability. In a study by Dewick and associates, they analyzed the environmental impacts of the production of yogurt throughout the years. As they have found out, environmental impacts are largely generated from the industrial production of yogurt where waste products and air pollution are included. Nevertheless, no technological advancement has ultimately solved this problem since the process of yogurt production is still the same as the first time it was employed. The authors recommended that new technology should be used to further reduce the environmental impact that yogurt production can cause. The authors believed that for a technological change to happen, it should be accompanied by a social change. It is by accomplishing this dual change that sustainable production can be achieved and thus, resulting to a sustainable community. Products of different industries always have environmental impacts no matter how minute they are. Nevertheless, it is better to assess the negative effects in processing such products. A useful method of obtaining the information needed is the use of environmental life cycle assessment or LCA. In this technique, the authorities try to examine the effects of the product from its birth to its waste disposal after the consumer has used the product well. This can be useful in assessing the sustainability of a community. Nevertheless, the LCA is not perfectly appropriate in evaluating the impact that a product may cause to the environment. Self-Assessment Throughout the paper, sustainability has been discussed in detail and its factors in different fields and industries have been tackled. Long journals have been summarized briefly and coherently yet; it would not be enough to just read the paper but journals that were cited as well. A variety of perspectives was employed to explain sustainability and how it will be attained. However, no specific agencies responsible for the implementation of the sustainability design projects were mentioned. It is remarkable that sustainability can have a broad scope of implementation, from the field of arts to industrial science. Academic journals were used in the paper to better communicate the need to initiate sustainable design projects. Nevertheless, it would have been better if the paper have based its arguments on more references rather than the journals listed alone. Sustainability is one way of showing the world that the health of nature matters to us. Sustainable design projects should be initiated and developed to decrease the negative environmental impacts that man’s creations and existence bring. It does not mean that everyone should find a reliable design project to fund such as those discussed; however, everyone is encouraged to formulate little ways to increase society’s sustainability. One does not need to be part of expensive research laboratories to be of help to humanity and the environment. BIBLIOGRAPHY Borgmann, Albert. â€Å"Opaque and Articulate Design†. International Journal of Technology and Design Education 11 (2001): 5-11. Cogdell, Christina. â€Å"Products or Bodies? Streamline Design and Eugenics as Applied Biology†. Design 19, no. 1 (2003): 36-53.

Place in Our Secular and Scientific World for Religion Term Paper

Place in Our Secular and Scientific World for Religion - Term Paper Example Religion is the ultimate truth and will be followed until science is able to explain absolutely everything in the universe. Philosophers have also had some religious views when it came to science. In their time, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were highly regarded for their wisdom and philosophies. Neither of them as followers of the prevalent pagan mythologies of the time. All of them felt the existence of a greater being, an absolute being, which is above human eccentricities and the weaknesses of Greek gods and goddesses. Of course, they had heated arguments about the nature of this Supreme Being and his creations. These Greek philosophers have left behind teachings that are similar to those of Jesus Christ. (Lindsey). Aristotle’s Unmoved Mover has been a part of his explanations of many physics and metaphysics phenomena.   Of this Unmoved Mover, he says, â€Å"God  has no matter, which means that there can only be one God since it is a matter that differentiates one fo rm or definition into many manifestations of that one form or definition.  His work in physics led to a worldview bringing his followers back to God, pronouncing him as the designer of our clockwork world. His study of the celestial mechanics convinced of the presence of a God as the ultimate creator of science.   Since God has no matter, then God is one not only formally or by definition but also numerically.   In addition, there can be only one unmoved mover, because there is only one heaven:   continuous motion is one motion since such motion is a system of moving parts.† It was Aristotle’s belief that anything that has an absolute pattern or design has to be created; it cannot happen accidentally and needs a reason or case for creation. The Unmoved Mover is the first cause. ("University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ")

Human resource in public sector (several topics to choose from) Essay

Human resource in public sector (several topics to choose from) - Essay Example It can further be said that a performance appraisal is an assessment and discussion of how a worker has performed in his or her work and this assessment is completely based on the performance of the individual workers. It is not based on the characteristics that are displayed by the individuals in the workplace and the latter are some of the most commendable aspects of performance appraisals. This process helps in the measurement of the skills that have been displayed and the things which a worker has accomplished with as much accuracy and uniformity as possible and this is done with the aim of ensuring that the improvement of the performance of the organization concerned. When this process is conducted within an organization, it more often than not leads to the understanding of the workers by the management of the said organization. ... In addition, this process is designed to ensure that the workers, through an assessment of their abilities, are provided with the opportunities that are necessary for the promotion of their professional growth. It can be said to be a methodical process which gives the direct supervisors of the workers being assessed the opportunity to determine the skills of the said workers so that they can measure the payments that are made to the workers in comparison to the aims and objectives of the organization (Kline & Sulsky, 2009). It is a process which also provides the management of the organization the opportunity to make an analysis of the factors that determine how the workers perform over a certain period. One would say that it is a process that helps the organization’s management to be in a position where it is able to provide guidance to its workers towards a path which will lead to the better performance of their work. In many organizations, the process that is performance ap praisal that is conducted among their workers is an activity which has to be conducted on an annual basis and has to be conducted regularly and in a standardized manner to ensure that there is a thorough assessment of the functioning of the organizations involved. While this can be said to be the ideal scenario, in many cases, the role that is given to the immediate supervisors of the workers under them as not only as the assessor, but also a judge, tends not to go down well with them and it is a fact that the entire procedure tends to be heartily disliked by many supervisors. This is because of the fact that many of the supervisors involved tend to hold the fate of their employees in their hands during this process, a situation which many individuals do not often lightly, since

Maslows hierarchy of human needs

Maslows hierarchy of human needs Question 1 Abraham Maslow is revered as a great psychologist who lived from 1908 to 1970. He is renowned for the Maslows hierarchy of human needs. He came up with 5 levels of human needs. On the lowest quadrant of the pyramid lay the physiological needs which entailed food, sexual activity and breathing. Maslow considered these needs to be very basic and an essential for every human being. The next level of needs was the safety needs which encompass both financial and personal security as well as health and the well being of an individual. As the pyramid advances, there are other greater needs that human beings desire such as love and affection, esteem and self actualization. These needs are satisfied in order of their hierarchy such that one would not satisfy a high need without first satisfying a lower need within the Maslow hierarchy need. Maslow hierarchy of needs is indeed imperative in that it illuminates the most important and the least important needs of human beings. Through this theory, we are able to identify the most basic human needs. In addition, Maslows hierarchy of needs enables us to gain a succinct understanding of the theory of motivation. Most times, managers would first of all seek to meet the basic needs of their employees so that they can be able to motivate their employees to higher levels. Critics on the other hand suggest that human needs cannot be classified into hierarchies as Maslow did. A onetime philosopher argues that people are diverse and have different needs that they consider as basic. The hierarchy can therefore not be considered to be universal. What one considers to be a fundamental need may not be fundamental to another. Maslow was criticized for testing a small sample of about 100 students to come up with the hierarchy of human needs. The limited testing cannot therefore be construed to be sufficient. Question 2 In this experiment, patients with depression shall be sampled. A sample of 40 patients under new medication and suffering from depression will be taken. The effectiveness of the patients new medication against depression will be measured by determining the changes in behavior among the 40 patients. Hypothesis This study seeks to establish the effectiveness of new medication for treating depression Random assignment of participants The sample of 40 patients suffering from depression will be sampled from different hospitals across the state of Texas. These patients will consist of those suffering from depression and are using the new medication. The patients will be monitored for about a week to establish the effectiveness of the new medication. Independent variable The period of time for administering the new medication to patients with depression Dependent variable The rate of healing of the patients with depression The quantity of drugs administered to the patients suffering from depression Ethical guidelines Here, we shall monitor the patients improvement in terms of their behavior. The patients sampled will be monitored for a period of one week. Question 3 Psychology is the study of the mental mind and the disciplines and theories that surround the mental mind. Psychology therefore does not merely study the mental process but also encompasses the behavior of human beings and the likely effects that this behavior has to both the individual and the environment at large. Question 4 Operant conditioning implies using results to modify behavior towards the desired direction. This principle entails altering behavior that is based on the environment through first changing the environment. Drinking alcohol and driving can be changed via operant conditioning. This can be changed through making it illegal to drink and drive as well as closing drinking joints early. Positive reinforcement entails introducing an action that encourages the occurrence of a certain behavior. For instance, withdrawing law pertaining to drinking and driving is a positive reinforcement. On the other hand, negative reinforcement involves introducing behavior that inhibits the commission of a certain behavior; for instance, in the above example, introducing gadgets that will be used to detect drunk drivers on the road. This helps in shaping the behavior of drinking groups within the society. Negative reinforcement also leads to the extinction of undesired behavior. Reinforcing laws against drunk driving is also negative reinforcement. Punishment is one way of discouraging behavior. It is thus an effective way of limiting operant conditioning. Reinforcement cannot be effectively done at once. There is need for a schedule of reinforcement which indicates how the undesired behavior will be altered.

J.R.R. Tolkien :: Biography

J.R.R. Tolkien led an interesting life because he had many traumatizing experiences as a child. Did these experiences effect his writing or was he just an imaginative adult or was he a child in a grown mans body? That is what we are going to explore in this paper. By the time I am done you will believe that this man was a traumatized child. The many experiences that he had during long his life were very dramatic. They would have made even the toughest of children have problems later on in life. From my own experiences through my own life I can kind of relate to this man. The experiences that I have had have been pretty dramatic, but nothing like his. By reading what happened to him, I know from what I have read about him that he had to be traumatized as an adult. Before J.R.R. was born, his father, whose name was Arthur, worked for a very well known and prosperous bank in England. In an effort to cut back and make more money the bank fired him. Arthur was courting a young woman, by the name of Mabel, but before he could marry her he had to prove to Mabel’s father that he was going to be able to support her for the rest of her life. While looking for a job as a bank clerk he looked to the colonies of England, and he found a job in a bank in South Africa as a financial clerk. When he had established himself in the bank he sent for Mabel. They were married in 1981 in a Catholic Church in South Africa. The town in which they lived was called Bloemfontein, South Africa. This was where they wanted their children to grow up. J.R.R. was born on January, 31 1892 in South Africa. His birth name was John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. His younger brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, was born two years later on February 17, 1894. They were raised in a Catholic family. When J.R.R was three years of age, in 1895, his mother, brother, and he went back to Birmingham England to meet his grandparents. The reason Arthur did not go was that he was sick with yellow fever and he was going to wait till he was better to make the long sea voyage to England. This voyage was usually not easy for even the healthy passengers, so it was wise to stay behind.

How do you respond to the presentation of Curley’s wife in ‘Of Mice and Men’? Essay

Curley’s wife is presented as quite an ambiguous character. She is seen in two ways: in one way she is seen as `jail bait’, a `tart’ and `tramp’. In another way she is seen as a victim of a male society, the only female on the farm. Even as a main character in the novel, she remains nameless and only as `Curley’s wife’. This makes her sound like Curley’s property like Curley’s horse or clothes. This is also symbolic of the role of women at the time in which Of Mice and Men was set. Curley’s wife is seen as a very promiscuous woman, but that is only because of the picture you build in your mind from the description of her flirtatious attitudes. Before we even meet Curley’s wife she is degraded by Candy, the `old swamper’. He accuses her of having â€Å"the eye† even though she has been married two weeks: â€Å"You know what I think? †¦ I think Curleys married a tart.† Candy says this becaus e, Curley’s wife gives a few of the other workers â€Å"the eye.† or so he thinks. Curley’s wife enters the bunkhouse; she uses the excuse that she is looking for Curley. She does not seem to want to leave. George tells her that he was here earlier. She still does not leave though, â€Å"she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward.† This demonstrates her flirtatious nature. Curley’s wife backs her story up by saying, â€Å"sometimes he’s in here† looking at her hands as she does so. She finally leaves when George again tells her that Curley isn’t there. â€Å"Nobody can’t blame a person for looking.† Curley’s wife says this almost to protect herself, as if to say, nobody can fault her if she is only looking for her husband. When thinking about or looking at what Curley’s wife is wearing, you would not associate it with every day life on a farm; she is out of place. Does this carry on throughout the story? Is she always out of place? â€Å"She had full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled cluster s, like sausages. She wore cotton house dress and red mules. On the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.† The constant reminder of red gives us two ideas: one, red being used as the colour of passion. Yet another sign of Curley’s wife’s flirtatious manner: two, red showing danger. All the signs of red could be a link to the red dress of the girl in Weed, where George and Lennie previously worked. Could there be a link? Curley’s wife recognises that her body and sexuality are her only weapons and she’s using them. In Steinbeck’s words â€Å"she had only one thing to sell and she knew it.† Curley’s wife is portrayed as this `tart’ and `jail bait’ not purely by accident. This portrayal is purely through the author’s actions. The mere fact that she is known only as Curley’s wife is a clear sign of her anonymity. She is given no name or in fact no identity. Is this hatred to women on Steinback’s part, or is he addressing the stereotyp ical attitudes towards women? Curley’s wife like everybody else has dreams. Curley’s wife’s dream is to be a star. Curley’s wife was asked to go on a show when she was younger, but her mother wouldn’t let her. Curley’s wife remembers a man in the â€Å"pitchers.† Said he’d write to her about becoming an actress and being in the movies. Curley’s wife says that her mother stole the letter when it came, to stop her from reaching her dream, when it really didn’t come at all. â€Å"Well I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself†¦ so I married Curley† this gives a strong impression that she married Curley purely out of spite, toward her mother. She goes on to say that â€Å"I don’ like Curley† this confirms the fact that she married him out of spite. Like the rest of the dreams in of Mice and Men hers so far has failed. â€Å"I coulda made somethin of myself†¦ maybe I will yet.† But Curley’s wife is still holding on to a faint glimmer of hope. This may explain Curley’s wife’s behaviour on the ranch; she may see it as a stage and the workers as her audience. In chapter four our attitudes towards Curley’s wife change dramatically throughout. In the beginning a feeling of sympathy and loneliness is aroused, because of her failed dreams and the way her husband treats her or rather doesn’t treat her â€Å"Think I don’t know where they all went?† Curley and the other ranch workers are spending their evening in a brothel. Toward the end a feeling of hatred or dislike is built up, beginning with her flirtatious manner to Lennie, ending with her racial abuse and threats towards Crooks: â€Å"I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint even funny.† This is another sign of the society at that time. Curley’s wife mocks the dream of George, Lennie and Candy, saying that they almost had better things to spend their money on: â€Å"Baloney†¦ I seen too many you guys. If you had two cents in the worl’ why you’d be getting two shots of corn†¦ And sucking the bottom of the glass.† This is a clear sign, to the reader, of her naivetà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Here she is mocking others dreams, when not so long ago her dream shattered around her. Curley’s wife’s death can be looked upon in many different ways. From the way the other characters are seen to respond, it is as if they are the victims of the death and not her. The way in which the author describes the body is the opposite: â€Å"She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.† This would suggest an innocent frame of mind, as if her death had transformed her. To someone or something better. Even though Curley’s wife is dead, she is still subject to blame. Candy is one of those who feel this way, talking to the lifeless body â€Å"You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad. Everybody knowed you’d mess things up. You wasn’t no good. You aint no good now, you lousy tart.† When the `guys’ find out about her death, I don’t think that Curley seems to realise that his wife is dead. He doesn’t stop to mourn at all, or hold her one last time, as any self-respecting man would do. He is only interested in one thing, revenge. In conclusion Curley’s wife is seen as an ambiguous character. Her moods and mannerisms change throughout the novel. She is presented, as somebody that no one likes not even her own husband. I think this is character is very misunderstood and if anyone was to take the time to get to know her a little better I’m sure Curley’s wife could be a very `nice’ person.