...3/1/2014 Case Study Stage 5: UMUC Haircuts * Ms. Morningstar and her establishment are on the road to better. In my previous case studies, I proposed the implementation of two systems that would drastically change the work flow of UMUC haircuts for the better. The two systems I proposed were Setser which will be used for making appointments and Shift Planner which will be used for making the schedules for the employees. Basically what is needed is a computer , Smartphone or tablet so that it can be used. Both systems can be used with cloud computing so that both can be accessed for anywhere with Wi-Fi. Project Management Important that the supervision always keeps an eye on all schedules to make sure that all appointments are made correctly. All finances should be run through Ms. Morningstar at the end of the day for confirmations System Development Life Cycle Finding out what the problem area lies is the first step When analyzing the problem next step is to then find the solution, which here is scheduling and appointment making The two systems must be chosen by a series of comparisons. Which of the systems can do they work smoothly and efficiently from wherever (cloud computing) The next step is to train the people who will use the system so that they can use the systems efficiently. Next step is to implement the systems and document the increase in sales. Change Management When the systems are implemented into UMUC Haircuts, it is best to keep the changes that...
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...An Insight Into Virtual Reality Virtual Reality is a creation of a highly interactive computer based multimedia environment in which the user becomes a participant with the computer in a "virtually real" world1 We are living in an era characterized by 3D virtual systems created by computer graphics. In the concept called Virtual Reality (VR), the virtual reality engineer is combining computer, video, image-processing, and sensor technologies so that a human can enter into and react with spaces generated by computer graphics. In 1969-70, a MIT scientist went to the University of Utah, where he began to work with vector generated graphics. He built a see-through helmet that used television screens and half-silvered mirrors, so that the environment was visible through the TV displays. It was not yet designed to provide a surrounding environment. It was not until the mid '80's that virtual reality systems were becoming more defined. The AMES contract started in 1985, came up with the first glove in February 1986. The glove is made of thin Lycra and is fitted with 15 sensors that monitor finger flexion, extension, hand position and orientation. Connected to a computer through fiber optic cables. Sensor inputs enable the computer to generate an on screen image of the hand that follows the operator's hand movements. The glove also has miniature vibrators in the finger tips to provide feedback to the operator from grasped virtual objects. Therefore, driven...
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...selected niche market. This is by understanding its dynamics and unique needs of the customers and developing products or services that exceeds expectations. This will create an aspect of customer loyalty and will lead to increased sales and profits. Differentiation strategy refers to the strategies manufacturers, retailers and service industries use to distinguish their products or services from competitors within the market. Product differentiation may enable small businesses to have a competitive advantage in a market, which has larger companies. This is because the small business will build a name on the attributes of its product or service, which will create customer loyalty thus create a trend of repetitive buying. For UMUC Haircuts, the recommendation would be to focus on the...
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...childhood to adulthood… was a haircut. For the majority of my life I have wanted to grow long hair, but to no avail. I tried everything; shampoos, proteins, vitamins, supplements, but nothing. I never could grow my hair out past my shoulders, and when the time came to get my hair cut, I faced a dilemma. After recovering from distressing life events, I longed for a change in my appearance, but since I was physically unable to grow long hair, the only thing I could do was cut it shorter. I was reluctant to cut my hair short, for the obvious stigma surrounding such an act. Not to mention, the crude assumptions about my personality, character, and my interests would be taken into considerable question by my peers. I decided to do it with reason that my hair would grow back, that it was not the end...
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...GREGG OUELLETTE IFSM 300 UMUC Haircuts Stage 1 UMUC HAIRCUTS STAGE 1 29 JUNE 16 I. INTRODUCTION Myra Morningstar is the owner of the small business, UMUC Haircuts. It is a small shop in the college campus area and Myra is looking to expand her business to meet the needs of customers. In order for her to be successful in her new adventure she will need to consider the needs of her customers, use of technology, and competition with the new local competitor. Barriers to entry in the Hair Care industry are very minimal. When it comes to barbershops and salons, there are a few already in the area with a couple more potentials. High customer volume creates much competition in the market. The only barrier to entry is licensing. Barbershops and salons must have a business license along with a few permits (Barbershop Business Guide, 2014). The fixed costs are minimal and no special products are needed. Loyalty to barbers and hair stylists is moderate and incentives to use a particular provider are almost non-existent. The market is close to saturated and this particular area will soon become highly competitive. Threats of substitutes for UMUC Haircuts are moderate to low. II. FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS FORCE | EXPLANATION(Minimum 2 good sentences) | IMPACT (POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, or NEUTRAL) | AFFECT STRATEGY? (YES/NO) | BUYER POWER | UMUC haircuts is high due to different barber shops and spas choices that the customers have around UMUC haircutsThe buyer power will...
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...Before you begin this assignment, be sure you: 1. Have completed all previously assigned readings, particularly those assigned in Week 2. 2. Re-read the “MUC HUaircuts Case Study" and the Stage 1 assignment, and review the “Walmart Example,” beginning with "Background for Stage 2" on page 3. 3. Review Instructor feedback from the Stage 1 assignment. 4. Carefully review the Example shown following the Assignment instructions below. Overview of Business Process Analysis and Functional Requirements for UMUC Haircuts For your Case Study Stage 1 assignment, you performed a Five Forces Analysis and justified Myra's chosen strategy for competitive advantage and the business process that she would like to improve through the application of technology. In the Stage 2 assignment, you will identify the inputs, processing, and outputs of Myra's selected business process. Those inputs, processing, and outputs form the functional (business) requirements for an IT system to improve the process. The first step in identifying the functional or business requirements for an information system is to develop the high level requirements that establish the scope of the system. Myra has selected the Customer and Employee Scheduling Process for improvement using an IT solution, and together you have identified the following high level requirements. The system must: • Allow employees to enter their availability and desired days/times to work • Allow Myra to review the employee...
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...| Usability | High | The web application has to be easy to use because although customers may receive services without utilizing the new system, the employees and Myra will need to use it every day. The rating of High was given because while a customer may call in to schedule an appointment, someone from UMUC haircuts will still be inputting the appointment into the web application. | Maintainability | N/A | The Schedulicity web application is a third party hosted application and therefore all the maintenance and coding is performed by the third party. N/A was given as a rating because Myra, her employees, and customers do not have to maintain any of the system coding and all modifications would be performed by the third party. | Scalability | N/A | Scedulicity is a web-based application that is already used by many other businesses and many of which are much bigger in size than UMUC haircuts. There is a lot of room for growth using the application which will make the addition of more employees and managing of scheduling easy even if Myra’s business grows much larger or even if she were to open additional locations. | Reliability/ Availability | Low | UMUC haircuts will need the system to stay up and running for as long as possible in order for its customers to schedule appointments at any time during any day. Myra relies on the application to be up and running in case any schedule modifications are needed and for the manual addition of call in appointments. I gave the relevance...
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...UMUC Haircuts By Miriam Wright IFSM 300 23 January 2016 Introduction UMUC Haircuts has been in business since 1955 and has been doing well over the years due to the lack of competition in the area the salon is located in. Recently, there has been an increase in competition. A salon called the Hair Cuttery will be opening five miles from the salon and an upscale spa has opened in close proximity to UMUC Haircuts. Due to the recent influx of competition there is a major concern for the salon owner Myra Morningstar that her business will not be able to compete. It is imperative that Myra analyzes the facts presented to determine the best course of action that benefits the business and the customers. Porter’s Five Forces Competition in the industry UMUC faces competition from many rival enterprises including the expensive spa and Hair Cuttery (UMUC, 2015). Competitors are other entities in the same line of business as UMUC Haircuts. Rival competitors pose a negative impact to the business. Potential of new entrants into industry The threat of new entrants into the hair cutting business is real. The entry of an expensive spa is proof of new market entry. Additionally, knowing that a new hair cutting business will soon open also confirms market entry threats. This alerts Myra that there is urgent need to stop any new market entrants through the application of business strategies (Porter, 2008). New entrants will lower the...
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...UMUC Haircuts Stage 1 Since the opening of UMUC Haircuts in 1995, Myra Morningstar has seen an increase in customers and competition from a variety of competitors. Myra would like to expand her business into the gift shop area next door. To remain competitive, Myra recognizes that she needs to improve her current management practices in combination with better scheduling of her employees and customers and management of her supplies. Myra has hired a System Analyst to help her with determining how she can improve her business. FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS FORCE EXPLANATION (Minimum 2 good sentences) IMPACT (POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, or NEUTRAL) AFFECT STRATEGY? (YES/NO) BUYER POWER Customers buyer power is neutral.. Customer have the option to go to another competitor in the area. Neutral No SUPPLIER POWER Supplier Power is high. Supplies are going up in price. Myra has no means of finding cheaper prices. Myra has no control over suppliers. Negative Yes THREAT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES Threat is neutral. Customer can let hair grow or get someone else cut their hair. Neutral No THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS Several businesses have open and one more will open within a 5 mile radius, Barrier entry is high because Myra has no IS. Negative Yes RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS Threat of substitute services is high, Myra has no means of contacting customers and has no promotions to offer. Rivalry offering same services as Myra’s business. Negative Yes Strategy...
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...UMUC Haircuts Stage 1 University of Maryland University College 2016 I. Introduction Myra Morningstar the owner of UMUC Haircut’s has been in business since 1995. When Myra opened her salon in 1995 she had very few competitors in the area. Since opening UMUC Haircut Myra has seen a growth in competition from a variety of salons. There is also news that a Hair Cuttery may be opening five miles away from Myra’s salon. With the concern of growing competition in the area, Myra started to evaluate her existing environment and what could be done to help her to remain competitive. To help her to become more competitive and to grow her business Myra has hired a System Analyst. II. Five Forces Analysis FORCE | EXPLANATION(Minimum 2 good sentences) | IMPACT (POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, or NEUTRAL) | AFFECT STRATEGY? (YES/NO) | BUYER POWER | When the business is able to easily meet the needs of the buyer, the cost to serve the buyer is low. Buyers have a strong bargaining position when they have several options to choose from of the same product. Myra’s customers have several salons in the area that offered the same service as her salon. The buyer power has a negative impact on the business. The increase in options for her customers will affect her strategy because she will have to keep her prices low and spend more money on advertising. | Negative | yes | SUPPLIER POWER | Suppliers have a competitive advantage when they offer a product that very few suppliers offer...
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...Bob Haircut: During the 1920s the bob haircut was worn by many women and occasionally men. The bob cut was a simple blunt cut until they came out with the castle bob. The bob cut was a simple blunt cut. Bob hairstyles symbolises independent women. They made the forerunner of many fashion statements. In the 1920s “COCO” and Louise began cutting bobs on young women hair. Hairdressers were also forced to accepting the bob. (visforvintage.net) By 1925 the bob was still raging controversy, it also started a hair fashion of the new industry. The bob cut was growing much faster in the beauty industry. The bob cut made its first foray into public by 1923. Most female hairdressers did this style instead of men because they were not most skillful at...
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...300 UMUC Haircuts Stage 4 Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwaid.com/shop/ifsm-300-umuc-haircuts-stage-4/ Assignment: UMUC Haircuts Stage 4: Create a presentation that includes: I. An executive briefing in PowerPoint covering the following topics: (each bullet below should be represented by at least one slide) • Provide a title slide to introduce the project, including appropriate information about the ‘who, what, when and why’ of the presentation • Identify the Strategy for Competitive Advantage and the Business Process to be Improved • Identify the IT Solution you chose to improve the process and help UMUC Haircuts with their strategy for competitive advantage • Give an overview of IT solution components, IT Skills/Services & Business/Management Resources (NOTE: to obtain the most possible points in this area, a graphic representation of the solution is required – See Grading Rubric below) • State how the solution will improve the business process • Explain the business benefits of the solution (benefits in addition to improving the process itself) and how the solution will help achieve the strategy for competitive advantage • Review the IT considerations you determined to be most important in the Table in Stage 3. This would include any consideration that you ranked with high importance. Select up to 5 that you consider to be the MOST important. Briefly explain: o the impact on UMUC Haircuts – what...
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...the accurate cost of the product Andre’s Hair Styling Andre has asked you to evaluate his business, Andre’s Hair Styling. Andre has five barbers working for him. (Andre is not one of them.) Each barber is paid $9.90 per hour and works a 40-hour week and a 50-week year, regardless of the number of haircuts. Rent and other fixed expenses are $1,750 per month. Hair shampoo used on all clients is $0.40 per client. Assume that the only service performed is the giving of haircuts (including shampoo), the unit price of which is $12. Andre has asked you to find the following information. 1. Find the contribution margin per haircut. Assume that the barbers' compensation is a fixed cost. Show calculations to support your answer. To find the contribution margin per haircut the formula is: Contribution margin= Selling Price – Unit Variable Costs Selling Price= $12 Unit Variable Costs= $0.40 $12 - 0.40= $11.60 The Contribution Margin per haircut is $11.60 2. Determine the annual break-even point, in number of haircuts. Support your answer with an appropriate explanation. Show calculations to support your answer. Determining the Annual Break-Even point on the number of haircuts formula is as follow: Fixed Cost= Workers Compensation+ Rent Amount of workers= 5 Workers Compensation= $9.90 per hour Hours Per week= 40 hrs. week Week per year= 50 week a year Fixed rent=$1750...
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...number of haircuts. Rent and other fixed expenses are $1,750 per month. Hair shampoo used on all clients is .40 per client. Assume that the only service performed is the giving of haircuts (including shampoo), the unit price of which is $12. Andre has asked you to find the following information. 1. Find the contribution margin per haircut. Assume that the barbers' compensation is a fixed cost. Show calculations to support your answer. Formula: Cost of haircut – variable cost (shampoo) = contribution margin $12 - $.40 = $ 11.6 Contribution Margin 2. Determine the annual break-even point, in number of haircuts. Support your answer with an appropriate explanation. Show calculations to support your answer. The break-even point is going to be the point in which your gains are equal to your losses. Anything past this point is profit for your business. Formula: Total Fixed Costs / Contribution Margin = Break-even Point 5 (employees) * $9.90 * 40 * 50 = $99,000 + 1750 (monthly costs) * 12 (months) = $120,000 120,000 / 11.6 = 10,334.83 Haircuts are needed to break even 3. What will be the operating income if 20,000 haircuts are performed? Show calculations to support your answer. Formula: # of Haircuts * Contribution Margin – Fixed Costs 20,000 * $11.6 - $120000 = $112,000 Operating Income 4. Suppose Andre revises the compensation method. The barbers will receive $4 per hour plus $6 for each haircut. What is the new contribution margin per haircut? What is...
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...Stage 1. Business Analysis UMUC I. Introduction In 1995, Myra Morningstar opened UMUC Haircuts, which was the only barbershop within a 10-mile radius. When she began her business in the strip mall by campus, she started with one barbers chair. UMUC Haircuts currently has three barbers chairs, three hair styling chairs, and a shampoo station. In order to continue to grow her store, Myra needs to get ahold of scheduling, supplies, customer info, and marketing. She currently is not using any kind of technology but is willing to start using it if it can be proven to be helpful for her business. II. Five Forces Analysis FORCE EXPLANATION (Minimum 2 good sentences) IMPACT (POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, or NEUTRAL) AFFECT STRATEGY? (YES/NO) BUYER POWER UMUC customers have a low switching cost, because they have options where they can get the same service, at relatively the same costs. This is an area that Myra needs to concentrate on to be sure to keep her clients. Negative Yes SUPPLIER POWER Supplier Power seems to be a low threat. This industry has many suppliers available so if the cost of supplies are rising it is time to seek out a new supplier who offers more competitive rates.. Positive yes THREAT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES The threat of substitutes is strong. Customers can switch to other haircut chains, or home run services. Negative yes THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS Other business are opening in the area, which makes this...
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