Saturday, May 28, 2016
My Solution
It appears that from my interviews and research like many things there are pros and cons. The most common issue was that making any changes would add to the driving time and cause some traffic because of the traffic lights. Now with the idea of adding traffic lights on ramps it would ultimately help ease of merging on highways and that is proven with the success in California. Other ideas that I heard from my interviews was the idea of placing the highway's speed limit on the ramp that way the driver would have an idea on how fast they need to be at least. With the combination of these two ideas I feel that it would help reduce traffic accidents near ramps and improve the experience of merging into highway traffic.
Looking for Opportunity
Economic Trends
Whole Foods bets big on urban Millennials
A) http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/24/investing/whole-foods-365-los-angeles/index.html
B) An opportunity might exist because of in urban areas because of this new store being launched can bring success for the company
C) Catch Millennials attention because of the health-organic trend everyone is getting into
D) Will be relatively difficult to exploit because of the recent issues that Whole Foods has been experiencing, there is a lack of trust and people feel they can get a better deal somewhere else.
Opportunity- I see the opportunity because since there is something new, a new type of store, that will always be checked out. People, especially millennials love experiencing new things. And if they have success this will have the company get back on the right track and hopefully bring more new experiences for their customers.
Coke debuts 'proud to be an American' cans
A) http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/28/news/companies/coke-uso-american-cans/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom
B) An opportunity might exist here of there being a high success because of Memorial Day, 4th of July, Presidential election and Olympics going on this year.
C) Anyone who considers themselves patriotic will purchase these cans to show their support
D) Will be easy to exploit because of the various events going on this year citizens patriotism can be easily brought out.
Opportunity- I see the opportunity because besides Memorial Day and 4th of July the fact that there is the presidential election and the Olympics this year will bring out the pride of many citizens here in America so it will be something that can be exploited.
Regulatory Changes
Equal Pay
A) http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html
B) There appears to be a large movement with progress being made regarding the equal pay for men and women, on January 1st in California, this was put into play officially.
C) This affects all workers in America since it officially happened in California it could lead a domino effect with the rest of the states.
D) I do see this spreading out to more states, the drive for equality is at an all-time high here in America so it is only a matter of time.
Opportunity- If businesses does equal pay it would lead to better employees due to the fact they all know they are getting respected on being paid on their skills instead of their sex.
Online Sales Tax
A) http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html
B) Congress is looking on creating an online sales tax to help bring in more tax dollars, the catch with the current law is if the company doesn't have enough of a physical presence in that state they can't be taxed.
C) This affects all small business and their customers because if they start getting online sales taxed it could lead to a loss of purchases due to the higher costs.
D) I see this going through and all online transactions have a sales tax, it is an easy way for getting tax dollars with the amount of online purchases that go on.
Opportunity- The opportunity of the amount of tax dollars that would be coming in would be enormous. It would be curious to see what points are made against this that would actually detour it from happening.
Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
Opportunity- Expanding the traffic light to occur not only at intersections but also on the highway ramps to merge in traffic here in Florida, this system is used in the San Francisco, California area and has high success.
Who: Every driver who uses the highways
What: Putting traffic lights onto merging ramps on highways
Why: By spacing out cars merging onto traffic you reduce congestion and chance of accidents
Testing the who: I say bring this to Florida but this is something that can be implemented in every major city where there is a high population of individuals that are driving.
Testing the what: It would be a new change for many drivers and will take some time for it to be gotten used and use efficiently
Testing the why: Some people may find this to be a waste a time and it is the drivers' fault for not being able to merge into traffic, lack of driving experience, and any other reason associated with driving skills.
Interviews:
Jenny
Kevin
Kara
Lindsay
Chelsea
Jonathan
Who: Every driver who uses the highways
What: Putting traffic lights onto merging ramps on highways
Why: By spacing out cars merging onto traffic you reduce congestion and chance of accidents
Testing the who: I say bring this to Florida but this is something that can be implemented in every major city where there is a high population of individuals that are driving.
Testing the what: It would be a new change for many drivers and will take some time for it to be gotten used and use efficiently
Testing the why: Some people may find this to be a waste a time and it is the drivers' fault for not being able to merge into traffic, lack of driving experience, and any other reason associated with driving skills.
Interviews:
Jenny
Kevin
Kara
Lindsay
Chelsea
Jonathan
Friday, May 20, 2016
Identifying Local Opportunities- In the Tampa Bay Area
Title: SHEIKRA REOPENS FOUR DAYS AFTER 64 RIDERS STRANDED
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452509232&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=12a896a3a7a0680db8dc1797b70892a3
Description: The amusement park in Tampa, FL called Busch Gardens had their most popular ride leave 60+ individuals stranded on the ride, 32 of which were stuck nearly 200 feet up. Four days after the incident the park ran multiple tests to ensure it is running smoothly once again and reopened it to the public.
Description of problem: Problem is the trust issue now people are going to have with riding a roller coaster that left people stranded. Less people most likely are going to ride or be hesitant to get back on soon.
Description of who has the problem: Busch Gardens themselves will have the problem since they are going to have to figure out ways on how to increase riders and guest to the park after this incident and prove how their rides are safe.T
Title: FRONTIER EXPANDS HELP LINE HOURS TO COVER WEEKENDS
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452509231&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=0f1e1d803abf9932452a9d6fdd132d65
Description: Frontier Communications in recent months purchased and took over Verizon's land line phone, TV and Internet assets and have been having complaints with customers with outages and other issues. Frontier communications is working on adding customer service line to customer to be open on weekends as well now.
Description of problem: Problem is customer are complaining of the service they are paying for isn't working and they are wanting help and a solution to their problems.
Description of who has the problem: Frontier Communications has the problem of unhappy customers who are in need of help and the customer themselves have a problem of spending money on a service(s) that is/are not working.
Title: CUSTOMERS AGAIN RATE DUKE NEAR THE BOTTOM
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452509229&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=6da7af38c5cf2edf61c1a2f8e2a77bd1
Description: Duke energy in a recent survey to rank major utility companies was put in last place for customer satisfaction. Duke energy has been having a negative trend in this category and the company is supposedly working on making customer satisfaction a priority and have improvements.
Description of problem: Poor satisfaction of customers will lead to more customer complaints and issue from customers because of the poor conditions. Duke Energy is in need of making improvements or there is going to be a problem that will not have a possible solution.
Description of who has the problem: Duke Energy has the problem because of whatever they are doing in customer satisfaction it is very poor, they must not care, they must not follow through what they say they will do, etc. The customers are also going to have problems because they got to deal with the power company not respecting them as customers apparently and sadly energy companies are not something of choice for many people since it is based on your location and where exactly you live.
Title: SCHOOL BOARD SHOULD CLOSE THREE CHARTERS
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452509226&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=419c7fbc402e7fbf19c99eec7af80f43
Description: Three charter schools in Pinellas county were shut down, this was an easy decision for the school board because the schools were connected with a company who had legal problems. There are other local charter schools who being watching while people are trying to get the state more involved to help deal with these charter schools and their taxpayers money spending habits.
Description of Problem: Charter schools are privately ran but with public funding, this leads to taxpayers getting on say on how their money is being spent for these schools which seems to use the money irresponsibly. Getting a stricter ruling over the charter school could help with this issue.
Description of who has the problem: The local school board has the issue that there are schools who are using public money in ways that is being wasted, and sometimes these charter schools get more funding than the public schools. This is an issue of irresponsibility and more laws and rules need to be put into place for these private institutions.
Title: CORPORATE GREED
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452528486&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=9c8313e55f690424afb7cab8b551035e
Description: The Tampa Tribune officially ended its time as a newspaper with it being closed and over 100 jobs being lost. Through the last 4 years the Tampa Tribune was bought and sold 2, lastly to the Tampa Bay Times who finally shut it down.
Description of Problem: There are over 100 individuals without a job now solely because of aggressive business moves that completely took out a newspaper.
Description of who has the problem: The problem is for the people who worked for the paper, the executives of the company left them stranded with no clear direction then finally lead them to finally sink with no where else to go with the company.
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452509232&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=12a896a3a7a0680db8dc1797b70892a3
Description: The amusement park in Tampa, FL called Busch Gardens had their most popular ride leave 60+ individuals stranded on the ride, 32 of which were stuck nearly 200 feet up. Four days after the incident the park ran multiple tests to ensure it is running smoothly once again and reopened it to the public.
Description of problem: Problem is the trust issue now people are going to have with riding a roller coaster that left people stranded. Less people most likely are going to ride or be hesitant to get back on soon.
Description of who has the problem: Busch Gardens themselves will have the problem since they are going to have to figure out ways on how to increase riders and guest to the park after this incident and prove how their rides are safe.T
Title: FRONTIER EXPANDS HELP LINE HOURS TO COVER WEEKENDS
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452509231&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=0f1e1d803abf9932452a9d6fdd132d65
Description: Frontier Communications in recent months purchased and took over Verizon's land line phone, TV and Internet assets and have been having complaints with customers with outages and other issues. Frontier communications is working on adding customer service line to customer to be open on weekends as well now.
Description of problem: Problem is customer are complaining of the service they are paying for isn't working and they are wanting help and a solution to their problems.
Description of who has the problem: Frontier Communications has the problem of unhappy customers who are in need of help and the customer themselves have a problem of spending money on a service(s) that is/are not working.
Title: CUSTOMERS AGAIN RATE DUKE NEAR THE BOTTOM
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452509229&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=6da7af38c5cf2edf61c1a2f8e2a77bd1
Description: Duke energy in a recent survey to rank major utility companies was put in last place for customer satisfaction. Duke energy has been having a negative trend in this category and the company is supposedly working on making customer satisfaction a priority and have improvements.
Description of problem: Poor satisfaction of customers will lead to more customer complaints and issue from customers because of the poor conditions. Duke Energy is in need of making improvements or there is going to be a problem that will not have a possible solution.
Description of who has the problem: Duke Energy has the problem because of whatever they are doing in customer satisfaction it is very poor, they must not care, they must not follow through what they say they will do, etc. The customers are also going to have problems because they got to deal with the power company not respecting them as customers apparently and sadly energy companies are not something of choice for many people since it is based on your location and where exactly you live.
Title: SCHOOL BOARD SHOULD CLOSE THREE CHARTERS
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452509226&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=419c7fbc402e7fbf19c99eec7af80f43
Description: Three charter schools in Pinellas county were shut down, this was an easy decision for the school board because the schools were connected with a company who had legal problems. There are other local charter schools who being watching while people are trying to get the state more involved to help deal with these charter schools and their taxpayers money spending habits.
Description of Problem: Charter schools are privately ran but with public funding, this leads to taxpayers getting on say on how their money is being spent for these schools which seems to use the money irresponsibly. Getting a stricter ruling over the charter school could help with this issue.
Description of who has the problem: The local school board has the issue that there are schools who are using public money in ways that is being wasted, and sometimes these charter schools get more funding than the public schools. This is an issue of irresponsibility and more laws and rules need to be put into place for these private institutions.
Title: CORPORATE GREED
Link: http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA452528486&v=2.1&u=gain40375&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=9c8313e55f690424afb7cab8b551035e
Description: The Tampa Tribune officially ended its time as a newspaper with it being closed and over 100 jobs being lost. Through the last 4 years the Tampa Tribune was bought and sold 2, lastly to the Tampa Bay Times who finally shut it down.
Description of Problem: There are over 100 individuals without a job now solely because of aggressive business moves that completely took out a newspaper.
Description of who has the problem: The problem is for the people who worked for the paper, the executives of the company left them stranded with no clear direction then finally lead them to finally sink with no where else to go with the company.
Friday, May 13, 2016
Bug Post- Louis Diaz
Bug List
1- During Thursdays when I had to attend AMA meetings the traffic on 13th street was so annoying around 6pm.Why- At that time many people are getting off of work and commuting home, also students are getting off of school to head to work/extracurricular activities.
2- I don't like it when I go to the McDonalds on Williston and 34th street and even if I am the only order to handle it still takes over 5 minutes to get my food.
Why- The workers there don't really care how efficiently they are working and just want to do enough to keep their job.
3- I don't like it that I can take my car back home anywhere and be confident where I leave it.
Why- My car being a classic and not having a heavy duty car alarm limits where I can take the car because the chance of it being broken into and stolen is high.
4- I don't like how expensive it is for me to travel from Richmond to San Francisco via BART plus the cost of using Muni within the city.
Why- The cost of living in this area is high, the minimum wage is up there as well making the costs seems reasonable to the locals here.
5- It is frustrating when I travel on BART that a number of people on there is sometimes ridiculous.
Why- There are a lot of people here in the Bay Area, it is expected.
6- During drop/add week the amount of time that is spent essentially reading the syllabus in most classes is quite annoying.
Why- For large classes where there is a high chance of the class getting dropped there is no point of getting ahead if many students are going to be behind.
7- When I take my scooter at Campus Scooter and it takes them so long to be able to check on my scooter and "fix" the problem that it had.
Why- There are lots of scooter and clients that they have to deal with being in Gainesville so I can understand it not being perfect and there being problems.
8- Ordering Chipotle online to have picked up from the University location and when you arrive to come to find it hasn't even been made yet.
Why- There has been a large change in employees and plus the location stays very busy throughout the day where keeping track of online orders can be difficult.
9- Whenever coming onto the highway how people don't make room for the people to merge on.
Why- By law the cars on the highway are not supposed to reduce their speed so really they are just following the rules.
10- Going to any store and asking an employee where to find something and they do not know where it is and have to find help.
Why- Obviously the employee just started working there so it is a learning process where everything is so it is important to be aware of that.
11- Being in a hurry to leave somewhere and having no clean clothes so you have to improvise my outfit.
Why- Obviously this is because of procrastination and not being aware of my surroundings not having clothes ready for certain events.
12- When you are doing work on Microsoft Word and it out of nowhere shutsdown without saving any of your work.
Why- Either something to do with Microsoft Word or with my laptop.
13- When I parallel park and the cars behind and in front of my car don't leave any space for me to leave.
Why- This is just common courtesy that not everyone has which is quite frustrating, better of finding a spot where a car can't park in front or behind you.
14- When professors make you purchase multiple textbooks to come to find that most of the time the textbooks are barely touched throughout the semester.
Why- I feel that professors should look into more their curriculum and what is really needed to be able to teach the class because making students buy unneccessary textbooks is very unfair to the students.
15- Being at a retailer where there are over 20 people at each register but there is only 3 registers open when there are over 20 available.
Why- It is a combination of business with having so many employees on duty and spreading around the work load but it is quite annoying when the lines could be reduced drastically especially if it is daily occurence.
16- Wearing a hoodie and sweatpants while being in a corner store and having the employees following me to keep an eye on me.
Why- This is just some discrimination based on my attire and I am aware that with what I am wearing I am going to be judged, it is not fair but it is the reality of the world we live in today.
17- When you go out to eat with a group of people, order at the same time as everyone else, however everyone else gets their food before you and you have to wait.
Why- This is something that happens to many people and it doesn't make much sense to why one plate causes such a delay.
18- Checking the availability of a product online to be able to purchase it in person at the store, seeing that it is available, driving to the establishment to find that it isn't even there anymore.
Why- This could be avoidable with making the purchase online and that way the only thing necessary then would be to pick it up at the location.
19- Going to a sports game where you purchased tickets and arriving to your seats to find people are in your seats.
Why- Obviously everyone tries to find the free "hookup" and try to take advantage of seats being left empty but be aware of the risk of doing such a thing and that there can be reprecussions.
20- Making plans with someone to meet at certain time and place and coming to find that they are late even though they are the ones that chose the time and place to meet up.
Why- This is annoying because personally being someone who doesn't like waiting especially when there has been an established time and place. The person who made the commitment should relay updates on their status if there is a delay.
Reflection
Coming up with this list was quite difficult. I know there are things that I am annoyed with but having to think of all of them at once was hard. Overall it was neat to realize there are solutions to some of my problems so that they aren't problems anymore.
My Entrepreneurship Story- Louis Diaz
Entrepreneurship Experience
My first real experience with entrepreneurs was my first job where my bosses, husband, and wife, started a machine shop, Alpine Tool, Inc., that they have to this day and over 20 years running. To this day, they are still running the show there. My father is actually one of their employees there as well. I still visit the shop when I am back home visiting. Working and being around this business sparked my interest on starting my own business and seeing all the work that it takes to be able to run one. It was rewarding to work for them and to see how it is to be on the inside and witness how everything runs for a small scale business.
Reason For Class
My reason and goal in this class are to be able to learn the mentality of the entrepreneur. Every entrepreneur had a driven mentality to be able to do what they've done and it is a mentality I would like to have myself. I am hoping with this class I will pick up tips and tricks on how to be able to do so.
My first real experience with entrepreneurs was my first job where my bosses, husband, and wife, started a machine shop, Alpine Tool, Inc., that they have to this day and over 20 years running. To this day, they are still running the show there. My father is actually one of their employees there as well. I still visit the shop when I am back home visiting. Working and being around this business sparked my interest on starting my own business and seeing all the work that it takes to be able to run one. It was rewarding to work for them and to see how it is to be on the inside and witness how everything runs for a small scale business.
Reason For Class
My reason and goal in this class are to be able to learn the mentality of the entrepreneur. Every entrepreneur had a driven mentality to be able to do what they've done and it is a mentality I would like to have myself. I am hoping with this class I will pick up tips and tricks on how to be able to do so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)