Waterford Institute Of Technology: Input-Transformation-Output Process And Supply Chain Model
About Waterford Institute of Technology
Discuss about the Comprehensible input and output in the classroom.
Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is a University located South East Ireland and has more than 10,000 students and staff. The campus was established in 1970 and by then it was a Regional Technical College. It was the first to be awarded the status of Institute of Technology in 1998. This enabled the institution to offer its own certificates and diplomas. The institute currently offers certificate courses up to PhD level. It is monitored by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council. Waterford has the highest student numbers in the Institute of Technology industry located outside Dublin (WIT 2018). The institution offers a wide range of academic courses like Health and Nursing, Science, Engineering and Humanities.
The customers of Waterford Institute of Technology are the students that enroll for various programmes. The institution therefore makes sure that it offers the best in each area so that its customers are satisfied. The other customers are the research and postgraduate community (WIT 2018). The institution offers excellent facilities for research hence receives many researchers who want to use their facilities.The institution has also partnered with other universities for exchange programmers and research partnerships. In this case, these universities are WIT’s customers (WIT 2018). The company also has customers in the form of various entrepreneurial organizations that source for employees from the Waterford Institute of Technology.
The above diagram is a depiction of the input-transformation-output process at the Waterford Institute of Technology for students who have just left school to the time they graduate. The inputs for the process include admission forms as the student has to fill in forms and secure admission (Jacobs, Chase & Lummus 2014, pp.70). Once this occurs the other inputs are lecturers who will impart knowledge, study halls where learning takes place and the library where research and reading is done. Other inputs include assessments and exams that the student will be given, internships they will attend and the research proposals that they will write.
Once the inputs have been identified, the next stage is the transformation process which involves the student attending classes to gain knowledge. Necessary facilities needed to support the learning are provided, for example a laboratory for experiments if the students are taking a course related to healthcare. The student then does exams and assessments and this helps the lecturer to know if they are ready or not. The student also does research relevant to the field of study. Coursework is then finished and student applies for graduation (Howleg et al. 2018, pp.67). Once all this is done, the final output is a graduated student.
The input-transformation-output process in my second level school was slightly different to that of WTI. This is because the University graduation process involves more inputs unlike the high school one. In the second level studies, the inputs are quite similar since there are learning materials, teachers and assessments as the major factors. The process then involves the student studying in class and finalizing (Gass 2015, pp.187). The difference between this in WIT is that in second level there is no research project carried out and students have not yet reached the level of going for internship.
Input-Transformation-Output Process at WIT
In terms of general operations, the difference is that for second-level it is the parent who applies on behalf of the pupil and takes them to a particular school but for WIT the student personally applies (Collentine & Collentine 205, p.273). The admission process is also different since in WIT students register each semester for courses under the programs they are pursuing while in second level the classes are similar for same levels. The type of teaching is also different as in WIT student attend lectures while in second level learning students are taught by teachers in the classes. The similarity for both is that once the student is through with their studies they get a certificate showing that they have completed the course. Library research by the students is also involved in both cases.
Aldi Stores mainly deal with food and healthy living while Marks & Spencer deals with fashion, furniture and wine (ALDI 208). The inputs for these stores are very different before the consumer gets the final product. The inputs for Marks & Spencer are the manufacturers, materials used and transport for the clothing and furniture. The transformation process involves the manufacturers sewing clothes or making the furniture and then transporting them to the various stores owned by the company (Marks and Spencer 2018). The final output is the clothes or furniture that is bought by customers. The input for wine is machinery, grapes and water. The transformation process involves turning the ingredients into wine and transporting them to the Marks & Spencer store from where they are purchased by the consumer.
In the Aldi store, the inputs are different ingredients, equipment for cooking food and packaging material. The transformation process involves cooking and packaging. The output is ready food that can be purchased by the consumer (Stadtler 2015, pp. 15). The similarities with the processes of the two stores are the customer ordering for whatever goods they may want. Both stores have online platforms where consumers are able to go to the system, order whatever they want, pay through online methods and get the goods delivered to them by the company (Christopher 2016, pp.55). Another similarity may be the supply process to the consumer since once orders are made, logistics have to be made to deliver the goods to the customer and this involves transport and door to door delivery wherever the customer may want.
Comparison to Second Level School
As demonstrated by the above companies, the supply chain model is very vital for both the customer and the organization. In the case of the customer, an efficient supply chain process enables the customer to receive their goods on time and in an efficient manner. Customers are able to contact the company in case of any issue and they will be sorted out immediately due to the efficiency of the process (Hugos 2018, pp.33). An efficient supply chain also ensures that the customer gets the best since the inputs are geared towards having an excellent output. This can be demonstrated by the case of WIT, Marks and Spencer and Adli. The customers are able to get quality services due to the processes established. In the case of Adli and Marks and Spencer, customers have an option of ordering online or visiting the stores of these companies. This provides flexibility as the customer is able to choose the process that is most convenient for them.
The company also benefits from an efficient supply chain process. There is constant communication with suppliers hence ensuring that inputs are delivered to the company on time. It also means that the company is able to settle on the type of quality that will be favourable for customers. Having a process that is defined can also be advantageous as due to bulk purchase, the company can greatly benefit from the economies of scale (Srinivasan & Swink 2015,pp.830). This leads to cheaper inputs and quality products that are fairly priced for the customer. Efficient processes also lead to the company attracting more customers since customers like places where they are served well. This can lead to free word of mouth marketing for the company since customers will refer their friends and relatives to experience the company’s processes. Having an efficient process leads to high productivity for the company since processes are well defined and different departments are in touch with each other. This enables the company to focus on production rather than other issues that may occur in the supply chain.
References
ALDI (2018). Grocery and Home. [Online] Available at: https://www.aldi.us/ [Accessed 15 March 2018]
Christopher, M., 2016. Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.
Collentine, J. and Collentine, K., 2015. Input and output grammar instruction in tutorial CALL with a complex grammatical structure. CALICO Journal, 32(2), p.273.
Gass, S.M., 2015. Comprehensible input and output in classroom interaction. The handbook of classroom discourse and interaction, pp.182-197.
Holweg, M., Davies, J., De Meyer, A. and Schmenner, R., 2018. Process Theory: The Principles of Operations Management. Oxford University Press.
Hugos, M.H., 2018. Essentials of supply chain management. John Wiley & Sons.
Jacobs, F.R., Chase, R.B. and Lummus, R.R., 2014. Operations and supply chain management (pp. 533-535). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Marks and Spencer (2018). The Best of The Sale. [Online] Available at: https://www.marksandspencer.com/ [Accessed 15 March 2018]
Srinivasan, R. and Swink, M., 2015. Leveraging supply chain integration through planning comprehensiveness: An organizational information processing theory perspective. Decision Sciences, 46(5), pp.823-861.
Stadtler, H., 2015. Supply chain management: An overview. In Supply chain management and advanced planning (pp. 3-28). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Total Jobs (2018). Operations Manager Job Description. Available at: https://www.totaljobs.com/careers-advice/job-profile/executive-jobs/operations-manager-job-description [Accessed 15 March 2018]
WIT (2018). About WIT. [Online]. Available at: https://www.wit.ie/about_wit/at_a_glance/about_wit2#tab=panel-1 [Accessed 15 March 2018]