Mailbox
Primary purpose: A structure that is used to store mail.
Mailboxes can also be in the form of a tin structure nailed to a wooden stick in the front of your house. Or in a large tin structure with slots which stores mail for a houses on an entire street. Also, those who have a business or would rather have mail forwarded to another location can employ the use of mailboxes at a UPS store. Initially, when my friend texted me the word “Mailbox,” I immediately had the associated feeling of having to do work. My father owns a UPS store and one of the services he provides for his customers is a mailbox service. Everyday an employee of the United Postal Service comes to the store with a container filled with mail. Once the mail is delivered to the store, my dad has to go through the huge stack of letters, magazines, coupons, and packages and places the items in the respective customer’s mailbox. Whenever I come to Houston for a weekend so return home for the holidays, I receive the duty of sorting and placing mail into the customer’s boxes. Surprisingly, the task takes longer than one would think. You have to be very accurate in double checking the box numbers and clearing any discrepancies so that you do not receive complaints from the customers.

Chair
Chairs come in all shapes and sizes. Even within a home there are so many different variations. In the living room, there are usually large, plush chairs to facilitate a comfortable environment. In the dining room, chairs are usually wooden so that they are sturdy and generally easy to clean. There are also chairs in the library or at a job designed specifically to give ample lumbar support because in those environments people sit in chairs for long periods of time. In addition, rocking chairs are a special type of chair that often has fond memories associated with it. I have recently become an aunt so when I have the chance to make a trip to Houston for the weekend, I enjoy spending time with my precious nephew. To lull him to sleep, I take him in my arms, sit on a rocking chair and gently rock back and forth until his heavy eyes close into a peaceful slumber.

Ways to combine these two products
• Chair attached to mailbox post in front of the house
• Chair that has a slit in the arm for mail to be dropped into
• A notification on your chair that would let you know when mail has arrived
• Sales paper about chairs inside a mailbox
• Having a motorized chair that could drive you to your mailbox
• Having a motorized mailbox that, when full, would drive to your chair
• Being able to have a remote control arm that would extend from your chair to the mailbox to grab your mail
• Having comfy chairs next to your mailbox at the UPS store so that you could sit and look through your mail
• Having a compartment in your chair to store mail.
The most viable product option would be the chair that would receive a notification when mail has arrived. The mail carrier would press a button on the mailbox to notify the resident that mail has been delivered. The electronic notification has the same principle as having the mail carrier raise the wooden flag attached to the mailbox to indicate that mail has been delivered. Only when the mail carrier presses the button, the resident immediately knows when their mail has arrived. Furthermore, I think all of us would love having a motorized chair that would drive us to the mailbox to pick up mail but the walk to and from the mailbox could be a great source of exercise!

Chairs come in all shapes and sizes. Even within a home there are so many different variations. In the living room, there are usually large, plush chairs to facilitate a comfortable environment. In the dining room, chairs are usually wooden so that they are sturdy and generally easy to clean. There are also chairs in the library or at a job designed specifically to give ample lumbar support because in those environments people sit in chairs for long periods of time. In addition, rocking chairs are a special type of chair that often has fond memories associated with it. I have recently become an aunt so when I have the chance to make a trip to Houston for the weekend, I enjoy spending time with my precious nephew. To lull him to sleep, I take him in my arms, sit on a rocking chair and gently rock back and forth until his heavy eyes close into a peaceful slumber.

Ways to combine these two products
• Chair attached to mailbox post in front of the house
• Chair that has a slit in the arm for mail to be dropped into
• A notification on your chair that would let you know when mail has arrived
• Sales paper about chairs inside a mailbox
• Having a motorized chair that could drive you to your mailbox
• Having a motorized mailbox that, when full, would drive to your chair
• Being able to have a remote control arm that would extend from your chair to the mailbox to grab your mail
• Having comfy chairs next to your mailbox at the UPS store so that you could sit and look through your mail
• Having a compartment in your chair to store mail.

The most viable product option would be the chair that would receive a notification when mail has arrived. The mail carrier would press a button on the mailbox to notify the resident that mail has been delivered. The electronic notification has the same principle as having the mail carrier raise the wooden flag attached to the mailbox to indicate that mail has been delivered. Only when the mail carrier presses the button, the resident immediately knows when their mail has arrived. Furthermore, I think all of us would love having a motorized chair that would drive us to the mailbox to pick up mail but the walk to and from the mailbox could be a great source of exercise!

Project blog

Generally, product and service based companies are started because a person or group of people recognized a need or want in society and decided to make the product or service available to the market. From that point onwards, firms are constantly figuring out new ways for their company to minimize their expenses and increase profits. According to the shareholder business philosophy, the corporation has only one purpose: maximize shareholder wealth so that shareholders can use the wealth created as they believe is most appropriate Soon money and competition become the driving force in many company decisions. Sitting in my accounting and marketing classes, I wondered what it would look like for a company to have a completely different business plan and strategy: comprised of different market elements and motivation. For an organization to have their profit measured in terms of how they impacted someone’s life or how successfully they distributed materials in a crisis situation is truly remarkable.

For this research project I would like to explore the inner-workings of non-profit organizations and its unique respective consumer insights and experiences. Through my investigation about non-profits I hope to discover how the operational facet of a non-profit works.

As a non-profit organization, it is crucial to be an entity that creates a sense of value for those individuals who decide to be a part of the organization through their donation of money or time.  In addition, concepts such as the Strategic Experience Modules still apply. How do we as an organization appeal to the individual’s desire for self-improvement or emotions of sacrifice? 

It is important to build trust with your client base so that people feel secure in knowing that their monetary contributions and efforts are being channel to a worthy cause. Thus, the anatomy of total customer experience is applicable to non-profits. How is one non-profit differentiated from another non-profit? Are there clear measures of integrity, value and efficiency within the structure of the organization?

Delving past the operational aspect of non-profits, it is important to create strategic experiences for the consumer. The mission of the organization needs to represented through the visual/verbal identity, spatial environment, web-sites/electronic media, and workers so trust for the organization is being built. 

Furthermore, the WSJ article titled "Helping Themselves" expands on some of the challenges non-profit organizations are facing and also how these organizations are trying to "use volunteer more creatively, garner new donations, strengthen ties with existing donors and create projects that generate additional income."http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124025204612335931.html

My interest for the non-profit realm of the business world was initially sparked by my involvement in a faith-based non-profit organization called Unity Fellowship. Our mission statement is to reach out and unite all of God’s children through praise, worship and fellowship. This organization was created to be a place for youths all across Houston to come and enjoy fellowship in a safe environment free from political or denominational differences. In addition, Unity Fellowship has been able to raise about $10,000 for various local and global charities. After two years of being an active member, I became a co-president at the young age of 15. Transitioning into college, I still had a heart for serving people, so I decided to apply for the Bridging Disciplines Program with a concentration in non-profits and social entrepreneurship in the health context. Also, I am currently on the founding executive board for a non-profit organization on campus called GlobeMed. As stated on the GlobeMed web page, “GlobeMed aims to strengthen the movement for global health equity by empowering students and communities to work together to improve the health of the impoverished around the world.” It will be interesting to compare and contrast my findings to how a student-led non-profit works.

In addition, this paper will enable me to build an informational-based foundation that will be used as a spring-board to delve into further study and understanding about the non-profit sector of the business world.