Vocabulary
2. Do you know the meanings of the following words? Try to match up each of them to its Ukrainian equivalent. Use dictionary if necessary.
matter
attractive
appearance
to underestimate
repellent
tools
workforce
environment
initial
j) responsibility
k) capacity
to incur
m) excessive
n) entity
o) entrepreneur
p) to consider
q) safety
r) to stake
а) неприємний, відштовхуючий
б) початковий
в) середовище
г) ризикувати
д) потужність
е) переоцінювати
є) робоча сила
ж) надмірний
з) підприємець
и) привабливий
і) зазнавати, підпадати
ї) справа, питання
й) зовнішність
к) безпека
л) відповідальність
м) вважати
н) організація
о) інструменти
Pre-reading task
Work in small groups.
Give your ideas about the product design.
Preface your thoughts with one of the following according to what is true for you:
I guess I know... Unfortunately, I have no idea...
I'm not absolutely certain, but I think... As far as I can remember...
Reading
Read text 15. Can you find any proofs of your suggestions?
TEXT 15
DESIGN OF THE PRODUCT
The design of any product is not simply a matter of an attractive appearance, although the importance of this should not be underestimated. An unpleasant job becomes less repellent if the tools to be used are attractive to look at. This can increase the productivity and job satisfaction of the workforce as they are made happier in then- working environment. A good appearance can also help attract initial sales. However, to ensure a high level of repeat orders the equipment should also be easy, safe and economical in use.
The responsibility of the design team can, therefore, be defined as interpreting the needs of the customer and translating these needs into a form suitable for use, and which the production capacity of the business can produce without incurring excessive costs.
The design "team" in the business can be the responsibility of the production manager. In a small business it will not exist as a separate entity and it is unlikely that any professional designers will be employed, although the DTI do offer a subsidized design service for small businesses. In a small business producing goods such as fabrics, clothes and jewellery the designer might also be the entrepreneur. Design in these areas tends to have a higher profile than design in the manufacture of industrial machinery. This does not mean that the design of a piece of machinery is unimportant. In fact it can be considered more important because the health and safety of the user may be at stake.
2. Comprehension check.
Read the text more carefully. Are the following statesments true or false? Correct the false ones.
Thanks to a good design of the product, the initial sales can increase.
The company is in the best situation when it has a good design team.
The design in the manufacture of industrial machinery is not important.
The major advantage of attractive tools is that they can make job more pleasant.
Reading
Read text 16 using your dictionary to help with new words. Think of the suitable title of the text.
TEXT 16
Every product has a design, whether it is consciously developed as such or not. The process of designing a good may be an integral part of the marketing and production decisions or it may be a defined progression which is consciously evaluated by the business at each stage. Whichever is the case the stages given below will be present.
The idea This may come from the marketing department. Research has indicated a product is required and there are no competitors in that field. It may be the original idea of a person intending to start a business. Remember, a service has to be designed to meet the need of customers. At this stage an outline of the idea is laid down.
In a business manufacturing consumer durables this will take the form of a draft specification. A specification is a detailed description of the product, including the type of materials to be used, size, colour, etc. The draft specification for a washing machine would include the number of wash programmes, the spin speed, the size, colour range and any other qualities that market research has suggested is needed for success. For a fabric it would include the basic design, colours and material to be used. Even at this stage there will be close co-operation with production. The initial design process will use resources, and if it is developed in isolation the opportunity cost of failure will be high.
The original idea should contain specific data to act as a guide for the future stages in design. This information should include:
The standards of reliability, performance and quality required (market research).
The appearance that is most likely to be acceptable (market research).
Any particular quality that may appeal to the buying public. Volvo, for example, recently stated that catalytic converters (a part designed to cut down harmful emissions in exhaust gases) will be fitted to their cars free of charge. This may be an act of disinterested social responsibility on the part of the company; or it may be that they see this as a positive marketing stance.
The maximum price at which it will sell (marketing and production).
The maximum cost of design. You should remember that design costs are production costs.
The maximum quantity that will be needed.
Any special safety features or operating features that should be incorporated. For example if a machine operator will need to use two controls at the same time or in a particular sequence it makes sense for them to be situated together and for the layout of the controls to reflect the sequence. On the other hand if the use of two controls together is potentially dangerous then the design can incorporate safety measures to inhibit this. Some safety features are required by law, e.g. roll-over bars on tractors and safety belts in cars.
Testing At this stage the initial idea is tested for viability. The assessment of the concept takes place on a relatively small scale using mock-ups, scale models and mathematical calculations to test the viability of the idea. The methods used will vary according to the product. The increased availability of computer technology has made this task easier in complicated projects. The speed with which computers can process data has meant that a number of alternative solutions can be tested in a shorter period of time.
Prototype The information gained from the second stage is used to make a full scale model. This is to make sure that the increase in scale does not introduce more problems into the production.
Specifications are laid down for the production of the good.
Production For some products this may be a test production run and the products will be test marketed to see if they are acceptable to the market. If the product is a failure the production will go no further. Large and expensive products cannot have a 'test' run - it would make the product prohibitively expensive. For such goods the second stage is likely to be extended.
2.Comprehension check.
Working in pairs, answer the questions:
What stages does the design process include?
What is a draft specification?
Why is it important to use resources when making the initial design?
3.Read the text again and write down a word or words in the text that mean the same as the following definitions. Thay are in the same order as they appear in the text.
a detailed and careful study of something to find out more information about it;
material that is used for making clothes;
the state of being separate and alone;
lack of success;
that you can trust;
an official rule of a country or state that says what people may or may not do;
to try , use or examine something carefully to find out if it is working properly;
the rate at which something or somebody moves.
Discussion
Work in pairs.
1. State two ways in which each of these departments in a company could influence the design of a new product:
Finance
Marketing
Personnel
Production
2. Most households own a plastic bucket. The shape of all buckets is very similar. If a company decided to enter this market could it by-pass the design stage? Explain your answer.