Social Values:
The implementation of the system will potentially create multiple social values such as assisting disabled students with their laundry. Disabled students face a larger difficulty when it comes to doing laundry as they have to travel stairs to the basement of their dorm to do laundry. With this service they can simply just place the laundry at the designated spot and laundry will be done for them. Another social value is the amount of time saved for students living in dorms, with this extra time they are able to be more productive or have more leisure time to release stress. These social values will help students who do not have the time to do laundry and disabled students who face more difficulty. This service will also potentially create more jobs as the system will require workers to do the laundry and employing drivers with a system similar to Uber. The system will also potentially have a low employee turnover rate since the task at hand are relatively easy and require minimal training, making it easier for others to get employed which helps increase employment as well.
Economic Values:
Cost Buckets:
- Startup Costs – Obtaining money to obtain laundry cleaning buildings, equipment for workers, an app for consumers, etc.
- Maintenance Costs – Repairing vehicles and machines, updating apps, restocking laundry cleaning solvents/supplies.
- Legal expenses – State, Federal, Property, and sales taxation. Licensing to sell products and to clean any clothing given by customers. Also, must pay to satisfy any regulation or rule that the government may impose on Watt’s Laundry.
- Operational Costs– Paying drivers, paying rent/mortgage, electricity/water payments.
Revenue Buckets:
- User Fees – To use the laundry service, customers must pay for cleaning their laundry, getting a driver to their location and any other additional service that they request.
- Commercial Branding – Agreements between Watt’s Laundry and specific laundry brands names to use only their products over their competitors in exchange for monetary support.
- Advertising – Using advertisements within the app, driver vehicles, and laundry buildings of various business partners.
- Subsidization – If the university agreed to subsidize with our company Ohio State would pay our company for our services towards their students. The University would no longer have to pay for utility costs involving the washing machines for each dorm and the university would no longer have to purchase new laundry machines or repair machines on their own. A subsidy could be paid for by the university through student fees and students could choose which laundry plan they would like to purchase similar to a meal plan.
Our system will be self-sufficient once startup costs are paid. The system will stay self-sufficient through User fees, Commercial Branding, Advertising, and a possible Subsidization from the University.