The B628 course book asks what a kit-form house manufacturer and a honeybee research and inspection agency have in common.

The answer is, they all use resources of various kinds to do something, whether that is production of goods or provision of services. The Transformation Model (shown on page 98 of the book) illustrates this diagrammatically in terms of Inputs, Transformations activities, and Outputs.

A transformation process is any that involves taking inputs, transforming and adding value to them, and producing an output for customers, consumers, or clients.

Inputs –> Transformation activities –> Outputs

This is a concept that is often useful to keep in mind when problem solving or decision making, and it applies at both the macro level and micro level.