Systems...no not math...

When was the last time you were at a restaurant? For me it's every wednesday, saturday and now mondays. To tell you the truth i'm sick of restaurants. By working in one, one learns how gross they really are. And with no joke intended some restaurant bathrooms are more sanatized than the kitchen. Pretty sad, isn't it?
But that aside. Imagine following one plate in a restaurant. In the morning it is washed then put into a stack with its fellows. The dishwasher carries the stack to an area near the cooks. Then a cook gets and order. He takes the plate and starts to put chopped lettuce into it. Then after other topings have been added the cook places the plate onto the counter. The cook calls out either the order or the waitress to whom it will be served by. The waitress enters the kitchen area and takes the plate. She walks out to the dinning area and sets the plate infront of a customer. The customer begins to eat with some pauses between talking and chewing. He sneezes and a minimal amount of spit lands on his plate. He finally finishes and sets his plate to the side so not to be in his way. A busgirl asks if he is finished with his plate and she takes it away. She travels back to the kitchen area where it is set on a metal counter with sides. There are its fellows who have food left-overs, sauces, gravies, crumbs and such on them. A dishwasher picks the plate up and scrapes any remaining crumbs and then rinses it. He puts it on a stacker with its fellows and is pushed through to the washing machine. Then after about 7 minutes another dishwasher, standing only a foot away from the first, takes the clean dishes and puts them into a stack. The dishwasher carries the stack to the cooks' area. And.....you know the rest.
If you count how many hands have touched one plate in that whole process it is 6. 6 people have touched the plate. From dishwasher #1 to dishwasher #2 to a cook to a waitress to the customer to the busgirl back to dishwasher #1. Give or take a few depending on the order in which case at least 3 cooks might touch the plate.
Although my main purpose is not to gross you out and have you never go to a restaurant again I do want you to think of the process. A boss hired a cook, a waitress, a busgirl, a host, a cashier to keep things going at a smooth pace.
Another system that works within a restaurant is the happenings of a customer. A customer walks in and waits in a line. The hostess asks them a few questions and leads them to a seat. They take a seat and the hostess leaves them. A waitress comes up to them and asks questions on what they will be eating and drinking that night. They answer with their selection and hand the menu over. After sitting there for a several minutes the waitress comes back with the customers plate. They eat their meal in silence and after a while they finish and push their plate to the side. A busgirl, who has been eyeing the plate as the customer was close to finishing, comes up and asks politely whether or not they are done. She takes it away and the customer's waitress reappears and gives them the check. They gather their belongings and head over to the cashier to pay for the food. The cashier wishes the customer a good day and he walks away. Meanwhile the busgirl hurries to clean the table for the next customer who is to sit there. She finishes cleaning and within mere seconds the hostess leads another customer to the seat.

Crazy, isn't it? It is important to have all of the pieces or workers doing their job. If there were no cooks it would not be a restaurant to eat food. It would merely be a gathering place full of booths, counter seats and tables. Or if there were cooks but no waitresses. Customers would be lead in to be seated and no one would take their order. Therefore no orders would be put in. The cooks would sit in the back laughing and arm wrestling eachother. The busgirls would be in hysterics trying to calm the angry customers. Because no orders are being put in the dishwashers wash nearly nothing except maybe cups. Because there is no food being served the cashiers do not have customers coming up to pay the bill. (Except maybe for costly drinks...) The restaurant makes no money and everyone crashes and dies. So now we know the importance of roles. :) everyone has a role in the world. Everyone. Although not all roles are good they are roles that keep the world spinning. Remember there are no small parts only small actors. :P