bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Productivity Measurement at the Firm Level
Authors: Bitran Gabriel R. , Chang Li
Published: October 2008

Many managers are reluctant to measure the productivity of their firms because the concept of productivity remains elusive and it is not clear to them how to measure it. This paper discusses the concept and addresses the critical issues of measurement at the firm level: index numbers, conversion factors, and various measurement problems of inputs and outputs.
Documenting a Computer-Based Model
Authors: Gass Saul I.
Published: October 2008

A major reason given for model failure or poor utility is the lack of proper documentation. Four manuals should be produced for large-scale computer-based models—the analyst's, user's, programmer's and manager's manuals. They represent the coalescing of information contained in other documents generated during the phases of a model's life cycle.
“Decision Simulators” Speed Implementation and Improve Operations
Authors: Lembersky Mark R. , Chi Uli H.
Published: October 2008

Packaging MS/OR models and algorithms in “Decision Simulators” (DS) helps users accept model performance and solutions, making implementation more likely and more rapid. Like video games and flight simulators, a DS emphasizes a believable representation of the decision-making environment, user interaction with immediate feedback on the effect of decisions, and ease of use. A decision simulator was put in practice in 1977 at Weyerhaeuser to implement a dynamic programming approach to improved timber processing. The simulator allows users (either timber buckers or management) to test different crosscutting and log-allocating decisions for economic value. This application continues to yield a multi-million dollar annual profit increase.
National Forest Planning is Promoting US Forest Service Acceptance of Operations Research
Authors: Field Richard C.
Published: October 2008

To comply with the National Forest Management Act of 1976, operations research analysts were placed in nearly all of the 121 national forest headquarters to perform forest-level planning using large and complex linear programming models. In spite of early criticism, the models and the analysts are now being accepted by middle managers as valuable aids to modern forest management. As more advanced technology reaches the Forest Service through—among other things—a newly purchased distributed computer system, these gains in operations research will be the groundwork for extensive future applications.
Determining Emergency Medical Service Vehicle Deployment in Austin, Texas
Authors: Eaton David J. , Daskin Mark S. , Simmons Dennis , Bulloch Bill , Jansma Glen
Published: October 2008

In 1978 the city of Austin, Texas, began a study of its emergency medical service (EMS) system to determine what services should be delivered, by whom, via what number and types of equipment, and sited at which locations. The resulting plan called for a system quite different from that in operation since 1976: four advanced life-support and eight basic life-support vehicles were to operate from two EMS-only stations and 10 shared-use fire stations. The plan, which the city council unanimously passed in 1980, has saved $3.4 million (1984 dollars) in construction costs and $1.2 million (1984 dollars) per year in operating costs. Average response time has been reduced despite an upsurge in calls for service, and equitable service is provided to those who need it most.
An Applications Oriented Guide to Lagrangian Relaxation
Authors: Fisher Marshall L.
Published: October 2008

Lagrangian relaxation is a tool that is increasingly being used in large-scale mathematical programming applications, such as last year's CPMS/TIMS Management Achievement Award winner (Bell, W. J., L. M. Dalberto, M. L. Fisher, A. J. Greenfield, R. Jaikumar, P. Kedia, R. G. Mack, P. J. Prutzman. 1983. Improving the distribution of industrial gases with an on-line computerized routing and scheduling optimizer. Interfaces 13(6, December) 4–23.). In this tutorial, Marshall Fisher provides a practical guide to the use of the approach with many examples and illustrations.
An Application of Computerized Decision Tree Models in Management-Union Bargaining
Authors: Winter Frederick W.
Published: October 2008

The labor contract bargaining environment poses major challenges to the team bargaining with the union. A computerized decision tree model helped one team to develop reasonable bargaining positions that were acceptable to both management and the union. By graphically describing the gains and risks associated with alternative positions, the model enhanced communication within the team and with management.
Transformation of Western Style of Management
Authors: Deming W. Edwards
Published: October 2008

The decline of Western industry can only be halted by transformation of the Western style of management by following the 14 points of management.
Productivity and Technological Change
Authors: Buzacott J. A.
Published: October 2008

Despite all that has been written and said about productivity, there is a lack of understanding of the factors determining productivity. I advocate using formal models that show how productivity is determined by managers making rational decisions on the basis of their perceptions about markets, finance, and the technological alternatives. The approach is illustrated by considering the effect of technological change on different firms within an industry.
All Factories Are Not the Same
Authors: Becker Robert A.
Published: October 2008

Productivity the strategic variable is operational productivity. Its improvement has been the goal of numerous programs, a goal not often achieved. Superficial analysis of current manufacturing activities has contributed heavily to this lack of success. Considerable insight is required to pierce the haze surrounding manufacturing. Many analysts, lacking this insight, have relied on generalizations. However, a brief review of manufacturing systems, processes, technology, facilities, and personnel reveals that each factory is unique. Only when productivity programs reflect this factory-floor reality can they assume strategic importance.
Management of Type III Error in Problem Identification
Authors: Yadav Surya B. , Korukonda Apparao
Published: October 2008

Beneath the seemingly determinate and sophisticated tools of problem solving lies the often ignored type III error—solving the wrong problem. The sources of this error are diverse and often difficult to identify. The practicing manager should be aware of the major sources of type III errors and what strategies will minimize such errors.
The Dynamics of Government in Business
Authors: Hafsi Taieb
Published: October 2008

The relationship between state-owned enterprises and government changes with a recognizable pattern that has implications for the management of government activities.
Analyzing Radionuclide Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants
Authors: Keeney Ralph L. , Sicherman Alan , Smith Gary R.
Published: October 2008

To analyze alternatives for regulating airborne radionuclide emissions from coal-fired power plants, a model was developed to provide information about (1) the quantity of radionuclides emitted by a specific power plant, (2) the resulting radiation dose to the exposed population, (3) the induced health effects, and (4) the uncertainty associated with these estimates. The computer program implementing the model is simple to use, requires little computer time, and is inexpensive to run. The results are very similar to those obtained with more complex models, which are more difficult and expensive to use and do not explicitly address uncertainty.
A Simple Optimization DSS for Production Planning at Dairyman's Cooperative Creamery Association
Authors: Sullivan Robert S. , Secrest Stephen C.
Published: October 2008

A small optimization-based decision support system was designed and implemented on a microcomputer at Dairyman's Cooperative Creamery Association. The milk flow analysis program, used for daily production planning and inventory forecasting, relieves plant supervisors of about four hours a day of overwhelming hand calculations. In addition, the system has improved interaction between all levels of management.
Implications of Cost-Service Trade-offs on Industry Logistics Structures
Authors: Rosenfield Donald B. , Shapiro Roy D. , Bohn Roger E.
Published: October 2008

The characteristics of the technology and markets within an industry will affect the range of logistics systems observed in that industry. In some industries the range is wide, while in others all firms make the same logistics choices. This paper explores these differences. We propose the concept of an efficient frontier of cost-service choices and show how firms align themselves along the frontier.
Misapplications Reviews: Before the Fall
Authors: Barnett Arnold
Published: October 2008

A comment about assessment of risk in the air traffic before making major decisions of rearranging rules of air corridors and similar related issues.
Microcomputer Graphics in Support of Vehicle Fleet Routing
Authors: Belardo Salvatore , Duchessi Peter , Seagle J. Peter
Published: October 2008

A geographic-based decision support system has been developed to help Southland Corporation traffic managers choose routes for trucks that deliver to convenience stores. The system, implemented on a microcomputer, presents information on routes and accounts, uses flexible computer graphics and interactive text screens to help a traffic manager analyze routes, and produces maps for drivers and reports for management.
Implementing a Management Information System in an Extremely Dynamic (and Somewhat Hostile) Environment—a Case Study
Authors: Gunawardane Gamini
Published: October 2008

Medium-size businesses in the personal computer industry are subject to great stress resulting from rapid growth, intense competition, fast changing technology, and the uncertainty of many factors relating to the business. Implementing an in-house MIS in such a firm, Tava Corporation, presents difficulties.
United Airlines Station Manpower Planning System
Authors: Holloran Thomas J. , Byrn Judson E.
Published: October 2008

United Airlines has developed and implemented a computerized station manpower planning system for scheduling shift work at its reservations offices and airports. The system utilizes integer and linear programming and network optimization techniques and encompasses the entire scheduling process from forecasting of requirements to printing employee schedule choices. Since its implementation in 1983, it has been used to develop work schedules for 4,000 employees on a regular basis and is eventually expected to schedule 10,000 employees or 20 percent of United’s total work force. The system has produced direct labor cost savings of over $6 million annually while earning rave reviews from United upper management, operating managers, and affected employees.
Expansion of Canadian National Railway’s Line Capacity
Authors: Welch Norma , Gussow James
Published: October 2008

In the late 1970s, traffic volumes over the next decade were predicted to double on Canadian National Railway’s already congested single track main line. As part of a plant expansion program, a transportation planning research team developed two “what-if” simulation models to evaluate the relative effect of the many factors influencing main line capacity. When used together, they predict train delay under various track and signal designs, operating methods, and traffic scenarios. We then proposed a package of cost-effective improvements for capacity expansion, which included closely spaced intermediate signals and strategically located sections of double track. These improvements, together with the application of the simulation models to plant design, have enabled CN to defer capital expenditures of over C$350 million beyond the 1980s.
Weyerhaeuser Decision Simulator Improves Timber Profits
Authors: Lembersky Mark R. , Chi Uli H.
Published: October 2008

The VISION decision simulator was developed to implement dynamic-programming-based improvements in raw materials returns at Weyerhaeuser. Operational benefits to date exceed $100 million in increased profits. In addition, management philosophy has been changed, and, with the recent weakening in forest product markets, VISION benefits have increased in importance.
Scheduling Bulk-Pickup-Delivery Vehicles in Shanghai
Authors: Fisher Marshall L. , Jiegang Huang , Bao-Xing Tang
Published: October 2008

Researchers from the US and China apply optimization methodology to the problem of scheduling a bulk-pickup-and-delivery fleet for a fleet operation in Shanghai. Preliminary observations on the problem and on the differences and similarities in the application of MS/OR in China and the US are offered.
Structuring Value Attributes
Authors: Buede Dennis M.
Published: October 2008

Currently, structuring decision problems is more art than science. A useful decision analysis should characterize and discriminate between alternatives so that the decision maker can make an informed decision. Identifying the value attributes is an early and important step in such an analysis; two systematic methods are used to elicit and organize value attributes.
The Analytic Hierarchy Process—A Survey of the Method and its Applications
Authors: Zahedi Fatemeh
Published: October 2008

This paper briefly reviews the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and its applications in diverse decision problems. It addresses some of the major extensions and criticisms of the method, as well.
Boston & Maine Achieves Control over Railroad Performance
Authors: Martland Carl D. , Marcus Henry S. , Raymond George B.
Published: October 2008

Between 1977 and 1982, the Boston & Maine Railroad made extensive efforts to improve its operating performance, especially in the areas of freight service, terminal control, and freight-car utilization. Major changes were made in the organizational structure, in information systems, in the decision-making processes, and in physical facilities. As a result, significant improvements in service and costs were achieved. The railroad saved more than $3 million annually, or roughly three percent of total operating expense, which helped the B&M to achieve the first income-based reorganization in the rail industry in more than 20 years. Operations planning played a major role. The MIT service planning model was developed in order to evaluate alternative operating plans and establish origin-to-destination trip-time standards.
A Decision Support System for Assigning Classes to Rooms
Authors: Glassey C. Roger , Mizrach Michael
Published: October 2008

A large 0-1 integer program is approximately solved by a very fast heuristic as part of a decision support system for assigning classes to rooms at the University of California at Berkeley. The system has been implemented and has been in regular use since the fall of 1983.
Misapplications Reviews: Pulling the Goalie Revisited
Authors: Morrison Donald G. , Wheat Rita D.
Published: October 2008

Entitled “Pulling the Goalie Revisited,” the piece goes beyond discussing a misapplication to make use of some entirely new hockey-league data. And though it's true that the original analysis contained a flaw, there are as many MS/OR professionals who failed to spot it as there are shoes in the closet of Imelda Marcos. The real message of the essay is that we all have second thoughts about some of our papers and that it is healthy to acknowledge and laugh about them. Indeed, a correlation appears to exist: the professions least able to laugh at themselves seem the ones most laughed at by others.
Franz Edelman Award for Management Science Achievement
Authors: Brout Donald B. , Kolesar Peter , Lilien Gary L.
Published: October 2008

Introductory editorial notes about the 1986 15th Annual International Edelman Competition. Notes by Donald B. Brout, Chairman, 1986 Edelman Award Committee; Peter Kolesar, Columbia University; and Gray L. Lilien.
The Editor's Green Eyeshade: Verification, Etc.
Authors: Lilien Gary L.
Published: October 2008

The most important papers we publish are verified reports of the practice of MS/OR. The best examples of these can be found in the annual Edelman Prize Competition issue. The verification process for the Edelman Competition papers is performed by a committee appointed by the TIMS College on the Practice of Management Science, but, in principle we do much the same thing with practice papers in regular issues. We do require verification for such papers; the most common verification procedure is for a senior executive or official of the organization to write to me, verifying that (a) the work was done as reported in the paper, (b) the resulting analysis or system or results (whatever) are being used and (c) what the benefits derived from that work were. Benefits may refer to dollar estimates of cost savings when appropriate. In other circumstances, the benefits may be the qualitative impact the work had on a major decision. Benefits are situation-specific—authors should call me if they have questions about their situation.
The Successful Deployment of Management Science Throughout Citgo Petroleum Corporation
Authors: Klingman Darwin , Phillips Nancy , Steiger David , Young Warren
Published: October 2008

During 1984 and 1985, Citgo Petroleum Corporation invested in management science applications that involve (1) a comprehensive combination of mathematical programming, statistics, forecasting, expert systems, artificial intelligence, organizational theory, and cognitive psychology; (2) the support of top management and operational managers; (3) the involvement of diverse business areas, including acquisitions, refining, supply and distribution, market planning, accounts receivable and payable, inventory control, and individual performance objectives; (4) timely project development and implementation; and (5) integration of information systems and management science technologies, multiplying the potentials of each. These applications have changed the way Citgo does business and resulted in approximately $70 million per year profit improvement.
Asset Divestiture at Homart Development Company
Authors: Bean James C. , Noon Charles E. , Salton Gary J.
Published: October 2008

For Homart Development Company, one of the most important strategic issues is scheduling divestiture of shopping malls and office buildings. In the 1986 strategic plan, 170 assets were analyzed for possible divestiture over 10 years. The problem is complicated by requirements imposed by the parent corporation, Sears, Roebuck and Company, that Homart meet a minimum aggregate return on equity each year. All divestiture decisions are linked with these constraints. An integer programming model designed especially for problems of this structure was developed and coded. The first run of the model resulted in an additional profit of $40 million compared to the performance of the traditional techniques for solving the problem. Since the problems addressed by this model were strategic, results of the model changed the implemented policies at Homart's highest level of decision making. In particular, policies toward sales of assets at a loss and the relationships between shopping malls and office buildings were changed as a direct result of the model. This model is now institutionalized as a core element of a six-month strategic-planning cycle.
Optimizing SANTOS's Gas Production and Processing Operations in Central Australia Using the Decomposition Method
Authors: Dougherty Elmer L. , Dare Dennis , Hutchison Peter , Lombardino Enrico
Published: October 2008

Much of the natural gas consumed in Australia comes from reservoirs near the middle of the country. To take advantage of higher-priced liquid components, from 1980 to 1984 producers spent $A1.4 billion on plant to separate gas and liquids and a 500-mile liquids pipeline. The sequence of investments in producing facilities and the gas production schedule that maximize net present value over a 25-year horizon are determined with a nonlinear, decomposition-based, mathematical programming system, called SIPS, which uses a tailored reservoir simulation model to accurately predict reservoir decline. In annual planning we estimate that SIPS saves about 10 percent of the investment it considers, or $A3-6 million per year. SIPS's answers to what-if questions may yield equivalent benefits, and its impact may be much greater in such areas as gas price negotiations, responses to legislated changes in South Australian energy policy, the payment schedule for the project's loan, the optimal response to the recent collapse in oil prices, and participation factors for each of the 11 companies sharing costs and revenues in the Cooper Basin.
Postal Automation (ZIP + 4) Technology: A Decision Analysis
Authors: Ulvila Jacob W.
Published: October 2008

The US Postal Service recently decided to continue the nine-digit zip code (ZIP + 4) for first class business mailers and to purchase additional capital equipment as part of postal automation. Prior to this decision, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and its contractors performed technical and economic analyses and evaluations of the options available to the US Congress and the Postal Service. Postal automation options involved capital investments of over $350 million and annual maintenance and other costs that could escalate to over $300 million a year. However, potential annual savings of up to $1.5 billion from reduced clerk and carrier costs were possible but highly uncertain. This decision analysis was the basis for OTA's economic evaluations in the face of uncertainty.
Editorial: Reflections
Authors: Lilien Gary L.
Published: October 2008

As my fifth year as editor of Interfaces draws to a close, let me share some thoughts about the journal's achievements and challenges. My unmatched modesty prevents more than a casual recitation of achievements: Since its founding in 1970, Interfaces has evolved into a readable journal focusing on the practice of MS/OR around the world. It has increased its “respectability” among academics (defined, perhaps, by promotion and tenure committees) while continuing to address the interests of practitioners. It has also broadened its focus with less emphasis on traditional operations management-type applications and more articles from the public sector, planning, DSS, and the like.
Implementing Structured Software Methodologies: A Case of Innovation in Process Technology
Authors: Leonard-Barton Dorothy
Published: October 2008

Managers in charge of introducing new production technologies need to approach implementation as an internal marketing campaign. Potential users of the innovation are subject to various influences. By building on positive influences and countering negative ones, implementation managers can speed the diffusion of the innovation within the organization. For instance, in the case presented here, programmers and analysts were more likely to use new structured software development methods if their supervisors, influential peers, and especially their clients supported use. Users were more likely than nonusers to have received training close to the time they were asked to use the new methods and to see very specific, rather than just general, potential benefits.
A Reassessment of Implementation Process Models
Authors: Srinivasan Ananth , Davis Joseph G.
Published: October 2008

Process models traditionally characterize implementation in terms of generic phases that have to be managed sequentially in order for the system to be eventually successful. Given contemporary information system environments, such a perspective on implementation detracts from our ability to understand and design better systems. The advent of powerful, new technologies coupled with an array of diverse user types has resulted in system usage patterns that the process models are unable to capture. An alternative perspective focuses on the user and user roles, the mechanisms that exist for the facilitation and support of users, and the nature of learning that has occurred in the system environments of organizations.
The Modern Role of MS/OR Professionals in Interdisciplinary Teams
Authors: Batson Robert G.
Published: October 2008

The interdisciplinary team is still a viable organizational form to support management, although the role of the trained MS/OR analyst is often viewed too narrowly as that of modeler or technician. Other nonmathematical roles such as study planner or implementation engineer are critical for MS/OR implementation success. These roles are discussed with the purpose of (1) achieving an implementation orientation within the team; (2) identifying future roles for MS/OR in the implementation of decision support and expert systems; and (3) defining how MS/OR curricula can better address teamwork and implementation.
The “Five Whats” Approach to Military MS/OR
Authors: Maddox David M. , Moore Stephen C.
Published: October 2008

Many inexperienced operations research analysts react to a new study requirement by immediately categorizing the problem into a solution methodology. In effect, they commit themselves to a particular technical tool and turn on the biggest computer they can find to run it before they fully understand the problem. We believe that a thorough front-end analysis of the problem allows you to determine the best solution approach and, in some cases, may even produce the answer as a result of the application of common sense. The “five whats” focus your attention on the key aspects of front-end analysis.
Artificial Intelligence and the Management Science Practitioner: Links between Operations Research and Expert Systems
Authors: Fordyce Kenneth , Norden Peter , Sullivan Gerald
Published: October 2008

What are the similarities between management science/operations research (MS/OR) and expert systems (ES)? What are the differences between the two? How can ES help MS/OR and vice versa? Over the past year we have heard these questions asked many times. They remind us of the debates about decision support systems (DSS) and MS/OR in the late 1970s. By the early 1980s DSS had become mainstream MS/OR with its own departmental editor in Management Science.
Production Planning and Cost Analysis on a Microcomputer
Authors: Baker Gordon L. , Clark William A. , Frund Jonathan J. , Wendell Richard E.
Published: October 2008

Bethlehem Steel Corporation now uses a microcomputer model for production planning and cost analysis. Based on an optimization of product flows through a steel-making plant, the model uses Lotus' 1-2-3 software package on an IBM PC-XT microcomputer to assess the impact of changes in product demands, facility capacities, and costs. Questions such as, How many turns (eight-hour shifts) per week would the plate mill run if this year's demand for steel plate products were 500,000 tons? and, How would the final costs of products be affected if the price of natural gas increased by 20 percent? are easily and quickly answered. In short, the model provides a fast and user-friendly approach for investigating a variety of scenarios more efficiently than would be possible on a mainframe computer.
Two Heads Are Better than One: The Collaboration between AI and OR
Authors: Simon Herbert A.
Published: October 2008

The MS/OR profession has, in a single generation, grown from birth to a lively adulthood and is playing an important role in the management of our private and public institutions. This success should raise our aspirations. We should aspire to increase the impact of MS/OR by incorporating the AI kit of tools that can be applied to ill-structured, knowledge-rich, nonquantitative decision domains that characterize the work of top management and that characterize the great policy decisions that face our society.
Where to Look for Soviet MS/OR Articles: A Guide to English Language Sources and Abstracts
Authors: Lieberman Elliot R.
Published: October 2008

Identifying and obtaining articles on Soviet MS/OR can be far from a straightforward task. A large number of diverse and sometimes obscure journals publish such articles, and they are often unavailable in Western libraries. This article describes data bases and journals that provide abstracts of Soviet articles and lists those Soviet serials, available in English translation, that regularly publish MS/OR research.
Risk Analysis of Regulatory Options for the Transport of Dangerous Commodities by Rail
Authors: Swoveland Cary
Published: October 2008

A Canadian Transport Commission hearing was held to consider the recommendations of an inquiry into the train derailment in Mississauga, Ontario, from which nearly a quarter of a million people were evacuated because of the threat posed by a release of chlorine gas. A risk analysis study showed that the inquiry's principal recommendation would have resulted in an almost imperceptible improvement in safety at a cost that some estimates put at more than one billion dollars. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that the regulatory option favored by the railways, while superficially attractive, actually would have increased the risks of dangerous commodity spills. The commission rejected both proposals, in part because of the findings of the study.
A Systems Approach for the Turkish Housing Problem
Authors: Kavrakoğlu İbrahım , Kaylan Alı Riza , Özekıcı Süleyman , Özmucur Süleyman , Tamer Güniz
Published: October 2008

A systems analysis study in 1983 diagnosed the causes of a serious undersupply of adequate housing in Turkey, and it suggested measures to be taken to cure the crisis. The policy recommendations were based on analyses of economic and financial models and interviews with housing experts. Most of the recommendations were implemented.
Decision Making and Problem Solving
Authors: Simon Herbert A. , Dantzig George B. , Hogarth Robin , Plott Charles R. , Raiffa Howard , Schelling Thomas C. , Shepsle Kenneth A. , Thaler Richard , Tversky Amos , Winter Sidney
Published: October 2008

The MS/OR community has, as its common mission, the development of tools and procedures to improve problem solving and decision making. This report discusses the advances needed to combine human thinking with intelligent machines to achieve a more productive society. Areas of high potential include research in expert systems, conflict resolution, agenda setting, decision making in an organizational setting, and empirical studies of individual behavior. The resources currently being applied to research in decision making and problem solving are modest and are not commensurate with the opportunities or the human resources available for exploiting them.
Some Thoughts for Model Builders in the Management and Social Sciences
Authors: Reisman Arnold
Published: October 2008

The development of specialized models in management science, industrial engineering, operations research, and econometrics, begun out of necessity, is degenerating into a habit. The literature is replete with models that fit a specific type problem like a glove but are useless for problems that differ in type. All these works need synthesis. Model builders should generalize upon previous works to integrate, systematize or categorize the specialized models within their fields.
Artificial Intelligence and the Management Science Practitioner: The Economics of Expert Systems and the Contribution of MS/OR
Authors: Zahedi Fatemeh
Published: October 2008

Three important issues are addressed: (1) What are the economic incentives for developing expert systems as production tools? (2) What is the role of MS/OR methods in the development of such systems? and (3) How can the expert systems approach increase the productivity of the MS/OR professional?
A Multilevel Decision Support System for the Financial Justification of Automated Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Authors: Monahan George E. , Smunt Timothy L.
Published: October 2008

A decision support system (DSS) can be used to evaluate the conversion of batch production processes to automated flexible manufacturing processes. In this DSS, we utilize three levels of analysis: (1) the long-term, firm-planning level, (2) the medium-term, factory-operating level, and (3) the automated-work-cell-design level. An example DSS uses currently available software for the medium- and short-term levels. It can be used to examine detailed designs of work cells and determine their impact on alternative implementation strategies.
Research and Models for Automated Manufacturing
Authors: Singhal Kalyan , Fine Charles H. , Meredith Jack R. , Suri Rajan
Published: October 2008

Automated manufacturing systems are complex integrated systems. MS/OR models, because of their ability to offer insights into the nature of the interaction among components in complex systems, can play a major role in the design, operation, and control of complex automated manufacturing systems. With today's knowledge, it is virtually impossible to design and install a system consisting of hardware, software, data-base management, communication technology, and human resources in which each of these five subsystems can fully exploit the other four. This limitation provides considerable scope for learning and a continuing role for research and models during steady-state operation.
Franz Edelman Award for Management Science Achievement
Authors: Zapata Ricardo N. , Chaiken Jan M. , Lilien Gary L.
Published: October 2008

In 1987, the Edelman Award Committee selected five finalists representing diverse business applications areas. A common theme among these five outstanding contributions is the application of management science to help senior decision makers gain an improved understanding of the complex forces in their business environments, allowing them to make better business decisions. The judges acknowledged three finalists with honorable mentions with awards of $500 each: LTV Steel Company, the US Army, and the Office of Technology Assessment. North American Van Lines was given the second prize award, with a cash award of $2,500. The first prize was awarded to Syntex Laboratories, with a $6,000 cash award.
The US Army's Occupational Specialty Manpower Decision Support System
Authors: Eiger Amir , Jacobs Jonathan M. , Chung Donald B. , Selsor James L.
Published: October 2008

The Military Occupational Specialty Level System (MOSLS) of the US Army's enlisted force manpower decision support system (DSS) was developed to support programming and planning decisions in the areas of recruitment, training and education, promotion, reclassification and reenlistment, and separation and retirement. The DSS contains a combined linear optimization-simulation personnel flow model. The flow simulation is used as a controlling mechanism to stabilize the optimizer's results and to reflect in greater detail those facets of personnel management that cannot be modeled within a linear programming framework either because of problem size limitations or accuracy considerations. The models can be exercised in a what-if mode where policy can be modified and the predicted effects evaluated. The system is supported by a state-of-the-art, on-line data base and various support software permitting statistical analysis, report generation, and direct data base query.
Selecting Tenants in a Shopping Mall
Authors: Bean James C. , Noon Charles E. , Ryan Sarah M. , Salton Gary J.
Published: October 2008

As a developer of premium regional shopping malls, Homart Development Company designs, constructs, and leases new centers. Early in the development process, Homart negotiates and arranges accommodations for the large department store tenants. Once the department stores are situated and a general mall floorplan is known, Homart must decide how to lease the many smaller store spaces that complete the mall. The types, sizes, and locations of these smaller tenants play an important role in determining the financial success of a center. We formulated this problem of deciding a center's “tenant mix” as a nonlinear integer program and solved it using a linear approximation. Validation results show the method yields a potential 10 to 26 percent improvement in the present worth of a center.
Optimizing Wood Procurement in Cabinet Manufacturing
Authors: Carino Honorio F. , LeNoir Clinton H.
Published: October 2008

An optimum wood procurement policy for cabinet manufacturing was determined during an Auburn University technical assistance project involving a cabinet assembly plant in Alabama. Using a linear programming model of the blank production system, we found that under current conditions this particular mill would be better off economically if its wood raw material input were limited to #2 grade hardwood logs and #2 common green lumber purchased directly from outside suppliers. The input logs should have a small-end diameter of nine to 15 inches. About 88 percent of the lumber used by the manufacturing plant's rough mill or blank processing plant should come from #2 grade logs and the rest from purchased #2 common green lumber. Such a policy is expected to yield about 32 percent savings in wood raw material costs.
Thunderstorms and Aviation Safety—A Dialogue
Authors: Machol Robert E. , Barnett Arnold
Published: October 2008

Barnett [Barnett, A. 1987. Lightning strikes twice. Interfaces 17(2) 21–26.] described his attempt to save lives in aviation by closing all airports during thunderstorms. He discussed the phenomenon of “windshear,” which is often associated with thunderstorms and pointed out that in the last 14 years four fatal accidents to commercial airliners have been caused by this phenomenon. As I have tried to suggest, the case for suspending airport operations in thunderstorms is rooted not in emotionalism or ignorance, but in hard-headed management science. That is why I am confident that, whether immediately or shortly, whether formally or informally, some variant of the policy will come into wide-spread use.
Risk Funding of Unemployment Insurance: An Econometric Approach
Authors: Lackman Conway , Valz Alex
Published: October 2008

The unemployment insurance econometric forecasting model (UIEFM) provides legislative policy simulations to the Virginia Employment Commission. One mode of the UIEFM, the economic projection program, generates alternative economic and policy forecasts. These forecasts are used by mode 2, the financial forecast program, to project trust fund balances, receipts, and benefits over a 10-year horizon. Three major unemployment insurance legislative policy problems are examined: (1) excess solvency, (2) the impact of benefit increases on solvency, and (3) pool tax volatility. The fiscal impact of each policy problem is estimated by means of UIEFM policy simulations.
Project Management on the PC: Software, Applications, and Trends
Authors: Wasil Edward A. , Assad Arjang A.
Published: October 2008

Over the last three years, there has been a remarkable growth in the number and power of microcomputer-based project management packages and in the size of the market. Our overview of this software includes material from 15 detailed interviews with commercial users, as well as actual applications, software evaluations, and comments on future directions.
Artificial Intelligence and the Management Science Practitioner: Knowledge Enhancements to a Decision Support System for Vehicle Routing
Authors: Duchessi Peter , Belardo Salvatore , Seagle John P.
Published: October 2008

The application reported in this paper is a working prototype of a new generation of DSSs that more fully support decision makers. Like many DSSs it uses a general algorithm to solve an abstraction of the real problem. Because only an abstraction was solved, a KBES was used to apply knowledge of the general domain to move to a solution that is feasible and satisfactory for the real problem. This role for a KBES appears to have wide applicability in a setting where a model is insufficient by itself. In addition to demonstrating this role, we have identified two other generalizable roles: model selection and sensitivity analysis. We expect DSSs of the future to use KBESs in all three roles.
Preface
Authors: Hax Arnoldo C.
Published: October 2008

For a second time since the January–February issue of 1984, Interfaces has decided to produce a special issue on the subject of strategic management. This reflects the importance of this field of study, which attempts to embrace the overall complexity of management as an interdisciplinary activity. No one can dispute the growing significance of strategic management in today's business environment, which is characterized by intense global and technological competition. Strategic management has an ultimate objective of developing corporate values, managerial capabilities, organizational responsibilities, and administrative systems that link strategic and operational decision making at all hierarchical levels and across all businesses and functional lines of authority in a firm. Setting up the foundations of a strategic management discipline is one of the deepest challenges to the academic and business community. We hope this issue contributes to the advancement of that objective.
Misapplications Reviews: Crime News
Authors: Barnett Arnold
Published: October 2008

It's been a while since I've talked about felonies in the analysis of crime data, but not because such transgressions have ceased to exist. Now as before, a distressing fraction of published statistics about crime are incomplete, illogical, or indisputably wrong. And such deficiencies do not seem to deprive these statistics of influence in the discussion and formulation of public policy.

Here I will describe three of the more egregious misapplications I've encountered recently. I would not argue that the examples below are a random sample of anything; nor do I believe that the troubles arose from deliberate attempts at deception. But, as I hope will be apparent to the reader, any assertion that the problems are freakish and inconsequential is as implausible as the statistics themselves.
Excellence, Planning, and Performance
Authors: Ramanujam Vasudevan , Venkatraman N.
Published: October 2008

In an effort to empirically test three propositions linking excellence, planning, and performance, 41 of Peters and Waterman's [Peters, T., R. Waterman. 1982. In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best Run Companies. Harper and Row, New York.] excellent companies were compared with two benchmark samples—matched according to size and industry grouping—of North American companies. Our results indicate that excellence and performance are not synonymous, and that the planning processes of excellent firms are generally not significantly different from those of the two benchmark samples. In addition, by analyzing four “traits” of excellence, we show that the popular traits of excellence are not the exclusive preserve of the so-called excellent companies.
Success Strategies for Businesses that Perform Poorly
Authors: Thiétart R. A.
Published: October 2008

Failing industries, poor business performance, and lagging productivity are among the problems confronting today's management. Remedies such as revitalization, rejuvenation, and innovation are beginning to replace the conventional wisdom of paring down operations and disposing of assets. However, few studies have dealt comprehensively with what strategies are effective. The author shows that strategies' effectiveness depends on the firm's objective—growth or profitability—and that it is contingent upon the competitive characteristics of the industry and the strategic posture of the business.
Capturing Value from Technological Innovation: Integration, Strategic Partnering, and Licensing Decisions
Authors: Teece David J.
Published: October 2008

The competitive potential embedded in new technology is not always captured by the innovator. Follower firms, customers, and suppliers are often the principal beneficiaries. When innovating firms lose to followers or imitators, the reason is often the failure of the innovator to build or access competitive capacity in activities, such as manufacturing, which are complementary to the innovation. This paper analyzes the make-or-buy decision with respect to these capacities in different competitive environments, including that of rapid technological change and easy imitation. Often it is pointless for firms to invest in R&D unless they are also willing to invest in the development of certain complementary capacities, at home or abroad.
Strategy Making as a Social Learning Process: The Case of Internal Corporate Venturing
Authors: Burgelman Robert A.
Published: October 2008

Juxtaposing interview and observational data with written documents concerning three internal corporate ventures suggests that strategy making in the emergent stage can be viewed as a social learning process in which managerial action and cognition are intrinsically intertwined. Strategic action at higher levels in the managerial hierarchy benefits from interpretative efforts of strategic action at lower levels. A social learning model of strategy making helps to elucidate the uses of strategic planning in organizations and provides an extended theoretical context for several major findings in organizational decision making and strategic management theory.
Information Technology, Integration, and Organizational Change
Authors: Benjamin Robert I. , Scott Morton Michael S.
Published: October 2008

Information technology and its driving cost performance imperative have changed traditional labor to capital relationships and opened up new opportunities for strategic use of the technology. Different forms of interconnection realized through improved interconnection and larger more accessible data bases are often the basis for deriving strategic advantage. A search strategy based on electronic integration can help organizations find potentially strategic applications.
The Concept of Strategy and the Strategy Formation Process
Authors: Hax Arnoldo C. , Majluf Nicolas S.
Published: October 2008

We have revealed new insights by reviewing and integrating the definitions of strategy offered by leading scholars in the field. Part of the confusion surrounding the issue of strategy can be alleviated by separating the concept of strategy from the process of strategy formation. The concept of strategy is presented as a normative model that has validity for all firms. The process of strategy formation, however, is contingent on the firm's particular situation and can be described in terms of the wide variety of forms it takes in different organizations, depending on the firm's strategic objectives, its management style, its organizational culture, and its administrative structure.
Educational Operations Research Software: A Review
Authors: Yurkiewicz Jack
Published: October 2008

An in-depth analysis of 10 leading programs devised for educational use in OR courses in business schools, comparing their accuracy, speed, ease of learning and use, and documentation. The programs are all designed to be run on an IBM PC or compatible and are priced under $40.
Letter to the Editor
Authors: Pentico David W.
Published: October 2008

Letter to the Editor by David W. Pentico, School of Business and Administration, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15282.
A Hybrid Knowledge-Based System for Allocating Retail Space and for Other Allocation Problems
Authors: Singh Madan G. , Cook Roderick , Corstjens Marcel
Published: October 2008

A unique hybrid knowledge-based decision support system (Resource-opt) for helping managers make various kinds of resource allocation decisions allows the user to feed in hard information about the past, market research information, and managerial intuition. The Resource-opt System organizes all this knowledge and then computes the resource allocation decisions that will maximize profits within any given set of strategic considerations. It provides a forecast of sales, costs, and profits. A practical example of the use of the system for allocating retail space is given; it has also been used for sales force allocation and mail order catalogue design.