bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A SIMULATION OF THE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE RULE SYSTEMS FOR JAI ALAI*
Authors: Hannan Edward L. , Smith Larry A.
Published: June 2007

The inequities of the present system of rules in jai alai are documented on the basis of empirical information and theoretical results from a Monte Carlo simulation model. Some suggestions are made for changing the rules in order to make the game more equitable for both players and bettors. The simulation model is used to compare the effectiveness of the suggested rules with that of the present rules.
THE MEASUREMENT AND OPERATING BENEFITS OF COMPONENT PART COMMONALITY
Authors: Collier David A.
Published: June 2007

The product structure is a key input to a material requirements planning system. Yet, the effect of alternate product structure designs on system performance is not well understood. Analytical measures are needed to accurately relate product‐structure characteristics to total cost and delivery performance.

A new analytical measure of product structure called the degree of commonality index is defined in this paper. The degree of commonality index can be applied to single end items, product families, entire product lines, or to any level of product structure.

This study suggests that component part commonality, as measured by the degree of commonality index, has a significant effect on system performance. For example, company standardization programs that increase the degree of component part commonality result in manufacturing cost reductions. The degree of commonality index provides a way to directly relate the degree of component part commonality to various dependent variables such as total cost, work center load, and delivery performance.
A NOTE ON USER SOLUTION STRATEGY FOR MIXED‐INTEGER LINEAR PROGRAMMING MODELS
Authors: Rowse John
Published: June 2007

Large‐scale mixed‐integer linear programming (MILP) models may easily prove extraordinarily difficult to solve, even with efficient commercially implemented MILP solution codes. Drawing on experience gained in solving and analyzing three intertemporal investment planning MILP models for electric power supply, this note offers several practical suggestions for reducing computer solution times for general production‐allocation MILP models. Solution time reduction stems from judicious use of the powerful computational capabilities of existing commercial linear programming codes in conjunction with information known or to be learned by the practitioner about the model's structure.
EFFECT‐SIZE ESTIMATION: A COMMENTARY ON WOLF AND BASSLER
Authors: LaTour Stephen A.
Published: June 2007

Wolf and Bassler [10] have presented a general linear model approach to the estimation of a variance‐accounted‐for measure of effect magnitude. This commentary questions the usefulness of such a measure, citing its inconsistency with contrast estimates, problems with its interpretation in nonorthogonal designs, and its susceptibility to extraneous influence unrelated to observed differences among group means. In addition, it questions whether the term “importance” should be applied to such a measure.
MANAGEMENT OF COLLEGE STUDENT RECRUITING ACTIVITIES USING GOAL PROGRAMMING*
Authors: Kendall Kenneth E. , Luebbe Richard L.
Published: June 2007

A shrinking pool of potential students, due to a declining birthrate as well as uncertain economic times, is creating the need for more effective recruiting of college students. One approach using a goal programming model has been developed and is currently being used to manage recruitment activities in a small four‐year college in Nebraska. The model identifies both the type and number of activities that must be completed each quarter in order to reach an enrollment goal for a given year. Factors such as budget, time, manpower, and marketing strategies are highlighted in the model. The results of the goal programming model encouraged more field activities in the first two quarters with emphasis on new‐candidate identification. The third‐quarter recruiting strategy is more balanced while the fourth‐quarter emphasis is placed on follow‐up activities that occur chiefly in the office. Use of this model will enable recruiters to meet enrollments while managing recruiting resources and activities in order to remain within the recruiting budget.
MODELING THE ALLOCATION OF GRADUATE STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
Authors: Anderson Evan E. , Shueh Chung‐ting
Published: June 2007

Universities have always competed with one another for the relatively small number of highly qualified students interested in graduate education. This competition has been intensified recently by adverse demographic trends.

This paper is concerned with the use of financial aid awards as a means of competition and with allocation of awards so that enrollments are maximized while satisfying academic standards and budget constraints. It also considers the randomness of actual aid disbursements and develops models of incremental aid allocation that increase enrollments but are within tolerance levels for budget overruns.
ENROLLMENT FORECASTING: USE OF A MULTIPLE‐METHOD MODEL FOR PLANNING AND BUDGETING*
Authors: Gaither Gerald H. , Dukes Fred O. , Swanson John R.
Published: June 2007

A multiple‐method approach is presented for making enrollment projections at the departmental, school, and university level. The various methods utilized are based on the application of a cohort model (macro level) and regression techniques (micro level). The model demonstrates its flexibility in selecting one of a number of regression techniques according to a comparison approach using historical and projected results. This multiple‐method approach has proved to be highly accurate and thus useful in allocating and redistributing resources to the operating units of a university. Previous efforts have relied almost solely on a single regression technique for projections and allocation purposes rather than a method based on a measure of flexibility, adaptability, and prediction confirmation.
A UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION‐SCHEDULING MODEL TO MINIMIZE MULTIPLE‐EXAMINATION DAYS FOR STUDENTS
Authors: Anderson John M. , Bernhard Richard H.
Published: June 2007

Scheduling university examinations is often done with the objective of spreading a student's required examinations over an examination week. That is the equivalent of the problem of minimizing the number of examinations a student must take on any one day. An approach to scheduling exams which relates the problem to the classical assignment problem is discussed. The model developed is a symmetry‐constrained assignment model, and the solution method requires use of a branch‐and‐bound algorithm. Results from application of the algorithm to six semesters of actual data are presented.
AN ADAPTIVE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR ACADEMIC RESOURCE PLANNING
Authors: Franz Lori Sharp , Lee Wang M. , Van Horn James C.
Published: June 2007

Institutions of higher learning are growing increasingly interested in the use of model‐based approaches to their resource allocation problems. Recent modeling approaches, however, have failed to consider that resource allocation planning is not a well‐structured decision process. Additionally, many decision makers are necessarily involved in the academic planning process and may assume dissimilar perspectives on the importance of achieving different goals and objectives. Furthermore, satisfactory allocation solutions can be expected to vary considerably from decision maker to decision maker as the individual's cognitive processes, perceptions, and evaluations are taken into consideration.

This paper describes a decision support system (DSS) approach that attempts to adapt to a variety of academic decision makers with differing planning views in an environment of multiple conflicting objectives. This DSS, which was successfully tested on four academic decision makers in a large midwestern university, shows considerable promise for providing decision support to decision makers with varied problem‐solving styles.
SALARY RAISES BY PERCENTAGE INCREASES*
Authors: Handelman George H.
Published: June 2007

Starting with a mean salary distribution as a function of professional age at a given year, the salaries in subsequent years are determined by percentage raises. Effects of the percentage increases and the salaries at entry on subsequent salary distributions are examined, including an inflation correction. The salary history of an individual is considered. Simple modifications of the percentage system which correct for the anomalies observed are noted, as are questions for further study.
SELF‐SAMPLING: A UNIQUE AND EFFECTIVE MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Authors: Lorents Alden C. , Andrew Gary M.
Published: June 2007

Self‐sampling, which is similar to work sampling, is a measurement technique where participants categorize their own activities. The ratio of observations in an activity category to the total observations provides an estimator of the population proportion of time spent on that category of activity. This paper summarizes how self‐sampling works and describes an example involving business school faculty.
A COMPARISON OF INFORMATION STRUCTURES FOR A RIGID DECISION RULE CASE
Authors: Ahituv Niv
Published: June 2007

The information economics model of individual decision assumes that decision makers are capable of instantly modifying their decision rules in response to signal changes from the information structure. Individuals, however, often tend to stick to rigid decision rules, particularly when they are trained to respond with conditioned reactions, such as to a traffic light.

This article modifies the individual decision model for such cases. It discusses probabilistic information structures as well as the deterministic information function. It results in an ordering of information structures that differs from the ordering imposed by the Blackwell Theorem. When deterministic information functions are considered, an ordering that is finer than the prevailing one is proposed.

Transformations between deterministic and probabilistic information functions and the relationship between the proposed model and the previous theory are also discussed.
EFFECTS OF BUDGETARY CONTROL DESIGN ON MANAGEMENT DECISIONS: SOME EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE*
Authors: Kamin Jacob Y. , Ronen Joshua
Published: June 2007

An examination of budgetary slack behavior reveals that managerial characteristics and the economic environment may contribute to the failure of budgetary control systems.

Large management‐controlled firms that operate in industries with high barriers to entry behave as if they allocate more slack resources when compared with owner‐controlled firms of similar size and market power. The results confirm that accounting operating‐income numbers reflect manifestations of slack behavior in the budgetary process. Management‐controlled firms in particular seem to act as if they fail to release and redistribute slack resources. It is concluded that budgetary slack behavior points to failures in the organization design that may lead to inefficient allocation of resources and to inferior profit performance.
REPLY TO: “ON THE SENSITIVITY OF BRAND‐CHOICE SIMULATIONS TO ATTRIBUTE IMPORTANCE WEIGHTS”
Authors: Green Paul E. , DeSarbo Wayne S. , Kedia Pradeep K.
Published: June 2007

Our reply to Curry, Louviere, and Augustine's critique of our earlier paper focuses on differences in motivation between our research and theirs. Our interest in the problem relates to the possible incorporation of self‐explicated evaluations in conjoint data collection methods; subsequent to the appearance of our original paper, we have developed hybrid models that combine elements of self‐explicated (compositional) and conjoint (decompositional) data collection procedures. As far as we can surmise from their critique, Curry, Louviere, and Augustine are concerned with much broader strategic issues relating share of choices in the consumer population to changes in the shape of attribute weight distributions, shape of the Pareto tradeoff boundary, and so on.
ON FUZZY GOAL PROGRAMMING—SOME COMMENTS
Authors: Narasimhan Ram
Published: June 2007

This paper pertains to goal programming with fuzzy goals and fuzzy priorities. Hannan [1], in his paper on fuzzy goal programming, alludes to the difficulty of handling fuzzy priorities and further notes that a method that this author proposed [2] may lead to incorrect results. In this note, the general problem of goal programming with fuzzy priorities is reexamined, along with the solution to the specific example presented in my original paper [2]. It is shown that the method for handling fuzzy priorities originally proposed by this author does indeed capture the relative importance of goals.
THE CAPITAL MARKET VALUE OF A MULTIPERIOD INVESTMENT WITH THE OPTION OF PREMATURE ABANDONMENT
Authors: Marshall William
Published: June 2007

Conventional approaches to determining optimal abandonment of a project under uncertainty either assume risk‐neutrality or impose a mean‐variance criterion. Risk‐neutrality is unrealistic while the mean‐variance criterion precludes determination of the optimal strategy without consideration of covariances of returns among projects. Further, the use of variance of present value as a risk measure may result in the “optimality” of a time 0 strategy that involves maintaining a position at time t that will be “suboptimal” and would not be maintained. The use of the multiperiod capital asset pricing model (CAPM) as a decision criterion is consistent with contemporary theory of market behavior and remedies the deficiencies of the mean‐variance approach noted above. Computationally, the optimal strategy for abandonment, when the commitment must be made at time 0 (a lease, say), can be determined with little difficulty beyond that of mean‐variance models. When time of abandonment can remain unspecified, the value of the prospect that abandonment will occur at the optimal time can be determined, though the technique necessary is considerably more complicated. In both cases, the marginal costs of commitments that limit discretion over abandonment can be determined and attributed to those commitments.
SELECTING PARAMETERS FOR SHORT‐TERM FORECASTING TECHNIQUES
Authors: Dalrymple Douglas J. , King Barry E.
Published: June 2007

The objective of this paper is to discover which of three forecasting modes used to select parameters for four short‐term forecasting techniques minimizes errors. The study also examines whether the amount of historical data used to find parameters contributes to forecasting success. The results show the traditional one‐ahead search routine works well in some, but not all, forecasting situations. Also, forecasting errors appear to decline when more historical data are included in the parameter search.
“MANAGING THE DECISION SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY: A CASE FOR ETHICAL ANALYSIS?”‐COMMENT
Authors: Schkade Lawrence L.
Published: June 2007

In the current issue of Decision Sciences, Brightman [2] argues that the growth of the discipline should be managed, and individual decision scientists must ultimately be held accountable for the ethical implications of implementing their research findings. The purpose of this comment is to examine several principles behind Brightman's arguments and to initiate a discussion of some of the important issues that have been raised. The distinction between the inquiry and technological imperatives and questions about the universality of moral reasoning at the ethical‐principles leverl further Brightman's analysis and pose important considerations for decision scientists.
AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF INDIVIDUAL ITEM FORECASTING MODELS
Authors: McLeavey Dennis W. , Lee T. S. , Adam Everett E.
Published: June 2007

A computer simulation experiment was replicated to correct errors in an earlier paper and to compare seven individual item forecasting models across five different demand patterns. Results confirm previous findings that the better forecasting model depends upon the demand pattern and the forecast horizon, as well as the noise level. Nevertheless, exponential double smoothing emerged as the most robust model.
STRATEGIC FACILITY PLANNING: THE ANALYSIS OF OPTIONS
Authors: Schilling David A.
Published: June 2007

This paper addresses the issue of uncertainty in planning the long‐term development of facility systems. In certain instances, the high variance of a single future forecast can be reduced by using a set of alternative future scenarios. By carefully selecting facility configurations, the planner can delay the selection of a future set of facility sites at little or no sacrifice while additional information is gathered and uncertainty reduced. This allows the planner to maintain flexibility in adapting to a complex and dynamic environment.

Several models are presented for different planning contexts. Examples for each, as well as a robust bicriterion solution heuristic, are also provided.
PERCEPTION AND PREFERENCE CONGRUENCY: A COLOR REPLICATION*
Authors: Lonial Subhash C. , Van Auken Stuart
Published: June 2007

The work of Doehlert has involved an investigation of automobile‐color preferences and their relationship to color perceptions. For the most part, Doehlert's work has pointed to congruency. Other work, dealing with formal congruency testing between unfolded preferences and perceptions, has proven somewhat disappointing. Since the nature of the stimulus set may play a role in a resulting congruency, this study will attempt to replicate and extend the work of Doehlert. Given replication, a framework for stimulus set uniqueness may be obtained. Either way, keynote implications for marketing decision making are to be developed.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE TIC CRITERION FOR ACCEPTING TAX‐EXEMPT BOND BIDS UNDER CERTAINTY
Authors: Braswell Ronald C. , Sumners Dewitt L.
Published: June 2007

Several analysts have advocated the TIC criterion for the selection of bids in the tax‐free bond market. The proponents, however, have overlooked the bias introduced by the TIC method. An analysis is developed which shows that use of TIC can result in economically incorrect rankings for the issuer. We prove, under conditions of certainty, that given any Bid A, it is possible to construct Bid B with coupon rates arbitrarily close to Bid A such that the TIC criterion leads to acceptance of the bid with the higher present value of interest costs.
TOTAL SETUP LOT SIZING WITH QUANTITY DISCOUNTS*
Authors: Kuzdrall Paul J. , Britney Robert R.
Published: June 2007

Often, order quantity decisions are made by purchasers facing a price schedule of quantity discounts. Traditional solution procedures have consisted of the evaluation of total cost at numerous price‐break points in search of the lowest total cost. This approach is tedious and not particularly informative, especially when one is faced with lengthy schedules.

This paper presents a total setup lot‐sizing model that reduces the computations required to find the least‐total‐cost quantity, given parameters from a supplier's price schedule.

The parameters are first obtained by simple regression (graphical or computer) and in themselves can provide valuable insight for the purchaser's decision making. A total setup lot‐sizing model is next developed to define a “critical interval” that contains the solution. The model and algorithm are tested under a variety of conditions. Their application offers the decision maker a convenient alternative to determine the best quantity to order from a tendered price schedule.
A NOTE ON DYNAMIC LOT SIZING IN A ROLLING‐HORIZON ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Chand Suresh
Published: June 2007

This paper presents a modification of the dynamic lot‐size algorithm of Wagner and Whitin for rolling horizon environments. The computational results show that the modified algorithm gives better cost performance than the Wagner‐Whitin algorithm and the Silver‐Meal heuristic. The improvements over the Wagner‐Whitin algorithm require very few additional computations.
AN ALTERNATE MODEL FOR LEAD‐TIME DEMAND: CONTINUOUS‐REVIEW INVENTORY SYSTEMS
Authors: Carlson Phillip G.
Published: June 2007

The calculation of reorder points when the distribution of lead‐time demand is normal is quite complex, primarily because of having to bound it away from negative demand values. A number of researchers have sought feasible alternative forms of lead‐time demand which can be calculated without undue difficulty. It is proposed here to assume a Poisson (daily) demand and an exponential lead time (days). If they are assumed independent their convolution is geometric, which is itself asymptotically exponential. This has a number of advantages: (1) The exponential lead time is appropriate where the lead time is often short (i.e., local source), occasionally longer (when the local sources stock out), and, infrequently, quite long. (2) The geometric lead‐time demand is independent of changes of time scale. (3) Reorder points and lot sizes appear in simple closed form. (4) The exponential asymptote is sufficiently close that this further simplification is usually warranted.
A GOAL PROGRAMMING MODEL FOR ALLOCATING HUMAN RESOURCES FOR THE GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE REGULATIONS
Authors: Jones Lawrence , Kwak N. K.
Published: June 2007

The Food and Drug Administration's final Good Laboratory Practice regulation will have a far‐reaching effect on testing laboratories that are conducting nonclinical laboratory safety tests. This paper develops a goal programming decision model suitable for setting objectives, meeting budgetary and operational constraints, planning personnel utilization, and evaluating different proposals for allocating laboratory personnel to implement a program.
CHEXPEDITE: A COMPUTER‐BASED APPROACH TO THE BANK COURIER PROBLEM
Authors: Hill Arthur V. , Whybark D. Clay
Published: June 2007

This paper presents a successful computer‐based approach to scheduling courier vehicles for the check collection system in multibranch commercial banks. The approach has been adopted by six large banks in the United States and has achieved dramatic cost savings at several of these banks.

This paper begins by describing the bank courier problem and reviewing several approaches to the problem that have been proposed in the literature. A practical, computer‐based approach to the bank courier problem is then presented. Finally, implementation experience at several banks is overviewed.
RENEGING IN QUEUES REVISITED
Authors: Martin Glen E. , Pankoff Lyn D.
Published: June 2007

Parkan and Warren [2] analyze the optimal reneging decision of a customer joining a G/M/1 queue with imperfect information about parameters of the system. Their Bayesian approach to the problem is incomplete and overstates the probability that the customer will renege, which is potentially costly to the server as well as to the customer.
DEGENERACY AND THE (MIS)INTERPRETATION OF SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS IN LINEAR PROGRAMMING
Authors: Evans James R. , Baker Norman R.
Published: June 2007

Under conditions of degeneracy, sensitivity analysis information such as cost and right‐hand‐side ranges, which are produced by standard linear programming procedures used in commercial codes, can be misleading. From a managerial perspective, the interpretation of such information can be erroneous. In this paper we present these problems, explain their occurence with elementary examples, and discuss procedures for their resolution.
A ONE‐PERIOD STOCHASTIC INVENTORY PROBLEM WITH A LUMP‐SUM PENALTY COST
Authors: Hamidi‐Noori A. , Bell Peter C.
Published: June 2007

This paper presents an inventory problem related to the one‐period stochastic inventory (or “newsboy”) problem. In this problem, the firm has to decide how much product to order to meet a random one‐period demand. The version of the problem presented is novel in two respects. First, demand is explicitly permitted to be negative, and second, the penalty (or shortage) cost is assumed to be independent of the magnitude of the shortage. This situation is shown to change the form of the cost function and to complicate the determination of optimal policies. The form of the optimal policy is developed, and two example problems are presented in some detail.
INFLUENCE OF POWER BASES IN ORGANIZATIONAL DECISION MAKING: A CONTINGENCY MODEL*
Authors: Shukla Ramesh K.
Published: June 2007

The relative influence of four power bases was investigated in four decision‐making contexts using data from forty successfully implemented decisions. The analysis suggests that position power decreases in influence while resource power and political power increase in influence as decision contexts vary from less to more uncertainty. Expert power derives its influence when organizational uncertainty is low and when technical uncertainty is reduced, whereas political power thrives when organizational uncertainty is high and when technical uncertainty remains high. Indexing the influence of power bases provides greater understanding of decision processes than the sociological or social‐psychological approaches of studying participation.
A CANONICAL ANALYSIS OF MANAGERIAL‐ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS: IMPLICATIONS FOR METHODOLOGY AND POLICY*
Authors: Smith Howard L. , James William L. , Fottler Myron D.
Published: June 2007

The present study uses canonical analysis to examine the contingency model of organizations in the nursing home field. Data on environmental pressures and managerial practices relevant to the decision‐making process are analyzed. Results support the theory that managerial practices are contingent on environmental pressures. The implications of these results for health‐care decision makers and for future assessments of managerial‐environmental relationships are discussed.
State of the Art: RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN DECISION MAKING UNDER UNCERTAINTY*
Authors: Winkler Robert L.
Published: June 2007

This paper considers the modeling of decision‐making problems under uncertainty, indicating current gaps in knowledge and promising research directions. Technical details are omitted, and no attempt is made to review past work since excellent recent reviews are available. The discussion of research topics is divided into four categories: model formulation, modeling uncertainty, modeling preferences, and modeling competitive and group decisions. The primary focus is normative, although descriptive work that can be valuable from a normative perspective is included. The suggested research directions cover the entire spectrum from theory to application.

Subject Areas: Decision Analysis, Statistical Decision Theory, and Game Theory.
THE EFFECT AND COST OF FORECAST ERROR BIAS FOR MULTIPLE‐STAGE PRODUCTION‐INVENTORY SYSTEMS
Authors: Biggs Joseph R. , Campion William M.
Published: June 2007

This paper examines forecast error with an intention not to minimize forecast error so much as to bias the resultant error in order to achieve better managerial results. Much work has been accomplished by other researchers toward the goal of minimizing forecast error—sometimes by the use of sophisticated forecasting techniques. The results of this paper indicate that manipulating forecast error bias may be the better managerial strategy as opposed to going to great lengths to minimize forecast error.

Subject Areas: Forecasting, Aggregate Planning, Capacity Planning, and Production/Operations Management.
OPERATING POLICIES FOR SCHEDULING ASSEMBLED PRODUCTS
Authors: Goodwin Jack S. , Goodwin James C.
Published: June 2007

This paper describes a simulation study of the relative impact of different operating policies on performance of a hypothetical multistage production system that produces assembled products. The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of operating policy rules on system performance. Several performance criteria, including flow time and earliness and tardiness measures, were used to evaluate system performance. Results show that performance of the production system is significantly influenced by the operating policy rules, although the relative impact of the rules is dependent on the performance measure considered. Interactions between and among policy rules were also found to be important in several cases. Overall, the results indicate that much previous research in non‐assembly systems can be generalized to assembly systems.

Subject Areas: Scheduling, Material Requirements Planning, and Simulation.
Applications and Implementation: OBTAINING PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS BY JURY: QUANTIFICATION BY INDIRECT SCALING
Authors: Palvia Prashant
Published: June 2007

This paper describes an innovative method for obtaining citizen input for public decision‐making and budgeting processes. The method draws respondents from the county district court juror pool as the sample base and conducts a rather specialized survey on them. The sample base has been found to be satisfactory in terms of its representativeness and reliability. The process provides local governments a simple, convenient, and low‐cost method for obtaining public perceptions. The demonstration cost of this process was only one‐tenth that of comparable commercial surveys.

Subject Areas: Sampling and Survey Methods and Scaling Methods.
ASSESSING INFORMATION SYSTEM VALUE: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
Authors: King William R. , Epstein Barry J.
Published: June 2007

Linear models of information system value that are a function of information attributes are empirically studied by having managers in two firms make assessments of the importance of attributes, the level of satisfaction produced by various levels of each attribute, and the overall value of total systems. The results verify that such models may be quite useful in information system design. It is also shown that ordinally ranked attributes work as well as the interval‐scaled attributes in the linear model. Since ordinal measures are easier to obtain, this suggests that “linear ordinal” models may be the most practical method of quantifying information systems value.
COST INCREASES DUE TO DEMAND UNCERTAINTY IN MRP LOT SIZING
Authors: De Bodt Marc A. , Van Wassenhove Luk N.
Published: June 2007

This paper analyzes the cost increases due to demand uncertainty in single‐level MRP lot sizing on a rolling horizon. It is shown that forecast errors have a tremendous effect on the cost effectiveness of lot‐sizing techniques even when these forecast errors are small. Moreover, the cost differences between different techniques become rather insignificant in the presence of forecast errors. Since most industrial firms face demand uncertainty to some extent, our findings may have important managerial implications. Various simulation experiments give insight into both the nature and the magnitude of the cost increases for different heuristics. Analytical results are developed for the constant‐demand case with random noise and forecasting by exponential smoothing. It is also shown how optimal buffers can be obtained by use of a simple model. Although the analysis in this paper is restricted to simplified cases, the results merit further consideration and study. This paper is one of the first to inject forecast errors into MRP lot‐sizing research. As such it attempts to deal with one of the major objections against the practical relevance of previous research in this area.
AN APPROXIMATION TO THE HYPERCUBE MODEL WITH PATROL‐INITIATED ACTIVITIES: AN APPLICATION TO POLICE
Authors: McKnew Mark A.
Published: June 2007

This paper applies the patrol‐initiated‐activity hypercube queuing model to historical data from a police agency. The model allows servers to handle both calls assigned by a central dispatcher and activities initiated by the servers. By duplicating a fairly complex dispatch strategy, the model was found to predict both assigned and server‐initiated work loads accurately for the overall system and individual servers. The model is apparently ineffective in predicting small unit‐travel‐time differences for this police agency.
SOME TENTATIVE COMMENTS ON JAPANESE AND AMERICAN DECISION MAKING
Authors: Doktor Robert
Published: June 2007

Ample literature attests to the existence of differential views of causation held by Japanese as compared to Americans. Some new evidence links, in a rather complex manner, these differing causation maps to physiological brain structure. Review of this new evidence somewhat clarifies the nature of the differences in views of causation and preliminarily points toward the developmental phenomena underlying these differences. This, in turn, may help researchers interpret the differences in management practices existent within the two cultures under study.
A COMPARISON OF INVESTMENT ALLOCATION STRATEGIES FOR DISTRIBUTION INVENTORIES
Authors: Gardner Everette S.
Published: June 2007

Management goals in distribution inventories are often expressed in terms of the maximum percentage of aggregate sales that should be back ordered. This paper compares several strategies for allocating total inventory investment to each item stocked in order to meet such goals. Computational results are given from a wholesale distribution inventory. The results show that multi‐item strategies (which consider the interactions between items) require substantially less investment to meet management goals than strategies that treat each line item independently. All models in this research are approximations based on the assumptions commonly used in practice.
STRUCTURED OBSERVATION OF THE DECISION‐MAKING ENVIRONMENT: A RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ASSESSMENT
Authors: Kendall Kenneth E. , Kendall Julie E.
Published: June 2007

Information analysts gather and interpret information regarding organizational decision making. One source of information is the physical environment of the decision maker. A system for structured observation of the environment (STROBE) was developed and was used to gather information on administrators and medical directors of regional blood service organizations in the United States and Canada. Our results suggest that the reliability of STROBE is high and validity is acceptable, suggesting that STROBE may be useful in gathering data usually obtained through interviewing or observing behavior of decision makers.
A COMMENT ON THE COST OF NEW ISSUES OF COMMON STOCK
Authors: Benesh Gary A. , Celec Stephen E.
Published: June 2007

According to the constant growth model and perceived finance theory, the cost of new external equity exceeds the cost of retained earnings due to flotation costs and underpricing. Carlson and Dietz [1] have recently argued that the constant growth model is operationally inadequate whenever the net proceeds from the issuance of a new share differ from book value. Specifically, they contend that the cost of new external equity is less than the cost of retained earnings whenever the net proceeds from a new share exceed book value. We show that these conclusions stem from an error in interpretation and therefore that the constant growth model is valid regardless of the relationship between market prices and book value.
COMPUTER GRAPHICS AS DECISION AIDS: DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH*
Authors: DeSanctis Gerardine
Published: June 2007

Computer‐generated graphics are becoming increasingly available to decision makers. Despite claims on the part of vendors that the use of graphics will improve decision speed and quality over traditional methods of data display, the available evidence is far from supportive. Initial studies show graphics to be no more effective in communicating information than tables. Correct interpretation of graphical displays appears to require training, which most users lack. Furthermore, there is evidence that those features that make a graph visually attractive—such as color, design complexity, and realism—may actually detract from accurate comprehension. This paper summarizes the literature dealing with the human use of graphics, develops several propositions based on persistent trends in the literature, and suggests directions for future research.
ON MODELING ADVERTISING PULSING DECISIONS
Authors: Mesak Hani I.
Published: June 2007

Based on empirical findings in the literature, sales response to advertising pulsing policy (APP) is modeled mathematically. The implications for APP are discussed. This policy is compared with an alternative policy of uniform expenditures (UAP), a commonly used strategy. The results of the research indicate that substantial savings in advertising budget or an increase in sales revenues may be achieved for a firm using APP.
JOB‐SHOP VS. HYBRID FLOW‐SHOP ROUTING IN A DUAL RESOURCE CONSTRAINED SYSTEM
Authors: Elvers Douglas A. , Treleven Mark D.
Published: June 2007

This paper studies the impact of job routing pattern on the performance of dual resource constrained (DRC) systems. Three markedly different job routing patterns are simulated using a DRC system model that incorporates labor transfer times. The problem is viewed from two perspectives: one portion of the analysis focuses on the relative performances of five different dispatching rules as the routing pattern varies; the other examines the effect of the routing pattern on each rule's individual performance. One generalized conclusion of this study is that routing pattern has no significant impact on the relative effectiveness of various dispatching rules. Consequently, findings from pure job‐shop research studies may be applied to situations where a mixture of job‐shop and flow‐shop routings is present.
CATEGORY WIDTH COGNITIVE STYLE AS A FACTOR IN ACCOUNTANTS' PERCEPTIONS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION
Authors: Gul Ferdinand A.
Published: June 2007

This paper reports the findings of a laboratory experiment designed to investigate the relationship of category width (CW) cognitive style with accountants' perceptions of accounting information. Subjects drawn from large accounting firms in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, Australia, were classified into broad, medium, and narrow categories following the test devised by Pettigrew [19]. Subjects were requested to state their level of confidence in decisions they had made after receiving (1) conventional accounting information or (2) conventional accounting information and human resources accounting (HRA) information using a one‐group pretest‐posttest design. The results indicated a significant relationship between CW cognitive style and the accountants' confidence in their decisions. Furthermore, CW cognitive style moderated the accounting‐information/decision‐making relationship.
Applications and Implementation DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT FOR DECISION MAKING
Authors: Goslar Martin D. , Green Gary I. , Hughes Terry H.
Published: June 2007

A laboratory experiment examined the effects of applying decision support system (DSS) technology to decision making in ill‐structured problem environments under varying information conditions. Marketing executives participated in the experiment which investigated the effects of DSS availability, DSS training, and data availability on dependent variables that included: (1) the number of alternatives considered by a subject during decision making, (2) the period of time spent by a subject to complete the decision‐making process, (3) the subject's perceived confidence in the decisions he or she had made, (4) the amount of data considered by a subject's during decision making, (5) the individual subject's decision processing, and (6) the subject's performance overall. Our results indicate that all three factors significantly affect the number of alternatives considered by subjects during the decision‐making process. We therefore suggest that DSS training be coordinated with decision training in order to realize the potential of DSSs as described in the DSS literature.
Education DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A TOOL FOR ASSIGNING STUDENTS TO GROUPS FOR CLASS PROJECTS*
Authors: Beheshtian‐Ardekani Mehdi , Mahmood Mo A.
Published: June 2007

Group project work is an integral part of many university courses. Assigning students to project groups can be difficult because of the students' diverse backgrounds. Many instructors therefore decide not to assign group projects. This paper develops and validates an instrument that assigns both experienced and inexperienced students to different project groups, thereby creating a balanced, fair environment. The instrument is checked for reliability and validity and then is used to assign students to different project groups. Based on group performance, the end‐of‐the‐semester results also are provided. Path analysis is used to test a causal model. Conclusions and implications for future research are presented.
COMPARING FORECAST ACCURACY FOR EXPONENTIAL SMOOTHING MODELS OF EARNINGS‐PER‐SHARE DATA FOR FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING
Authors: Brandon Charles , Jarrett Jeffrey E. , Khumawala Saleha B.
Published: June 2007

This paper relates recent research in predicting accounting earnings per share (EPS) to an experiment comparing the performance of extrapolative forecasting models. The paper points out the usefulness of the results to decision‐making processes such as those used in portfolio analysis or financial management. The statistical results of the experiment point to the usefulness of the Holt‐Winter (HW) model in predicting EPS for a random sample of firms over a 20‐year horizon. For short‐term forecasting, the HW model provides relatively accurate forecasts in comparison to other methods used. HW is likely to be a costeffective alternative to more time‐consuming and expensive techniques.
Notes and Communications REPLANNING FREQUENCIES FOR MASTER PRODUCTION SCHEDULES
Authors: Chung Chen‐Hua , Krajewski Lee J.
Published: June 2007

Updating production plans typically is achieved by rolling the planning horizon forward one period at a time, each time including the latest information in order to determine the best course of action to pursue in the present period. Theoretical planning‐horizon studies have identified the conditions by which the production decisions in the current and some specified number of future periods remain optimal given some set of future demands. Motivated by these findings, this study addresses the replanning frequency in a hierarchical production planning problem where no planning‐horizon theorems are available. In this problem the aggregate production plan and the master production schedule are linked by a rolling‐horizon practice. Empirical experimentation indicates that under certain cost and demand conditions the master production schedule need not be updated every period. If a schedule does not need to be updated for several periods, the schedule for these periods can be frozen to provide stability for planning components at lower levels in the bill of material of the products. The results of this study thus provide some reference for the determination of the frozen portion of the master production schedule.
A JOINT ECONOMIC‐LOT‐SIZE MODEL FOR PURCHASER AND VENDOR
Authors: Banerjee Avijit
Published: June 2007

In a typical purchasing situation, the issues of price, lot sizing, etc., usually are settled through negotiations between the purchaser and the vendor. Depending on the existing balance of power, the end result of such a bargaining process may be a near‐optimal or optimal ordering policy for one of the parties (placing the other in a position of significant disadvantage) or, sometimes, inoptimal policies for both parties. This paper develops a joint economic‐lot‐size model for a special case where a vendor produces to order for a purchaser on a lot‐for‐lot basis under deterministic conditions. The focus of this model is the joint total relevant cost. It is shown that a jointly optimal ordering policy, together with an appropriate price adjustment, can be beneficial economically for both parties or, at the least, does not place either at a disadvantage.
INDUSTRY RESOURCE ALLOCATION TO BASIC RESEARCH UNDER NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED BENEFITS*
Authors: Joglekar Prafulla , Hamburg Morris
Published: June 2007

The failure of a free market system to attain socially optimal allocation of resources to research and development (R&D) is a generally recognized problem. However, we are just beginning to understand the types of R&D activities that receive relatively serious underinvestment from specific types of industries and the types of governmental intervention strategies that are likely to be effective and efficient in the correction of that underinvestment. Recently, Joglekar and Hamburg [16] [17] sought answers to these types of questions using models of the resource allocation behavior of firms considering investment in basic research related to their industry. It was assumed that the firms' benefits were exponentially distributed. In the present article, such benefits are assumed to be normally distributed, and an attempt is made to verify the earlier conclusions and policy implications of [16] and [17]. The results are similar for these two substantially different types of distribution, but the earlier conclusions and policy implications are clarified, qualified, and extended.
THE CLASSIC ECONOMIC PRODUCTION QUANTITY MODEL WITH SETUP COST AS A FUNCTION OF CAPITAL EXPENDITURE*
Authors: Billington Peter J.
Published: June 2007

The formulation of the classic economic production quantity (EPQ) model is extended to include setup cost as a function of capital expense. Additional capital will buy reduced setup cost. Thus, the objective now is to balance holding, setup, and capital expenses.

This new formulation is solved under conditions where setup cost varies exponentially and linearly as a function of capital expense. Decision rules are formulated to indicate under what conditions setup cost reduction reduces total cost. For the linear function, it is shown that once the decision to reduce setup cost is justified, the optimal choice is the minimum setup cost that is technologically feasible.
AHP DESIGN ISSUES FOR LARGE‐SCALE SYSTEMS
Authors: Weiss Elliott N. , Rao Vithala R.
Published: June 2007

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a decision analysis technique that uses judgments from a group of relevant decision makers and hierarchical decomposition to derive a set of ratio‐scaled utility measures for decision alternatives. This paper addresses a number of design issues involved in the implementation of AHP for large‐scale systems. Specifically, it describes the use of incomplete experimental designs for simplifying data‐collection tasks. The effects of reducing the size of the hierarchy through attribute deletion and the effects of including identical attributes on any given level also are evaluated.
A METHODOLOGY FOR LABOR SCHEDULING IN A SERVICE OPERATING SYSTEM
Authors: Bechtold Stephen E. , Showalter Michael J.
Published: June 2007

In the increasingly competitive services sector, utilization of the labor force can make the difference between profits or losses. Until recently, service operations managers had a limited set of tools, most of them computer‐based, for scheduling labor. This paper offers a manual heuristic for labor scheduling that outperforms traditional algorithmic solution approaches.

Specifically, this study examines the problem of scheduling employees in service delivery system subject to demand variability. The manual heuristic proposed asigns full‐time empolyees to weekly work schedules with the objective of minimizing the total number of labor hours scheduled. The performance of the manual heuristic is compared to the classical algorithmic solution and to a lower bound for a variety of demand distributions and system operating conditions. The heuristic is shown to produce a smaller work force than the classical approach in 106 of the 108 demand‐operating condition patterns examined.
A LARGE‐SCALE PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT MODEL FOR THE NAVY*
Authors: Liang Timothy T. , Thompson Theodore J.
Published: June 2007

The U.S. Navy has been trying for years to develop a model to automate its personnel assignment process The requirement of rotating navy personnel frequently between sea duty and shore duty in accordance with multiple policies makes modeling efforts difficult. However, without a model to optimize assignments with regard to multiple policies, navy managers do not know the real impact of personnel assignments. This limits their ability to make effective decisions. This paper summarizes our effort to develop a large‐scale network model for the navy's assignment problem. The navy has accepted this model for implementation, replacing the current manual assignment process. The approach in this paper can be generalized to a wide variety of perosnnel assignment problems.