bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diffusion of Modern Software Practices: Influence of Centralization and Formalization
Authors: Zmud Robert W. 
Published: November 2008

Centralization and formalization have previously been employed in research designs investigating organizational innovation. The results, however, have been mixed. Three arguments are raised toward explaining this inconsistency. First, innovation is a multi-phased process in which the influence of centralization and formalization could be expected to differ. Second, as innovations may vary with regard to their compatibility to individuals in organizations, the expected influence of centralization and formalization may also vary. Third, organizational innovations may be directed toward particular vested interests, such as the technical or administrative core. Accordingly, the influence of centralization and formalization may also vary. This paper reports on a study which examines the influence of centralization and formalization on organizational innovation given the arguments given above. The effectiveness of employing structural overlays to overcome the conflicting forces often arising between organizational processes and particular organizational behaviors—such as innovative behavior—is investigated as well. Managers of 49 software development groups responded to a questionnaire assessing the influences of centralization and formalization on the initiation, adoption, and implementation of six modern software practices (MSP) within their software groups. Three of the MSP were technical in nature and three were administrative. The technical MSP were viewed as being incompatible to the technical core. Two structural overlays were investigated regarding their ability to improve the diffusion process: the existence of a formal body responsible for identifying MSP and introducing them into the software group; and, the assignment of computer specialists to projects as “set” teams.
Modeling to Generate Alternatives: The HSJ Approach and an Illustration Using a Problem in Land Use Planning
Authors: Brill E. Downey , Chang Shoou-Yuh , Hopkins Lewis D. 
Published: November 2008

Public-sector planning problems are typically complex, and some important planning issues cannot be captured within a mathematical programming model of a problem; such issues may be qualitative in nature, unknown, or unrevealed by decisionmakers. Furthermore, there are often numerous solutions to a mathematical formulation that are nearly the same with respect to modeled issues but that are drastically different from each other in decision space. In such cases, some of these solutions may be significantly better than others with respect to unmodeled issues. Thus, a potentially important role of programming models is to generate a small number of alternative solutions that are feasible, perform well with respect to modeled issues, and are significantly different with respect to the decisions they specify. Such a set of alternatives may aid analysts and decision makers in understanding the problem and may serve as a catalyst for human creativity and invention. The Hop, Skip, and Jump (HSJ) method has been developed for this purpose. It is designed to produce alternative solutions that are very different from previously generated solutions. Each solution generated is good in the sense that it meets targets specified for modeled objectives. The technique is described in this paper, and is illustrated using a multiobjective linear programming model of a land use planning problem provided by a regional planning commission. In this case, the method is shown to be capable of generating alternative solutions that perform well with respect to the modeled objectives and that are drastically different with respect to the land use pattern specified. Differences among solutions are discussed using visual inspection as well as simple quantitative measures. The technique can be used to extend the capabilities of existing mathematical programming packages.
The Application of Queueing Theory to Continuous Perishable Inventory Systems
Authors: Graves Stephen C. 
Published: November 2008

This paper develops two distinct models for studying inventory systems with continuous production and perishable items. The perishable items have a deterministic usable life after which they must be outdated. For each of the models, analytical expressions derived from queueing theory, are found for the steady-state distribution of system inventory. Knowledge of this steady-state behavior may be used for evaluation of system performance, and for consideration of alternatives for improving system performance. Both models assume that inventory is replenished by a continuous production process. The first model, assuming continuous inventory units, has Poisson demand requests with the size of each request distributed as an exponential random variable. The second model has Poisson demand requests with all demands being for a single unit. The analysis for both models exploits the similarity of the inventory system with a single-server queueing system.
Relative Risk Aversion
Authors: Dyer James S. , Sarin Rakesh K. 
Published: November 2008

An individual's preference for risky alternatives is influenced by the strength of preference he feels for the consequences and his attitude toward risk taking. Conventional measures of risk attitude confound these two factors. In this paper we formally separate these factors and explore how this separation might significantly enhance our understanding of decision making under risk. We introduce a new measure of risk attitude defined relative to strength of preference. This measure is based on comparing an individual's von Neumann-Morgenstern utility function to his strength of preference function. The properties of this measure of relative risk attitude are developed. The concept of relative risk attitude has several important implications. First, it provides a better description of an individual's attitude toward risk. Second, it provides a better way to combine preferences of various experts in the context of multicriteria decision making. Finally, it provides a better insight into the implications of some commonly employed preference aggregation rules in group decision making.
A 0-1 Model for Solving the Corrugator Trim Problem
Authors: Haessler Robert W. , Talbot F. Brian 
Published: November 2008

A new method for solving the corrugator trim problem is presented. This problem draws its name from the difficult task facing scheduling personnel in corrugator box plants each day: to determine the least-cost method of combining customer orders on the corrugator, where one of the major costs to avoid is waste or excess trim lost from the materials used. Trim loss, however, is only one of several major concerns. Others include corrugator width utilization, cutting pattern changes, avoidance of split orders, and so on. A full discussion of these factors and associated trade-offs is included in the paper. The solution procedure presented is capable of dealing with these and other trade-offs in a systematic manner. In particular, this approach eliminates the spreading of orders over several stock sizes, a characteristic which has plagued the linear programming-based procedures that have been proposed for solving the problem. This improved material handling characteristic of the solution is obtained through the controlled generation of solution elements. These elements then become potential activities to be scheduled by a 0-1 integer programming algorithm. The algorithm used is well suited to computers of moderate size and speed. In addition to solving the corrugator trim problem, the proposed method has sufficient flexibility to make it a useful vehicle for solving similar problems in other industries which manufacture such products as glass, steel, composition board, and furniture.
Formulation and Solution of Nonlinear Integer Production Planning Problems for Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Authors: Stecke Kathryn E. 
Published: November 2008

A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is an integrated, computer-controlled complex of automated material handling devices and numerically controlled machine tools that can simultaneously process medium-sized volumes of a variety of part types. FMSs are becoming an attractive substitute for the conventional means of batch manufacturing, especially in the metal-cutting industry. This new production technology has been designed to attain the efficiency of well-balanced, machine-paced transfer lines, while utilizing the flexibility that job shops have to simultaneously machine multiple part types. Some properties and constraints of these systems are similar to those of flow and job shops, while others are different. This technology creates the need to develop new and appropriate planning and control procedures that take advantage of the system's capabilities for higher production rates. This paper defines a set of five production planning problems that must be solved for efficient use of an FMS, and addresses specifically the grouping and loading problems. These two problems are first formulated in detail as nonlinear 0-1 mixed integer programs. In an effort to develop solution methodologies for these two planning problems, several linearization methods are examined and applied to data from an existing FMS. To decrease computational time, the constraint size of the linearized integer problems is reduced according to various methods. Several real world problems are solved in very reasonable time using the linearization that results in the fewest additional constraints and/or variables. The problem characteristics that determine which linearization to use, and the application of the linearized models in the solution of actual planning problems, are also discussed.
Simple Approaches to Shift, Days-Off and Tour Scheduling Problems
Authors: Morris James G. , Showalter Michael J. 
Published: November 2008

Shift and days-off scheduling problems have received much attention in the literature of integer programming approaches to workforce scheduling. A typical managerial use would be to schedule full-time employees to minimize the number of labor hours while satisfying variable workforce requirements of a service delivery system. We present computational experience to show that an easily implemented application of linear programming frequently produces optimal solutions to these problems. When the context progresses toward a continuous operating environment (service delivery over 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) we stress the need to shed the myopic views of the shift and days-off scheduling formulations in favor of an integrative tour scheduling formulation. For this problem we observe that a simple heuristic initiated by rounding down the associated LP solution consistently produces near optimal solutions. This observation is based on experiments over varying workforce requirement patterns.
The Elimination form of the Inverse and its Application to Linear Programming
Authors: Markowitz Harry M. 
Published: November 2008

It is common for matrices in industrial applications of linear programming to have a large proportion of zero coefficients. While every item (raw material, intermediate material, end item, equipment item) in, say, a petroleum refinery may be indirectly related to every other, any particular process uses few of these. Thus the matrix describing petroleum technology has a small percentage of non-zeros. If spacial or temporal distinctions are introduced into the model the percentage of non-zeros generally falls further. The present paper discusses a form of inverse which is especially convenient to obtain and use for matrices with a high percentage of zeros. The application of this form of inverse in linear programming is also discussed.
The Groves Scheme, Profit Sharing and Moral Hazard
Authors: Cohen Susan I. , Loeb Martin 
Published: November 2008

Considered in this paper is the problem of intrafirm resource allocation. Two incentive schemes, the Groves scheme and profit sharing, have been presented in the literature as ways of dealing with this problem under conditions of asymmetric information. In the absence of effort aversion by division managers, it has been shown that truth-telling forms a dominant strategy equilibrium using the Groves scheme and a Nash equilibrium using profit sharing. The analysis in this paper allows for the problem of moral hazard (effort aversion) as well as the problem of asymmetric information. It is shown that for a deterministic case in which the headquarters seeks to maximize a measure of total profits gross of divisional rewards, a reinterpreted Groves scheme will yield a dominant equilibrium. At this equilibrium, the headquarters implicitly considers the division managers' effort levels as a cost to the firm. It is also shown that in the presence of moral hazard, profit sharing will not generally yield a Nash equilibrium. Furthermore, profit sharing may encourage the transmission of misinformation by a division manager so as to change the division's capital allocation and reduce the effort level subsequently selected by the manager.
A Partial Covering Approach to Siting Response Resources for Major Maritime Oil Spills
Authors: Belardo S. , Harrald J. , Wallace W. A. , Ward J. 
Published: November 2008

In this paper, oil spills occurring near shore in semienclosed waterways are viewed as emergency events. A partial set covering model, similar to those developed for firehouse location analysis, is applied to the problem of locating oil spill response equipment. The model includes both assessments of the relative probability of occurrence and the impact after occurrence of various spill types. A multiple objective approach enables the decisionmaker to evaluate strategies without confounding the probability of occurrence with the impact of occurrence. The paper discusses how the model can be used to support the decisions of emergency response planners who must subjectively solve the problem of attaining the best overall protection with existing resources while minimizing the risk of being unprepared for politically and environmentally sensitive events. The model discussed in the paper, although employed in a resource constrained mode, can also be used in a budget-constrained mode. The model is applied to the problem of locating oil spill response equipment on Long Island Sound, and implications for public policy are discussed in this context.
Stochastic Dominance Decision Rules when the Attributes are Utility Independent
Authors: Mosler K. C. 
Published: November 2008

In multivariate decisions under risk, assessing the complete utility function can be a major obstacle. Decision rules are investigated which characterize uniformly better alternatives with respect to a whole class of utility functions. In this paper independence assumptions are imposed on the preference structure while the levels of attributes may be stochastically dependent in an arbitrary way. The utilities considered are additive, multiplicative, or multilinear. Necessary and sufficient conditions are developed for uniform decisions over utilities with common substitutional structure and where the univariate conditional utilities show qualitative properties such as risk aversion. The rules are direct extensions of known univariate rules and easy to evaluate.
Successful Information System Development in Relation to Situational Factors Which Affect Effective Communication Between MIS-Users and EDP-Specialists
Authors: De Brabander B. , Thiers G. 
Published: November 2008

The paper describes the results of an experimental test of a theoretical model which explains under what circumstances the interaction between MIS-users and EDP-specialists during the design of an information system will lead to success (i.e., efficient task-accomplishment). The research also includes an experiment about the influence of a third party playing different kinds of mediating roles. The results confirm the theoretical model. They are also corroborated by the findings in two case studies in a car-manufacturing firm, briefly discussed at the end of the paper. It appears that the users of the information system who have to deal with EDP-specialists having sanctionary power over them (a case of power asymmetry) are less inclined to implement the system exactly as the user and the specialist had agreed upon, than users not so dependent upon the EDP-specialist (i.e., no power asymmetry). This effect seems to be more pronounced when there exists a semantic gap between the user and the specialist (i.e., when they use different concepts for the task). Moreover, such defective implementation behavior (i.e., not adhere to the plan) seems to entail less efficient task-accomplishment. As predicted by the model, the presence of a third party which stimulates the user to neglect the possible implications of power asymmetry so that effective communication among the parties is reestablished nullifies the disturbing effect of power asymmetry and semantic gap mentioned above. Some organizational design implications of the findings are discussed.
Reducing Control Loss in Organizations: The Implications of Dual Hierarchies, Mentoring and Strengthening Vertical Dyadic Linkages
Authors: Evans Martin G. 
Published: November 2008

Using Williamson's (1971) control loss model, the relative merits of dual hierarchies (P. B. Evans [Evans, P. B. 1975. Multiple hierarchies and organizational control. Admin. Sci. Quart. 20 250–259.), strong vertical dyadic linkages, and mentoring for reducing overall control loss are explored. The potential impact for each organizational structure or process is assessed. Simulations are performed to examine the impact of each of these organizational arrangements for organizations with hierarchical levels ranging from 3 to 11 levels. In addition, the effects of deteriorating control at each level are investigated. In the discussion of appropriate control strategies, a number of other organizational characteristics are discussed. I conclude that: Under conditions of sequential or reciprocal interdependence, building uniformly high control efficiency throughout the organization is essential. In small organizations (and those with high turnover) dual hierarchies and cadre relations are appropriate mechanisms for reducing control loss. In large organizations (and those with low turnover) mentoring and cadres are appropriate.
The Effects of Communication on Technological Innovation
Authors: Ebadi Yar M. , Utterback James M. 
Published: November 2008

This study examined the relationship between communication and technological innovation. It focused on the patterns of technical communication among researchers and organizations to find out if these patterns had any effect on the success of technological innovation. The objectives were to: (1) investigate the effects of communication on technological innovation at an individual level, and (2) study the effects of interorganizational communication on technological innovation. Data were gathered from the principal investigators of 117 Sea Grant research projects, which were randomly selected from a sampling frame of 495 projects. Bivariate correlation, and partial correlation, were employed in analyzing the data. The findings indicate that at the individual level, the frequency, centrality, and diversity of communication all have positive effects on the success of technological innovation. However, the frequency of communication was found to have a greater effect than either centrality or diversity of communication on technological innovation. It was also found that high formality of communication had a negative effect on technological innovation. On the aggregate level, network cohesiveness, centrality, and diversity of communications all were positively related to technological innovation. Several managerial implications may be suggested. These implications include management attempts to facilitate and promote exchange of information among researchers and among organizations, joint research projects and other interactive activities.
A Multiple Dispatch Queueing Model of Police Patrol Operations
Authors: Green Linda 
Published: November 2008

One of the primary concerns of urban police departments is the effective use of patrol cars. In large cities, police assigned to patrol cars typically account for more than 50% of total police manpower and their allocation has become particularly crucial in light of recent fiscal cutbacks. The police patrol system is a complex multi-server queueing system, and recently many urban police departments have been using queueing models to estimate delays in responding to calls for police assistance. The magnitude of these delays is usually one basis for measuring system efficiency as well as for determining allocations of patrol cars among precincts. A major limitation of these models is that they assume that only a single unit is dispatched to each call. In general, this is not the case, particularly in police departments with one-officer patrol cars. This paper describes a model that has been developed to represent patrol car operations more accurately. It is a multi-priority queueing model that explicitly reflects multiple car dispatches. Its purpose is not only to provide a better basis for the efficient allocation of patrol cars, but to enable police officials to gauge the effects of policies, such as one-officer patrol cars, which affect the number of cars dispatched to various types of incidents.
A Mixture of Dynamic Programming and Branch-and-Bound for the Subset-Sum Problem
Authors: Martello Silvano , Toth Paolo 
Published: November 2008

Given n items, each having a weight wi, and a container of capacity W, the Subset-Sum Problem (SSP) is to select a subset of the items whose total weight is closest to, without exceeding, W. The paper presents a mixed approach (depth first search-dynamic programming) to the exact solution of the problem. An extensive computational experience is presented, comparing the proposed algorithm with that of Ahrens-Finke, as well as with the Balas-Zemel algorithm for large problems. Both “easy” and “hard” problems with values of n up to 10,000 are considered.
Ordinal Ranking with Intensity of Preference
Authors: Cook Wade D. , Kress Moshe 
Published: November 2008

In conventional ordinal ranking models the voter/ranker supplies an ordered set of preferences on a collection of objects without specifying any form of intensity of preference. For example, an executive committee of ten members is required to assign five candidates to five positions. The nature of the positions is such that position one requires the highest qualified candidate (relative to a given attribute), position two the second qualified person and so on. Each one of the members in the committee is required, therefore, to supply a ranking of the five candidates and from each individual preference the committee must come up with an aggregate or consensus ranking which dictates the assignments of the candidates to the jobs. In many situations, however, it is desirable to permit the individual to express some measure of intensity of preference. For example, suppose that six committee members agreed that candidate number one is slightly better than candidate number two, but four of them evaluated candidate number two as being much better than candidate number one. The question now is whether this situation is identical to the case where the six members evaluate candidate one as much better than candidate two and four members evaluate candidate two as slightly better than candidate one. The ordinal ranking model will not distinguish between the above two cases while it is clear that when taking account of the intensity of preference, the committee should end up with two different consensus rankings. This paper develops a model for aggregating ordinal rankings in which the voter is allowed to express such intensity of preferences, and a method to derive the consensus ranking is proposed.