bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
National Airlines Fuel Management and Allocation Model
Authors: Darnell D. Wayne , Loflin Carolyn 
Published: October 2008

The Fuel Management and Allocation Model determines the optimal strategy for fueling aircraft and can be used to support both short and long-term planning. It has been used operationally by the Fuels Management and Flight Control Departments of National Airlines for over two years, resulting in multi-million dollar savings. The model specifies the best fueling station and vendor for each flight, based on prices, availability, fuel burn, flight data, and cost of tankerage. The model also uses extensive sensitivity analysis techniques to alert management as to when a new policy may be required.
Why Wait for Crises to Reveal the Unusual Opportunities for Management Science Applications in Your Organization?
Authors: Noble Carl E. 
Published: October 2008

This paper presents four case studies in which factories were operating in apparently healthy states until crises revealed the inadequacy of their information and control systems. Investigations following each of the crises disclosed that: (1) The efficiencies of these factories, while in apparently healthy states, were well below their potentials, (2) Management was making decisions without meaningful information, on the basis of irrelevant information and/or without knowledge of large variations in their testing and production process and (3) The information and control systems often lacked valid links with either the suppliers or customers. Additionally, these systems often lacked the necessary underlying logic that would permit them to cope with significant changes in raw materials, machinery, personnel, customer requirements, etc. These four case studies were selected from twenty years of experience in the paper industry, but similar studies could be taken from personal experiences in the apparel, cosmetic, toiletry and electronics industries.
An Application of Management Science to Bank Borrowing Strategies
Authors: Crane Dwight B. , Knoop Frederick , Pettigrew William 
Published: October 2008

The twelve Federal Land Bank of the Farm Credit System borrow large amounts in the capital markets to provide funds for their farm lending activities. Each year these privately owned banks sell $5 to $6 billion of bonds in a series of quarterly sales to refund maturing bonds and provide new funds for loan growth. The decision problem each quarter is to select maturities for the current sale. This is a complicated decision that must take into account current interest rates for alternative maturities, uncertain costs of future borrowing, perceived marketability of various maturities, and policy quidelines adopted by the Banks. To help in the maturity selection, we developed a linear programming model that has been used as part of the quarterly decision-making process since mid-1974. We also developed a procedure for using the model so that it helps evaluate borrowing strategies in an uncertain interest rate environment. Keys to the success of the procedure are management's involvement in helping to specify possible future interest rate scenarios and in identifying specific borrowing strategies that are both practical and potentially desirable, given the range of possible rate environments. The model is used at an early stage to identify borrowing strategies appropriate to each interest rate scenario and later to evaluate the externally specified strategies across rate environments. From this analysis we are able to recommend bond maturities that provide a good balance between the objectives of keeping current costs low and limiting risks associated with uncertain future interest rates.
The Value of Queueing Theory
Authors: Byrd Jack 
Published: October 2008

Queueing theory is one of those subjects most frequently taught in beginning operations research/management science courses. However, practitioners of OR/MS may question the practicality of teaching queueing theory, given the sparsity of articles showing actual applications. While numerous articles on queueing developments have appeared in the literature, and a few articles showing “alleged” applications have surfaced, the number of articles showing true implementations with documented savings are few if not nonexistent. Why are there so few implementations of queueing theory? The following short case studies may provide an answer. Each of the studies is based upon true facts, although some studies are actually anthologies of several analytical efforts. What follows takes the form of a story involving a project that I assigned to a group of students: they were to apply one of the queueing models they studied to some real-world system. The following sections outline the experiences of each of these students and highlight a class review session that was designed to answer the students' questions arising from their experiences.
Perspectives on MS Applications—All Around the Model
Authors: Shycon Harvey N. 
Published: October 2008

Over the past several years I have perceived a trend in Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) groups within industrial and commercial business organizations. First came the era of the strong central organization, frequently located at the corporate level and reporting to a top corporate officer. Then gradually smaller applications groups formed within operating divisions. Finally there occurred a shrinking and in some cases disappearing of the central group as specifically designated for application of OR/MS techniques. Two recent experiences point up what I perceive is a trend among in-house management science groups, regardless of what they are called. Each of these illustrates a somewhat different kind of corporate situation which gave rise to essentially the same conclusion: it was better to purchase outside skills and techniques than to attempt them in-house.
Development of a Comprehensive Land Use Plan by Means of a Multiple Objective Mathematical Programming Model
Authors: Bammi Deepak , Bammi Dalip 
Published: October 2008

An optimization model was developed which enabled Du Page County Planners to prepare a comprehensive land use plan that considers several objectives simultaneously and also satisfies constraints on desired growth patterns. The plan has been endorsed by several Homeowners Associations, interested citizens groups, and by the various municipalities which have jurisdiction over their individual cities. Thirty-one of the thirty-two municipalities have accepted the County's plan (revisions were asked on only 0.5 percent of the acreage). The County's plan reduced, by 50 percent, the unrealistic high acreages demanded by the communities plan for land uses which generate large net tax revenues. If the communities' plan were to be implemented it would cost an additional 414 million dollars in developmental and energy costs. Of course, it is possible that the communities would become aware of the needs of the citizenry and could change their plans as time progressed and thus the difference in costs would become smaller. On the other hand, many of these developmental costs are irreversible and money once spent on them cannot be recovered. The optimizing function was obtained by weighting the following objectives: minimize “conflict” between adjacent land uses, minimize travel time, minimize tax costs, minimize adverse environmental impact, and minimize costs of community facilities. The land use plan was also used to predict population and employment in various years. The land use plan and the transportation study interacted several times to consider how the results of one affected the other. Thus, this model provided a new framework for the decision-makers to evaluate their existing and proposed programs and policies.
A Planning System for Facilities and Resources in Distribution Networks
Authors: Harrison H. 
Published: October 2008

A system for planning facilities and resources in distribution networks is presented. It was applied at Cahill May Roberts, one of Ireland's largest pharmaceutical companies, having a turnover of $35 million and employing over 300 people. The planning system, a three stage stochastic programming model, is capable of evaluating alternative management strategies in the face of fluctuating costs and population movements over an extended time horizon. Apart from defining unique territories for the company's distribution centres and optimal customer servicing schedules within those territories, the planning system evaluated alternative locations for distribution centres under the twin uncertain ties of cost and demand. The planning model contained approximately 2,000 variables and 300 equations, whilst the undecomposed route planning model encompassed approximately 300 towns/villages and 1,200 customers Both models, therefore required substantial data inputs as successive management objectives and assumptions were examined. To facilitate this data preparation and to achieve solutions in a realistic time, a special matrix generator was developed which had the capability of producing data in the required format and inputing directly into both planning models. The generator controls the entire optimizing process and permits a three hundred-told reduction in data preparation. In effect the generator permits an optimization procedure to be used in a simulation mode. The model achieved savings in delivery and transport costs of 23.3% and 20% respectively, and increased customer service levels by 60%.
Planning Callout Reserves for Aircraft Delays
Authors: Gaballa Adel 
Published: October 2008

The problem dealt with in this paper is that of the number of reserve crews required for aircraft delays callout. The objective to be achieved in this respect is the minimization of the total costs of both the reserve crews and overnight delays. The two costs are inversely related, i.e., as the number of reserve crews is increased, the likely overnight delays and costs are decreased, but the cost of the crews staying idle increases. A good compromise between the two kinds of costs will be that which produces the minimum total costs. The analytical techniques used are those of conditional probabilities. They take into consideration the type of aircraft, union regulations, cabin crew patterns, and the future flying programme. The paper explains the steps of the analysis of the problem, the various reserve policy options and conclusions. The recommendations arising from this paper have been accepted and implemented by management in the financial year 1976/77. This resulted in a total savings of about AUST. $600,000. The method developed in this paper to determine reserve crew level has also been accepted as the planning procedure to be used in future cabin crew budget planning.
Applications Reviews
Authors: Millen Roger N. , Hall John R. 
Published: October 2008

An overview of latest results published elsewhere: —Decision Sciences (AIDS), Vol. 9, No. 4, October 1978; —Management Science (TIMS), Vol. 24, No. 11, July 1978; —Management Science, Vol. 24, No. 12, August 1978; —Management Science, Vol. 24, No. 13, September 1978; —MIS Quarterly (SMIS), Vol. 2, No. 3, September 1978; —Operations Research, Vol. 26, No. 5, September–October 1978; —Policy Analysis, Vol. 4, No. 4, Fall 1978.
Is Implementation Research Relevant for the OR/MS Practitioner?
Authors: Anderson John C. , Chervany Norman L. , Narasimhan Ram 
Published: October 2008

The last decade has seen an increasing awareness of and concern for the problems associated with the successful implementation of OR/MS methods. This growing awareness has produced two results in the “publishing sector” of the OR/MS profession. With some trepidation [White, Charles H. 1977. Applications publication: An experience. Interfaces 7 (August) 125–126.], practitioners of OR/MS have started to publish the results of actual OR/MS projects. The value of these reports for increasing the chance of more successful implementations of OR/MS efforts is summarized in [Woolsey, Gene. 1976. A triennial editorial policy. Interfaces 6 (August) 3–4.]. This article is designed: (1) to examine the relevancy of OR/MS implementation research for practicing OR/MS managers, and (2) to provide some guidelines for improving this relevancy.
Preferential Course Scheduling
Authors: Bloomfield Stefan D. , McSharry Michael M. 
Published: October 2008

An academic department of a college or university typically constructs its yearly schedule of classes in two stages. First, each faculty member is assigned a set of classes or course sections to teach during the year. Following that days, times, and room numbers are assigned to each course section. These two procedures are almost universally performed manually, demanding various degrees of combinatorial skill and political astuteness on the part of the course scheduler. Depending on the size of the department and the diversity of course offerings, the time required to construct such a schedule of classes can range from a perfunctory afternoon's work to an intensive month-long ordeal. Recent work by Dyer and Mulvey [Dyer, James, John Mulvey. 1976. An integrated optimization/information systems for academic departmental planning. Management Science 22 (12, August) 1332–1341; Dyer, James, John Mulvey. 1977. Computerized scheduling and planning. New Directions for Institutional Research 13 (Spring) 67–86.] has addressed the problem of assigning faculty members to specific classes or course sections. They developed a network flow model that was successfully used to assign faculty members to course sections at the Graduate School of Management at UCLA.
An Integrated Production, Distribution, and Inventory Planning System
Authors: Glover Fred , Jones Gene , Karney David , Klingman Darwin , Mote John 
Published: October 2008

The critical importance of integrating production, distribution, and inventory (PDI) operations has long been recognized by top management of many companies. Now, using the latest advances in Management Science modeling and solution technology, an integrated computer-based PDI system has saved approximately $18 million dollars during its first three years of implementation for a major national firm, Agrico Chemical Company. According to the Vice-President of Agrico Supply and Distribution, an additional $25 million savings is anticipated over the next two years. Brought about by close cooperation between company officials and an outside staff of Management Science consultants, the PDI system has been used extensively to evaluate the benefit/cost impact of alternative capital investments in both short-term and long-term planning decisions. The development of the system underscores the value of recent Management Science innovations that have made it possible to analyze interacting influences too numerous and complex to be analyzed adequately only a few years ago. Advanced network methodology incorporated into the PDI system required only one one-hundredth of the computer time and cost of methodologies previously used. The power and flexibility of the new Management Science tools have also brought about increased communication and understanding of key company operations. This increased communication and understanding stems from the inherent “pictorial” nature of network-based models, which facilitates interpretation of these models and policy recommendations based upon their solution.
Information Technology and Firm Boundaries: Evidence from Panel Data
Authors: Hitt Lorin M. 
Published: October 2008

Previous literature has suggested that information technology (IT) can affect firm boundaries by changing the costs of coordinating economic activity within and between firms (internal and external coordination). This paper examines the empirical relationship between IT and firm structure and evaluates whether this structure is consistent with prior arguments about IT and coordination. We formulate an empirical model to relate the use of information technology capital to vertical integration and diversification. This model is tested using an 8-year panel data set of information technology capital stock, firm structure, and relevant control variables for 549 large firms. Overall, increased use of IT is found to be associated with substantial decreases in vertical integration and weak increases in diversification. In addition, firms that are less vertically integrated and more diversified have a higher demand for IT capital. While we cannot rule out all alternative explanations for these results, they are consistent with previous theoretical arguments that both internal and external coordination costs are reduced by IT.
Cognitive Fit: An Empirical Study of Information Acquisition
Authors: Vessey Iris , Galletta Dennis 
Published: October 2008

From a broad perspective, our research can be viewed as investigating the fit of technology to task, the user's view of the fit between technology and task, and the relative importance of each to problem-solving or decision-making performance. The technology investigated in this research is the mode of information presentation. Although there has been a considerable amount of research into problem solving using graphs and tables, until recently the circumstances in which each is more effective have been largely unresolved. Recent research has suggested that performance benefits accrue when cognitive fit occurs, i.e., when factors such as the problem representation and problem solving tools match the characteristics of the task. In this paper, we investigate the effects of the basic paradigm of cognitive fit and extensions to the paradigm in a laboratory experiment that examined the nature of subjects' mental representations as well as problem-solving performance. The experiment, using 128 MBA students in two identical, repeated measures designs, produced the following results: • Performance improved markedly for symbolic tasks when the problem representation matched the task. Performance effects also resulted from matching specific problem-solving skills to the problem representation and the task, and to a lesser extent when the skills matched the task alone. • The incremental effects of matching skills to the problem representation and/or the task were small compared with the primary effects of cognitive fit-that of matching problem representation to task. • A large proportion of problem solvers have insight into the concept of supporting tasks with certain types of problem representation and vice versa. • Participants preferred to use tables rather than graphs; they also preferred to solve symbolic rather than spatial problems. Finally, the problem representation more significantly influenced the mental representation than did task conceptualization. This research suggests that providing decision support systems to satisfy individual managers' desires will not have a large effect on either the efficiency or the effectiveness of problem solving. Designers should, instead, concentrate on determining the characteristics of the tasks that problem solvers must address, and on supporting those tasks with the appropriate problem representations and support tools. Sufficient evidence now exists to suggest that the notion of cognitive fit may be one aspect of a general theory of problem solving. Suggestions are made for extending the notion of fit to more complex problem-solving environments.
Formal Modeling of Complex Commands in Industrial Software Specifications
Authors: Mannino Michael V. , Rathnam Sukumar , Choi In Jun , Tseng Veronica 
Published: October 2008

We present a formal approach for modeling complex commands characterized by heavy overloading of function, large numbers of parameters, dependencies among parameters, subtle side effects, and lack of abstraction. Complex commands arise in a variety of business settings such as requesting a brokerage order, enrolling in a course, and specifying a product order. In addition, complex commands are also prevalent where specification of commands is strictly separated from multiple, independent implementations as in open software standards. Our approach is based on an inheritance structure known as a command lattice. Like other forms of inheritance, command lattices support incremental definition and abbreviation of specifications. Because a complete command lattice can have a large number of specifications, we develop another structure known as a minimal command tree in which a command lattice is derived from a much smaller number of independent specifications. To map from a minimal command tree to a command lattice, we present algorithms that materialize an arbitrary node of a command lattice and compactly generate the behavior of a command lattice. To demonstrate the potential of command lattices, we have implemented a set of tools that provide convenient specification and powerful reasoning capabilities. Our tool collection includes the Command Specification Language that supports a precise and rich specification of the structural and behavioral properties of commands, the incremental definition tool that ensures consistency of command lattices, the browsing tool that displays a command's inheritance structure, the type checker that ensures structural consistency of commands in expressions, and the target system tracer that simulates a sequence of command executions. We discuss our experiences applying the tools to IBM's Distributed Data Management, a large scale specification of data access on remote and heterogeneous IBM systems.
The Use and Effects of Knowledge-Based System Explanations: Theoretical Foundations and a Framework for Empirical Evaluation
Authors: Dhaliwal Jasbir S. , Benbasat Izak 
Published: October 2008

Ever since MYCIN introduced the idea of computer-based explanations to the artificial intelligence community, it has come to be taken for granted that all knowledge-based systems (KBS) need to provide explanations. While this widely-held belief has led to much research on the generation and implementation of various kinds of explanations, there has been no theoretical basis to justify the use of explanations by KBS users. This paper discusses the role of KBS explanations to provide an understanding of both the specific factors that influence explanation use and the consequences of such use. The first part of the paper proposes a model based on cognitive learning theories to identify the reasons for the provision of KBS explanations from the perspective of facilitating user learning. Using the feedforward and feedback operators of cognitive learning the paper develops strategies for providing KBS explanations and classifies the various types of explanations found in current KBS applications. This second part of the paper presents a two-part framework to investigate empirically the use of KBS explanations. The first part of the framework focuses on the potential factors that influence the explanation seeking behavior of KBS users, including user expertise, the types of explanations provided and the level of user agreement with the KBS. The second part of the framework explores the potential effects of the use of KBS explanations and specifically considers four distinct categories of potential effects: explanation use behavior, learning, perceptions, and judgmental decision making.