bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Economics Approach to Modeling the Productivity of Computer Systems
Authors: Kriebei Charles H. , Raviv Artur 
Published: November 2008

The problem of linking computing and information services to end user needs for performance evaluation has been a long standing issue in the systems literature. A joint university-industry research project was begun in 1975 to better understand the problem. The specific goals of the project have been: (1) to develop a theory or conceptual framework for productivity measurement of the computing and information services function, (2) to pilot test the theory through empirical analysis at field sites, and (3) to evaluate the results and report the conclusions (success and failure). This paper is addressed to the first of these goals; the empirical tests and experience based on the framework are reported in a sequel paper. Our approach to modeling the productivity of computer systems is based on conventional economic theory and empirical analysis. The economics paradigm is to view the organization as a marketplace for computing and information services which contains elements of supply and demand. In this paper our concern centers on the supply of services. A model of the production process for computing services available within an organization is developed which quantitatively relates input resources and output products or services; the model also incorporates output quality as an integral function of the relevant variables in the process. Various measures of production efficiency are defined based on this model. The productivity of a computer system is defined in terms of these measures and we discuss their application for administrative decisions in performance evaluation.
A Land Management Model Using Dantzig-Wolfe Decomposition
Authors: Nazareth L. 
Published: November 2008

This paper deals with a mathematical model designed to provide guidelines for managing a land resource over an extended period of time. We develop a framework which permits sequences of management decisions to be conveniently formulated, and their associated costs and benefits specified. This takes the form of a network. Each path in the network represents a possible decision sequence. We study how to select suitable decision sequences and what proportion of the resource to manage with each selected sequence, so as to optimize some specified objective and meet the constraints imposed on management of the resource. An L.P. model is formulated. The solution strategy decomposes the L.P. matrix using Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition and solves the subproblems efficiently by dynamic programming or a network flow algorithm. Computational aspects are discussed and the concepts and procedures are illustrated in the Appendix, for forest management.
An Evolutionary Strategy for Implementing a Decision Support System
Authors: Alavi Maryam , Henderson John C. 
Published: November 2008

This paper investigates two alternative strategies for implementing Decision Support Systems (DSS): evolutionary and traditional. The evolutionary approach utilizes judgement modeling (boot strapping) as a means to create felt need, to provide insight into the decision process and the implied weighting of decision variables, and to establish a learning-based, participatory implementation strategy. In contrast, the traditional approach is characterized by a problem solving orientation wherein the DSS is portrayed as providing a valuable “product” that can be theoretically justified. Decision making in a simulated production environment is used to test the alternative strategies. Decision style is also included in the experimental design. Results indicate significantly higher utilization of the DSS with the evolutionary approach. Decision style findings are consistent with reported research.
Planned Change: Prospects for the 1980s
Authors: Susman Gerald I. 
Published: November 2008

The objective of this paper is to suggest some directions in the 1980s for the development of the theory and practice of planned change. The author makes two basic assumptions in approaching this objective. First, the two fields most widely associated with planned change, organization development and planning, are increasingly addressing similar or related problems and, as a result, offer significant opportunities to contribute to the development of the other. Second, we will not learn very much about directions for the field of planned change if discussion proceeds without consideration of the kinds of concrete problems we will likely face in the 1980s. The opportunities suggested in the first assumption will become clear by presenting some illustrative problems to be faced in the 1980s. The illustrative problems presented are highly interdependent. Organizations which attempt to solve these problems will find that many of their goals compete with or facilitate the goals of other organizations. Such problems and organizational consequences cannot be readily dealt with through central, comprehensive planning. An alternative is to create forums within and between organizations which include representation from all parties with an affected interest in the problems at issue. Action research is proposed as a problem-solving mode appropriate to such forums. It is a mode of problem-solving which searches for common values underlying different interests and encourages commitment to solving jointly defined problems.
A Resource Allocation and Evaluation Model for Providing Services to the Mentally Retarded
Authors: Heiner Karl , Wallace William A. , Young Kevin 
Published: November 2008

Legal decisions in the mental health field, and the process of deinstitutionalization have brought about an increasingly complex system of service delivery for the mentally retarded. We present a linear programming model to assist in managing such delivery systems. The usefulness and applicability of the model has been tested in Minnesota. We discuss how the procedure can be applied elsewhere. The model uses available measures of program efficiency and effectiveness, and transforms them into a form meaningful to the administrator who must make budgeting decisions and evaluate programs. In addition, with the help of this model, the administrator can incorporate important equity considerations into the management process.
Model-Directed Information Systems for Management of the Federal Courts
Authors: Buchanan Jack R. , Fennell Richard D. 
Published: November 2008

To satisfy the diverse information needs of federal courts, a family of information management systems was developed, based upon formal mathematical models of judicial case processing embedded in interactive data base information systems for case tracking and caseload management. These case processing models embodied pertinent federal rules of procedure, regulatory statutes, and local rules of procedure as adopted by individual courts. This paper describes the particular model-directed system to track federal criminal cases. In this system, a model of criminal case processing was incorporated into the information management system as a series of parallel state diagrams in which the status of any given court case could be described as a set of state indicators and allowable next-actions. Data entry is performed as a part of the court's obligation to maintain a permanent record of the proceedings (the “docket”) in each case. Users of the information system interact with the model by posting transactions (“events”) against court cases in the data base, thereby causing the cases to be moved through the model. Erroneous transactions are rejected with an appropriate diagnosis of the error based upon the state of the case with respect to the model. Use of such a model-directed information management system helps to ensure that the records of court cases being maintained are accurate and legally consistent. The embedded case processing model also permits the ready comparison of cases according to their procedural status, thereby providing an effective means for monitoring the progress of the court's caseload. Since the data base is structured according to elements of the procedural model, such model-directed systems are potentially very useful in providing effective management information, in addition to their obvious utility in information management. As an analytical tool, the model provides the opportunity to understand the complexity and procedural details of the administration of individual courts. Such an analysis allows the comparison of procedural differences among courts in such a way as to facilitate the ability of the courts to better manage their caseloads and provide a higher level of service to the public. In addition, the data bases established as a result of the docketing process provide a valuable source of historical data for judicial administration research in court management methods. As an unexpected benefit, the model-directed information systems also became a valuable training aid to new court personnel. New users may post case status situations and possible sequences of transactions to the information system and be informed of the correctness of such a transaction sequence relative to the model, thereby revealing certain implications of the detailed procedures of the court.
A Micromodeling Approach to Investigate the Advertising-Sales Relationship
Authors: Blattberg Robert C. , Jeuland Abel P. 
Published: November 2008

The purpose of this paper is to derive a model of advertising effects on the firm's sales. A micromodel is postulated and aggregated across individuals and over time to produce a macromodel of the aggregate sales-advertising relationship for a single product. The micromodel postulated is very simple. It incorporates two factors: reach of the ads and rate of decay of their effectiveness over time. This approach to modeling advertising effects is shown to be fruitful in several respects: (1) the coefficients of the aggregate equation are easily interpretable—in terms of the reach and decay parameters; (2) the model derived is nonlinear yet estimable; (3) a special case of the model is very similar to lag models that have been in use; (4) the model can be used whatever the unit of time is; (5) the carryover effect of advertising (as commonly defined) is not constant, but depends upon the previous spending levels; and (6) the model helps illustrate that the duration of advertising may be greatly overstated if aggregate lagged dependent variable models are simplistically interpreted.
An Activity Network Approach for the Analysis of Manning Policies in Firefighting Operations
Authors: Halpern Jonathan , Sarisamlis Efstratios , Wand Yair 
Published: November 2008

This paper presents a semi-empirical method for the analysis of manning policies in firefighting. Since manpower costs account for a major share of non-volunteer fire departments' budgets, manning level is one of the most important policy issues relating to fire departments faced by local government decision makers. Yet, practically no analytic research of manning levels has been previously carried out. The method described in this paper uses an activity network approach to describe fireground command operations and a structured interview to obtain data. The technique was used to analyze the effect of manning level in one- and two-family residential fires in the city of Calgary, Canada. A series of structured interviews with fire department officers generated data concerning precedence relations among activities, their durations, and their manpower requirements. These were used to establish a relationship between manning levels and time needed to extinguish the fire. The analysis indicated that there is a limit on manning level above which only marginal improvement can be obtained. Also, the effect of an additional firefighter depends on the existing manning level. The results presented here are of a preliminary nature. However, they seem to lend credibility to the technique. In addition, we discuss some qualitative conclusions and other possible uses of the method.
Hidden Attributes and the Display of Information in Multiobjective Analysis
Authors: Schilling David A. , McGarity Arthur , ReVelle Charles 
Published: November 2008

Quite often in the creation of analytic models for decision problems involving multiple objectives, some of the objectives are excluded. This can be due to their being consciously or unconsciously hidden by the decisionmaker or due to the lack of quantifiable performance measures. The normal procedure for evaluation of alternatives by the decisionmaker involves the presentation of their performance with respect to the stated criteria. When there are hidden objectives, however, the impact of the policies cannot be fully evaluated. Without the values of performance measures for all objectives for each of the alternatives, the decision-maker's choice among them rests on his preference weightings of the modelled objectives alone. To facilitate the decisionmaker's evaluation with respect to the hidden attributes, the presentation of alternatives should include values of the decision variables as well as quantified criteria. Several methods for displaying information from a multiobjective analysis in terms of both the objectives and decisions are presented and discussed. Examples are provided for problems having both discrete and continuous solution spaces.
The Impact of Inspector Fallibility on the Inspection Policy in Serial Production Systems
Authors: Ballou Donald P. , Pazer Harold L. 
Published: November 2008

Appropriate inspection is a significant component of production systems. In this paper a model is developed to determine the optimal placement of inspection stations within n-stage linear production systems. This model accommodates two types of inspector fallibility: “predictable,” which implies that the error rates are known and constant, and “erratic,” which requires a random variable to describe inspector performance. Cost per good unit accepted by the customer is used as the optimizing criterion. The cost-quality response surface is explored through a sequential sensitivity analysis. Our results indicate that under certain conditions the level of predictable inspector fallibility significantly impacts the number and placement of inspection stations as well as cost per good unit produced. The modeled systems, however, were quite insensitive to the variability of inspector performance. This production-inspection model provides management with information on the optimal number and placement of inspection stations for specific planned or existing serial production systems. It can also be used by management to explore various policy options, such as the cost implications of increasing the quality vs. the quantity of inspection stations. The data required by the model can be obtained at reasonable cost provided management is willing to estimate or determine judgementally certain of the variables.
The Advertising Budget's Determinants in a Market with Two Competing Firms
Authors: Simon Julian L. , Ben-Ur Joseph 
Published: November 2008

This is an exploratory study of the determinants of the size of the advertising budget in duopolistic competition. The model is a computer simulation that embodies learning, a multipenod decision horizon, brand loyalty, and other basic features of competitive reality in a two firm market. Theoretical propositions are derived based on the postulated model. These include: Fixed production cost does not affect expenditures. Variable production cost is inversely related to expenditures. An increase in immediate advertising effectiveness increases expenditures. An increase in the lag coefficient increases expenditures. The greater the share-change coefficient, the greater are the expenditures. Initial expenditure levels have a strong effect on later levels. And the initial competition-reaction expectations have a strong effect at first, which later diminishes as firms learn how competitors behave.
Corporate Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management: Insights from a Process Study
Authors: Burgelman Robert A. 
Published: November 2008

This paper presents a model of the strategic process concerning entrepreneurial activity in large, complex organizations. Previous empirical and theoretical findings can be integrated in this new conceptual framework. The paper makes the following key points. First, firms need both diversity and order in their strategic activities to maintain their viability. Diversity results primarily from autonomous strategic initiatives of participants at the operational level. Order results from imposing a concept of strategy on the organization. Second, managing diversity requires an experimentation-and-selection approach. Middle level managers play a crucial role in this through their support for autonomous strategic initiatives early on, by combining these with various capabilities dispersed in the firm's operating system, and by conceptualizing strategies for new areas of business. Third, top management's critical contribution consists in strategic recognition rather than planning. By allowing middle level managers to redefine the strategic context, and by being fast learners, top management can make sure that entrepreneurial activities will correspond to their strategic vision, retroactively. Fourth, strategic management at the top should be to a large extent concerned with balancing the emphasis on diversity and order over time. Top management should control the level and the rate of change rather than the specific content of entrepreneurial activity. Finally, new managerial approaches and innovative administrative arrangements are required to facilitate the collaboration between entrepreneurial participants and the organizations in which they are active.
A New Approach to Determine Parameter Sensitivities of Transfer Lines
Authors: Ho Y. C. , Eyler M. A. , Chien T. T. 
Published: November 2008

In this paper, we develop a complete and practical method for efficient compulation of the sensitivity information of a transfer line throughput. Our approach, which is a combination of analysis and experimentation, is fundamentally different from the existing solution methods. Using this approach the gradient information of the line throughput with respect to various decision variables is made available by a single observation of the line production history plus computation based on the observed data. These calculations are simple enough to be implemented on microcomputers. After an analytical development, three applications and experimental verifications are presented, namely the optimization of the line throughput with respect to the buffer sizes, the cycle times and the repair times. The study provides useful insights to line performance improvement. For example, buffer sizes are but one set of decision variables, not necessarily the most important. Cycle time and repair time can be more significant parameters on the line performance optimization. In addition, the method provides a useful management support system in identifying the line critical points, where local improvement due to change in a parameter can result in most significant improvement in the overall line throughput performance.
Assembly Line Balancing with Processing Alternatives: An Application
Authors: Pinto Peter A. , Dannenbring David G. , Khumawala Basheer M. 
Published: November 2008

The conventional approach to the assembly line balancing problem assumes that the manufacturing methods to be used have been predetermined. However, in practice the design engineer has several alternatives available in the choice of processing, typically involving a trade-off between labor or capital intensive options. The choice of manufacturing method is frequently viewed as an investment or capital budgeting decision, contrasting projected savings in labor cost with the additional fixed cost for the more capital intensive alternatives. The manufacturing tasks (based on the selected processing alternatives) are then assigned to work stations so as to minimize the number of work stations (i.e., labor costs) necessary to achieve a desired production rate. This paper describes a method of simultaneously considering both the choice of manufacturing alternatives and the assignment of tasks to stations so as to minimize total costs (labor and fixed) over the expected life of the production line. The importance of considering these decisions jointly results from the fact that the benefits obtained from specific manufacturing alternatives should not be limited to anticipated labor savings alone. The true measure of achievable labor savings can only be determined after an assignment of tasks to stations has been chosen. For instance, although a processing alternative may reduce the total work content of a set of tasks, if the resulting line balancing assignment does not reduce the number of stations required to achieve a desired production rate, the assumed savings will not be achievable and will serve only to increase the idle time of the line. On the other hand, an apparently trivial reduction in the time to complete a certain task may lead to a more efficiently balanced line, producing a much greater real savings in labor cost than had been anticipated, due to a reduction in both work content and idle time for the line. The combined processing alternative line balancing problem can be formulated as an integer programming problem. Two alternate formulations are provided which differ in the degree of flexibility in selecting a cycle time. A branch and bound procedure is described for the fixed cycle time situation which takes advantage of the special structure of the problem to provide an efficient method capable of solving problems of practical interest. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure is demonstrated by application to an actual redesign of an assembly line for a major auto-industry supplier.
Individual versus Social Optimization in the Allocation of Customers to Alternative Servers
Authors: Bell Colin E. , Stidham Shaler 
Published: November 2008

Customers arrive at a service area according to a Poisson process. An arriving customer must choose one of K servers without observing present congestion levels. The only available information about the kth server is the service time distribution (with expected duration μk−1) and the cost per unit time of waiting at the kth server (hk). Although service distributions may differ from server to server and need not be exponential, it is assumed that they share the same coefficient of variation. Individuals acting in self-interest induce an arrival rate pattern (λ̂1, λ̂2, …, λ̂k). In contrast, the social optimum is the arrival rate pattern (λ1*, λ2*, …, λk*) which minimizes long-run average cost per unit time for the entire system. The main result is that λ̂k's and λ̂k*'s differ systematically. Individuals overload the servers with the smallest hk/μk values. For an exponential service case with pre-emptive LIFO service an alternative charging scheme is presented which confirms that differences between individual and social optima occur precisely because individuals fail to consider the inconvenience that they cause to others.