Search results for "Operations"

Incentive System Design Based on Accrual Accounting: A Summary and Analysis

2009

ABSTRACT: This paper provides a formal analysis on how to design accrual-based incentive systems so that a manager's and owner's interests are properly aligned. We introduce a general framework to summarize the literature, provide various extensions to it, and point to some of its limitations. We characterize the entire class of goal-congruent and preference-similar incentive systems when the owner has perfect as well as imperfect information about the manager's preferences. This allows us to show how compensation functions and performance measures are interrelated and to demonstrate what information should be incorporated into compensation functions and performance measures. We illustrate …

Context Aware Mobile Learning as a Factor for Economic Growth

2015

Abstract Mobile technologies have become an integral tool for communication and information delivery. It transformed educational paradigms from traditional one-size-fits-all to personalized and context aware learning. Such education can support human resources development, resulting in improved outcomes. Quality of education and working skills are the important driving force for economic development. This paper deals with the role of mobile learning in education, which is unique in terms of flexibility of time and location, but it requires extra planning and analyses of appropriate technologies during learning design process. The contextual information can be static, but some parts are dyna…

Redesigning Computer-Supported Work Processes with Dual Information Systems: The Work Process Benchmarking Service

1999

The conceptual design of most computer-based information systems reflects a dualism of technology. During the development phase, part of the work-domain-related knowledge is formalized and encoded in the software, making it difficult for users to reflect on and use this knowledge. This design/use dualism contributes to the deterioration of the interpretive flexibility of information systems. We propose an information systems architecture called Dual Information Systems (DIS) that helps bridge the design/use dualism by providing organizations with a set of services that enable and reinforce both effective, institutionalized working and the questioning and (re)construction of computer-support…

To lead or to wait? An application to internationalization strategies under demand uncertainty

2019

We examine the exports versus foreign direct investment (FDI) decision under demand uncertainty for an asymmetric cost duopoly. One of the firms can lead entry before demand realization or retain flexibility enjoying an informational advantage. When the time value of information is small and for sufficiently low investment costs, follow‐the‐leader behavior in FDI arises. Relatively high investment (fixed) costs result in follow‐the‐leader exporting behavior. When the time value of information becomes significant, the potential leader will opt for a wait‐and‐see strategy. For intermediate values of investment costs, the efficient firm invests, while the rival chooses to export.

Stochastic multicriteria evaluation of district heating systems considering the uncertainties

2018

It is of great importance to choose a suitable district heating (DH) system for a specific DH area from the economics, environment and energy (3E) points of view. This is a multicriteria decision making problem, in which the criteria performance values (PVs) and weighting are characterized by uncertain or imprecise information. In this study, seven candidate DH systems are evaluated from the viewpoints of 3E by the stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA) method. SMAA is able to handle the uncertainties of the criteria PVs and the weighting at the same time. These uncertainties are very common and typical in real-life, but in most cases are not treated judiciously or just negl…

WITHDRAWN: Measurement of beam focus quality in biomedical nuclear microscopy.

2009

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy.

Using SMAA-2 method with dependent uncertainties for strategic forest planning

2006

Abstract Uncertainty included in forest variables is normally ignored in forest management planning. When the uncertainty is accounted for, it is typically assumed to be independently distributed for the criteria measurements of different alternatives. In forest management planning, the factors introducing the uncertainty can be classified into three main sources: the errors in the basic forestry data, the uncertainty of the (relative) future prices of timber, and the uncertainty in predicting the forest development. Due to the nature of these error sources, most of the involved uncertainties can be assumed to be positively correlated across the alternative management plans and/or criteria.…

A functional approach to monitor and recognize patterns of daily traffic profiles

2014

Functional Data Analysis (FDA) is a collection of statistical techniques for the analysis of information on curves or functions. This paper presents a new methodology for analyzing the daily traffic flow profiles based on the employment of FDA. A daily traffic profile corresponds to a single datum rather than a large set of traffic counts. This insight provides ideal information for strategic decision-making regarding road expansion, control, and other long-term decisions. Using Functional Principal Component Analysis the data are projected into a low dimensional space: the space of the first functional principal components. Each curve is represented by their vector of scores on this basis.…

Representation of knowledge using Fuzzy set theory

1989

Fuzzy methods for analysing fuzzy production environment

1998

Abstract Very recently, in production management research literature, the necessity to extend production systems analysis techniques, such as queue theory, Mean Value Analysis (MVA) and discrete simulation, to Fuzzy Production Environments, i.e. to those production situations in which data are vague, has emerged. Fuzzy set theory is a powerful tool to model vagueness and, therefore, fuzzy mathematics can be used to extend classical production system analysis techniques. This paper proposes a methodology based on fuzzy relation algebra to extend classical MVA and discrete event simulation.