Communication skills: a prerequisite for leadership

A man once said, "He who would be first among you, let him be your servant." I think he also would have said, "If you would be the leader of the troops in health care, you must be able to communicate." You must be a good listener, be able to facilitate conflict resolution, be a good interviewer, deal effectively with problem physicians and employees, speak effectively in front of an audience, and communicate well in writing. Do not assume that you are good at any of these skills because you went to medical school. All of us need improvement in these areas.     

Supplies from developing countries: Optimal order quantities under loss risks

When raw material suppliers of a global supply chain are situated in developing countries, not only will there be long lead times but there could also be a possibility of material losses in transit. The magnitude of the losses will be uncertain and can be significant. We consider the optimization of order quantity decisions in such situations. The long lead times imply that we need to take into account the uncertainty in finished goods demands for which the raw materials are to be ordered. The order quantities have to be optimized carefully as they determine the “real options” that become available later in production plans. Using data from the plywood industry and using stochastic programming we demonstrate a method for solving such problems. The method combines simulation and optimization. An interesting observation we make is that the optimal order quantity of a material need not be monotonic in expected loss of that material. In addition, we offer explanations as to why the expected loss need not be monotonic.     

中国本土管理学何以可能——对“独特性”的追问、确证与范式革命

将中国本土管理存在的基础建立在中国管理情境的特殊性之上是不可靠的,国内管理学术界当前主流的情境化研究不一定能产生中国本土管理学。这是因为,由于辅助假设的存在,情境独特性既无法被确证,也无法被否证,因此,中国本土管理学必须立基于视角的独特性。视角的独特性而非情境的独特性才是中国本土管理学可靠的基础;从而也是本土研究与非本土研究的真正分水岭,并且,仅有视角的独特性还不够,按照拉卡托斯的观点,这种视角的独特性必须强大到突破原有理论的硬核,才有可能成为新的理论体系。这种对原来理论体系硬核的突破无疑就是库恩所说的范式革命。     

MANAGING THE DECISION SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY: A CASE FOR ETHICAL ANALYSIS?*

After ten years of rapid, if sometimes chaotic growth, it is time to reflect upon where Decision Sciences is headed. At stake are the essential questions of (1) should the growth of the discipline be managed, and if so (2) how should it be managed and who should do the managing? I argue that the growth of the discipline should be managed rather than be dictated by the technological imperative that states that any envisioned application of quantitative methods should be implemented. Moreover, I argue that, since to a large degree the implementation decision is an ethical question, the individual decision scientist must ultimately be held accountable. Finally, I suggest that Glenn Stassen's social ethic paradigm may be a useful vehicle for resolving intradiscipline conflicts. These abstract ideas are concretized by examining the growth of the area of artificial intelligence.     

话语体系：讲好管理学术创新的“中国话”

话语是学术和理论的载体, 话语体系不仅包含话语内容而且在平台和体制层面上赋予了话语的生命力与权力表征.没有自主和有影响力的话语体系, 学术思想、理论观点和知识主张就难有通过话语进行叙事和表述的场所和机会, 学术就像在真空中呼吸, 是不可能的.当今, 我们在推进管理学术中国化的进程中, 应该加速构建与我国世界性大国管理学术地位相称的话语体系, 这就是讲好管理学术创新“中国话”的内涵.否则, 有可能会使我们仍然在国际学术话语平台上“跟着讲”或者跌入“追赶者陷阱”.构建我国自主性管理学术话语体系要以我国高水平管理学术研究为基础, 提高我们自身的学养水平, 取得国际前沿性、突破性理论成果, 这是我们构建自主性话语体系的资格和底气.在构建过程中要正确选择构建技术路线和操作“抓手”, 以体现时代性的原创性学术成果作为标识性话语内容, 进一步优化话语平台体制, 并让具有中国特色的话语体系贡献融入世界管理学术话语体系文明之中.     

我国企业股票激励的瓶颈及其对策研究

股票期权激励在西方国家的许多先进公司得以实施,并取得了很大的成功,而且已呈现出逐步向其它国家蔓延的国际性趋势。面对这股潮流的冲击,我国的一些企业已开始逐步采用这种激励制度,但该制度在我国企业的应用并不理想,存在许多瓶颈性制约因素,必须通过采取完善资本市场环境、建立现代企业制度、规范会计处理、修改法律等措施,保证该制度朝着健康、稳定、有序的方向发展。     

企业投入产出方法与作业成本法的结合

本文的主题是讨论在企业投入产出方法中引入作业成本方法,提高企业投入产出成本核算方法与财务成本核算方法的结合水平。其结果能够使企业投入产出成本核算方法在方法论的层面模拟、拓展作业成本法的思路,能够进一步将财务核算与统计核算有机地结合起来,能够极大地拓展各类结构性信息,并保持其一致性。     

Manipulability of Future‐Independent Tests

The difficulties in properly anticipating key economic variables may encourage decision makers to rely on experts' forecasts. Professional forecasters, however, may not be reliable and so their forecasts must be empirically tested. This may induce experts to forecast strategically in order to pass the test. A test can be ignorantly passed if a false expert, with no knowledge of the data‐generating process, can pass the test. Many tests that are unlikely to reject correct forecasts can be ignorantly passed. Tests that cannot be ignorantly passed do exist, but these tests must make use of predictions contingent on data not yet observed at the time the forecasts are rejected. Such tests cannot be run if forecasters report only the probability of the next period's events on the basis of the actually observed data. This result shows that it is difficult to dismiss false, but strategic, experts who know how theories are tested. This result also shows an important role that can be played by predictions contingent on data not yet observed.     

平战结合下的公路养护多资源布局问题研究

平战结合是突发事件应急管理的重要原则之一.以公路养护中的平时资源和应急资源的布局问题为研究对象,考虑到日常养护点的选址和资源配置要满足工作的便利性和不同养护点之间工作量的均衡性,把应急资源放置在日常养护点上,既节省管理成本又能满足及时调度的要求,建立一个多目标的混合整数规划模型同时对日常和应急2种资源进行布局,并设计了算法,最后给出了算例.     

Scenarios for the Indian iron and steel industry

Iron and steel is a key industry in the Indian economy. The author looks at the prospects into the next century and the options facing the industry over the next two decades. New capacity will have to be undertaken but it will undoubtedly be difficult to fund this without external assistance and without diverting resources from other areas. Thus it will be necessary to plan for technological innovation to achieve production objectives, and such technology must be developed in India, or imported and adapted to suit indigenous conditions.     

Experience with corporate simulation models—A survey

In this article the authors argue that if corporate simulation models are going to help management meet their objectives then changes are necessary. These changes require that (i) the models should be more user oriented, (ii) there should be more emphasis on production modelling, (iii) there will be an increased use of optimization techniques linked to corporate models, (iv) there will be an increased effort to integrate finance, marketing and production, (v) the more sophisticated application will be concerned with the external environment and (vi) model builders should become more aware of the importance of corporate politics.     

Technological progress and the market value of firms

Is market valuation of corporations affected by events from their product innovation processes? This review shows that such effects can be determined. Whether markets make rational use of the information cannot be established. The surprise element of any information and closeness to market introduction seem to be two important variables that explain the degree of market response. The study concludes with eight statements on what we know and what could or should be investigated in the near future.     

PINCO: personal information and confidentiality controls

Legislation is required now in order to get proper controls on personal information and confidentiality in the near future when the need for it, particularly in relation to the development of third generation computers, will be more clearly perceived in Britain than it is at the moment. If action is taken now, PINCO controls can be introduced more cheaply and efficiently than will be the case if urgent action has to be taken later.     

Building Functional Communities: Concepts for Reframing Social and Fiscal Policy

Given the shrinkage of social service resources in public organizations, a variety of fiscal options to manage costs must be developed to address operational efficiencies and, more importantly, to protect from negatively impacting institutional integrity. The paper which follows addresses a continuum of alternatives which could be considered when examining resource sharing policy options which can build well-functioning communities to the benefit of both the public and private sectors. Data were collected using a case study approach employing focus interviews with school district CEO's, CFO's, business officials and other key public and private sector administrators in thirty-one New York State commmunities and two suburban counties within 25 miles of New York City over a period of three years. An exploratory analysis was used to test a conceptual framework that draws together the literature concerning the types and purposes of interdistrict cooperation. The studies findings concerning cooperative arrangements among organizations led to several conclusions and caveats concerning building functional communities:If sharing is to be supported and developed as a strategy for organizational improvement, organizational leaders will have to be aware of the reasons sharing arrangements are made and the tensions that destroy agreements.If sharing agreements are to be promoted, particularly in the specialized areas that seem to be appropriate for sharing resources, more attention will be needed in identifying likely incentives for mid-level managers, administrators and support staff involved with planning and operating such programs.If sharing is to take place, a common set of data need to be collected and analyzed.If sharing is to get started, pilot programs need to be developed that bring diverse organizations together on a regular basis with a specific sharing agenda.     

Cost-effective rehabilitation: Part 2--Approaches to patient management problems

Part one of this two-part series discussed general principles of cost-effective rehabilitation: Patients in rehabilitation programs should be working toward achievement of real-world functional goals. Goals should be realistic, and reachable in a reasonable amount of time. Rehabilitation services should be provided at the lowest safe and effective level of care appropriate to the patient's needs. Patients should be participating to their full potential in an active therapy program. Therapy intended to maintain a patient's current condition should be carried out by nonprofessionals who have had training sessions with rehabilitation professionals as needed. Discharge planning begins on the day of admission to the inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation program. This second of the two-part series will focus on individual patient management issues. It discusses circumstances in which the principles of cost-effective rehabilitation may need to be modified. It also discusses approaches to remedy patient management problems that may lead to excessive or ineffective utilization of rehabilitation services.     

Restarting after Branching in the SDP Approach to MAX-CUT and Similar Combinatorial Optimization Problems

Many combinatorial optimization problems have relaxations that are semidefinite programming problems. In principle, the combinatorial optimization problem can then be solved by using a branch-and-cut procedure, where the problems to be solved at the nodes of the tree are semidefinite programs. It is desirable that the solution to one node of the tree should be exploited at the child node in order to speed up the solution of the child. We show how the solution to the parent relaxation can be used as a warm start to construct an appropriate initial dual solution to the child problem. This restart method for SDP branch-and-cut can be regarded as analogous to the use of the dual simplex method in the branch-and-cut method for mixed integer linear programming problems.     

An ounce of prevention?

While preventive health care is intuitively attractive, both from a disease morbidity and cost of care aspect, it is most effective when the natural history of a disease can be precisely predicted and when there is effective therapy to modify the risk factor. In contrast, if the natural history is uncertain, perhaps due to its multifactorial nature and treatment not entirely effective, there will inevitably be inefficiency in preventive treatment. In this complicated balancing act, the inefficiencies of preventive therapy may be buried beneath the surface, due in part to the method of reporting and perhaps to the enthusiasm for preventive medicine in general. Until we are able to identify more predictive risk factors, there will always be inefficiencies in preventive medicine, and many must be treated for one to benefit. However, the absolute risk reduction and the number needed to treat are useful measures to highlight what can actually be achieved with preventive therapy.     

新世纪会计的发展趋势

新世纪会计将有重大的发展。进入新的千年,在发展知识经济的条件下,会计仍将具有重要地位。会计的重心在管理,建立管理型会计模式,会计要逐步实现现代化。会计核算向多方面、高质量方向发展;会计管理向全方位、知识管理方向发展;会计学向综合化、细化、边缘化方向发展;会计发展在于创新。     

A TUTORIAL ON BOTTLENECK DYNAMICS: A HEURISTIC SCHEDULING METHODOLOGY

We give a tutorial on bottleneck dynamics. Bottleneck dynamics is a scheduling framework that uses approximate dual resource prices to make decentralized decisions. The basic idea is to establish a price for a resource as a function of the set of jobs that need to be processed by the resource. Tasks are then sequenced according to a cost/benefit ratio. Starting with one resource sequencing problems, we describe how priorities for jobs can be developed and how they translate into resource prices. We then describe how resource prices can be approximated in a multiresource situation and how lead times which are critical for these approximations can be accurately computed. We also describe a number of studies that have shown bottleneck dynamics to be an effective approach in several different problem areas.     

Wie den strukturell bedingten Herausforderungen des Internen Coachings begegnet werden kann

Out of strategic considerations, companies offer their employees coaching as an internal method of personnel development. A wide range of organizational forms can be taken into consideration for those internal coaching offers. As coach and client belong to the same organization, specific areas of conflict can arise in the coaching process. Those will be briefly described. Thereafter it will be discussed how the anticipated conflicts arising during the phase of contract formation can be dealt with. Furthermore it is shown how organizational implementation of internal coaching offers can mitigate the assumed conflicts.