Can industries de-mature?— Applying new technologies to mature industries

This paper looks at how an industry matures and the role technology can play in reversing the trend. It also explores alternative techniques that managers can use to determine whether the application of new technology can revitalize a particular product line or service, and how to determine which technology should be developed or applied. In this way new technology can be used to develop an effective competitive advantage in the marketplace.     

Embracing risk as a core competence: The case of CEMEX

In this paper we argue that risk management can be an important source of competitive advantage for firms. For this to happen, managers must overcome four deep-seated notions about the management of risk: the myopic conception that risk is a collection of unconnected threats to the survival of a firm, the belief that risk management is largely a financial activity, the idea that risk management is solely a top management team task, and a blind faith that CEOs can continuously anticipate the risks that firms must address on an ongoing basis. Challenging these four misconceptions reveals that risk management can be an activity that is value creating, not just value preserving. Indeed, rather than indiscriminately shedding all types of risks, companies can develop new sources of competitive advantage by embracing those risks that they are relatively better at managing than their rivals. We illustrate our arguments by analyzing the risk management practices at CEMEX, the Mexican cement manufacturer.     

User segmentation of online music services using fuzzy clustering

Given the rapid growth of the Internet, companies are trying to take advantage of its offerings, differentiate themselves from their competitors and be more competitive. These objectives can be achieved by providing personalized and enhanced customer service. As different people can use an online service for different reasons, fuzzy clustering can be useful to identify homogenous groups of potential users and to develop customized strategies for each group, thus enabling companies to increase the personalization of their services and to improve their customer service. This study focuses on the online music industry and presents an application of fuzzy clustering. The results show that there exist homogeneous groups among the potential users of an online music service and that there are differences among the groups with respect to their attitudes, interests, and opinions about the service and computers.     

ERP implementation: An integrated process of radical change and continuous learning

This paper seeks to develop management theory that can be used to increase the likelihood of ERP implementation success. The paper argues and demonstrates that an ERP implementation can be understood as an intended radical change that can be managed to some extent. But during the use of the system, incremental changes are bound to take place, which are unintended and difficult to manage. Using, therefore, and combining positivist and constructivist viewpoints, six different propositions on ERP implementation are developed. The paper reasons that organizations that understand these propositions are more likely to implement and use ERP successfully. The findings of a longitudinal case study of the implementation and use of BaaN in a Danish company support the propositions put forward in the paper.     

Practice standards use with internal partners

U.S. Department of Defense experience with internal partnership programs has indicated that a lack of close supervision by medical treatment facilities can result in cost increases. The use of medical practice guidelines or standards is the subject of active investigation. The global guidelines tend to be too rigid or too vague to affect the provision of care. Their general acceptance can often be low. The use of clinical guidelines, with supervision by a clinic peer, has been determined to be a provider-friendly method of delivering cost-effective, high-quality care. Comparisons were made between the supervised partners against the total expenditures for ENT outpatient CHAMPUS care. The results indicated not only a savings but a reduction in the rate of cost increases by more than 250 percent. It is our feeling that specialty provider, peer-directed medical standards can be applied in a cost-effective manner. Their adoption as an organization-wide standard for referral can be an important tool in maintaining quality while containing costs.     

基于保险交易的静态最优区块链模型研究

保险业的经营特征与区块链技术存在天然契合性,本文通过分析基于区块链技术的保险交易流程,构建了基于保险交易的静态最优区块链模型,得到了保单区块存储员的最优区块存储能力、区块存储成本以及限制区块链违约分叉的约束条件。进一步以我国车险市场的经营数据为例进行数值模拟,得到区块规模、平均记录时间、平均交易费用等指标的最优结果。通过比较静态分析发现,保险交易数量、保单区块存储员人数、区块存储时间等增加以及风险损失率的降低均会导致区块规模增加以及保险交易记录时间和保险交易费用的减少,而外部冲击的增加会导致区块规模的增加以及保险交易记录时间减少,但对保险交易费用的影响取决于因外部冲击增加而产生的交费激励增加和区块规模受限而导致的交费激励减少之间的平衡。基于研究结果,本文在保险科技协同、区块链系统设计和具体场景实践等方面提出了政策建议,同时也指出了一些有待解决的现实问题。     

An emergency department perspective--Part III, Outcomes

The outcome of care has traditionally been defined as a "change in the patient's current and future health status that can be attributed to antecedent health care." However, this definition provides a "unidimensional view of quality." It fails to take into account the customer's attributes and the many small steps or process variances that can contribute to an unexpected outcome. This failure can be especially pronounced in the emergency department.     

Stress management can lead to reduced malpractice.

The prevention of medical malpractice is not an easy task. There is no one factor that can be said to be the "cause" of malpractice claims. Many areas have been targeted for concern--interaction between an individual professional and the patient, interaction among members of the professional staff, use and outcome of the application of medical technology, management practices, occupational environment, level of education and training, and personal coping styles. Although the degree to which attention to stress management techniques can be expected to reduce malpractice claims is unclear, it seems certain that attempts to alleviate occupational stress would be productive.     

超效率DEA模型的模糊扩展

在输入、输出数据为模糊数而效率值为准确值的模糊DEA模型中,会出现有两个以上有效单元,从而无法对所有决策单元进行全排序的情形。本文利用模糊数的基于α-截集的比较规则,建立了模糊条件下的超效率DEA模型,有效地解决了模糊决策单元的全排序问题。文末给出了一个实例。     

Warum Steuermoral? – Zur Explikation,Relevanz und Vorteilhaftigkeit von Steuermoral

The subject of this article is the explication, investigation of the relevance and the analysis of the advantages of tax morale. Tax morale is defined as the rejection of tax evasion and also as the rejection of special tax avoidance strategies. One argument in favor for tax morale is that tax payment can be interpreted as an elementary component of a fictitious social contract. In accordance with deontology ethics it can be traced back to the maxim “pacta sunt servanda”. Tax morale is relevant because tax evasion and tax avoidance strategies cannot be fully prevented by the tax law. The implementation of a social contract therefore requires a regulation for tax payment. The realization of a tax payment regulation would be simplified if tax payment would be beneficial. If economic income is accepted as an approximation of the financial utility from the social contract, the tax payment is absolutely beneficial in principle. In relation to the (immoral) non-payment of taxes, tax payment can be relatively advantageous or disadvantageous. One possible advantage is that (immoral) non-payment of taxes can result in punishment when detected. Another result of tax payment is the prevention of an impairment of the social contract.     

EXPLORING MARKET PRICING STRATEGIES VIA DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING

Price determinants as well as strategies can be studies by use of simulation, particularly if cost and price relationships can be related to market activity [1] [9] [11]. But, through the use of dynamic programming, given the market conditions, one can extend the analysis to include an optimal strategy. This paper describes a dynamic programming approach to studying price strategy. A model is developed to show that in a market characterized by cost/volume and price/volume relationships, profitability can be extended beyond that resulting from a dominant market strategy to an optimal maximizing strategy. Extension of the model is suggested for studying (a) sensitivity of a strategy (solution) to price level and cost changes, (b) optimal timing of withdrawal, and (c) present value analysis.     

Quality assurance in an IPA setting

The experience at CIGNA Healthplans shows that a quality assurance program can be instituted in an IPA-model HMO at low cost and with the addition of little new staff. Existing resources can be effectively restructured to implement a functional program of a traditional type that is easily understood by employer groups, members, and providers. It can serve as a transitional process until the HMO is large enough to put a total quality management program in place.     

Unraveling quantity discounts

We consider the situation in which a buying organization deals with a discrete quantity discount schedule offered by a selling organization. Furthermore, the buying organization can negotiate with the selling organization about the lot size and purchase price, but does not know the underlying function that was used by the selling organization to determine the quantity discount schedule. In this paper, we provide an analytical and empirical basis for one general quantity discount function (QDF) that can be used to describe the underlying function of almost all different quantity discount types. We first develop such a QDF analytically. Among other things, this QDF enables buying organizations to calculate detailed prices for a large number of quantities. We subsequently show that the QDF fits very well with 66 discount schedules found in practice. We discuss that the QDF and related indicators can be a useful tool in supplier selection and negotiation processes. It can also be used for competitive analyses, multiple sourcing decisions, and allocating savings for purchasing groups. Additionally, the QDF can be included in research models incorporating quantity discounts. We conclude the paper with an outlook on further QDF research regarding the characterization of commodity markets from a demand elasticity point of view.     

Capitalized investments with entry and exit options and paradoxical tax effects

Investment decisions are often characterized by uncertainty, irreversibility, and timing flexibility. We use a binomial model to investigate the interdependencies of effects from profit taxation and both an option to delay and an option to abandon on investment decisions. We show that increasing the tax rate can lead to paradoxical tax effects, i.e. it may foster an investor’s willingness to invest. By contrast, if we abstract from the abandonment option, such paradoxical effects cannot be identified. Hence, we show that paradoxical tax effects can be caused by an abandonment option. Our results are helpful for investors facing risky investment opportunities and for improving typical valuation approaches.     

On the Inefficiency of Political Exchange

A classic argument in economic theory is that in a world of zero transaction costs the free bargaining among parties spontaneously leads to an efficient allocation of resources. Attempts have been made by many economists to apply such an argument to the field of politics. In contrast to market exchanges, political exchanges have been widely criticized on ethical grounds. Going beyond the well-known moral criticism regarding the exchange of votes, the paper attempts to demonstrate how in politics, ethics and economics can go hand in hand. Specifically, it proposes an unusual perspective on transaction costs, by arguing that the enhancement of such costs can be required to achieve efficient results in specific circumstances, where the free bargaining among parties conflicts with the public issue to be addressed. This suggests the basic idea that, while in markets transaction costs should be reduced, in politics, they may require to be enhanced.     

Theory as Fantasy: Emotional Dimensions to Grounded Theory

In this paper we discuss emotions and fantasies that inform and influence the project of theory building. Our argument is that theory building can be improved by engaging directly with emotions and with fantasies that are defensively and creatively generated by the researcher. Once acknowledged, these can be transformed into ideas and insights. We provide an example of the emotional dynamics surrounding a novice researcher's use of grounded theory within her doctoral research. We highlight three distinctive researcher fantasies of containment, coherence and purity associated with her experience of the method. We discuss how engagement with these fantasies deepened the researcher's analysis and thereby enhanced the process of building theory from the data. Therefore, our paper contributes to an understanding of how fantasies mobilized by such an open‐ended research method can help to refine our thinking about emerging theory.     

Eliciting and Classifying Concerns: A Methodological Critique

Two methodological steps in the study of peoples'concerns are elicitation and classification. Elicitation of concerns through analytical methods such as surveys can be supplemented with techniques that perform more diversively. We present two examples of how this can be accomplished: one in the expert community and one in the lay community. A classification taxonomy is a subjective choice of the researcher and it can only be evaluated against the stated objectives of the research. We present a classification schema that is explicitly oriented toward diagnosing the substantive needs of public discourses about risk decision making. To illustrate how concerns can be elicited in a social setting and how this classification tool can be applied, we report on a public participation exercise in New Jersey where citizens discussed the impacts of land application of sewage sludge at an experimental farm.     

An optimal product-reconfiguration policy due to order changes

Abstract

It is not an uncommon problem that a finished product cannot be delivered to its customer due to order change. In many real-life applications, such as rack-mounted computer products, it is possible to reconfigure a product by altering the combination of its components. Therefore, an inventory item, resulting from a cancelled order, can be handled in one of two ways: (1) keep the product in storage for a future order; or (2) send the product back to the manufacturing Door for reconfiguration in accordance with a new order A wise decision can be made by evaluating the trade-off between the inventory cost and the conversion cost. This paper presents an optimization procedure for achieving the minimum-cost solution. The problem is formulated by a quadratic programming model. Under a fairly general condition, the problem can be converted into a standard capacitated transportation problem and, therefore, can be solved efficiently. The cost structure, problem formulation, and solution technique arc discussed.     

MULTISTAGE SAFETY STOCK PLANNING WITH ITEM DEMANDS CORRELATED ACROSS PRODUCTS AND THROUGH TIME

Determining safety stocks in multistage manufacturing systems with serial or divergent structures, where end-item demands are allowed to be correlated both between products as well as in time, is my focus. I show that these types of correlation have contrary effects on the distribution of safety stocks over the manufacturing stages and that neglecting the correlation of demand can lead to significant deviation from the optimal buffer policy. Using base-stock control and assuming total reliability for internal supplies, I present a procedure for integrated multilevel safety stock optimization that can be applied to arbitrary serial and divergent systems even when demand is jointly cross-product and cross-time correlated. As I demonstrate in an example for autocorrelated demands of a moving average type, there are specific solution properties that drastically reduce the computational effort for safety stock planning. Safety stocks determined in that way can be used as an appropriate protection against demand uncertainties in material requirements planning systems.