How managers plan—the analysis of managers' activities

This paper analyzes the positions of Mintzberg and planning experts on the extent to which managers plan and the importance of planning to management. Mintzberg contends that managers do not plan. The ‘planning literature’ contends that planning leads to effective management. In a replication of Mintzberg's study, the authors found support for the planning literature's position. The discrepancy between Mintzberg and the planning literature is explained by the shortcomings of the observational method used by Mintzberg. A suggested modification of Mintzberg's method is given.     

An integrated approach for manpower planning in the service sector

The manpower planning problem receives considerable attention by the management of service organizations because they are typically labor intensive. Not only must optimal staff sizes be determined over an extended horizon, but optimal staff schedules which assign labor to tours of duty and specific tasks, given the available staff size, must also be found. Adding to the complexity arising from the interrelatedness of the staff-sizing and staff-scheduling problems is the existence of the conflicting multiple objectives of minimizing costs and maximizing customer service. The few methodologies reported in the literature which treat the complete manpower planning problem as stated above have several shortcomings. Some techniques place a severe strain on computational capabilities. Also, these methods confound the specification of the goal levels with the analysis of the relative goal weightings. Often the specification of the desired goal levels is made at a different level in the organizational hierarchy than the specification of the relative importance of the various goals. This paper suggests an approach which overcomes these shortcomings. The methodology utilizes a simulation model with an imbedded heuristic procedure for the staff-scheduling problem to identify realistic aggregate staff-size goals to be used in a multiple-objective staff-sizing model. The methodology is applied to the manpower planning problem of a large sectional center post office and the managerial benefits are discussed.     

基于多标度分形理论的金融风险测度指标研究

多标度分形(multifractal)理论是一种刻画金融市场波动复杂性特征的有力工具,而金融价格时间序列的多标度分形谱(multifractal spectrum)则是对测度对象复杂性特征的一种具体和全面的描述.以上海证券交易所综合股价指数高频价格时间序列的多标度分形谱计算为例,建立了基于多标度分形谱两个主要参数的市场风险测度指标Rf,弥补了传统风险测度指标在非有效市场条件下的不足.通过对上证综指的实证研究验证了这一指标的有效性,并对其在价格波动预测方面的作用进行了初步的探讨和理论解释.     

Compensation for elected hospital medical staff leadership

As physicians' practices become more complex and their practice incomes more difficult to maintain, hospitals concurrently require more physician input into organizational, utilization, and strategic planning matters. Physicians and hospitals across the country are discussing the question of financial compensation to physicians for the time they spend performing these hospital administrative tasks. It is already common practice for hospitals to pay a salary for medical direction of hospital departments such as intensive care units or pulmonary laboratories. The question has become whether this practice should be extended to elected medical staff leadership.     

Robust optimization in distribution-based demand planning: a model for negotiation support

In this paper a model for negotiation support in tactical procurement planning is designed, which is based on a real planning problem from the liquid gas trade sector. The problem is modeled as an assignment problem and transformed into a robust form. Computational experiments using data from a practice partner are presented to demonstrate the effective decision support of our approach.     

Taking Stock of Neighbourhood Planning in England 2011–2016

Neighbourhood planning (NP) as enabled by the 2011 Localism Act in England has precipitated a considerable literature discussing its potential, limitations and likely shortcomings referenced against government rhetoric and the reporting of initial experiences of the process. This paper provides an overview of the current literature on neighbourhood planning and sets out how it has been received and practised across England drawing on empirical evidence. The extent of take-up and the experience of those involved in the first five years of neighbourhood planning is used to consider how community-led planning may be designed and used following operational principles of inclusivity, capacity-building and adding value.     

A decision support tool for planning bills-of-material

In this paper, the framework for a decision support tool for planning bills-of-material is presented. This tool generates a set of modular planning bills-of-material from the manufacturing bills-of-material for a company. The tool attempts to consolidate options in a product family which are specific. The force with which the tool attempts to consolidate two or more options is dependent on the financial control parameters. As well as having a minimum amount of common material, the financial value of such a match must also be of sufficiently high value to be worth planning together. The tool also examines the long-term inventory effect of planning two or more options as common.     

Integrated planning for health care organizations, especially hospitals

Planning in health care organizations is of considerable current interest in this country. Furthermore, effective planning processes require, as a necessary condition for that effectiveness, development within a framework which considers the organizational, managerial and service delivery environment.This paper examines the concept of planning in relation to health care organizations. Through an examination of the effects which proper planning can have upon industrial organizations the authors analyze the possible impacts of planning procedures upon health care institutions. Their analysis leads to certain tentative conclusions as to appropriate organizational structure which could support effective planning. Whilst the authors have yet to test their hypothesis the conclusion they draw from their initial analysis are worthy of further investigation.     

BPR决策支持系统分布式求解模型的研究

基于多Ａｇｅｎｔ规划技术,提出并建立了支持企业过程重组（ＢＰＲ）的决策支持系统的分布式协同求解模型,包括企业过程的分层规划理论、多Ａｇｅｎｔ协同模式分析、状态空间模型以及任务分解算法等四部分内容．它的提出为企业过程重组的工具支持提供了理论依据和技术方法．实践证明,应用该技术可以有效地指导ＢＰＲＤＳＳ的开发     

Strategic planning for distribution

The process of long range planning is relatively new to both the corporation and the distribution area. Until recent years the distribution function was considered a functional area which reacted to, rather than anticipated, corporate marketing effort. New technology in data processing and other areas has provided the support capability for developing both tactical and strategic planning. With this increased capability has come a new responsibility for distribution management to be future oriented—to anticipate the appropriate support role of physical distribution in supporting both short term and long term corporate goals.     

Forecasting the future business environment— The state of the art

The future business environment, from the standpoint of the Corporation, encompasses both internal and external factors. These factors are also interrelated; thus the task of forecasting needs to be undertaken having in mind a multitude of elements which may interact. The author argues that, given this complex environment; corporations should support the planning operation if it is to develop and if they are to benefit from it. This support includes being open to recommendations made, for without it a planning group cannot function and the forecasting element loses momentum.     

Corporate planning and management by objectives

Management by Objectives as described in literature has major shortcomings in not stressing that MbyO should start at the ‘top’, with a clear statement of the overall objectives of the business. MbyO assignments which are operated with middle management often have disappointing results, as the gap between their objectives and those at the higher levels becomes apparent. The practical difficulties of establishing overall objectives of the business is one reason, while another is that management consultants have sometimes operated corporate planning and MbyO as two separate assignments, or ‘techniques’, whereas they are two sides of the one coin. These articles detail how to establish overall objectives, which are then a firm basis for objectives throughout the business.