RFID and Operations Management: Technology,Value, and Incentives

As RFID technology matures and organizations seek to deploy it in their business operations, a basic objective in the endeavor is that of extracting business value from the technology. This paper examines three dimensions of the value proposition of RFID and attempts to identify areas for further investigation. The first dimension consists of the generic architecture of RFID implementations and the drivers of value that can result from its components. The second consists of measurement issues associated with quantification of value. Since the complete benefits of RFID will only result when multiple independent organizations deploy the technology and coordinate the resulting information flows, the third dimension addresses incentives for achieving that diffusion. The collection of issues identified through this exercise offers an initial roadmap to view ongoing research and recognize additional problems for further investigation.     

Using Fairness Models to Improve Equity in Health Delivery Fleet Management

Inefficiency and inequity are two challenges that plague humanitarian operations and health delivery in resource‐limited regions. Increasing capacity in humanitarian and health delivery supply chains is one option that has the potential to improve equity while maintaining efficiency. For example, the nonprofit organization Riders for Health has worked to increase capacity by providing reliable transportation to health workers in rural parts of sub‐Saharan Africa; with more motorcycle hours at their disposal, health workers can perform more outreach to outlying communities. We develop a model using a family of fairness function to quantify the efficiency and equity of health delivery as capacity is increased via development programs. We present optimal resource allocations under utilitarian, proportionally fair, and egalitarian objectives and extend the model to include dual modes of transport and diminishing returns of subsequent outreach visits. Finally, we demonstrate how to apply our model at a regional level to provide support for humanitarian decision makers such as Riders for Health. We use data from the baseline phase of our evaluation trial of Riders for Health in Zambia to quantify efficiency and equity for one real‐world scenario.     

How do I get my way? A meta-analytic review of research on influence tactics

Despite considerable research investigating the role of influence tactics on work-related outcomes in organizations, consensus on the effectiveness of influence tactics has been elusive. Specifically, there is a lack of integration concerning the relationships between proactive influence tactics and their outcomes. We investigate the effectiveness of 11 influence tactics from a comprehensive perspective using meta-analytic techniques. In particular, the current study focuses on relationships between each of the 11 influence tactics (i.e., rational persuasion, exchange, inspirational appeal, legitimating, apprising, pressure, collaboration, ingratiation, consultation, personal appeals, and coalition) and task- and relations-oriented outcomes. In addition, we investigate the moderating effects of the direction of influence tactics, measurement of influence tactics, singular influence tactic (versus use of a combination of influence tactics), independence of data sources, and study setting involved in the study. Regardless of task- and relations-oriented outcomes, based on 49 independent samples (N = 8987), our results show positive relationships between outcomes and rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, apprising, collaboration, ingratiation, consultation, and a negative relationship between pressure and outcomes. Rational persuasion is the only tactic which held stable positive relationships with both categories of outcomes regardless of moderating factors. Implications and directions for future research in the area of influence tactics are discussed.     

Managing dependency in China outsourcing relationships

Abstract

This paper examines manufacturing firms’ use of guanxi and formal control to address dependence on suppliers and achieve desired outsourcing performance in China. Using survey data collected from manufacturing firms operating in China, a structural equation model is used to test the research model. The results suggest that manufacturing firms with high dependence on suppliers build Chinese guanxi with those suppliers to overcome the dependence and enhance outsourcing performance. In addition, Chinese guanxi also appears to facilitate the use of formal control, which was also found to have a positive relationship with outsourcing performance. This paper contributes to the literature by illustrating the importance of guanxi in achieving desired outsourcing performance in the China context, particularly in the case where a manufacturer perceives high dependency on its major supplier.     

Two Variations of the Minimum Steiner Problem

Given a set S of starting vertices and a set T of terminating vertices in a graph G = (V,E) with non-negative weights on edges, the minimum Steiner network problem is to find a subgraph of G with the minimum total edge weight. In such a subgraph, we require that for each vertex s S and t T, there is a path from s to a terminating vertex as well as a path from a starting vertex to t. This problem can easily be proven NP-hard. For solving the minimum Steiner network problem, we first present an algorithm that runs in time and space that both are polynomial in n with constant degrees, but exponential in |S|+|T|, where n is the number of vertices in G. Then we present an algorithm that uses space that is quadratic in n and runs in time that is polynomial in n with a degree O(max {max {|S|,|T|}–2,min {|S|,|T|}–1}). In spite of this degree, we prove that the number of Steiner vertices in our solution can be as large as |S|+|T|–2. Our algorithm can enumerate all possible optimal solutions. The input graph G can either be undirected or directed acyclic. We also give a linear time algorithm for the special case when min {|S|,|T|} = 1 and max {|S|,|T|} = 2.The minimum union paths problem is similar to the minimum Steiner network problem except that we are given a set H of hitting vertices in G in addition to the sets of starting and terminating vertices. We want to find a subgraph of G with the minimum total edge weight such that the conditions required by the minimum Steiner network problem are satisfied as well as the condition that every hitting vertex is on a path from a starting vertex to a terminating vertex. Furthermore, G must be directed acyclic. For solving the minimum union paths problem, we also present algorithms that have a time and space tradeoff similar to algorithms for the minimum Steiner network problem. We also give a linear time algorithm for the special case when |S| = 1, |T| = 1 and |H| = 2.An extended abstract of part of this paper appears in Hsu et al. (1996).Supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants CCR-9309743 and INT-9207212, and by the Office of Naval Research under Grant No. N00014-93-1-0272.Supported in part by the National Science Council, Taiwan, ROC, under Grant No. NSC-83-0408-E-001-021.     

An inventory model with random discount offerings

We consider an inventory model in which a supplier makes deal offers with random discount prices at random points in time. Assuming that discount offerings follow a Poisson process and discount price is a discrete random variable with a known distribution, we propose a continuous-review control policy for the model and derive optimality conditions for the policy parameters. The model is then extended to the case of multiple suppliers that offer discount deals with supplier-specific Poisson processes and discount prices. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate cost savings due to discount offers.     

The rescission of behaviors: Inconsistent responses in adolescent sexuality data

In longitudinal survey research, certain questions can be rescinded illogically. For instance, respondents who at Time 1 report having had sexual intercourse may at Time 2 report never having done so. This paper reports measurement techniques and analyses of these types of inconsistencies from an ongoing longitudinal adolescent sexuality project. Inconsistencies in intercourse, masturbation, and other sexual behaviors are reported and compared to rates from other studies and other less sensitive behaviors within the same study. Three conclusions are presented: (1) inconsistencies should be considered a natural part of any longitudinal survey process and should be incorporated into the response model; (2) inconsistency rates in these particular data support the contention that adolescent sexuality data of appropriate quality for analytical purposes can be obtained; and (3) inconsistency rates in fact contain substantive information concerning the processes under consideration.