Coordinating Service‐Sensitive Demand and Capacity by Adaptive Decision Making: An Application of Case‐Based Decision Theory*

The subject of this article is the simultaneous choice of product price and manufacturing capacity if demand is stochastic and service‐level sensitive. In this setting, capacity as well as price have an impact on demand because several aspects of service level depend on capacity. For example, delivery time will be reduced if capacity is increased given a constant demand rate. We illustrate the relationship between service level, capacity, and demand reaction by a stylized application problem from the after‐sales services industry. The reaction of customers to variations in service level and price is represented by a kinked price‐demand‐rate function. We first derive the optimal price‐capacity combination for the resulting decision problem under full information. Subsequently, we focus on a decision maker (DM) who lacks complete knowledge of the demand function. Hence the DM is unable to anticipate the service level and consequently cannot identify the optimal solution. However, the DM will acquire additional information during the sales process and use it in subsequent revisions of the price‐capacity decision. Thus, this decision making is adaptive and based on experience. In contrast to the literature, which assumes certain repetitive procedures somewhat ad hoc, we develop an adaptive decision process based on case‐based decision theory (CBDT) for the price‐capacity problem. Finally, we show that a CBDT DM in our setting eventually finds the optimal solution, if the DM sets the price based on absorption costs and adequately adjusts the capacity with respect to the observed demand.     

Exploratory data structure comparisons: three new visual tools based on principal component analysis

Datasets are sometimes divided into distinct subsets, e.g. due to multi-center sampling, or to variations in instruments, questionnaire item ordering or mode of administration, and the data analyst then needs to assess whether a joint analysis is meaningful. The Principal Component Analysis-based Data Structure Comparisons (PCADSC) tools are three new non-parametric, visual diagnostic tools for investigating differences in structure for two subsets of a dataset through covariance matrix comparisons by use of principal component analysis. The PCADCS tools are demonstrated in a data example using European Social Survey data on psychological well-being in three countries, Denmark, Sweden, and Bulgaria. The data structures are found to be different in Denmark and Bulgaria, and thus a comparison of for example mean psychological well-being scores is not meaningful. However, when comparing Denmark and Sweden, very similar data structures, and thus comparable concepts of well-being, are found. Therefore, inter-country comparisons are warranted for these countries.     

Language as an issue in international internal communication: English or local language? If English,what English?

The present paper discusses internal communication in the global context, with a focus on language as an issue for the organization. Although ‘language’, naturally, is a resource that enables any – internal or other – communication, it has not been examined in public relations research but has been taken for granted or as given. The current pace of globalization in all sectors has rapidly globalized internal communication and the language issue needs to be addressed. On the basis of two empirical studies we discuss language strategy and language use in international internal communication. Our findings show that although a common ‘corporate language’ – which mostly today refers to English – enables internal communication, it is not a straightforward solution but a number of issues need to be considered. For example, as international communication in a business context is today mostly conducted by non-native speakers of English, their language can be characterized as BELF (English as Business Lingua Franca), which differs from ‘standard English’ in many ways. Also, language issues need to be considered for organizational credibility and knowledge sharing and for constructing trust and rapport in international interaction.     

The Association of Birth Complications and Externalizing Behavior in Early Adolescents: Direct and Mediating Effects

Prior studies have shown that birth complications interact with psychosocial risk factors in predisposing to increased externalizing behavior in childhood and criminal behavior in adulthood. However, little is known about the direct relationship between birth complications and externalizing behavior. Furthermore, the mechanism by which the birth complications predispose to externalizing behavior is not well explored. This study aims to assess whether birth complications predispose to early adolescent externalizing behavior and to test whether Intelligence Quotient (IQ) mediates relationships between predictor and outcome variables. We used data from a prospective, longitudinal birth cohort of 1,795 3-year-old boys and girls from Mauritius to test hypotheses. Birth complications were assessed from hospital record data, malnutrition from a pediatric exam at age 3 years, psychosocial adversity from parental interviews at age 3 years, and externalizing behavior problems from parental ratings at age 11 years. We found that babies with birth complications are more likely to develop externalizing behavior problems at age 11. Low IQ was associated with birth complications and was found to mediate the link between early predictors and later externalizing behavior. These prospective, longitudinal findings have potential clinical implications for the identification of early adolescent externalizing behavior and for public health attempts to prevent the occurrence of child externalizing behavior problems.     

An authenticity matrix for community engagement

Community engagement (CE), a key area of theory and practice in public relations, has two functions: first, to maintain and enhance relationships between organizations and diverse community groups in complex settings; and second, to give voice to these groups in addressing socially-situated problems. Implicit within these functions is CE’s ability to connect organizations with a selection of stakeholder voices that represent community perspectives on a given topic. It is the claimed representational nature of these voices that gives legitimacy to the processes and outcomes of CE. The role of public relations practitioners in CE is therefore to identify and involve voices that are authentic—that is, those that truthfully represent the extent and diversity of community sentiment. Such voices include those that are quiet or silent, even though they have a contribution to make. This study uses in-depth interviews with current practitioners to explore voice and authenticity in CE, and identifies four dimensions of CE in practice. These dimensions extend CE theory, particularly in public relations, by addressing the under-considered yet central role of authenticity in CE. The paper also draws on the dimensions to develop an Authenticity Matrix that allows CE practitioners to assess and critique their past and current CE projects. The Authenticity Matrix also provides guidance to public relations practitioners seeking to enhance the conditions for achieving authenticity in CE practice.     

Gendering of success: fashion designers in designer stories in the Finnish lifestyle magazine Gloria*

Fashion journalism is part of the fashion system that legitimizes and reproduces the creativity, celebrity status, and symbolic power of fashion designers. This article examines the gendering of the success of fashion designers in designer stories in the Finnish lifestyle magazine Gloria. The material consists of 21 stories about designers published in 2013–2014. They are analyzed by applying a multimodal close reading that takes into account the dialogic relationship between written text and images. The analysis highlights the gendered representation of success: male designers emerge differently from women designers as glamorous personas and successful professionals. First, male designers are related to a grand tradition and presented as designers in the own right, whereas women designers are mostly depicted as continuers of a man’s work or a family business; second, many women designers are presented as designers of one particular hit item; third, women’s designership is presented as work and business instead of genuine creative art; and fourth, women designers are presented as more approachable and communicative human beings than men both in verbal and in visual expression. Hence, success is produced in a way that emphasizes the male designers’ visionary characteristics and decreases the grandeur of the women’s designership.