Role of Random Capacity Risk and the Retailer in Decentralized Supply Chains with Competing Suppliers

This research considers a supply chain under the following conditions: (i) two heterogeneous suppliers are in competition, (ii) supply capacity is random and pricing is endogenous, (iii) consumer demand, with and without an intermediate retailer, is price dependent. Specifically, we examine how uncertainty in supply capacity affects optimal ordering and pricing decisions, supplier and retailer profits, and the incentives to reduce such uncertainty. When two suppliers sell through a monopolistic retailer, supply uncertainty not only affects the retailer's diversification strategy for replenishment, but also changes the suppliers’ wholesale price competition and the incentive for reducing capacity uncertainty. In this dual‐sourcing model, we show that the benefit of reducing capacity uncertainty depends on the cost heterogeneity between the suppliers. In addition, we show that a supplier does not necessarily benefit from capacity variability reduction. We contrast this incentive misalignment with findings from the single‐supplier case and a supplier‐duopoly case where both suppliers sell directly to market without the monopolistic retailer. In the latter single‐supplier and duopoly cases, we prove that the unreliable supplier always benefits from reducing capacity variability. These results highlight the role of the retailer's diversification strategy in distorting a supplier's incentive for reducing capacity uncertainty under supplier price competition.     

Partially Flexible Operating Rooms for Elective and Emergency Surgeries

In hospitals, the management of operating rooms faces a trade‐off between the need to be responsive to emergency surgeries and to conduct scheduled elective surgeries efficiently. Operating rooms can be configured as flexible and handle both electives and emergencies, or as dedicated to focus on either electives or emergencies. With flexible rooms, the prioritization of emergencies over scheduled electives can lead to schedule disruptions. Focused rooms can lead to imbalances between capacity and surgery workload. Whereas hospital administrators typically handle this trade‐off by employing either flexible rooms (complete flexibility) or dedicated rooms (complete focus), we investigate whether a combination of flexible and dedicated rooms (partial flexibility) could be a preferable alternative. The ensuing question is what is the right combination of flexible and dedicated rooms? A versatile simulation model is developed to evaluate different resource allocation policies under various environmental parameters and performance metrics, including patient wait time, staff overtime, and operating room utilization. The main result is that partial flexibility configurations outperform both complete flexibility and complete focus policies by providing solutions with improved values of expected wait time for both emergency and elective patients.     

Point‐of‐Use Hybrid Inventory Policy for Hospitals

Modern point‐of‐use technology at hospitals has enabled new replenishment policies for medical supplies. One of these new policies, which we call the hybrid policy, is currently in use at a large U.S. Midwest hospital. The hybrid policy combines a low‐cost periodic replenishment epoch with a high‐cost continuous replenishment option to avoid costly stockouts. We study this new hybrid policy under deterministic and stochastic demand. We develop a parameter search engine using simulation to optimize the long‐run average cost per unit time and, via a computational study, we provide insights on the benefits (reduction in cost, inventory, and number of replenishments) that hospitals may obtain by using the hybrid policy instead of the commonly used periodic policies. We also use the optimal hybrid policy parameters from the deterministic analysis to propose approximate expressions for the stochastic hybrid policy parameters that can be easily used by hospital management.      

Assessing Antecedents of Socially Responsible Supplier Selection in Three Global Supply Chain Contexts

A number of highly publicized, controversial lapses in social responsibility within global supply chains have forced managers and scholars to reexamine long‐held perspectives on supplier selection. Extending Carter and Jennings’ department‐level study of purchasing social responsibility, our research assesses the role of supply managers’ ethical intentions and three key antecedents that drive socially responsible supplier selection. Comparing evidence from firms operating in China, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, we identify three key drivers of supply managers’ ethical intentions and examine both their direct and indirect impacts on socially responsible supplier selection. We find differential support for the predictor relationships on supply manager ethical intentions across national contexts and mediated versus nonmediated models. These observations bear important implications for firms conducting global supply management.     

中外合资企业跨文化管理的"钻石结构"模型研究--大亚湾核电跨文化管理的探索

本文在继承传统跨文化管理--从国家文化角度分析管理问题的基础上,重点从微观层面出发建立了一个跨文化管理的"钻石结构"模型,并运用这个结构模型来具体分析了大亚湾核电跨文化管理的实践活动,并对大亚湾核电跨文化管理的主要措施进行了探讨,希望这些结论能够对未来中外合资合作企业进行跨文化管理提供有益的参考和借鉴作用.     

企业管理信息系统与P3、P3e/c数据交换的研究与实现

本文首先讨论P3、P3e/c项目管理软件与企业管理信息系统集成的必要性和重要性,然后详细地介绍了采用RA引擎(OLE对象)技术来实现P3软件与企业管理信息系统的数据交换,以及与P3e/c交互的原理。分析P3、P3e/c在数据组织上的差异,提出解决方案。最后以实例讨论和分析了这种方法在实际系统中的应用。     

工程项目全过程风险管理模式探讨

本文在分析工程项目风险管理研究现状的基础上,从全过程管理角度,提出工程项目全过程风险管理模式:全过程风险管理机构的设置、全过程风险管理计划的制定、工程项目定义与决策阶段、设计与计划阶段、实施与控制阶段、竣工验收阶段四个阶段的风险管理。为项目业主和承包商更好的进行风险管理提供参考。     

制造业项目结构分解过程模型研究

针对项目分解中工作分解结构方法的不足,以制造业项目为例,考虑项目产品本身的构造及特点的基础上,综合项目产品的工艺装配过程、产品数据管理技术以及项目组织结构,构建了项目结构分解的过程模型,并对该模型进行了详细分析,应用该模型能够更加科学、合理地进行项目分解,确定项目范围。     

Integrating Behavioral Science with Human Factors to Address Process Safety

ABSTRACT

Applying the science of human factors to eliminate error across all aspects of process design, management, operation, and maintenance has been a focus in the process safety area for many years. Human error has been attributed as a major cause of many high profile catastrophic accidents around the world. These accidents have resulted in national and international attention, which has led to a focus on improving organizational capabilities, systems, and in many cases, governmental regulations around human factors. This article provides a review of the field of human factors highlighting various topics in the literature, and introduces governmental regulatory bodies currently engaging organizations in a scientific approach to human factors. Finally, the need for integrating behavioral science methodologies with human factors is addressed. This is done with specific focus on how Organizational Behavior Management methodologies can work in concert with human factors to optimize process safety.