摘要:

AbstractThe development of group decision support (GDS) methods has become an increasingly developed theme in the OR world and elsewhere. Many such methods have been well tried and shown to be effective within a variety of organizational settings. This paper is based upon work which has aimed to use the methods beyond the confines of a single organizational client into a multi-organizational setting where collaboration between organizations is voluntary and informal. Specific issues arising out of this context are reflected upon and, in the process, two frameworks are developed, one for categorizing different types of actors involved, the other for categorizing the reflections themselves. It is suggested that both the reflections and the framework may not only be useful to others acting as facilitators in multiorganizational settings, but also provide a relevant contribution to the descriptive literature on GDS in general.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.198

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractMuch of the debate over OR education over the last ten years has been confined to the relevance of the content and style of programmes at the postgraduate level. This paper focuses on the undergraduate level and discusses the way in which practical elements have been successfully incorporated at this level in Australia. These elements include the use of case study material from the literature, case problem solving groups, industrial projects and 12 months paid employment through a co-operative education programme. The use of each of the above and the context with which they fit into the programme is covered as are the benefits and problems associated with the programme.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.199

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractThis paper presents the underlying ideas and methodology of constructing a cyclic duty line to meet economically the daily staffing requirements for apron crews. The focus is on the formulation of basic patterns (the building blocks of the duty line) for the purpose of allocating days off, and on the assignment of shifts to working days on this duty line. The pattern determination is formulated as an integer programming problem whose special structure affords a quick and efficient solution. A procedure is provided for shift assignment. An illustrative example is also included.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.200

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractOver the last decade, much attention has been given to the development of automated mail processing systems for postal operations. Optical character readers and bar-code sorters have begun to augment the mechanized equipment in use since the mid-1960s. Current automation programmes are aimed at minimizing the growth in labour costs which, at $30.5 billion in the United States, accounted for 83% of the U.S. Postal Service's operating budget in 1988. In this paper, a SLAM II simulation model is developed to assist postal managers in evaluating and implementing new technologies at general mail facilities (GMFs). The Northern Virginia Area GMF, located just outside Washington, D.C., serves as the baseline. Results are presented for a proposed design embodying a variety of new concepts and equipment, including carrier route sequencing. Annual savings of over $6 billion are estimated to accompany nation-wide implementation of this design. Alternative scenarios involving changes in mail volume and address quality are also investigated. The analysis demonstrates the system's sensitivity to relatively modest increases in traffic, and points up the need for integrative long-range planning.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.201

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractThe management of requirement (purchased parts and components) uncertainty in MRP systems is a serious problem for manufacturing firms. When manufacturing service levels fall below a predetermined service level, safety stock must be increased in order to adjust to the competitive environment. This paper presents the results of a set of simulation experiments in which we investigate some of the complexities of safety stock requirements, lot sizing performance and the marginal safety stock requirements associated with various service level policies. The results of the experiments have empirically shown that the marginal units of safety stock required for various service level policies follow a predictable (measurable) pattern. The research also indicates that the economic advantages of well-known dynamic lot sizing procedures are diminished by the presence of requirements uncertainty. Another important finding is the interaction between service level and‘lumpy’requirements. High levels of the coefficient of variation and the economic time between orders resulted in larger orders, reduced safety stock and high service levels. In general, the overall findings from this research will hopefully provide the decision maker with an in-depth understanding of the measurement and impact of various service level policies.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.202

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractReducing weight flexibility has been suggested as a method for ensuring that the solution to data envelopment analyses do not give unreasonably low weightings to certain inputs or outputs. In this paper we extend the use of reducing weight flexibility and use it to model the effects of the decision-making unit's objectives on its efficiency relative to other DMUs with possibly different objectives. We show how such an approach can identify situations in which the weights imputed by a data envelopment analysis can be inconsistent with the decision-making weights used by the firm, and how this approach can be used to provide efficiency measures that are consistent with the DMU's own objectives. The method allows the analyst to distinguish between a decision-making unit's technological inefficiency and its inability to implement its own policies.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.203

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractWe consider here the inventory replenishment policy over a fixed planning period for a deteriorating item having a deterministic demand pattern with a linear trend and shortages. The number of reorders, the interval between two successive reorders and the shortage intervals over a finite time-horizon are all determined in an optimal manner so as to keep the average system cost to a minimum. One numerical example illustrates how the procedure works. The counterpart of this example in the no-shortage case is also given. The effects of variation in the deterioration rate on the optimal policy are also indicated with numerical examples.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.204

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractThe theory of insensitivity within generalized semi-Markov processes is extended to cover the case where such a process evolves in a random environment; that is, when the decay rates and transition probabilities are functions of the state of an extraneous environmental process.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.205

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractIn this paper an order-level probabilistic inventory model for deteriorating items with two warehouses is developed. It is assumed that the production rate is infinite and shortages are allowed. The rates of deterioration of items in the two warehouses are different. Also, a single-warehouse version for deteriorating items is discussed. This paper also considers a two-warehouse model for non-deteriorating items. An illustrative example offers a comparative study of the optimum cost for varying shortage cost.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.206

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1991.207

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor