摘要:

AbstractWithin the systems movement, there are multiple paths to develop systems methodologies and systems thinking. One way is to review various management technologies (e.g., Operational Research (OR), Information Systems Design, Accounting and Logistics Management) from a systems perspective. Multiperspective, Systems-based (MPSB) Research is a research programme, based on Critical Systems Thinking, that works along this path. A brief review of OR and Business Processing Re-engineering (BPR) is provided to facilitate an introduction to the MPSB research. This paper also defines the MPSB research and the terms used in it.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.110

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractWe attempt here to explain why reforming social systems is not an easy job and what can be done about it. Vickers' concept of‘appreciative systems’is re-examined and further developed. It is argued that appreciative systems are socially established ways of perceiving, consisting of a set of cognitive categories, values and interests which are grounded on social practices. The latter are constituted by certain historically developed self-understandings shared by individuals. Social practices are self-referential and, therefore, particularly resistant to reform. It is argued that the role of policy makers should be seen as consisting of two components. First, inventing and supplying social systems with new appreciative systems, and secondly, regularly providing social systems with information about their own functioning as well as the functioning of other systems. That information, spread throughout a system, has potentially reforming effects. These claims are illustrated with examples from UK and American public life.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.111

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractThe effective and efficient provision of out-patient services may be assisted by the appropriate use of discrete event simulation. Resource use must be carefully monitored and suitable control actions must be taken, if service level and quality are to be maintained, whilst keeping cost increases to a minimum. In itself, simulation provides no means by which system activities may be identified. The use of soft systems methodology as a tool to aid in activity identification for simulation modelling is being explored. The investigation focuses on the effects the participative nature of soft systems methodology has on the acceptability of a simulation model. This case study forms part of a research objective of developing a generic approach to link soft systems methodology and simulation. Its aim is to provide analysts and managers with a process which may assist in planning strategies for health care.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.112

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractIn this paper we use ARIMA time series models and statistical process control techniques to determine if changes occurred in the process that generated a series of observations. The procedure is applied to eight crime time series for the city of Houston, Texas: total crime, murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft. The objective of our analysis is to determine if, after the institution of an overtime programme by the Houston Police Department, the different series show some statistical evidence of a change. Our results show that the categories of total crime, robbery, burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft decreased significantly. Murder and rape remained statistically unchanged, while aggravated assault continued to increase.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.113

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractThere is evidence that many schools aredifferentially effectivein that they promote with different effectiveness the academic attainments of different groups of pupils, divided by such characteristics as prior academic attainments, socio-economic background and so on. Awareness of the extent and direction of a school's differential effectiveness is important. Measures of overall performance of a differentially effective school can be misleading and targets seeking to improve the overall performance of such a school may not address its underlying inadequacies in raising the attainments of specific groups of pupils. This paper develops a data envelopment analysis based method for setting targets for diffentially effective schools to enable them to alter the bias of their differential effectiveness. The method also identifies role model schools which a differentially effective school can emulate in seeking to redress the imbalances in its effectiveness.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.114

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractThis paper describes the application of network modeling and optimization for short-term distribution planning in an Indian electronica firm. The company has three production centres, each comprising several factories. Each day, it ships finished product from the three production centres to 23 distribution centres (namely, its branches and sub-branches) spread all over the country. The present problem may be stated as: given the planned production quantity at each production centre and the estimated demand at each distribution centre for each week of a given month, specify the quantities to be dispatched from each production centre to the various distribution centres in each week of the month. The problem is modelled as a multi-period, minimum-cost, network flow model for each product item. The paper also discusses the implementation and actual use of the model for monthly distribution planning at the company.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.115

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractThe problem of producing medium- to long-term forecasts of the market for business telephones is examined. Growth curves are generally appropriate for forecasting developing markets. However, this market is particularly sensitive to the state of business confidence and the feasibility of incorporating explanatory economic variables into the forecasting model is investigated. Three different model types are compared: growth curves with a fixed saturation level, multivariate linear models and growth curves with saturation levels determined by explanatory variables. The initial promise of models using explanatory variables is considerably diminished, once forecast rather than actual values of these variables are used. The market development model implicit in the growth curve is shown to be more robust than the linear model. Although the variable saturation level growth curve grants more insight into the maturity of the market, it does not produce significantly better forecasts than that with the fixed saturation level.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.116

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractPrescriptive decision analysis has become established internationally as a tool to support decision making. Its role is generally agreed; it is a tool which helps decision makers (DMs) explore problems and possible strategies for solving them. Through application of a specific analysis, the DMs are able to learn about their preferences and discover their real objectives. Although the function of prescriptive decision analysis is generally accepted, the choice of underlying mathematical model on which the analysis is based is a matter for much discussion. Different schools of thought have led to the development of a number of alternative methodologies. The different methodologies have arisen not just from contrasting intuitive ideas for solving multicriteria problems, but also from diverse views of the DM(s) and what information they‘know’. Therefore, comparisons of decision analysis techniques have been confounded by both the mathematical model and the vision of the DM to whom this model has been applied. However, I have argued that the adoption of a particular technique does not necessarily require a particular model of the DM, and therefore, competing tools should and can be applied to the same problem

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.117

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractSarker and Parija have developed a model for obtaining the optimal batch size for a single-product manufacturing system operating under a fixed-quantity, periodic delivery policy. In this work, the model is extended to a multi-product situation and a single-facility scheduling scheme is developed for the system. Two situations are considered—one with fixed setup cost and the other with variable setup cost. It is observed that setup cost variability is beneficial to the system under certain conditions.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.118

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a new optimal algorithm for the Joint Replenishment Problem. The proposed algorithm can be used to determine the optimal strict-cyclic policy, as well as the optimal among all cyclic policies for the joint replenishment problem. Computational experiments on randomly generated problems reveal that the proposed algorithm performs better than existing optimal algorithms for the problem.

ISSN:0160-5682    

DOI:10.1057/jors.1996.119

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1996

数据来源: Taylor