The main goal of this book is to help organizations improve their effort estimates and effort estimation processes by providing a step-by-step methodology that takes them through the creation and validation of models that are based on their own knowledge and experience. Such models, once validated, can then be used to obtain predictions, carry out risk analyses, enhance their estimation processes for new projects and generally advance them as learning organizations. Emilia Mendes presents the Expert-Based Knowledge Engineering of Bayesian Networks (EKEBNs) methodology, which she has used and adapted during the course of several industry collaborations with different companies world-wide over more than 6 years. The book itself consists of two major parts: first, the methodology's foundations in knowledge management, effort estimation (with special emphasis on the intricacies of software and Web development) and Bayesian networks are detailed; then six industry case studies are presented which illustrate the practical use of EKEBNs. Domain experts from each company participated in the elicitation of the bespoke models for effort estimation and all models were built employing the widely-used Netica (TM) tool. This part is rounded off with a chapter summarizing the experiences with the methodology and the derived models. Practitioners working on software project management, software process quality or effort estimation and risk analysis in general will find a thorough introduction into an industry-proven methodology as well as numerous experiences, tips and possible pitfalls invaluable for their daily work.

This book discusses the latest advances in people-centered design, operation, and management of broadly defined advanced manufacturing systems and processes. It reports on human factors issues related to various research areas such as intelligent manufacturing technologies, web-based manufacturing services, digital manufacturing worlds, and manufacturing knowledge support systems, as well as other contemporary manufacturing environments. The book covers an extensive range of applications of human factors in the manufacturing industry: from work design, supply chains, evaluation of work systems, and social and organization design, to manufacturing systems, simulation and visualization, automation in manufacturing, and many others. Special emphasis is given to computer aided manufacturing technologies supporting enterprises, both in general and in the manufacturing industry in particular, such as knowledge-based systems, virtual reality, artificial intelligence methods, and many more. Based on the AHFE 2016 International Conference on Human Aspects of Advanced Manufacturing, held on July 27-31, 2016, in Walt Disney World (R), Florida, USA, the book provides readers with a timely snapshot of the enterprises of the future and a set of cutting-edge technologies and methods for building innovative, human-centered, and computer-integrated manufacturing systems.

The second volume of handbook explores different dimensions of the sustainable luxury textiles and fashion, broadly based on the following topics: Sustainable luxury Luxury and consumption Luxury, innovation and design potential Luxury and entrepreneurship Sustainable Luxury Management

The automotive industry is one of the most environmental aware manufacturing sectors. Product take-back regulations influence design of the vehicles, production technologies but also the configuration of automotive reverse supply chains. The business practice comes every year closer to the closed loop supply chain concept which completely reuses, remanufactures and recycles all materials. The book covers the emerging environmental issues in automotive industry through the whole product life cycle. Its focus is placed on a multidisciplinary approach. It presents viewpoints of academic and industry personnel on the challenges for implementation of sustainable police in the automotive sector

In a business world of uncertain budgets, relentless technology changes, scarce management talent, and intense production demands, theory is good, but practice sells. The Effective CIO: How to Achieve Outstanding Success through Strategic Alignment, Financial Management, and IT Governance is all about practice, successfully delivering the nuts-and-bolts for effective governance execution. It helps to dissolve the negative image many CIOs have as remote, purely rational decision machines, while demonstrating how to improve quality and throughput in your business. This authoritative text includes governance checklists, sample IT controls, merger and acquisition recommendations, and a detailed framework for IT policies. Authored by two highly regarded IT management experts, the book provides not only a survey of existing strategies, but also includes detailed problem-solving ideas, such as how to structure optimal IT and telecom contracts with suppliers, the implications of SOP-98, and accounting for software costs. The book seamlessly brings together two perspectives - that of a working CIO who must cope with day-to-day pressures for results, and that of an IT audit consultant with a special focus on governance and internal control. Unlike many other CIO-related books that merely discuss strategies, The Effective CIO includes easy-to-follow guidelines and governance principles that can be implemented immediately.

This book constitutes revised selected papers from the 14th Conference on Advanced Information Technologies for Management, AITM 2016, and the 11th Conference on Information Systems Management, ISM 2016, held as part of the Federated Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems, FedCSIS, which took place in Gdansk, Poland, in September 2016. The 13 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 51 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: information technology and systems for knowledge management; information technology and systems for business transformation; and implementation and evaluation of information systems.

IP law has evolved from being a little pool to a big ocean. Corporate governance needs to respond to society's rising expectations of directors and boards as the impact of the global intellectual property ecosystem is felt. How can a responsible corporate culture of IP transparency be stimulated to create a rosy future to connect corporate communication with the desires of shareholders, investors and other stakeholders? The astonishing lack of material quantitative and qualitative information companies report about their IP assets makes it difficult for shareholders and other stakeholders to assess directors' stewardship of those assets - a pressing corporate governance issue in the 21st century. This book advances IP reporting in alignment with the key corporate governance principles of transparency and disclosure. It analyses the juncture between the IP ecosystem; corporate finance and accounting for intangibles; and corporate governance. Patents, mini-case studies and an original business triage style model for assessing IP disclosures are used to illustrate the gaps corporate governance theory needs to address. Focussing on the common law tradition of corporate governance in England and Wales, intangibles and IP reporting developments in other jurisdictions are also explored.

As Microsoft's Dynamics 365 gains ground and businesses adopt this tool, the demand for internal resources who need to understand how to support and maintain it increases. Administering, Configuring, and Maintaining Microsoft Dynamics 365 in the Cloud addresses the needs of those who support Dynamics, discussing numerous real-world scenarios that businesses must deal with when implementing Dynamics 365. Scenarios are presented with simple, fully functional walkthroughs so that non-developers can follow the instructions and learn how to address any issues that need to be resolved. The variety of concepts discussed in this book include how to: Quickly set up and configure users, teams, business units, and security Navigate through the system and present data in easy to access dashboards and SSRS reports Import data and export data, and migrate data between systems Create customized Business Process Flows, Workflows, and Business Rules Customize your Dynamics 365 instance with new entities, fields, and JavaScript Deploy and manage plugins and solutions

This book addresses critical issues in today's logistics operations and supply chain management, with a special focus on sustainability. In dedicated chapters the authors address aspects concerning multimode logistics operations, reverse network configuration, forward and reverse supply chain integration, improvement of the production operations and management of the recovery activities, as well as carbon footprint reduction in transportation. Selected best practices from different countries and industries are presented to aid in the implementation of sustainable policies in private enterprises and at public-sector institutions. The book offers a valuable resource for both academics and practitioners who wish to deepen their expertise in the field of logistics operations and management with regard to sustainability issues. The book examines both qualitative and qualitative aspects of sustainable supply chain and logistics operations.

This book reports on the latest advances in understanding cross-cultural decision and human cognition with respect to various cultural constructs, such as geographical, historical, sociological, and organizational cultures. It addresses researchers, scholars, and industry practitioners from diverse fields, including sociology, linguistics, business, military science, psychology, human factors research, neuroscience, and education. The book covers a wealth of topics, including: analyses of historical events and intercultural competence; commercial applications of social-cultural science; the study of decision-making similarities (and differences) across cultures; cultural behavioral modeling and simulation technology; and social networks and studies on group communication alike. It also reports on real-world case studies relevant to cross-cultural decision-making. The book's main goal is to combine studies from other relevant disciplines such as causal analysis in complex environments, team decision making and social changes to develop a more holistic understanding of the decisions that people, groups, and societies make, so as to improve our ability to forecast and plan for the future. Based on the AHFE 2017 International Conference on Cross-Cultural Decision Making (CCDM), held on July 17-21, 2017, in Los Angeles, California, USA, this book offers a multidisciplinary view on the impact of culture on people's cognition and behavior, and a timely reference guide to new applications and future challenges.

This book develops a modeling framework to analyze the problem of inventory management with alternative delivery times. The general context considered here is that a seller replenishes its inventory in fixed intervals and, between replenishments, allocates the limited inventory to satisfy customers who are both price and delivery-time sensitive. On the demand side, customers have heterogeneous delivery-time requirements and choose either spot or late delivery. This theoretical modeling captures the essence of real-world business practices such as the delivery time market segmentation strategy adopted by automobile dealerships in China and many other similar examples. The book focuses on the seller's optimal inventory replenishment and demand fulfillment policies, and our results provide managerial insights into the merits of flexible delivery-time options. Similar applications such as the group-buying mechanism are also examined. The main mathematical tool used in theoretical analysis is dynamic programming. This book is written for students, researchers, and practitioners in the areas of operations management and industrial engineering who are interested in understanding the rationale of flexible delivery times and designing successful applications.

The work presents new approaches to Machine Learning for Cyber Physical Systems, experiences and visions. It contains some selected papers from the international Conference ML4CPS - Machine Learning for Cyber Physical Systems, which was held in Lemgo, October 1-2, 2015. Cyber Physical Systems are characterized by their ability to adapt and to learn: They analyze their environment and, based on observations, they learn patterns, correlations and predictive models. Typical applications are condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, image processing and diagnosis. Machine Learning is the key technology for these developments.

This book constitutes revised selected papers from the 5th International Conference on Operations Research and Enterprise Systems, ICORES 2016, held in Rome, Italy, in February 2016. The 14 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selection from a total of 75 submissions. They are organized in topical sections named: methodologies and technologies; and applications.

This book fills a void for a balanced approach to spreadsheet-based decision modeling. In addition to using spreadsheets as a tool to quickly set up and solve decision models, the authors show how and why the methods work and combine the user's power to logically model and analyze diverse decision-making scenarios with software-based solutions. The book discusses the fundamental concepts, assumptions and limitations behind each decision modeling technique, shows how each decision model works, and illustrates the real-world usefulness of each technique with many applications from both profit and nonprofit organizations. The authors provide an introduction to managerial decision modeling, linear programming models, modeling applications and sensitivity analysis, transportation, assignment and network models, integer, goal, and nonlinear programming models, project management, decision theory, queuing models, simulation modeling, forecasting models and inventory control models. The additional material files Chapter 12 Excel files for each chapter Excel modules for Windows Excel modules for Mac 4th edition errata can be found at https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/486941

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging network superstructure that will connect physical resources and actual users. It will support an ecosystem of smart applications and services bringing hyper-connectivity to our society by using augmented and rich interfaces. Whereas in the beginning IoT referred to the advent of barcodes and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which helped to automate inventory, tracking and basic identification, today IoT is characterized by a dynamic trend toward connecting smart sensors, objects, devices, data and applications. The next step will be "cognitive IoT," facilitating object and data re-use across application domains and leveraging hyper-connectivity, interoperability solutions and semantically enriched information distribution. The Architectural Reference Model (ARM), presented in this book by the members of the IoT-A project team driving this harmonization effort, makes it possible to connect vertically closed systems, architectures and application areas so as to create open interoperable systems and integrated environments and platforms. It constitutes a foundation from which software companies can capitalize on the benefits of developing consumer-oriented platforms including hardware, software and services. The material is structured in two parts. Part A introduces the general concepts developed for and applied in the ARM. It is aimed at end users who want to use IoT technologies, managers interested in understanding the opportunities generated by these novel technologies, and system architects who are interested in an overview of the underlying basic models. It also includes several case studies to illustrate how the ARM has been used in real-life scenarios. Part B then addresses the topic at a more detailed technical level and is targeted at readers with a more scientific or technical background. It provides in-depth guidance on the ARM, including a detailed description of a process for generating concrete architectures, as well as reference manuals with guidelines on how to use the various models and perspectives presented to create a concrete architecture. Furthermore, best practices and tips on how system engineers can use the ARM to develop specific IoT architectures for dedicated IoT solutions are illustrated and exemplified in reverse mapping exercises of existing standards and platforms.

This volume presents new theoretical insights, practical strategies, and policy initiatives in the rapidly evolving field of global supply chain security. As businesses, governments, and society at large have become increasingly dependent on a global network to provide goods and services, protecting global supply chains has become an issue of vital importance for industries, nations, and regions. The "supply chain" encompasses all the links connecting a manufacturer to end users of its products. Links may take the form of plants, supplier warehouses, vendor facilities, ports or hubs, retail warehouses or facilities, and outbound shipping centers. Links also involve all the ways goods are moved-by truck, ship, airplane, or rail car. A great deal can go wrong in the supply chain due to company or systemic mismanagement and inefficiency, criminal activity, employee or technology errors, or terrorism, to name just a few of the threats. Then there are government regulation, industry or association oversight, and security agencies (both public and private) keeping track. Globalization, stricter security regimes, and increasingly sophisticated criminal activity have made cross-border cargo movements more complex, putting the integrity of end-to-end supply chains at much greater risk. This is why the security of the supply chain has become such an important issue for business people: there is too much at stake to let problems proliferate or stagnate. It has been estimated, for example, that thieves now steal $50 billion in goods each year from various points along the supply chain. Synthesizing the most current research, practical application, and policy, Global Supply Chain Security covers a range of emerging topics-from risk assessment to technology deployment to continuity planning-and will serve as a useful resource for anyone concerned with supply chain security issues, including scholars, students, business executives and policymakers.

Carbon footprint is one of the important environmental impacts, which has received greater attention from the public, government and media. It is one of the important topics of even any government's agenda as well and every nation is trying its best to reduce its carbon footprint to the maximum possible extent. Every company would like to reduce the carbon footprint of its products and consumers are looking for the products which emit lower carbon emissions in their entire life cycle. Assessment of Carbon footprint for different products, processes and services and also carbon labelling of products have become familiar topics in the recent past in various industrial sectors. Every industry has its unique assessment and modelling techniques, allocation procedures, mitigation methods and labelling strategies for its carbon emissions. With this background, this book has been framed with dedicated chapters on carbon footprint assessment on various industrial sectors. In each chapter, details pertaining to the assessment methodologies of carbon footprint followed in a particular industry, challenges in calculating the carbon footprint, case studies of various products in that particular industry, mitigation measures to be followed to trim down the carbon footprint, recommendations for further research are discussed in detail. This first volume includes the carbon footprint assessment methodology of agricultural sector, telecommunication sector, food sector, ceramic industry, packaging industry, building and construction sector and solid waste sector.

This book reviews the manufacturing processes of different shopping bags used for grocery purposes, life cycle impacts, modelling of life cycle impacts, carbon and eco-footprints in different countries, consumption of shopping bags in different countries, consumer behaviour of shopping bags in various countries and its relation to eco-impact, assessment of functionality of shopping bags, concept and framework of eco-functional assessment of shopping bags, biodegradation of shopping bags, etc.

The work presents new approaches to Machine Learning for Cyber Physical Systems, experiences and visions. It contains some selected papers from the international Conference ML4CPS - Machine Learning for Cyber Physical Systems, which was held in Karlsruhe, September 29th, 2016. Cyber Physical Systems are characterized by their ability to adapt and to learn: They analyze their environment and, based on observations, they learn patterns, correlations and predictive models. Typical applications are condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, image processing and diagnosis. Machine Learning is the key technology for these developments.

This book covers advancements across business domains in knowledge and information management. It presents research trends in the fields of management, innovation, and technology, and is composed of research papers that show applications of IT, analytics, and business operations in industry and in educational institutions. It offers a combination of scientific research methods and concepts, with contributions from globally renowned authors; presents various management domains from a number of countries for a global perspective; and provides a unique combination of topics and methods while giving insights on the management domain using a holistic approach. The book provides scholars with a platform to derive maximum utility in the area of management, research, and technology by subscribing to the idea of managing business through performance and management technology.

Culture has an abiding influence on the way countries and business corporations are governed. This book introduces the reader to the deep philosophies that drive corporations and governments in East Asia, from China through Japan and South Korea to Singapore. With sparkling clarity and spiced with anecdotes and case studies, it depicts how respect for cultures can lead to spectacular success, or the lack of it to failure. Confucian practices such as guanxi in Chinese society, the benevolent culture of entity firms in Japan, and patriarchal chaebols in South Korea are analyzed with examples like Esquel, Nissan, and Samsung. A delightful chapter on Daoism shows how it drives Jack Ma's Alibaba.com. In the governance of nations, the author reinforces Burke's dictum that systems of government must be consonant with traditional cultures, and he calls out misguided attempts by the West to foist liberal democracies on civilizations in the East where respect for authority and communitarian values come before individual interest. The author advances the novel concept of the meritocratic democracy in which leaders are chosen not by electoral popularity but by proven ability. In a thought-provoking concluding chapter, he evaluates prospective constitutional changes in China that would enshrine meritocratic democracy as an alternative to liberal democracies that have turned dysfunctional in many Western nations.

This book deals with the main challenges of sustainable development and the role of sustainable business and corporate social responsibility in implementing these challenges through sustainable leadership and innovations. It includes the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability and emphasizes the importance of achieving a socio-environmental balance in society. The theoretical frameworks and insights from sustainable development implementations on macro and micro levels, as well as the practical examples and case studies provided to introduce the concept of sustainable leadership and its impact on sustainable business development, are a scientific novelty in the field of sustainability. The book is comprised of six interconnected chapters that sequentially reveal the principal provisions of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable leadership, together with their correlations. Features: * Provides cutting-edge examples and case studies of sustainable leadership, viewed as the most significant means for the creation of sustainable organizational culture * Includes case studies on the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability * Addresses scientific aspects of sustainable development and its challenges * Discusses issues of sustainable development at different scales, ranging from macro to mirco levels * Provides policy implications for sustainable business development The theoretical framework and practical case studies presented in Sustainable Development, Leadership, and Innovations make it an invaluable resource and guide to both the academic and business communities. Business leaders, policy makers, and other professionals, as well as academics and graduate students, will all benefit greatly from this text.

As our societies have become more complex and globalized and our organizations flatter and less hierarchical, more of us need to collaborate across more organizations, geographies, and cultures than ever before. But this increases the chances that we're going to get stuck having to collaborate with people we don't agree with or like or trust. But we've got no choice. We have to learn to work with people we might actually have come to think of as "the enemy." International consultant Adam Kahane, who has worked in some very fraught contexts in his career (South Africa after apartheid, Guatemala after a civil war), has found that in these low-control, high-conflict situations, everything we think we know about what makes collaboration work is wrong. The neat black-and-white thinking that underlies conventional collaboration-us/them, harmony/conflict, problem/solution-won't work. You need to be more flexible, accept a level of uncertainty and improvisation, and practice what Kahane calls "stretch collaboration." In this very timely book he takes on five misunderstandings that keep us from effectively collaborating with "those people" and tells us what we should do instead.

This book examines contractual options for a performance based contract between an owner of a revenue generating unit and a repair agent for such unit. The framework of the analysis is that of economists' principal-agent problem. The contractual options of a principal and an agent are modeled as a Markov process with an undetermined time horizon. For a risk neutral principal, the authors identify the conditions under which a principal contracts with a risk-neutral, risk-averse, or risk-seeking agent and derive the principal's optimal offer together with the agent's optimal service capacity response. In essence, the book provides an extensive formulating analysis of principal-agent contracts given any exogenous parameter values. Ultimately a small number of formulas cover a large spectrum of principal-agent conditions.

This book highlights recent advances in the development of effective modeling and solution approaches to enhance the performance of military logistics. It seeks to further research in global defense-related topics, including military operations, governmental operations and security, as well as nation support. Additionally its purpose is to promote the global exchange of information and ideas amongst developers and users of military operations research tools and techniques. Over the course of its nine chapters, this edited volume addresses significant issues in military logistics including: a) Restructuring processes via OR methods aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the military logistics, b) Sense-and-Respond logistics prediction and coordination techniques that provide competitive advantage, spanning the full range of military operations across the strategic, operational and tactical levels of war, c) Procurement and auctioning, d) Inventory and stock control theories and applications, e) Military transport and logistical equipment, and, f) Maintenance, repair and overhaul on operational capability in general and equipment availability. The book aims to bridge the gap between the abundant literature on commercial logistics and its scarce defense & combat counterpart. This collection of useful insights into new trends and research will offer an ideal reference for practitioners and army related personnel interested in integrating scientific rigor to improve logistics management within defense organizations & agencies. Ultimately this book should provide a relevant platform for the latest contributions of operations management, operations research, and computational intelligence towards the enhancement of military logistics.