Enterprise Modeling: Improving Global Industrial Competitiveness gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art in enterprise modeling and its application. Enterprise modeling is both a concept and a tool that is highly developed at the research level, but which still promises many new industrial applications. Enterprise models constitute a theoretical basis for the information system in an enterprise and are regarded by many as a substantial opportunity to improve global industrial competitiveness. Enterprise Modeling: Improving Global Industrial Competitiveness gives the reader an understanding of enterprise modeling as a concept and provides examples of its application by describing some of the currently available tools. It is organized in five parts: overview and international trends, the basis of enterprise modeling, application areas, implementation, and industrial experience with enterprise modeling. Enterprise Modeling: Improving Global Industrial Competitiveness is useful to developers of business information systems, users of technical information systems, engineers within operations management, and engineers and economists dealing with performance assessment and improvement. Enterprise Modeling: Improving Global Industrial Competitiveness is suitable as a secondary text for a graduate level course, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

During the past two decades, the consideration of mUltiple objectives in modeling and decision making has grown by leaps and bounds. The nineties in particular have seen the emphasis shift from the dominance of single-objective modeling and optimization toward an emphasis on multiple objectives. The proceedings of this Conference epitomize these evolutionary changes and contribute to the important role that the tield of multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) now plays in planning, design, operational, management, and policy decisions. Of special interest are the contributions of MCDM to manufacturing engineering. For example, it has recently been recognized that optimal, single-objective solutions have often been pursued at the expense of the much broader applicability of designs and solutions that satisfy multiple objectives. In particular, the theme (MCDM and Its Worldwide Role in Risk-Based Decision Making) of the XIVth International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, June 8-12, 1998) represents the growing importance of risk-cost-benefit analysis in decision making and in engineering design and manufacturing. In such systems, minimizing the of rare and extreme events emerges as an essential objective that risk complements the minimization of the traditional expected value of risk, along with the objectives attached to cost and performance. These proceedings include forty-five papers that were presented at the Conference. A variety of techniques have been proposed for solving multiple criteria decision-making problems. The emphasis and style of the different techniques largely reflect the fields of expertise of their developers.

Many organizations are embracing knowledge management as a source of strategic advantage. But already people are asking: "what comes next?" Likewise almost every large organization is heavily involved in e-commerce and turning their organizations into e-businesses. At the moment most e-commerce is focused on selling traditional products and services through the new medium of the Internet. However, the more an organization evolves into an e-business, the more they can exploit knowledge flows between themselves and their marketplace. This book draws together the two strands of knowledge and e-business into the emerging field that this book has called k-business. A k-business is one that turns an organization's knowledge assets into knowledge products and services and uses the Internet to market and deliver them online. Despite its newness, the Delphi Group have forecast that within 5 years person-to-person information e-commerce (a major aspect of k-business) will be a $5 billion business leveraging $50 billion in sales of other products and services.
Capitalizing on Knowledge aims to give professionals and managers early insights into how to develop successful k-businesses. It takes a critical and balanced view of the building blocks of a k-business including knowledge productizing, e-commerce enablers and Internet marketing. It draws on lessons from successes and failures in the dot.com landscape and of the early pioneers of knowledge markets. The writing style engenders interest and readability supported by diagrams, screen images, check lists and frameworks. There are 'points to ponder' to stimulate thinking and decision-making. Five case studies and over 50 illustrative examplesprovide insights into the application of the book's concepts. No other book brings all the elements of a k-business together in one place to provide a thought provoking yet practical companion for those who want to capitalize on their knowledge.
Demonstrates how the overlap of the two high profile strands of e-business and knowledge management is creating new k-business opportunities
Describes new business models for marketing knowledge over the Internet
Provides practical guidelines for packaging knowledge and participating in knowledge markets.

Sociotechnical principles are now widely used around the world in both information systems and organisational design. First established in the 1940s to examine the effect of mechanised, mass-production systems on workers in the coal mining industry, they are now an important tool for ensuring that people and technology work together to optimal effect within an organisation. One of their main aims is the development of organisations where small groups work independently, handling sets of varied tasks, and managing their own activities.
The main features of this book include: Practical experiences of applying sociotechnical approaches from around the world; Focus on future directions for the topic and modern applications of existing principles; Contributions from leading figures such as Enid Mumford; A Foreword by Frank Land.

Multicriterion Decision in Management: Principles and Practice is the first multicriterion analysis book devoted exclusively to discrete multicriterion decision making. Typically, multicriterion analysis is used in two distinct frameworks: Firstly, there is multiple criteria linear programming, which is an extension of the results of linear programming and its associated algorithms. Secondly, there is discrete multicriterion decision making, which is concerned with choices among a finite number of possible alternatives such as projects, investments, decisions, etc. This is the focus of this book. The book concentrates on the basic principles in the domain of discrete multicriterion analysis, and examines each of these principles in terms of their properties and their implications. In multicriterion decision analysis, any optimum in the strict sense of the term does not exist. Rather, multicriterion decision making utilizes tools, methods, and thinking to examine several solutions, each having their advantages and disadvantages, depending on one's point of view. Actually, various methods exist for reaching a good choice in a multicriterion setting and even a complete ranking of the alternatives. The book describes and compares these methods, so-called aggregation methods', with their advantages and their shortcomings. Clearly, organizations are becoming more complex, and it is becoming harder and harder to disregard complexity of points of view, motivations, and objectives. The day of the single objective (profit, social environment, etc. ) is over and the wishes of all those involved in all their diversity must be taken into account. To do this, a basic knowledge of multicriteriondecision analysis is necessary. The objective of this book is to supply that knowledge and enable it to be applied. The book is intended for use by practitioners (managers, consultants), researchers, and students in engineering and business.

ARIS (Architecture of Integrated Information Systems) is a unique and internationally renowned method for optimizing business processes and implementing application systems.This book describes in detail how ARIS methods model and realize business processes by means of UML (Unified Modeling Language), leading to an information model that is the keystone for a systematic and intelligent method of developing application systems.Multiple real-world examples - including knowledge management, implementation of workflow systems and standard software solutions (SAP R/3 in particular) - address the deployment of ARIS methods.

Cross-Cultural Risk Perception demonstrates the richness and wealth of theoretical insights and practical information that risk perception studies can offer to policy makers, risk experts, and interested parties. The book begins with an extended introduction summarizing the state of the art in risk perception research and core issues of cross-cultural comparisons. The main body of the book consists of four cross-cultural studies on public attitudes towards risk in different countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Japan, and China. The last chapter critically discusses the main findings from these studies and proposes a framework for understanding and investigating cross-cultural risk perception. Finally, implications for communication, regulation and management are outlined. The two editors, sociologist Ortwin Renn (Center of Technology Assessment, Germany) and psychologist Bernd Rohrmann (University of Melbourne, Australia), have been engaged in risk research for the last three decades. They both have written extensively on this subject and provided new empirical and theoretical insights into the growing body of international risk perception research.

There is a complex relationship between the environment and the development of tourism, which this book discusses in a thorough and informative manner. Specialists from several disciplines pay attention to the challenges of sustainable tourism, devoting their full attention to cultural, regional and policy issues. This is a revised edition that has been expanded to 22 contributions, with inclusion of the cultural element. All chapters have been updated to include new data and information added to the existing body of literature in the last 7 years. It includes new developments and new insights into the relationship between tourism and the environment. An invaluable sequel to the first edition.

Decisions in uncertainty Scientific reaction to change During latter decades, the basic elements that have traditionally made up the society in wh ich economic activity develops, have been submitted to the effect of multiple aggressions as a consequence of the outcome of events motivated by the nature itself of the human being, always seeking a level of happiness that is never reached. In a very brief manner we are accustomed to mention these by using words such as revolution, profound changes, convulsions . . . ., the results of which are manifest through non-linear reactions that lead to a future charged with uncertainty. To get to know, explain and treat this new world constitutes one of the many objectives of those who desire a society in the service of man, and for those who aspire to the fact of the concept of mutuality transcending the use less limits of the printed word. But for this it will be necessary to overcome a whole realm of obstacles placed in the way by those comfortably embedded in old principles, decrepit ideas and are not willing to open the windows of their mind to receive the fresh air of a new era."

Risk-Based Environmental Decision: Methods and Culture presents the principles of human health risk analysis as they are applied in environmental decisions. It balances the discussion of scientific theory and methods, philosophical analysis, and applications in regulatory decisions. The material is directed towards risk analysts who must apply their skills in a policy setting, and towards policy analysts who must use risk estimates. The presentation is suited ideally as an introductory text on the methods of risk analysis and on the cultural issues that underlie these methodologies. An important feature of Risk-Based Environmental Decision: Methods and Culture is that it is designed around a series of detailed case studies of environmental risk analysis which walk the reader from the historical nature of the problem, to the formulation as a risk-based problem, to the conduct of risk analysis, and on to the application, debate, and defense of the risk analysis.

Ron Dimon's thought-leading second edition of the book originally entitled Enterprise Performance Management Done Right, published in 2012, is a practical roadmap for using Connected Planning to develop an agile organization and to navigate the complex Enterprise Performance Management landscape. According to esteemed author, researcher, and Management professor Dr. Christopher Neck, "In the same way that one needs to be self-leading to finish a grueling marathon, an organization must be self-leading in order to execute on its plans in an efficient and effective manner. What drives self-leadership at all levels in an organization? The people within the organization of course--and those people must be involved in the planning occurring in an organization. Without a plan, an organization has no direction." Since 2012, much has changed in the world of connecting strategy with improved performance: new, cloud-based, in-memory technologies have been adopted by the largest organizations in the world. This book is for CFOs, CIOs, their direct reports, and any organizational visionary or aspiring leader who wants to ''bring it all together'' and create an actionable vision and plan for improving readiness, resilience, and performance.

Beliefs, Interactions and Preferences in Decision Making mixes a selection of papers, presented at the Eighth Foundations and Applications of Utility and Risk Theory (`FUR VIII') conference in Mons, Belgium, together with a few solicited papers from well-known authors in the field. This book addresses some of the questions that have recently emerged in the research on decision-making and risk theory. In particular, authors have modeled more and more as interactions between the individual and the environment or between different individuals the emergence of beliefs as well as the specific type of information treatment traditionally called `rationality'. This book analyzes several cases of such an interaction and derives consequences for the future of decision theory and risk theory. In the last ten years, modeling beliefs has become a specific sub-field of decision making, particularly with respect to low probability events. Rational decision making has also been generalized in order to encompass, in new ways and in more general situations than it used to be fitted to, multiple dimensions in consequences. This book deals with some of the most conspicuous of these advances. It also addresses the difficult question to incorporate several of these recent advances simultaneously into one single decision model. And it offers perspectives about the future trends of modeling such complex decision questions. The volume is organized in three main blocks: The first block is the more `traditional' one. It deals with new extensions of the existing theory, as is always demanded by scientists in the field. A second block handles specific elements in the development of interactions between individuals and their environment, as defined in the most general sense. The last block confronts real-world problems in both financial and non-financial markets and decisions, and tries to show what kind of contributions can be brought to them by the type of research reported on here.

From profiles and interviews with the world's leading venture capitalists and high-profile coaches of business founders, A Dozen Lessons distills a set of bedrock methods for approaching business questions and creating value. The veteran business writer Tren Griffin takes the reader through the investment philosophies of VC luminaries such as Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital, Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz of Andreesen Horowitz, and Jenny Lee of GGV Capital to draw out a set of guiding principles that successful businesses follow. With insight and verve, Griffin argues that venture capital is, at a fundamental level, a service business that depends hugely on "human factors." Griffin suggests that, among a number of common features, these investors succeeded because of their sense of hustle, keen judgment, hard work, and good luck. But most of all, they share a deep love of building businesses that goes beyond financial considerations. Griffin reminds us that success is a multidimensional phenomenon requiring talented people, customer traction, productive partnerships, and brand value. These features amplify one another, with incremental success attracting more attention, talent, and investment.

At this time when regulatory agencies are accepting and actively encouraging probabilistic approaches and the attribution of overall uncertainty among inputs to support Value of Information analyses, a comprehensive sourcebook on methods for addressing variability and uncertainty in exposure analysis is sorely needed. This need is adroitly met in Probabilistic Techniques in Exposure Assessment. A host of expert contributors provide a straightforward introduction to the practical tools for addressing variability and uncertainty in support of environmental and human health decision making. 151 graphs, plots, charts, and figures supplement a broad range of detailed and practical examples.

At a practical level, mathematical programming under multiple objectives has emerged as a powerful tool to assist in the process of searching for decisions which best satisfy a multitude of conflicting objectives, and there are a number of distinct methodologies for multicriteria decision-making problems that exist. These methodologies can be categorized in a variety of ways, such as form of model (e.g. linear, non-linear, stochastic), characteristics of the decision space (e.g. finite or infinite), or solution process (e.g. prior specification of preferences or interactive). Scientists from a variety of disciplines (mathematics, economics and psychology) have contributed to the development of the field of Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) (or Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), Multiattribute Decision Making (MADM), Multiobjective Decision Making (MODM), etc.) over the past 30 years, helping to establish MCDM as an important part of management science. MCDM has become a central component of studies in management science, economics and industrial engineering in many universities worldwide. Multicriteria Decision Making: Advances in MCDM Models, Algorithms, Theory and Applications aims to bring together state-of-the-art' reviews and the most recent advances by leading experts on the fundamental theories, methodologies and applications of MCDM. This is aimed at graduate students and researchers in mathematics, economics, management and engineering, as well as at practicing management scientists who wish to better understand the principles of this new and fast developing field.

Offshore Risk Assessment is the first book to deal with quantified risk assessment (QRA) as applied specifically to offshore installations and operations. Risk assessment techniques have been used for some years in the offshore oil and gas industry, and their use is set to expand increasingly as the industry moves into new areas and faces new challenges in older regions. The book starts with a thorough discussion of risk analysis methodology. Subsequent chapters are devoted to analytical approaches to escalation, escape, evacuation and rescue analysis of safety and emergency systems. Separate chapters analyze the main hazards of offshore structures: Fire, explosion, collision and falling objects. Risk mitigation and control are then discussed, followed by an outline of an alternative approach to risk modelling that focuses especially on the risk of short-duration activities. Not only does the book describe the state of the art of QRA, it also identifies weaknesses and areas that need development. Readership: Besides being a comprehensive reference for academics and students of marine/offshore risk assessment and management, the book should also be owned by professionals in the industry, contractors, suppliers, consultants and regulatory authorities.

At this time when regulatory agencies are accepting and actively encouraging probabilistic approaches and the attribution of overall uncertainty among inputs to support Value of Information analyses, a comprehensive sourcebook on methods for addressing variability and uncertainty in exposure analysis is sorely needed. This need is adroitly met in Probabilistic Techniques in Exposure Assessment. A host of expert contributors provide a straightforward introduction to the practical tools for addressing variability and uncertainty in support of environmental and human health decision making. 151 graphs, plots, charts, and figures supplement a broad range of detailed and practical examples.

The authors explain the ways in which uncertainty is an important factor in the problems of risk and policy analysis. This book outlines the source and nature of uncertainty, discusses techniques for obtaining and using expert judgment, and reviews a variety of simple and advanced methods for analyzing uncertainty. Powerful computer environments and good graphical techniques for displaying uncertainty are just two of the more advanced topics addressed in later chapters.

The point of departure in the present book is that the decision-makers involved in the evaluation of alternatives under conflicting criteria express their preferential judgement by estimating ratios of subjective values or differences of the corresponding logarithms, the so-called grades. Three MCDA methods are studied in detail; the Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique SMART, and the Additive and the Multiplicative AHP, both pairwise-comparison methods which do not suffer from the well-known shortcomings of the original Analytic Hierarchy Process. Context-related preference modeling on the basis of psychophysical research in visual perception and motor skills is extensively discussed in the introductory chapters. Thereafter many extensions of the ideas are presented via case studies in university administration, health care, environmental assessment, budget allocation, and energy planning at the national and the European level. The issues under consideration are: group decision-making with inhomogeneous power distributions, the search for a compromise solution, resource allocation and fair distribution, scenario analysis in long-term planning, conflict analysis via the pairwise comparison of concessions and multi-objective optimization. The final chapters are devoted to the fortunes of MCDA in the hands of its designers. Audience: The book presents methods for decision support and their applications in the fields of university administration, health care, environmental assessment, budget allocation, and strategic energy planning and will be of value to practitioners, students and researchers in these and related fields.

Franz Ferschl is seventy. According to his birth certificate it is true, but it is unbelievable. Two of the three editors remembers very well the Golden Age of Operations Research at Bonn when Franz Ferschl worked together with Wilhelm Krelle, Martin Beckmann and Horst Albach. The importance of this fruitful cooperation is reflected by the fact that half of the contributors to this book were strongly influenced by Franz Ferschl and his colleagues at the University of Bonn. Clearly, Franz Ferschl left his traces at all the other places of his professional activities, in Vienna and Munich. This is demonstrated by the present volume as well. Born in 1929 in the Upper-Austrian Miihlviertel, his scientific education brought him to Vienna where he studied mathematics. In his early years he was attracted by Statistics and Operations Research. During his employment at the Osterreichische Bundeskammer fUr Gewerbliche Wirtschaft in Vienna he prepared his famous book on queueing theory and stochastic processes in economics. This work has been achieved during his scarce time left by his duties at the Bundeskammer, mostly between 6 a.m. and midnight. All those troubles were, however, soon rewarded by the chair of statistics at Bonn University. As a real Austrian, the amenities of the Rhineland could not prevent him from returning to Vienna, where he took the chair of statistics.

While theories on learning organizations' and knowledge-based companies' have recently emerged, little attention has yet been given either to the underlying structures of these developments, or to the link between these underlying structures and the resources available to manage them. Organizational Learning and Knowledge Technologies in a Dynamic Environment attempts to fill this gap. It thus presents practical and concrete ways for companies to be adaptable and flexible whilst operating effectively and efficiently. Underlying concepts and insights into flexible management and chaotic market behavior are translated into a pragmatic approach to knowledge management within companies, using the latest technology. Corporate knowledge is increasingly proving to be not only an important resource, but possibly unique in its sustainability. Managing knowledge as a resource, as well as managing learning as the process which creates that resource, can only be done using appropriate information technologies. The foundational concepts discussed emerge from such fields as neurobiology, cognitive sciences, physics, and organizational theory. These are applied to management and substantiated with examples. New developments in knowledge management, such as connectionist approaches, are outlined and illustrated with real cases. The author further describes an approach for developing knowledge networks in companies. The annex offers readers with an advanced interest in the matter an epistemological discussion on scientific methods for management research and touches in a broader sense on the measurability of management processes.

Concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere have increased dramatically over the last century and many of these changes are attributable to anthropogenic activities. The influence of acid rain has been well studied, but there has been no extensive exploration of other pollutants, such as toxic chemicals, heavy metals and radionuclides. Natural ecosystems, especially forests, tend to accumulate many of these pollutants which subsequently can affect ecosystem health. These contaminants may be very damaging to the environment in Eastern Europe, where the rapid disappearance of forest is the result not only of contamination but also of poor forest management practices. The current book is designed to reduce the uncertainty in our current knowledge of forest radioecology. The three topics it embraces are (a) Modelling, (b) Measurements and Data, and (c) Countermeasures and Risk Assessment.

This is a book about the evaluation and choice of information sources by individuals and the design and management of information systems by organizations. The book studies the determinants of the value and cost of information, both to the individual and to the organization, provides technqiues for the assessment of the value of information and the comparison of informativeness among alternative sources, and presents principles for the optimal design and management of information systems. These topics are unified by the thesis that both information sources and information systems are valuable to the extent they contribute to better decision making. By providing students, researchers, and practitioners with a coherent notation and framework throughout, the book integrates the decision-theoretic approach to the evaluation of information with knowledge from information science and management information systems on the design, management, and cost of cooperative information systems, thereby demonstrating the multidisciplinary applicability of a unifying approach based on decision theory. Researchers and graduate students in economics, operations research, management information systems, and information science will find this book useful.

Industrial development is essential to improvement of the standard of living in all countries. People's health and the environment can be affected, directly or indirectly by routine waste discharges or by accidents. A series of recent major industrial accidents and the effect of pollution highlighted, once again, the need for better management of routine and accidental risks. Moreover, the existence of natural hazards complicate even more the situation in any given region. In the past effort to cope with these risks, if made at all, have been largely on a plant by plant basis; some plants are well equipped to manage environmental and health hazards, while others are not. Managing the hazards of modern technological systems has become a key activity in highly industrialised countries. Decision makers are often confronted with complex issues concerning economic and social development, industrialisation and associated infrastructure needs, population and land use planning. Such issues have to be addressed in such a way that ensures that public health will not be disrupted or substantially degraded. Due to the increasing complexity of technological systems and the higher geographical density of punctual hazard sources, new methodologies and a novel approach to these problems are challenging risk managers and regional planers. Risks from these new complex technological systems are inherently different form those addressed by the risk managers for decades ago.

Human health as well as aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are threatened from increa sing levels of environmental radiation of various sources, many of them of anthropoge nic causality: large areas of the former Soviet Union suffer from radioactive pollution, in particular after the Chemobyl accident; the increase in the incidence of UVB radiati on at the Earth's surface as a result of a progressive depletion of stratospheric ozone is a global problem that requires international concerted actions; in areas of former uranium mining the natural radiation level is substantially increased due to elevated radon levels; a growing portion of the population involved in air traffic is exposed to increased levels of natural radiation; and with the International Space Station an increasing number of astronauts will be exposed to the complex field of cosmic radiation. To estimate the corresponding risks, a better knowledge of the underlying radiobiological mechanisms at the molecular, cellular and system level is required. This book is the result of a multidisciplinary effort to discuss the current state of knowledge of the fundamental processes that result from interactions of environmental radiation -ionizing as well as UV radiation -with living matter and the existing radiati on protection concepts, and then to define future research work needed as fundamental information for the assessment of risks from increased levels of environmental radiation to human health and ecosystem balance. It comprises the key lectures and statements presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop.