In order to ensure environmentally responsible production and disposal of products, local governments are imposing stricter environmental regulations, some of which even require manufacturers to take back their products at the end of the product's useful life. These government regulations, together with increasing environmental awareness, have forced manufacturers to invest in environment-conscious manufacturing. The multiple Criteria Decision Making Techniques presented in this book can be employed to solve the problems of environment-conscious manufacturers in product design, logistics, disassembly and remanufacturing.

Presenting: Problem Solving Sans Statistics Enhance your problem-solving skills, and improve your company's profitability using the methods outlined in Solving Complex Industrial Problems without Statistics. Introducing a process that involves working through problems and solutions without relying on complicated statistical design or analysis, this book pulls away from data-driven thinking and provides the problem solver with a new way of solving problems. Utilizing techniques that have been applied in facilities throughout the U.S., Canada, Italy, China, and Hong Kong, it demonstrates the use of process and problem differences and similarities, and provides a better understanding of analogous comparisons. The book incorporates visual analysis tools and problem examples in a format that facilitates comprehension and learning, presents novel concepts that do not require numbers or statistics, and provides a better understanding of the solution system/process overall. Each chapter presents new information, as well as case studies that include: Different problem situations Short histories detailing the operation, condition, and circumstances that were present at the time of each study Photographs, sketches, or tables with simple explanations to describe the circumstances, conditions, and the actions taken Methods of solution in rudimentary form Chapter summaries to review important mechanisms and workings Final summaries to tie together the important methods and techniques that facilitate easy problem solutions Solving Complex Industrial Problems without Statistics provides valuable insight into the solution of complex quality and manufacturing problems, without the use of statistics, and is essential to anyone involved in quality, control, problem-solving activities, or total quality management.

This book examines the field of behavioral economics and provides insights into the following questions:The book looks at decision making and behavior from the point of view of (i) individual behavior and choice; (ii) group and interactive choice; and (iii) collective choices and decision making. In particular, it covers the following aspects: instances when bounded rationality leads to decisions inconsistent with standard economic assumptions; risk and the processes by which investors and consumers make decisions; altruistic and cooperative behavior as alternatives to competition; game theory as a way to explore motives of cooperation versus competition; the determinants of happiness and the relationship between utility and well-being; the concept of social capital, including motivations for charity and being a responsible citizen; how trust and fairness relate to economic actions and the motivation to cooperate rather than compete; behavior such as crime, corruption and bribery from ethical, social and economic viewpoints; and, finally, the decision making process of collective choice and how societies develop rules for governing themselves.This is the first book to bridge economics, psychology, sociology and political sciences and explain the nuanced subtleties of decision making.

This is a book about traders in financial markets: what they do, the kind of people they are, how they perceive the world they inhabit, how they make decisions and take risks. This is also a book about how traders are managed-the best and the worst examples-and about the institutions they inhabit: firms, markets, cultures and theories of how the world works. How these institutions function, how traders are managed, and how traders view the world, all have profound effects on the wider financial environment. This book explores these relationships and their implications theoretically and empirically. The data discussed in this book on a three-year project researching the psychological and social influences on the behavior and performance of traders in investment banks. One hundred and eighteen traders and managers in four leading organizations participated. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews supplemented by questionnaries, measures of personality, risk propensity and a novel computer based measure designed to assess illusion of control and other cognitive biases. The authors' approach to writing this book is explicitly interdisciplinary. hey draw on sociology, psychology and econics in order to illuminate the work of traders and the world they inhabit. The book is a significant contribution to the growing body of research and literature suggesting that if we are to effectively understand financial markets and the actors who inhabit them, the insights of neo-classical financial economics need supplementing with a broader range of social science approaches. The book will be of value to researchers interested in the functioning of financial institutions and markets, to those with an interest in market regulation and to practitioners wishing to benefit from an analytical perspective on the challenges facing traders and their managers.

As organizations have grown in scale and scope of activities, so have social pressures on every aspect of organizational activity from personnel policies to waste disposal practices. This volume is a rare example of a multidisciplinary approach to an important theoretical problem--the proper means of interorganizational decision making in light of these new pressures. This complex subject is here attacked by nineteen prominent behavioral scientists from a variety of disciplines.

The study of interorganizational decision-making is aimed at moving game situations from conditions of conflict or mixed conflict-cooperation to conditions of pure cooperation. It seeks means of facilitating the coordination of decisions whenever interdependencies exist between the decision units. The book discusses variables, which may affect decision making, including awareness of individual and collective payoffs, choice of an organizational structure, response of boundary personnel, and the decision technology that exists to guide the decision makers.

The book contains studies on all interorganizational decision making situations, including individual and joint decisions, those at the interface of government and business, and decision making at the international level. Contributions are balanced between quantitative building approaches and practical empirical applications, suggesting avenues for both theoretical and practical work in this new field. The book will be of profound interest to all behavioral and management scientists.

"Matthew F. Tuite" is associate professor emeritus of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences at the Kellogg School of Management.

"Roger K. Chisholm" is professor emeritus of finance / economics at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. He is coauthor of "Forecasting Methods" and has prepared reports on Indian land cessions for the Indiana Claims Commission.

"Michael Radnor" is professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He held the position of chair in this department from 1968-1975. He has had professional experience in business in the United States and abroad. The coauthor of "Management Sciences in Government," he has contributed widely to professional journals.

In this groundbreaking working, Jack L. King, Ph.D. provides the basis for an in-depth understanding of operational risk by focusing on its measurement and modelling. Using both theoretical and practical material, he lays out a foundation theory that can be applied and refined for application in the financial sector and beyond.
Operational Risk: Measurement and Modelling is a comprehensive source for understanding the effects of risk inherent in all operations. This book:

• Provides a set of assumptions, definitions, and methodology for quantifying operational risk
• Uses comprehensive step-by-step descriptions based on real-world examples to demonstrate the application and reinforce key ideas..
• Introduces Delta-EVTTM^TM, a new technique that allows firms to deal with losses resulting from routine errors, control breakdowns, and rare events.
• Relies on causality as the key for identifying operational risk that can be controlled and provides a basis for management action.
• Explains clearly the relation between the risk assessment, process engineering, and statistical loss models.
• Includes and explains in detail the formulas and procedures for calculating many common risk measures and building causal models using Bayesian networks.

This book demonstrates how Problem Solving and Process Management is at the heart of continuous business transformation. Logically organized in four parts, it introduces the reader to the domains of change and the process management body of knowledge (BOK) and gives detailed instruction on how to creatively re-engineer processes, sustain innovation and continually improve an enterprise through proven repetitive methods. And unlike any book on the subject it offers a practical step-by-step approach that includes the steps, the templates, and the metrics to keep it on track. Features a tried and tested, practical 17-step "how to" Problem Solving and Process Management methodology that can be used in any business environment. Includes numerous figures and examples of charts and documents used at each step of the process. References standard forms, tools, and training materials in the Appendix. Addresses how to engage the people who are using, creating, and improving the management process. Explains the steps in creating a process management methodology and presents the process management body of knowledge without the "fad" or spin. Highlights the importance of good process management to corporate business transformation. Part I: Transforming the Business - Achieving a Culture of InnovationAn Introduction to Business Transformation-The Methodology & Philosophy The Phases of Business Transformation Explained - Laying the Foundation for Continuous Innovation The Organizational Approach to Business Transformation Part II: Analyzing the Status Quo - By Constantly QuestioningHow to Analyze the "As Is" Business Processes Research Customer Needs and ExpectationsSelect the IssueDefine/Design the ProcessEstablish Standards and Design Performance MeasuresImplement the Processes, Standards, Measures, and Quality SystemsConfirm the Process/Issue FocusSet the Improvement Objectives and Schedule Part III: Continuous Innovation - By Problem SolvingCreative Process ImprovementCause and Effect AnalysisGathering and Analyzing Root Cause DataSelecting the Root Cause to be AddressedFormulate Alternative SolutionsEvaluate and Select the Best SolutionDocument SolutionsInvestigate and Validate the SolutionClosing the Loop through Continuous Improvement Part IV: Engaging the People - Sustaining InnovationManaging Process Improvement Teams - Making it WorkSustaining Innovation with a Higher Purpose Appendices - Management Tools

This book presents 27 methods of the Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM), which are not discussed in the existing books, nor studied in details, using more applications. Nowadays, decision making is one of the most important and fundamental tasks of management as an organizational goal achievement that depends on its quality. Decision making includes the correct expression of objectives, determining different and possible solutions, evaluating their feasibility, assessing the consequences, and the results of implementing each solution, and finally, selecting and implementing the solution. Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is sum of the decision making techniques. MCDM is divided into the Multiple Objective Decision Making (MODM) for designing the best solution and MADM for selecting the best alternative. Given that the applications of MADM are mostly more than MODM, wide various techniques have been developed for MADM by researchers over the last 60 years, and the current book introduces some of the other new MADM methods.

There is an increasing dissatisfaction about how risk is regulated, leading to vivid debates about the use of 'risk assessment' and 'precaution'. As a result, academics, government officials and industry leaders are calling for new approaches and fresh ideas. This book provides a historical and topical perspective on the alternative concept of 'Tolerability of Risk' and its concrete regulatory applications. In the UK, Tolerability of Risk has been developed into a sophisticated framework, particularly within the health and safety sectors. It is expected to guide decision-makers when applying their legal obligation of keeping risks as low as practically reasonable. Could Tolerability of Risk become a wider source of inspiration across the full scope of risk analysis and management? Written by leading academics and risk practitioners from industry and government, The Tolerability of Risk presents a summary of theoretical perspectives on risk approaches, providing a detailed elicitation of the methods and approaches used to build the Tolerability of Risk framework and examining the prospect of universal application of that framework. From nuclear power to environmental pollution, climate change and drug testing, the Tolerability of Risk framework may offer a workable, pragmatic solution for balancing risks against the costs involved in controlling them, as well as developing the institutional capacity to make effective decisions in all jurisdictions worldwide.

Knowledge acquisition and organisation are central to the operation and marketing of many service-providing organisations. These requirements motivate the organisations' structure, their relationships to other organisations, the location of their operations and their entry into new markets. Because the nature of knowledge requirements varies by service sector, as do the organisations' structure and location, studies are necessary to explore the nature of these contingent relationships. An international and interdisciplinary team of leading academics examines the special attributes of knowledge acquisition and diffusion within and across organisations, and the consequent roles that these structurally important firms and institutions play in regional economic development.

New Generation Whole-Life Costing presents an innovative approach to decision-making and risk management for construction and real estate. It applies the options-based approach that has revolutionized the management of uncertainty in the business world. Based on government-sponsored research at Cambridge Architectural Research Ltd., the book introduces the idea of 'lifecycle options'. The desirability of whole-life costing is widely accepted, but take-up levels have been low. One problem is that traditional techniques fail to take account of future uncertainty. In contrast, the new options-based approach considers a diversity of possible futures, and favours flexible strategies that incorporate lifecycle options. This approach leads to more cost-effective and sustainable decisions, minimizing the risk of under- or over-investment. This book is structured around realistic case studies that demonstrate the prevalence of lifecycle options. These case studies are backed up by clear presentation of basic principles and mathematical techniques allowing the book to be read either as a stimulating introduction to new concepts, or as a guide to mathematical methods.

The phenomenon of entrepreneurship has attracted researchers from a variety of disciplines and a diverse number of analytical approaches. Currently, there is a considerable amount of confusion and a variety of conflicting theories which are being used interchangeably and ambiguously.

In this important new book, the authors argue that there are analytically distinct forms of entrepreneurship, each of them having an individual logic of their own. They highlight the role of individual economic agents with endowments of new knowledge or new combinations of old knowledge as entrepreneurs, and thus identify them as dynamic factors in the knowledge economy.

Overall, this book not only provides a contemporary overview of current research in the field, but also summarizes the policy conclusions that can be drawn from current research.

“The world needs organisations to do good whilst making profit. Powered by Purpose is a practical guide for leading an organisation that fulfils both of these needs.” Bill Winters, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank

“Compulsory reading for any leader searching for purpose and looking to authentically transform their organisation, people and planet for positive impact.” Esther Foreman, CEO, The Social Change Agency

Companies with an authentic purpose outperform the market by 42%, according to recent research. They deliver better financial performance, more employee engagement and greater competitive advantage.

In organisations around the world, the pressure is on. Whether this is increasing consumer expectations, widening inequality or the growing disillusionment with globalization, the need to stay viable is greater than ever. The lauded leadership styles that were finely adapted to our past reality will not carry us forward.

Powered by Purpose outlines the four core leadership capacities that you need to help you feel alive at work, lead an enthusiastic team and generate competitive advantage:

1. Cultivate Leadership Presence - how you can act in a way that others are inspired to follow

2. Make Dialogue Authentic - how to talk about what matters most including people’s long term wellbeing

3. Engage your Stakeholders - how to articulate your purpose in a way that engages and energises people

4. Connect on Purpose - how to embody purpose so that it becomes part of your corporate DNA and day-to-day decision making

Regulating risks in modern societies increasingly involves governments guiding and co-opting corporate risk management systems. This book examines the feasibility of this with reference to occupational health and safety on Britain's railways. It raises important questions about how workplace risks are managed and what influence the law can have in this. These issues are especially significant in the wake of major rail disasters and in the face of the increasing popularity of risk-based approaches to corporate governance.

Intellectual assets - including documents, designs, know-how, software, data, patents and trademarks - are critical to the delivery of innovative, and cost effective, products and services. Despite this many organizations seek to manage their intellectual assets using a range of bolt-on, stand-alone business processes, often divorced from the processes used to manage their services and products. Integrated Intellectual Asset Management explains how to take full advantage of your organization's intellectual assets by integrating their management in six key areas: c decision making systems c strategy c policy and accountabilities c knowledge management c people and behaviour c targets and metrics You can only hope to develop, protect, exploit, and realize the value of your key intellectual assets when you integrate the way you manage them into existing business processes and culture. Integrated Intellectual Asset Management guides you through this process.

This book provides research on the human element in forecasting. It focuses on how we can improve our ability to accurately forecast.

Originally published in 1981. Risk is a problem which all business decision makers have to cope with. The problem is not insurmountable, however, as there now exist well-established techniques for minimising risk and for calculating which of various available options is the optimal one to pursue. This book outlines and discusses these techniques and the theories behind them. Unlike many economic theories which only rarely have any practical applications, the techniques put forward in this book can be used by real businessmen to solve real business problems. The book concentrates on decision-making in two main areas: the allocation of a firm's resources and the selection of new investments; and the techniques and theories discussed fall into three broad groups: linear programming, decision theory and capital market theory. Intended as an advanced undergraduate textbook for students taking business economics or managerial economics courses, this valuable book will interest specialists and students involved in management studies, microeconomics, strategic planning, operational research, accounting and MBA programmes.

The roots of Multiple Criteria Decision Making and Multiple Criteria Optimization were laid by Pareto at the end of the 19th century, and since then the discipline has prospered and grown, especially during the last three decades. Today, many decision support systems incorporate methods to deal with conflicting objectives. The foundation for such systems is a mathematical theory of optimization under multiple objectives.

Since its beginnings, there have been a vast number of books, journal issues, papers and conferences that have brought the field to its present state. Despite this vast body of literature, there is no reliable guide to provide an access to this knowledge. Over the years, many literature surveys and bibliographies have been published. With the ever rapidly increasing rate of publications in the area and the development of subfields, these were mostly devoted to particular aspects of multicriteria optimization: Multiobjective Integer Programming, Multi-objective Combinatorial Optimization, Vector Optimization, Multiobjective Evolutionary Methods, Applications of MCDM, MCDM Software, Goal Programming. Hence the need for a comprehensive overview of the literature in multicriteria optimization that could serve as a state of the art survey and guide to the vast amount of publications. Multiple Criteria Optimization: State of the Art Annotated Bibliographic Surveys is precisely this book. Experts in various areas of multicriteria optimization have contributed to the volume. The chapters in this book roughly follow a thread from most general to more specific. Some of them are about particular types of problems (Theory of Vector Optimization, Nonlinear MultiobjectiveProgramming, Fuzzy Multiobjective Programming, Multiobjective Combinatorial Optimization, Multicriteria Scheduling Problems), while the others are focused on multi-objective methodologies (Goal Programming, Interactive Methods, Evolutionary Algorithms, Data Envelopment Analysis). All contributing authors invested great effort to produce comprehensive overviews and bibliographies and to have references that are as precise as possible.

If you can slice a melon or make a right-hand turn, you can be a breakthrough innovator.
The title of this book, "Cause a Disturbance," says it all, and it most assuredly will cause a disturbance in the way you think about business: your business.
Everyone knows--and everyone talks about--how important innovation is in the competitive battle to find, delight, and keep customers, yet far too few achieve it. As Tencer and Cardoso explain, "There's a big difference between an occasional spark of innovation and an eternal flame." But the reality is different; most firms struggle to consistently innovate. All that can change. Kick-start your business with attitude. Cause a disturbance
Whether your business is in transition or simply looking for an innovative spark, give it a lift with "Cause a Disturbance." Within these pages you will learn how innovation can change your business in simple steps through The 90% Rule(R) a straightforward philosophy that drives you to constantly ask "What's the next 10%? What's the next product, service, or process improvement that will create a continuously engaged customer base and strengthen my brand?"
Cause a disturbance in the way you think about innovation as you open your mind to the possibilities--and simplicity--of being innovative every day

The business environment has changed. Sharper competition requires organizations to exhibit greater effectiveness in their operations and services and faster creation of new products and services all hallmarks of the knowledge economy. Up until now, most of the knowledge management literature has focused on technology, systems, or culture. This book moves to the next stage, to focus on the people the knowledge workers themselves. Noted expert Karl Wiig synthesizes recent research findings in cognitive science and related fields to describe how people actually work. He focuses on how people learn, remember, make decisions, solve problems and act in general, how knowledge relates to work behavior. By understanding how people work, managers can improve effectiveness to gain competitive advantage.

As public and private sector organizations work more frequently in partnership, managing uncertainties, problems and controversies becomes increasingly difficult. Despite sophisticated technology and knowledge, the strategic networks and games required to solve uncertainties become more complex and more important than ever before.
Managing Uncertainties in Networks is a new text that examines developments in the area of network strategy. Differentiating itself from other policy network approaches which have a mainly research focus, this text has a managerial orientation presenting strategies and management recommendations for public and private sector organizations as well as the analytical tools required by practitioners seeking to support their own internal decision making and strategy formulation.
Topics covered include:
* Knowledge conflicts
* Uncertainties and governments
* Technological controversies
* Collaborative problem solving
* Managing networks
Tapping into the important and ever-growing area of risk and uncertainty management, this is a vital and long awaited staple for the arena written by two leading authors in the field. It will be key reading for students, scholars and policy makers seeking to understand the complexities of the network society.

As public and private sector organizations work more frequently in partnership, managing uncertainties, problems and controversies becomes increasingly difficult. Despite sophisticated technology and knowledge, the strategic networks and games required to solve uncertainties become more complex and more important than ever before.
Managing Uncertainties in Networks is a new text that examines developments in the area of network strategy. Differentiating itself from other policy network approaches which have a mainly research focus, this text has a managerial orientation presenting strategies and management recommendations for public and private sector organizations as well as the analytical tools required by practitioners seeking to support their own internal decision making and strategy formulation.
Topics covered include:
* Knowledge conflicts
* Uncertainties and governments
* Technological controversies
* Collaborative problem solving
* Managing networks
Tapping into the important and ever-growing area of risk and uncertainty management, this is a vital and long awaited staple for the arena written by two leading authors in the field. It will be key reading for students, scholars and policy makers seeking to understand the complexities of the network society.