Monetary incentives, as a driving force for human behavior, are the main theme of this book. The primary goals underlying the application of monetary incentive systems in companies are motivating employees to strive for superior productivity in line with the interests of employers, and hiring adequately skilled employees. The first goal refers to incentive effects, the latter to sorting effects. This book introduces important theories and concepts concerning behavior under influence of monetary incentives; it reviews existing economic frameworks and identifies specific contingency variables. Based on an integrative framework of elements influencing incentive and sorting effects, a laboratory experiment is presented including detailed methodological discussion on experimentation and data analysis as well as an extensive presentation of findings and discussion of implications.

This book, companion to Foundations of Location Analysis (Springer, 2011), highlights some of the applications of location analysis within the spheres of businesses, those that deal with public services and applications that deal with law enforcement and first responders. While the Foundations book reviewed the theory and first contributions, this book describes how different location techniques have been used to solve real problems. Since many real problems comprise multiple objectives, in this book there is more presence of tools from multicriteria decision making and multiple-objective optimization. The section on business applications looks at such problems as locating bank branches, the potential location of a logistics park, sustainable forest management and layout problems in a hospital, a much more difficult type of problem than mere location problems. The section on public services presents chapters on the design of habitats for wildlife, control of forest fires, the location of intelligent sensors along highways for timely emergency response, locating breast cancer screening centers, an economic analysis for the locations of post offices and school location. The final section of the book includes chapters on the well-known problem of locating fire stations, a model for the location of sensors for travel time information, the problem of police districting, locations of jails, location of Coast Guard vessels and finally, a survey of military applications of location analysis throughout different periods of recent history.

In a world that is essentially digitizing, some have argued that the idea of the knowledge society holds the greatest promise for Africa s rapid socio-economic transformation. Impacts of the Knowledge Society on Economic and Social Growth in Africa aims to catalyze thinking and provide relevant information on the complex ways in which the information age is shaping Africa and the implications that this will have for the continent and the world. This premier reference volume will provide policy analysts, policymakers, academics, and researchers with fresh insights into the key empirical and theoretical matters framing Africa's ongoing digitization."

This book examines the modules/elements required before implementing knowledge management solutions in typical manufacturing and service industry. The objective is to develop a framework, design and model suitable for all requirements and a strategy to properly implement. Related case studies from organizations are included, with the results provided to use as a solution to problems experienced when implementing knowledge management in the industry. Implementing a knowledge management system can be complex and dynamic, no matter how well planned and developed. Inevitably a degree of organizational inertia is focused on the current state rather than the new. Within an enterprise, personal and group involvement and interests process status and technology landscape can deflect the commitment needed to successfully implement such a system. Cumulative evidence from past research in knowledge management suggests that effective implementation of KM solution in any organization requires a robust designs and models for various critical elements of process, people and technology. Using the techniques provided in this book, readers should be able to design knowledge management strategies, to align objectives of the KM initiatives with their business goals.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This concise yet comprehensive introduction aims to outline the core principles of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), laying them out in an accessible manner with minimum technical detail. The applied nature of the subject is emphasized by showing how each of the principles is applied to an actual public policy intervention, covering transport, education, health and the environment. Robert J. Brent demonstrates how economic efficiency and equity can be combined as social objectives to help determine decisions that can increase satisfaction for all. Covering the fundamental principles, this book presents applications for every concept discussed and lays the foundations for further study in the field. It combines distribution with efficiency as the objectives of public policy, compares the CBA methodology with competing methods of allocating resources that satisfy basic needs, and analyses CBA from the perspective of modern applied welfare economics. The main conclusion is that CBA is the basis for understanding any kind of public policy decision regardless of the field of study, be that government expenditure, taxation or regulation, and irrespective of the tangible or intangible outcome the policy is attempting to influence. Both accessible and erudite, the Advanced Introduction to Cost Benefit Analysis will be essential reading for students of health, education, transportation, public finance, regulation, environmental and development economics, and political science, as well as the general reader interested in understanding how public policy should be implemented. Furthermore, the insightful analysis will appeal to practitioners working in government, public institutions and NGOs.

This book focuses on strategic and operational human resources, giving the reader the core curriculum of subjects usually presented in an MBA program specialized in organizational behaviour and human resource management. The topics covered can be applied to a variety of real world business situations. This book aims to contribute to the growth and development of individuals in a competitive and global economy, by covering the latest developments in the field of human resources management. Innovative practices and theories as well as the current policies and practices of HRM are described in this book.

White women and people of color now constitute the majority of the U.S. workforce, yet ninety-seven percent of senior managers of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1,000 industrial companies remain white men. It's clear that leaders of American organizations are requited to play key roles in a world that has become strange to them, says Cross. To succeed in an increasingly competitive global environment, our organizational leaders must have the courage to act outside their comfort zones--to try to understand, interact with, motivate, develop, and retain a work force that is alien to them.

Cross' book provides the practical assistance they need. Because racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression are not rational, help cannot be found wholly in rationalism. Such biases arise from emotional and psychological bases. Our leaders are thus forced to confront their barriers within barriers that exist at every level of their organization. Cross uses her own experiences as an African American woman and as an experienced, and recognized management consultant to demonstrate how oppression functions at the individual, group, and systems levels, but her book is not a memoir. Rather, it is a sophisticated explication of a complex and complete system of organizational change, with case studies and other useful aids, which, if fully grasped, will enable courageous leaders to succeed in understanding and dealing effectively with the urgent crosscultural and gender issues in the workplace.

This book constitutes the refereed post-proceedings of the 7th IFIP WG 5.5 International Precision Assembly Seminar, IPAS 2014, held in Chamonix, France, in February 2014. The 20 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers cover the following topics: micro-assembly processes and systems ranging from desktop factory automation and packaging of MEMS to self-assembly processes and platforms; handling and manipulation, including flexible gripper systems, fixturing and high precision actuators; tolerance management and error-compensation techniques applied at different scales of precision assembly; metrology and quality control; intelligent assembly control; process selection, modelling and planning.

Take control of your investment decisions The investment industry is in a state of inertia. Recent events highlight an overreliance on mathematical foundations and flawed investment models. Investors need to find new paths to effective wealth creation. The Empowered Investor provides a proven framework for wealth creation. Built around 7 key principles and practical real-world examples, the book provides insight into the limitations of traditional investment concepts, and illustrates how investors can take control of their investments. Instead of relying on often flawed financial advice, investors need to develop their own investment approach, drawing on their unique skill sets and experiences. This book: -Presents a practical strategy for wealth creation, based on practical experience and sound theoretical foundation; -Provides real world cases and excerpts from interviews with highly successful investors; -Demonstrates how investors can build on their core strengths, exploit opportunities and differentiate their investments; -Illustrates how to protect a portfolio from threats and risks This book will help you: -Build on your core strengths; -Identify and make the most of new opportunities; -Cultivate quality networks; -Differentiate your investments; -Protect yourself against threats and risks; -Understand and manage the time dimension; -Execute with efficiency. Written in a practical and straightforward manner, The Empowered Investor provides a robust strategic toolkit for investors, bringing the individual to the core of the investment strategy and creating new opportunities for wealth creation.

Integrating development processes, policies, and reliability predictions from the beginning of the product development lifecycle to ensure high levels of product performance and safety, this book helps companies overcome the challenges posed by increasingly complex systems in today's competitive marketplace. Examining both research on and practical aspects of product quality and reliability management with an emphasis on applications, the book features contributions written by active researchers and/or experienced practitioners in the field, so as to effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice and address new research challenges in reliability and quality management in practice. Postgraduates, researchers and practitioners in the areas of reliability engineering and management, amongst others, will find the book to offer a state-of-the-art survey of quality and reliability management and practices.

Leadership development is critical to organizational competitive advantage. The key to successful leadership development programs lies in understanding the complex and always-shifting interplay of national culture, organizational culture, program dynamics, and individual differences. Editors Derr, Roussillon, and Bournois explain the interrelationships among these influences, demonstrating how national culture may play a greater role in leadership development programs in some countries than in other countries. Contributors present varying viewpoints from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Italy, China, Vietnam, Israel, Africa, and Latin America. Perspectives on leadership management in changing organizations, on fast-track executives, and on the perspective of a clinical psychologist are included.

In addition, the editors have included a discussion of the diversity-collaboration model, a highly useful tool for modulating the pendulum swings between the two extremes. In this context, diversity in the extreme is exemplified by a fluid, mobile, global labor force in which the risks include lack of unifying goals, lack of loyalty to the firm, and lack of effective action. The converse--collaboration in the extreme--is characterized by so much internal socialization, integration, and homogeneity that creativity is squelched and innovation is stifled. Preparing future leaders effectively entails straddling the middle by integrating highly acculturated, loyal, dedicated insiders with free agents culled from the global talent pool. The various chapters on leadership development as practiced in both developed and developing countries provide valuable insight into the utility of the diversity-collaboration model. Human resource managers, leadership development consultants, and organizational behavior consultants as well as their academic colleagues will find this work tremendously useful.

International Human Resource Management Edwards & Rees, 3rd edition This engaging textbook offers a readable introduction to International Human Resource Management. It explores the international dimensions of managing human resources, with a focus on comparative HRM and multinational organisations. It tackles the issues raised by cross-national differences in HRM styles and explores key themes, including: The meaning of globalization and the extent to which it is a novel phenomenon Challenges to national traditions and changes in national systems Debates and controversy around key issues in International HRM. Ideal for undergraduates taking International HRM courses, those taking Masters programmes in HRM, and MBA students. It may also be relevant to comparative industrial relations courses that feature multinational companies. Fully revised and updated in this new third edition, this textbook features: Clear, cohesive themes that run throughout the book and show the big picture. Broad depth of coverage of multinational companies, reflecting current hot topics. Real life case studies throughout, showing how the theory applies in practice. Contributions by experts in the field, actively edited by the lead authors to ensure that the book is clear and consistent for the reader. About the authors Tony Edwards is Professor of Comparative Management at Kings College London. Chris Rees is Professor of Employment Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London.

The aim of this book is to present qualitative and qualitative aspects of logistics operations and supply chain management which help to implement the sustainable policy principles in the companies and public sector s institutions. Authors in individual chapters address the issues related to reverse network configuration, forward and reverse supply chain integration, CO2 reduction in transportation, improvement of the production operations and management of the recovery activities. Some best practices from different countries and industries are presented. This book will be valuable to both academics and practitioners wishing to deepen their knowledge in the field of logistics operations and management with regard to sustainability issues."

In scheduling theory, the models that have attracted considerable attention during the last two decades allow the processing times to be variable, i.e., to be subjected to various effects that make the actual processing time of a job dependent on its location in a schedule. The impact of these effects includes, but is not limited to, deterioration and learning. Under the first type of effect, the later a job is scheduled, the longer its actual processing time becomes. In the case of learning, delaying a job will result in shorter processing times. Scheduling with Time-Changing Effects and Rate-Modifying Activities covers and advances the state-of-the-art research in this area. The book focuses on single machine and parallel machine scheduling problems to minimize either the maximum completion time or the sum of completion times of all jobs, provided that the processing times are subject to various effects. Models that describe deterioration, learning and general non-monotone effects to be considered include positional, start-time dependent, cumulative and their combinations, which cover most of the traditionally used models. The authors also consider more enhanced models in which the decision-maker may insert certain Rate-Modifying Activities (RMA) on processing machines, such as for example, maintenance or rest periods. In any case, the processing times of jobs are not only dependent on effects mentioned above but also on the place of a job in a schedule relative to an RMA. For most of the enhanced models described in the book, polynomial-time algorithms are presented which are based on similar algorithmic ideas such as reduction to linear assignment problems (in a full form or in a reduced form), discrete convexity, and controlled generation of options.

This book identifies and furthers the state of the art in green logistics and transportation with a supply chain focus. It includes discussions on concerns and linkages across policy, corporate strategy and operations and inter-organizational relationships and practices. Separate sections are assigned to discuss issues related to greening of logistics and transportation functions, including green logistics network, green land transportation and green air and water transportation. Linking research with practice is another important feature of the book as various techniques and research methodologies are utilized to explain and analyze green logistics and transportation concepts and issues. The authors come from throughout the world from a variety of backgrounds (e.g. policy, technical, engineering, and management backgrounds) to provide solutions and insights from their regional and global perspectives to some of the world's most critical green logistics and transportation issues.

As a fundamental problem in stochastic inventory control, the newsvendor problem has been studied since the 18th century in the economic literature, and has been widely used to analyze supply chains in fashion and seasonal product industries. Since the 1950s, the newsvendor problem has been extensively studied in operations research and extended to model a variety of real-life problems. The simplest and most elementary version of the newsvendor problem is an optimal stocking problem in which a newsvendor needs to decide how many newspapers to order for future demand, where the future demand is uncertain and follows a stationary distribution. Research in this area has greatly increased over the last few years, and now the Handbook of Newsvendor Problems: Models, Extensions and Applications captures the state of the art. The handbook consists of two sections -- Models and Extensions, and Applications. Each section includes many interesting works in the respective domain. Section I presents papers on topics like the multi-product newsvendor problems; the newsvendor problem with law invariant coherent measures of risk; a Copula approach to inventory pooling problems with newsvendor products; repeated newsvendor games with transshipments; cooperative newsvendor games; an economic interpretation for the price-setting newsvendor problem; newsvendor models with alternative risk preferences within expected utility theory and prospect theory frameworks; and newsvendor problems with VaR and CVaR consideration. Section II presents papers on such topics as a two-period newsvendor problem for closed-loop supply chain analysis; the remanufacturing newsvendor problem; inventory centralization in a newsvendor setting when shortage costs differ; production planning on an unreliable machine for multiple items; analysis of the newsvendor problem under carbon emissions policies; optimal decisions of the manufacturer and distributor in a fresh product supply chain involving long distance transportation; a newsvendor perspective on profit target setting for multiple divisions; and a portfolio approach to multi-product newsvendor problem with budget constraint. This well-balanced handbook presents a wealth of theoretical results from different perspectives. With contributions from many of the leading researchers in the field, the Handbook of Newsvendor Problems: Models, Extensions and Applications is a timely addition to the literature and consolidates all the new and exciting works related to the newsvendor problem into one high quality source.

This book addresses the education and training of Members of Parliament (MPs). It examines existing training programs offered in various countries around the world, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses and makes recommendations for a new approach, which aligns the professional development of MPs to 21st century requirements. Contributors address the role of parliamentarians, how to prepare them for their multi-faceted functions, the importance of ethics in any program, the requirement for more sophisticated adult learning approaches, human resource implications and the need to reform existing education and training models. The book will appeal to scholars in the fields of political science, adult education and human resource management, as well as to parliamentarians interested in enhancing their skills so as to perform more efficiently and effectively.

Ideas are like goods and services--they can be sold--indeed, they must be. Friesen maintains that many executives, particularly those who aspire to similar positions in upper management, often do not understand this and wonder why their recommendations go unheeded and why they don't move up the organizational ladder. Others may wonder why they don't seem to have the authority they thought they had and why people who report to them often appear indifferent. Friesen's book makes clear that there are productive ways of selling your ideas, and he shows that these methods can and must be learned. He shows why organizations tend to be defensive and how to sell ideas effectively in a way that averts resistance to change. The result is an engrossing and practical book of advice for people at all levels in all organizations, public and private.

Executives at all levels and in every type of organization achieve their executive status in one of two ways: they either inherit it or they earn it through hard work, aspiration, and a bit of luck. Friesen directs his book at executives who wish to improve their ability to sell and implement ideas, and, in doing so, continue their rise up the corporate ladder. This book will also be of value to executives who have a desire to increase their authority and/or their administrative position and to those who wish to inspire a sense of loyalty among their employees, and those who hope to lead their orgaizations into the next century.

Friesen explains why organizations tend to be defensive and how recognizing this can lead to greater levels of personal success. He also provides a thorough background on the nature of power, contrasting legitimate power and authority, and helping one understand how to increase it without formal advancement in the organization. A specific process one can use to sell ideas as well as to develop relationships is described and illustrated. The book is intended for specialists in organizational behavior and top-level executives. It is organized to provide value as a reference work and to provide readers with unusual and useful strategies for their personal advancement and the enrichment of their communication skills.

This book provides advanced analytics and decision management techniques and tools for developing sustainable competitive advantages in the studied target context. In order to achieve sustainable economy, the capacity to endure, it is essential to understand and study the mechanisms for interactions and impact from and among these perspectives.

Oliver Wight is one of the pioneers of Manufacture Resource Planning (MRPII). Here he introduces the essential concepts and benefits of MRPII in a practical format with easy-to-follow question-and-answer format. Among MRPII topics covered are: how MRPII can benefit a business, the executive's leadership role in implementation, the requirements of a successful MRPII implementation, guidelines for making MRPII effective in any organization, and managing MRPII for long-term competitive advantage.

This set brings together two essential books in understanding how to deliver and manage business transformation - A Handbook of Business Transformation Management Methodology and Business Transformation Essentials. The Handbook of Business Transformation Management Methodology providesa '360-degree' view on what business transformation means and how to manage it successfully. Suitable for business executives dealing with organizational change, illustrative case studies ensure this is also a valuable resource for academics interested in change and transformation management. Using a variety of case studies including: Allianz SE, Shell, SAP, Vodafone, and Mercedes-Benz, Business Transformation Essentials provides unprecedented insights into characteristics of current transformation programs and the potential that can be leveraged by applying a holistic transformation management approach.

Managers in all types of organizations and at all levels of supervision have the responsibility to investigate using negotiation and ADR to determine how they can reduce the harmful impact of litigation. The book deals with recognizing and understanding the problems, costs and reasons behind excessive litigation. The author describes the strong relationship that occurs between improving one's negotiation skills and making use of formal ADR techniques designed to resolve disputes. This book is for managers at the higher levels of supervision and in both private and public organizations, in-house attorneys and attorneys from outside legal firms that service corporate accounts.

The author first addresses the issue of the history and reasons behind the proliferation and expense of lawsuits in the business world. A risk-return framework is presented to help managers assess the costs, both direct and indirect, of alternative actions they can take. The impact of wrongful-dismissal suits is given an in-depth discussion. After addressing the traditional client-lawyer model, the author offers tools such as the legal-dispute audit, the manager's dispute resolution decision tree, and detours to lawsuits. A thorough analysis of both negotiations and ADR techniques follows. The book concludes with chapters on arbitration, mediation, mini-trials, and private judging. A list of where to find service providers, professional societies, and research organizations is also included.