Executives' morality and ethics became major research topics following recent business scandals, but the research missed a major explanation of executives' immorality: career advancement by "jumping" between firms that causes ignorance of job-pertinent tacit local knowledge, tempting "jumpers" to covertly conceal this ignorance. Generating distrust and ignorance cycles and mismanagement, this choice bars performance-based career advancement and encourages immoral careerism, advancing by immoral subterfuges. Such careerism is a known managerial malady, but explaining its emergence proved challenging as managerial ignorance is covertly concealed as a dark secret on organizations' dark side by conspiracies of silence. Managerially educated and experienced, Dr. Shapira achieved a breakthrough by a 5-year semi-native anthropological study of five "jumper"-managed automatic processing plants and their parent firms. This book untangles common ignorance and immoral careerism, concealed as dark secrets by executives who "rode" on the successes of mid-level "jumpers" who high-morally risked their authority and power by admitting ignorance and trustfully learned local tacit knowledge. The opposite choice tendencies accorded power, authority, and status rankings, which made practicing immorality easier the higher one's position, suggesting that the common "jumping" between managerial careers nurtures immoral executives similar to those exposed in the recent business scandals.

Standards have become widespread regulatory tools that are set to promote global trade, innovation, efficiency, and quality. They contribute significantly to the creation of safe, reliable, and high quality services and technologies to ensure human health, environmental protection, or information security. Yet intentional deviations from standards by organizations are often reported in many sectors, which can either contribute to or challenge the measures of safety and quality they are designed to safeguard. Why then, despite all potential consequences, do organizations choose to deviate from standards in one way or another? This book uses structuration theory - covering aspects of both structure and agency - to explore the organizational conditions and contradictions under which different types of deviance occur. It provides empirical explanations for deviance in organizations that go beyond an understanding of individual misbehaviour where mainly a single person is held responsible. Case studies of software-developing organizations illustrate insightful generalizations on standards as a mechanism of sensemaking, resource allocation, and sanctioning, and provide ground to re-think corporate responsibility when deviating from standards in the 'audit society'.

This textbook provides an innovative pedagogy to students who will be the policy makers of tomorrow. It provides thoughts on sustainability and the complexity among its different dimensions. It guides students through experience, processes of complex decision making, and sharpen their clarity of thought, to enhance their communication abilities and help them develop critical thinking. It provides key competencies to address the complexities of sustainable development. By combining game-based learning with an analytical style of education, supplemental materials are provided to make the definitions of various sustainability aspects more concrete and allows students to experiment in a consequence-free environment, with scenario examples. Board Game and a hypothetical management course, dealing with various topics like transportation sustainability, societal metabolism, etc. as well as with decision making under those contexts, will formalize the mathematics needed to make robust decisions.

Provides well-written self-contained chapters, including problem sets and exercises, making it ideal for the classroom setting; Introduces applied optimization to the hazardous waste blending problem; Explores linear programming, nonlinear programming, discrete optimization, global optimization, optimization under uncertainty, multi-objective optimization, optimal control and stochastic optimal control; Includes an extensive bibliography at the end of each chapter and an index; GAMS files of case studies for Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 are linked to http://www.springer.com/math/book/978-0-387-76634-8; Solutions manual available upon adoptions.

Hardbound. Defined and illustrated in this book is the measurement of productivity and the sources and effects of technological change for industries and enterprises. A general framework for analysis unites general assumptions about market structure and producer motivation with new econometric methods to quantify, e.g. economics of scale and scope, learning effects and sources of biased technological change. Adaptation of accounting data to appropriate financial and economic concepts is stressed for both econometric and non-econometric measurement methods. High technology industries such as computers, semiconductors and telecommunications equipment are studied as well as regulated service enterprises. Computation and estimation routines for the SORITEC econometrics software are available on diskette from the authors.

This book takes a unique approach to linear optimization by focusing on the underlying principles and business applications of a topic more often taught from a mathematical and computational perspective. By shifting the perspective away from heavy math, students learn how optimization can be used to drive decision making in real world business settings. The book does not shy away from the theory underlying linear optimization but rather focuses on ensuring students understand the logic without getting caught up in proving theorems. Plenty of examples, applications and case studies are included to help bridge the gap between the theory and the way it plays out in practice. The author has also included several Excel spreadsheets, showing worked-out models of linear optimization that have been used to drive decisions ranging from configuring a police force to purchasing crude oil and media planning. How can the routes and pricing structures of airlines be optimized? How much should be invested in the prevention and punishment of crimes? These are everyday problems that can be solved using linear optimization, and this book shows students just how to do that. It will prove a useful, math-free resource for all students of management science and operations research.

Evidence-Based Decision-Making: How to Leverage Available Data and Avoid Cognitive Biases examines how a wide range of factual evidence, primarily derived from a variety of data available to organizations, can be used to improve the quality of business decision-making, by helping decision makers circumvent the various cognitive biases that adversely impact how we all think. The book is built on the following premise: During the past decade, the new 'data world' emerged, in which the rush to develop competencies around business analytics and data science can be characterized as nothing less than the new commercial arms race. The ever-expanding volume and variety of data are well known, as are the great advances in data processing/analytics, data visualization, and related information production-focused capabilities. Yet, comparatively little effort has been devoted to how the informational products of business analytics and data science are 'consumed' or used in the organizational decision-making processes, as the available evidence shows that only some of that information is used to drive some business decisions some of the time. Evidence-Based Decision-Making details an explicit process describing how the universe of available and applicable evidence, which includes organizational and other data, industry benchmarks, scientific studies, and professional experience, can be assessed, amalgamated, and funneled into an objective driver of key business decisions. Introducing key concepts in relation to data and evidence, and the history of evidence-based management, this new and extremely topical book will be essential reading for researchers and students of data analytics as well as those working in the private and public sectors, and in the voluntary sector.

In order to experience significant improvement in business processes, successful organizations must launch, implement, and maintain effective transformation programs. Such programs enable companies to fully maximize benefits and avoid potential failures. Optimization of Supply Chain Management in Contemporary Organizations discusses best practices and methods in transformation initiatives that improve the overall functionality and success of supply chain processes. Focusing on performance measurement, change management, and strategy development, this book is an essential reference source for executives, managers, advanced-level students, and professionals working in the field of business transformations and supply chain development.

Diverse kinds of knowledge are vital for each organization that would successfully compete today in an international scenario. The emergent relevance of knowledge and its management in an even more complex environment opens up the possibility to analyze, investigate and deepen our understanding on different aspects related to several functional areas in business management. Nowadays, firms that create new knowledge and apply it effectively and efficiently will be successful at creating competitive advantages. The choices of the firms in selecting and applying different knowledge process (such as knowledge sourcing, transferring and exploiting) as well as knowledge tools may be crucial. Thus, the role of knowledge as the key source of potential advantage for organizations and indeed whole economies is still a hot debate in the international landscape. This book develops insights for the management of knowledge in cross-functional business areas to originate an innovative approach to the classical Knowledge Management (KM) field. This book provides a fresh perspective on different knowledge related topics in an international landscape, highlighting the key role of knowledge and its management in business activities. Overall, the primary aim of this book is to extend our understandings on how KM can be helpful in several cross-functional management areas, such as strategic management, finance, HRM and innovation as well as in different business circumstances such as M&A, internationalization processes and risk management.

The main focus of this book is on presenting advances in fuzzy statistics, and on proposing a methodology for testing hypotheses in the fuzzy environment based on the estimation of fuzzy confidence intervals, a context in which not only the data but also the hypotheses are considered to be fuzzy. The proposed method for estimating these intervals is based on the likelihood method and employs the bootstrap technique. A new metric generalizing the signed distance measure is also developed. In turn, the book presents two conceptually diverse applications in which defended intervals play a role: one is a novel methodology for evaluating linguistic questionnaires developed at the global and individual levels; the other is an extension of the multi-ways analysis of variance to the space of fuzzy sets. To illustrate these approaches, the book presents several empirical and simulation-based studies with synthetic and real data sets. In closing, it presents a coherent R package called "FuzzySTs" which covers all the previously mentioned concepts with full documentation and selected use cases. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to all researchers whose work involves advanced fuzzy statistical methods.

This handbook covers DEA topics that are extensively used and solidly based. The purpose of the handbook is to (1) describe and elucidate the state of the field and (2), where appropriate, extend the frontier of DEA research. It defines the state-of-the-art of DEA methodology and its uses. This handbook is intended to represent a milestone in the progression of DEA. Written by experts, who are generally major contributors to the topics to be covered, it includes a comprehensive review and discussion of basic DEA models, which, in the present issue extensions to the basic DEA methods, and a collection of DEA applications in the areas of banking, engineering, health care, and services. The handbook's chapters are organized into two categories: (i) basic DEA models, concepts, and their extensions, and (ii) DEA applications. First edition contributors have returned to update their work.

The second edition includes updated versions of selected first edition chapters. New chapters have been added on: different approaches with no need for a priori choices of weights (called multipliers) that reflect meaningful trade-offs, construction of static and dynamic DEA technologies, slacks-based model and its extensions, DEA models for DMUs that have internal structures network DEA that can be used for measuring supply chain operations, Selection of DEA applications in the service sector with a focus on building a conceptual framework, research design and interpreting results.

"

Introduction to Management Science gives students a strong foundation in how to make decisions and solve complex problems using both quantitative methods and software tools. In addition to extensive examples, problem sets, and cases, the 13th Edition incorporates Excel 2016 and other software resources, developing students' ability to leverage the technology they will use throughout their careers. By practicing these modelling techniques, students gain a useful framework for problem-solving that they can then apply in the workplace. Samples Download the detailed table of contents Preview sample pages from Introduction to Management Science, Global Edition

This book offers a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge approaches for decision-making in hierarchical organizations. It presents soft-computing-based techniques, including fuzzy sets, neural networks, genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization, and shows how these approaches can be effectively used to deal with problems typical of this kind of organization. After introducing the main classical approaches applied to multiple-level programming, the book describes a set of soft-computing techniques, demonstrating their advantages in providing more efficient solutions to hierarchical decision-making problems compared to the classical methods. Based on the book Fuzzy and Multi-Level Decision Making (Springer, 2001) by Lee E.S and Shih, H., this second edition has been expanded to include the most recent findings and methods and a broader spectrum of soft computing approaches. All the algorithms are presented in detail, together with a wealth of practical examples and solutions to real-world problems, providing students, researchers and professionals with a timely, practice-oriented reference guide to the area of interactive fuzzy decision making, multi-level programming and hierarchical optimization.

Large-Scale Nonlinear Optimization reviews and discusses recent advances in the development of methods and algorithms for nonlinear optimization and its applications, focusing on the large-dimensional case, the current forefront of much research. The chapters of the book, authored by some of the most active and well-known researchers in nonlinear optimization, give an updated overview of the field from different and complementary standpoints, including theoretical analysis, algorithmic development, implementation issues and applications.

Until recently most observers were of the opinion that firms had to adopt a Japanese model of management or perish. They overlooked the fact that there are a number of efficient productive models and that there is no single 'best way'. This book shows the diversity of productive models and discusses the optimum macro and micro economic and social conditions that a firm needs to stay profitable. In conclusion the authors suggest an analytical framework of profitability conditions, easily accessible to practitioners, academics and students.

Pierre Wack was head of scenario planning at Royal Dutch / Shell Oil in London for just over ten years. He died in 1997. He was a pioneer of what we know today as scenario planning - an alternative and complement to strategic planning. Scenarios explore a variety of possible futures for examining decisions in organizational planning. Pierre was a unique man with interests in Indian and Japanese cultures and traditions. He travelled extensively and led a unique life that involved long periods of visiting gurus in India and extended sabbaticals in Japan. His experiences with Eastern thought no doubt shaped his ability to evolve the scenario method at Shell, and as a result he was able to lead a team that foresaw the oil crises of the 1970's and 80's. This new volume will cover the basic context of his life timeline and attach it to the development of his thinking about scenario planning over the course of his career. After his death, Wack's materials, papers and documents were collected by Napier Collyns and have recently been made available at the University of Oxford where the Pierre Wack Memorial Library has been established. These documents contain a variety of clues and stories that reveal more about who Pierre Wack was, how he thought and will provide details about scenario planning that have never been seen or published. They also reveal a curious man and include a timeline written by his wife, Eve, which details their relationship over the course of 40 years. Written for management and business historians and researchers, this book will uncover unseen contributions by a scenario planning pioneer shaped by significant events in his personal life that helped him to see the world differently.

The Future of Industrial Man is the only book by Peter Drucker in which he systematically develops a basic social theory. He presents the requirements for any society to be functioning and legitimate, and then applies these general concepts to the special case of the industrial society. In his new introduction, Drucker explains that his reference to mercantilism in The Future of Industrial Man can today be called neoconservatism, which, he asserts, denies rather than affirms the reality of industrial and postindustrial society. Drucker outlines the major shifts of previous centuries. He describes the move from an agrarian to an industrial economy, illustrates the structure and dynamics of this new industrial order, and warns of the abuses inherent in the system if attempts are made to maintain it under anachronistic social conventions. He emphasizes the fact that the new industrial order must operate under a "legitimate" system of po-litical power supported by social authority. He discusses the particular roles of the owners, the workers, the managers the corporation itself as he pinpoints the problem that he considers the most central and the most critical: how to maintain the continuing freedom of the individual in an increasingly intricate, bureaucratized world. Following the initial publication of this work, Jacques Barzun wrote in The New Republic, "Here is a book which is so perfectly planned and so transparently written as to read with almost indecent ease. . . . Each page is the fruit of much learning and long reflection. It should accordingly by studied, pondered over, ana-lyzed word by word." According to W. H. Chamberlain of The Atlantic Monthly, "[Drucker] possesses a fund of historical and economic knowledge." The Future of Industrial Man is a landmark study by a noted analyst of the modern corporation. It is of continuing importance to economists, industrial studies scholars, and profes-sionals in business.

Co-operatives provide a different approach to organizing business through their ideals of member ownership and democratic practice. Every co-operative member has an equal vote regardless of his or her own personal capital investment. The contemporary significance of co-operatives was highlighted by the United Nations declaration of 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives. This book provides an international perspective on the development of co-operatives since the mid-nineteenth century, exploring the economic, political, and social factors that explain their varying fortunes and transformation into different forms. By looking at what co-operatives are; how they have changed; the developments as well as the persecutions of the co-operative movement; and how it is an important force in promoting development and self-sufficiency in non-industrialized areas, this book provides valuable insight not only to academics, but also to practitioners and policy makers.

Quadratic programming is a mathematical technique that allows for the optimization of a quadratic function in several variables. QP is a subset of Operations Research and is the next higher lever of sophistication than Linear Programming. It is a key mathematical tool in Portfolio Optimization and structural plasticity. This is useful in Civil Engineering as well as Statistics.

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is often overlooked in empirical work such as diagnostic tests to determine whether the data conform with technology which, in turn, is important in identifying technical change, or finding which types of DEA models allow data transformations, including dealing with ordinal data.Advances in Data Envelopment Analysis focuses on both theoretical developments and their applications into the measurement of productive efficiency and productivity growth, such as its application to the modelling of time substitution, i.e. the problem of how to allocate resources over time, and estimating the 'value' of a Decision Making Unit (DMU).

This book presents contributions to the 50th Annual Conference of the Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA), which was jointly hosted with the African Federation of Operations Research Societies (AFROS) at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa from 12 to 15 September, 2021. Focusing on innovative case studies and recent applications of Operations Research models and algorithms in African countries, each chapter highlights findings emerging from the countries in question and explains the lessons learned. As such, the book offers an up-to-date overview of Operations Research practices and developments in Africa. AFROS is a "not for profit" organization that aims to promote Operations Research in Africa. Its affairs are regulated by an Executive Committee consisting of representatives/alternates of all its member societies. The members of the Federation undertake to co-operate in the advancement of knowledge, interest and education in Operations Research by appropriate means, particularly the exchange of information, the holding of meetings and conferences, and the awarding of prizes.

The study and teaching of marketing as a university subject is generally understood to have originated in America during the early 20th century emerging as an applied branch of economics. This book tells a different story describing the influence of the German Historical School on institutional economists and economic historians who pioneered the study of marketing in America and Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Drawing from archival materials at the University of Wisconsin, Harvard Business School, and the University of Birmingham, this book documents the early intellectual genealogy of marketing science and traces the ideas that early American and British economists borrowed from German scholars to study and teach marketing. Early marketing scholars both in America and Britain openly credited the German School, and its ideology based on social welfare and distributive justice was a strong motivation for many institutional economists who studied marketing in America, predating the modern macro-marketing school by many decades. Challenging many traditional beliefs, this book provides an authoritative new narrative of the origins of marketing thought. It will be of great interest to educators, scholars and advanced students with an interest in marketing theory and history, and in the history of economic thought.

Derivatives Algorithms - Volume 1: Bones (Second Edition) is for practicing quants who already have some expertise in risk-neutral pricing and in programming, and want to build a reusable and extensible library. Rather than specific models, this volume provides foundations common to all pricing, such as C++ code structure, interfaces, and several widely used mathematical methods. It also presents a set of protocols, by which models and trades can collaborate to support pricing and hedging tasks, and illustrates their use with several example trade types and models. Readers will learn to deploy the results of their research work with productivity-enhancing methods that are not taught elsewhere, including object serialization, code generation, and separation of concerns for continuous improvement. Of all the books on derivatives pricing, only Derivatives Algorithms shows the internals of a high-quality working library.The new Second Edition is more accessible to readers who are not already familiar with the book's concepts; there is an increased focus on explaining the motivation for each step, and on providing a high-level perspective on design choices. The chapters on Persistence and Protocols have been substantially rewritten, providing motivating examples and additional detail in the code. The treatment of yield curves and funding has been modernized, with the increased sophistication required by today's markets. And a new final chapter, describing the next phase in the evolution of derivatives valuation and risk, has been added.

This book develops the concepts of various unique optimization techniques in the crisp and fuzzy environment. It provides an extensive overview of geometric programming methods within a unifying framework, and presents an in-depth discussion of the modified geometric programming problem, fuzzy geometric programming, as well as new insights into goal geometric programming. With numerous examples and exercises together with detailed solutions for several problems, the book also addresses fuzzy multi-objective geometric programming techniques. Geometric programming, which falls into the general class of signomial problems, has applications across disciplines, from engineering to economics, and is extremely useful in applications of a variety of optimization problems. Organized into thirteen chapters, this book is a valuable resource for graduate and advanced undergraduate students and researchers in applied mathematics and engineering.