Search results

This paper aims to develop an approach to design a warehouse that uses class-based storage policy in a way that minimizes both space cost and material handling cost.

The authors argue for and develop an optimization model for joint determination of lane depth, lateral width and product partitions for minimizing the sum of handling and space costs. In doing so, the assumption of perfect sharing is also relaxed. Using computational experiments, the authors characterize the operating conditions based on pick density and cost ratio. The authors further outline an approach to decide the conditions under which it is advantageous to implement multiple classes.

More classes are preferred when both the pick density and cost ratio are higher and vice versa. Factors such as demand skewness, lane depth and stacking height affect the space-sharing dynamics.

The paper gives the practical insights on when the conditions under which it is advisable to partition a warehouse into a certain number of classes instead of maintaining and when to maintain as a single-class block. It also gives a method to estimate the space-sharing factor, given a combination of operating parameters.

Very few studies have seen class-based storage policy in the context of block stacked warehouse layout. Further, block stacking designs have mostly been approached with the objective of minimizing just the space cost. This study contributes to the literature by developing an integrated model, which has the practical utility.

About 500 municipalities have declared bankruptcy since Congress passed the Municipal Bankruptcy Act in 1937. Based on the experiences of these municipalities and the municipal bankruptcy literature, this paper develops a theory of why municipalities go bankrupt and discusses various ways to prevent other municipalities from going bankrupt. The paper identifies three-dimensional factors that may make municipalities go bankrupt: long-term and short-term, political and economic, and internal and external perspectives. The paper ends with an observation that government failure in the form of municipal bankruptcy can be reduced by strengthening the audit powers of the states and by utilizing more municipal bond and liability insurance policies.

In this paper, it is shown that the so‐called in‐situ electrical measurement technique is a valuable tool for understanding failure mechanisms in thick film dielectrics. The technique makes it possible to measure important electrical characteristics of thick film dielectric systems in the temperature range from room temperature up to 900°C. This information is essential to understand failure mechanisms and to optimise the system with respect to quality and reliability. Mainly two electrical properties have been investigated: (i) the electrical resistance of the dielectric as a function of temperature and (ii) the spontaneous electromotive force occurring at higher temperatures between two metal layers with the dielectric in between. A significant result of the work is the observation of a close correlation between the leakage current measured through the dielectric at elevated temperatures, and the ability of the dielectric to resist shorting and blistering effects during the preparation of circuits. Secondly, from in‐situ voltage measurements, it was confirmed that the mixed metallurgy system Au(bottom)‐dielectric‐Ag(top) acts at 850°C as a spontaneous battery, and the battery voltage (i.e., the spontaneous electromotive force) was measured. Depending on the type of dielectric, a battery voltage up to 200 mV between the two metal layers was observed. As a result of this spontaneous electromotive force, blistering occurs. The battery voltage was shown to be much smaller in unmixed metallurgy systems with Ag(bottom)‐dielectric‐Ag(top) or Au(bottom)‐dielectric‐Au(top). However, if an external voltage of 300 mV is applied to such a system during a temperature profile up to 850°C, blisters can also be induced. This shows unambiguously that blistering is a voltage driven effect.

In bankruptcy, a reorganization procedure is based on the terms of a reorganization plan aimed to save a financially distressed firm. We provide an original approach of the reorganization plan that we treated as a future contract that demands to creditors a certain degree of cost sharing. This paper examines how the sharing of the reorganization plan costs influences the bankruptcy outcome of such firm.

The sharing of the costs between creditors and debtor is analyzed by a static theoretical model that uses a Lagrangian approach.

We show that debtors have strong incentives to propose reorganization plans which provide an expected gain for creditors higher than the liquidation value of the firm and lower than the payment of the reorganization plan with an optimal sharing degree. Hence, a reorganization plan can be rejected by creditors if the sharing degree is too important.

The liquidation of the firm can be avoided if the design of the reorganization plan is improved by performing an appraisal or purchasing the services of an audit company.

The novelty of this paper resides in the distinction of two types of bankruptcy legal systems. The first one represents a pro-creditor or a creditor-friendly bankruptcy system in which the claimants’ payment is not limited to a fixed value written in the reorganization plan. Conversely, we treated the case of a debtor-friendly bankruptcy system which limits the creditors’ payment. The results of our model hold independently of the bankruptcy law orientation, that is, pro-creditor or pro-debtor.

Problems concerning operational inefficiencies of goods delivery and reception to retail outlets located on the high street are frequently said to stem from deficiencies in the transport infrastructure. These deficiencies are often made worse by poor organisation and management of the facilities available, and this has repercussions on the environment in which people shop. In an effort to alleviate pressure put on the retail environment by conflicting transport uses, planning authorities have implemented schemes which enable pedestrians and vehicles to be segregated. Hence they have created traffic‐free pedestrianized areas and shopping centres. The exclusion of vehicles from these sensitive areas has meant that other arrangements have had to be made to enable goods vehicles to service shops. These usually take the form of specially designed off‐loading areas, remote from major Pedestrian concentrations.

Complex mixed metallurgy multilayers require a very robust dielectric to withstand shorting or blistering effects, together with high density for long‐term reliability in humid environments. The development and performance of a new multilayer dielectric which meets these needs is presented here. A dielectric frit chemistry has been developed with a view to eliminating short circuits and blistering induced by the proximity of dissimilar metallurgies on multiple refiring. Appropriate filler technology has also been developed to optimise dielectric density, toughness and laser‐trim properties. High density has yielded excellent HBT (High Bias Temperature) and HHBT (High Humidity Bias Test) performance. Data on multilayer circuit bowing are presented which take account of the interaction of conductor frit and the dielectric on firing. Silver conductor is employed in inner layers to optimise conductivity and cost. A new 1:3 PdAg conductor for termination of components and resistors also permits heavy Al wire bonding with good aged performance. 25 µm Au and 37 µm Al wire bonding is facilitated by gold conductor on dielectric. The laser trim characteristics of a new resistor series on dielectric are described. The materials system has been tested in a complex multilayer structure which, with the use of a new silver via fill conductor, resulted in defect‐free circuits with zero yield loss.

This study attempts to analyze the role of governance mechanisms in municipal bankruptcy, which appears to be a neglected area of research. The analysis considers both the organizational level (micro) and the regulatory system (macro).

We use a relevant case of municipal bankruptcy in Italy to discuss the influence of governance characteristics, such as the political and management structure, interaction, and behaviors. The issues related to the accounting system and external audits are also considered. The data for this study are obtained from secondary sources such as audited budgetary reports, public documents, and reports from the Supreme Audit Institution.

The study indicates that the spoils system can favor the politicians’ exercise of power over public managers and undermine the capacity to prevent and manage financial distress. Poor accounting and weak control systems may facilitate this process. The high turnover of top management throughout a mayor’s term in office may reflect political pressure to force accounting rules and achieve flexibility to obtain the expected results or to correct poor financial performance.

To avert municipal bankruptcies, regulations should consider enforcing ex ante control by external oversight bodies, forbidding risky operations and limiting the spoils system for financial management positions and internal auditors.

Municipal defaults around the world have indicated that regulations and audits are ineffective to prevent local governments from failing. A full understanding of complex mutual interactions between the mechanisms of governance and the behaviors of politicians and managers can provide valuable insights to prevent local governments from failing.

Award systems play the central role in public procurement, since they determine what is considered by the contracting authority as ‘the most economically advantageous tender.’ Many award systems that are used in practice have serious shortcomings, which are caused by the use of relative scores. In this article, the consequences of those shortcomings are demonstrated, using examples from real procurement procedures and case law. The examples are analyzed with methods from econometrics, social choice theory and game theory.

John McGee's 1958 paper, “Predatory Price Cutting: The Standard Oil (NJ) Case,” has had an astonishing influence on both antitrust policy in the United States and economic lore. McGee argued that predatory pricing is irrational and his analysis of the Standard Oil Company Matter, decided in 1911, led him to conclude that the Record in this case does not show that Standard Oil engaged in predatory pricing. This single publication appears to serve as a foundation of the U.S. Supreme Court's position on the issue of predatory pricing, as well as the assertion by many economists that predatory pricing is irrational and rarely occurs.

Numerous arguments have been advanced during the past 25 years that predatory pricing can be a rational strategy. As to McGee's empirical findings, there has been no re-examination of the Record of the Standard Oil case to determine the validity of his finding that the trial “Record” does not support the claim that Standard Oil engaged in predatory pricing.

We examined this Record and have found that the trial Record contains considerable evidence of predatory pricing by Standard Oil. Therefore, the Record does not support McGee's conclusion that Standard Oil did not engage in predatory pricing.

Thus, the decisions of the Supreme Court in recent years, as well as the opinions of many economists, concerning predatory pricing are not consistent with either current theory or the empirical record.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to trace the origins and early history of the development of the market research practice in India. It covers the period 1955-1975.

A search of key terms in databases such as Google Scholar and ABI-INFORM indicated there was limited data in the public domain on the subject and that the information gleaned was not adequate to trace the birth of the market research practice in India. As there was very little recorded history, the researchers decided to initiate a recording of the history using the available literature, on the reminiscences of the authors and, to a limited extent, contemporaries of the pioneers in the field.

The origins of market research in India can be traced to its supporting role in gauging the efficacy of advertising. Examination of the history of advertising leads to the conclusion that marketing research arrived in India in the decade of the 1950s, initiated by Burmah-Shell’s needs for market research. S. H. Benson (London) Ltd was selected to undertake the pioneering market research that led to the birth of Indian Market Research Service, headed by Krishnaier Parameswaran. Marketing research in India presented numerous challenges (that were overcome) because the operating environment was very different than in advanced countries.

Because of the paucity of information in the literature, this investigation as per the authors’ knowledge represents the first attempt to record the birth and early history of marketing research in India. The recording of history is limited by the fact that many of the early pioneers and collaborators are no longer alive and because of the difficulty in retrieving archival mostly proprietary information.

In determining the future of a practice, it is important to know the history of the practice. It helps determine whether history proceeds in a random manner or whether it proceeds following some discernable patterns. In an area that has been ahistorical, this research identifies the origins of the practice. It is hoped that other researchers build upon this construction of the early history of marketing research in India based on their experiences and knowledge of the pioneering companies and practitioners and using sound historiographical tenets.