Search results

The purpose of the chapter is to determine the perspective directions of improving the process of decision-making in business systems by the example of modern Russia.

The scientific and methodological platform of this research is the Russian model of decision-making in modern business systems. For determining the perspective directions of improvement of the process of decision-making in business systems according to this model, the methods of systemic and problem analysis, modeling, and formalization are used.

It is shown by the example of modern Russia that perspectives of improving the process of decision-making in business systems are connected not to usage of alternative regional models of this process but to modernization of own models by usage of new organizational tools and innovational technologies. The perspective directions of improving the process of decision-making in business systems of modern Russia include development of systemic feedback and marketing with the help of outsource, increase of flexibility of organizational structure with the help of mediation, and usage of means of authomatization of managerial decisions with the help of intellectual technologies.

The compiled improved Russian model of decision-making in a modern business system showed the advantages of practical implementation of the offered perspective directions, connected to the most complete solution of the problem and implementation of possibilities of the business system, accelerated practical implementation of managerial decisions, and reduced the load on business managers. The presented example of improving the Russian model of managerial decisions in modern business systems reflects the possibilities and perspectives of improving other regional models.

This research continues to advance the role of emotion in identity theory by examining how the external social structure influences internal identity processes to produce negative emotions. According to identity control theory, negative arousal emerges when one experiences identity feedback that is non-verifying, persistent, and from a source who is familiar compared to unfamiliar to one. While other research has not definitively supported these relationships (Stets, 2003, 2005), the current research examines whether the identity theory hypotheses are conditioned upon one’s status in the social structure. Using the diffuse status characteristic of gender where the status of male is high and the status of female is low, I investigate the role of status (both as the recipient and source of non-verifying identity feedback), persistence, and familiarity in producing negative emotions. The data are based on a laboratory experiment that simulates a work situation and invokes the worker identity. Workers of high or low status are the recipients of identity non-verification that is persistent or non-persistent and that is from a familiar or unfamiliar other. Managers of high or low status and who are familiar or unfamiliar with the workers are the source of persistent or non-persistent identity non-verification. The results reveal that the status of actors both as the recipient and source of identity non-verification are significant for negative emotions, suggesting that status effects need to be incorporated into the theoretical development of emotions in identity theory.

Disassembly takes place in remanufacturing, recycling, and disposal, with a line being the best choice for automation. The disassembly line balancing problem seeks a sequence that is feasible, minimizes the number of workstations, and ensures similar idle times, as well as other end-of-life specific concerns. Finding the optimal balance is computationally intensive due to exponential growth. Combinatorial optimization methods hold promise for providing solutions to the problem, which is proven here to be NP-hard. Stochastic (genetic algorithm) and deterministic (greedy/hill-climbing hybrid heuristic) methods are presented and compared. Numerical results are obtained using a recent electronic product case study.

The need to reduce traffic congestion is becoming increasingly important. The means of achieving this aim involves optimising parameters such as traffic signal green-times, road prices and public transport fares. This paper will describe a new bilevel method of optimising traffic signals and prices. The method uses the steepest descent direction together with projections in order to define a descent direction which will reduce the objective function subject to the overriding necessity to be in equilibrium.

The paper will provide a description of the bilevel method together with results on two simple problems. Optimisation is performed on two functions simultaneously; the equilibrium function E (which must have value zero for equilibrium) and the objective function Z which is minimised subject to the constraint that E is zero. For most traffic problems equilibrium is not mathematically well behaved and therefore the method approaches equilibrium in stages, at each stage it minimises Z whilst avoiding the difficult equilibrium region.

Weak-form rationality of fixed-event forecasts implies that forecast revisions should not be correlated. However, significant positive correlations between consecutive forecast revisions were found in most USDA forecasts for U.S. corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton. This study developed a statistical procedure for correction of this inefficiency which takes into account the issue of outliers, the impact of forecast size and direction, and the stability of revision inefficiency. Findings suggest that the adjustment procedure has the highest potential for improving accuracy in corn, wheat, and cotton production forecasts.

The possibility of institutional distance exerting an asymmetric effect on the entry strategies of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has attracted recent scholarly attention. In this context, we re-examine the relationship described by Hernandez and Nieto (2015) on the effect of the direction of regulatory institutional distance on MNEs’ choice of entry mode in host countries. We extend this research by (1) focussing on the context of emerging markets and (2) accounting for a greater variety of MNEs as well as institutions by including both large and small firms, and a larger set of home and host countries. In contrast to Hernandez and Nieto’s study, we find that, in the context of emerging markets, institutionally distant MNEs are more likely to choose the full-ownership mode when they originate from an institutionally stronger country in comparison to the host (emerging) country, and they are more likely to choose the joint-ownership mode when they originate from an institutionally weaker country. We discuss our findings with respect to Hernandez and Nieto’s study, which explores this relationship more generally (i.e. beyond emerging-market contexts), however in the context of small and medium enterprises.

Both private and public sector organizations continue to be challenged by the need to determine and assess the applicability and viability of information technology (IT) advances to their situations. Traditionally, IT has not been perceived as a major contributing factor in developing and supporting the strategic direction of organizations. Yet the many diverse advances in IT can present both positive and negative influences on an organization especially in a rapidly changing global environment. Some organizations do not conduct formal strategic planning due to a perception that the effort will be outdated before it is completed. Others may undertake the planning process but fail to continue to implementation. Regardless of whether there is formal, informal, or non-existent strategic planning, the importance of assessing relevant IT advances is seldom considered as a critical factor to be integrated into an organization’s long-term direction.

This chapter utilizes both primary research and case studies to propose that IT advances need to be appropriately incorporated into an organization’s strategic direction. Supporting rationale will be presented for a variety of private and public sector entities and situations. Some IT advances that are addressed include the following:

• Stakeholder involvement in assessing appropriate IT advances

• Technology strategy planning for mergers and acquisitions

• Mobile device integration in future organizational planning

• IT outsourcing vs. insourcing implications

Stakeholder involvement in assessing appropriate IT advances

Technology strategy planning for mergers and acquisitions

Mobile device integration in future organizational planning

IT outsourcing vs. insourcing implications