Advanced models of quality function deployment: a literature review

In this paper, a literature review conducted to study the characteristics of advanced models of quality function deployment (QFD) that have appeared in the literature arena is reported. QFD technique emerged in Japan in the 1970s. QFD has been proving to be a powerful tool that can be used for translating the voice of customers into technical languages. Yet from the beginning of this century, researchers began to point out the need to refine, modify and improve the features of QFD technique. In order to fulfil this need, few researchers brought out several advanced models of QFD. While conducting the literature review reported in this paper, six types of such advanced models of QFD were identified in the literature arena and their characteristics were studied. The result of this study revealed that the procedural and computational complexities are least in the case of an advanced model called total quality function deployment (TQFD). TQFD technique replaces the complex computations involved in applying conventional QFD technique with simple ratings. Besides the formation of teams to translate the voice of customers into work instructions ensures the quick reactions to the customers’ desires in the actual field of implementation. In this background, at end of this paper, it is suggested to adopt TQFD for implementation in traditional organizations in which the prevalence of adequate education for adopting complex procedures is found to be least.     

State‐contingent analysis of farmers’ response to weather variability: irrigated dairy farming in the Murray Valley,Australia

The agricultural sector is commonly regarded as one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Current understanding of the impact of climate change on this sector relies on the underlying assumptions about farmers’ possible responses to weather variability, including changes in crop choice, input combinations and land management practices. Many previous analyses rely on the implicit (and restrictive) assumption that farmers operate under a fixed technology set across different states of nature. This assumption, represented through stochastic production or profit functions, is commonly made but seldom tested and may understate farmers’ responses to climate change if state‐contingent production technologies are, in reality, more flexible. The potential for farmers to adapt production technologies in response to unforeseen events is at the core of the state‐contingent approach. Advanced in Chambers and Quiggin (2000), the theory contends that producers can manage uncertainty through the allocation of productive inputs to different states of nature. In this article, we test the assumption that farmers’ observed behaviour is consistent with the state‐contingent production theory using farm‐level data from Australia. More precisely, we estimate the milk production technology for a sample of irrigated dairy farms from the southern Murray–Darling Basin over the period from 2006–2007 to 2009–2010.     

Water use and salinity in the Murray–Darling Basin: A state-contingent model*

The supply of water for irrigation is subject to climatic and policy uncertainty. The object of the present paper is to show how the linear and non-linear programming models commonly used in modelling problems such as those arising in the Murray–Darling Basin may be adapted to incorporate a state-contingent representation of uncertainty. Estimates showing the potential value of improved water use are also derived.     

Modelling socially optimal land allocations for sugar cane growing in North Queensland: a linked mathematical programming and choice modelling study

A modelling framework is developed to determine the joint economic and environmental net benefits of alternative land allocation strategies. Estimates of community preferences for preservation of natural land, derived from a choice modelling study, are used as input to a model of agricultural production in an optimisation framework. The trade-offs between agricultural production and environmental protection are analysed using the sugar industry of the Herbert River district of north Queensland as an example. Spatially-differentiated resource attributes and the opportunity costs of natural land determine the optimal trade-offs between production and conservation for a range of sugar prices.     

Declining inflows and more frequent droughts in the Murray–Darling Basin: climate change,impacts and adaptation*

It is likely that climate change will be associated with reductions in inflows of water to the Murray–Darling Basin. In this study, we analyse the effects of climate change in the Murray–Darling Basin using a simulation model that incorporates a state‐contingent representation of uncertainty. The severity of the impact depends, in large measure, on the extent to which climate change is manifested as an increase in the frequency of drought conditions. Adaptation will partially offset the adverse impact of climate change.     

Alternative paths to structural adjustment in a three-gap model: the case of Uzbekistan

This study presents an internally consistent macroeconomic framework that could be used as a first step toward a more comprehensive quantitative and qualitative assessment of the adjustment alternatives facing Uzbekistan. The three-gap frame work focuses on the major imbalances of the economy for evaluating policy choices facing Uzbekistan. It lays emphasis on both domestic and external factors that determine economic outcomes and welfare. An attempt is made to quantify two policy scenarios (gradual as against an accelerated policy implementation strategy). It turns out that an aggressive adjustment policy would indeed improve most perform ance and welfare indicators. Two major ingredients of such an aggressive adjustment strategy are the unification of the exchange rate and implementation of current account convertibility in the balance of payments. The study also draws attention to the relative importance of external financing and the sustainability of the balance of payments under alternative structural adjustment paths facing Uzbek istan.