A financial planning model for presidential candidates

The necessity of entering a sequence of interrelated state primaries has forced presidential candidates to be much more deliberate in planning campaign finances. This paper presents a linear programming model for optimal allocation of time and money to each primary in order to maximize the number of delegates won. The model attempts to quantify and exploit the relationships between performance in early primaries and performance in later primaries, which has heretofore been labeled the “snowball effect.” Finally, the model, whose major use would be in overall strategic planning, is illustrated with an example.     

A management planning model for the delivery of family planning services

A management planning model for the delivery of family planning services is presented. Markovian probabilistic properties have been adapted for projecting patient flow for a set of various alternative strategies for scheduling patient visits in a health care system. By quantitatively formulating the scheduling problem in terms of pertinent inputs, management objectives and imposed restrictions, optimization of patient flow in the system for efficient utilization of health care resources is achieved through standard linear programming techniques.     

A goal programming model for facility location planning

The paper presents a goal programming model for facility location planning. Often the location-decision is coupled with multiple objectives, at times conflicting among themselves. Specifically the model considers the four major objectives: (i) necessary locations, (ii) maximum number of locations, (iii) capacity restrictions and (iv) transportation cost/walking distance minimization, simultaneously and proposes optimal locations in conjunction with the existing facilities in the region. The model developed has been illustrated with an example considering the location of community storage facilities in a specified region.     

Systems analysis and university planning

The paper has three objectives: (1) to illustrate how systems analysis may aid university planning; (2) to display some applications of systems analysis to a specific university planning situation; and (3) to indicate how some of the difficulties of decision-making in universities pose the need for further development of systems analysis. The CAMPUS type models were employed in a major planning problem at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine. The models were used to study the cost and resource implications of alternative enrolment projections, curriculum designs, research programs, and staffing policy. Results of computer-aided analyses were provided to decision-makers and committees within the Faculty. Major stress is placed on an interaction between university decision-makers and systems analysts. A number of specific results of the analysis are displayed in the paper.     

A budget model of a university

Yale University operates a number of budget systems for purposes of planning and control. These include a capital budget, a cash budget, an operating budget, and an operating growth budget. The operating growth budget might be the one of most potential interest to people concerned with Operations Analysis in Education.

The operating growth budget is a model of what the University fiscal flows and structure might look like under varying conditions over an extended period, e.g., 20 years. It is composed of a set of ideas, a set of equations, and a computer program.

It is important to us to point out that this work is in a development stage. We have run many simulations, adjusted the program, refined the parameter estimates, and modified the questions we have been asking. Part of our efforts have followed a concern that we have captured the appropriate structure, part that we are investigating our own spectrum of decisions, and part that we can reflect the varying “external” conditions outside of the University's immediate influence and control.

Our work with the operating growth budget has already started to influence some of the decisions of the University including the yearly operating budget, the capital funds programs, and the endowment investment portfolio.     

A technoeconomic model for sectoral and economy-wide development planning

A combined multisector model of economy-wide development planning and a process-wide planning of a major sector of the economy are considered. Static and dynamic versions of the model are derived, and various controlling mechanisms, objective functions and model refinements are presented. Application of the methodology to the development planning of the energy sector in Israel is also discussed.     

A planning model for regional systems of CT scanners.

For the last couple of years the number of CT scanners has increased considerably in the Federal Republic of Germany. This development has led to regional disparities in the provision of CT scanner installations. For the purpose of evaluating additional locations for CT scanners a planning model is proposed. The model contains two planning options: the number of CT scanners and the regional distribution of scanner locations. It allows one to calculate overall operation costs and transportation costs, as well as additional criteria relevant to decisions about regional systems of CT scanners. The model has been applied to the northeast of Baden-Württemberg. One of the interesting findings is that an increase in the number of CT scanners may result in lower total costs for a regional system of CT scanners.     

A chance-constrained multiobjective model for mental health services planning.

Mental health services planning, and particularly the planning for deinstitutionalization, is a very complex problem. This paper suggests a chance-constrained goal programming (CCGP) approach to mental health services planning. The CCGP approach is based on the sequential solution of a linear programming formulation, allowing efficient solution of large-scale planning problems using commercially available linear programming computer codes. The procedure is demonstrated with a case example and implementation of the approach is discussed.     

A microeconomic planning model for the new york times newspaper

The New York Times model is a large-scale model which forecasts sales and earnings for the New York Times newspaper. Sturcturally, it is composed of two major blocks; a demand module, and a production, cost and revenue module. The demand module, the heart of the model, is a set of simultaneous nonlinear econometric equations which forecast physical volume, approximately 35 categories of advertising lines and 10 categories of circulation. The second block is recursive and contains roughly 300 equations, some of which are stochastic behavioral equations. This block converts the volume forecasts into paging, newsprint consumption, newsprint distribution and manning requirements. These physical flows are then monetized, using price and wage forecasts, to produce estimates of revenue, fixed and variable costs, and operating profit. This paper summarizes the development of the model, with emphasis on the advertising and circulation model. It should be noted that the structure of the model is constantly evolving. Consequently, emphasis is placed on the conceptual underpinnings of the model not on a detailed presentation of the current structure.     

A cost-effectiveness approach to planning and control for the nonprofit organization—a university example

An initial cost-effectiveness model which simultaneously considers interrelationships among outputs, resources and subjective values held by decision makers is developed for use in the resource allocation process within a university setting. Based upon the reactions of selected decision makers at the University of Illinois, an expanded model of a resource allocation system is developed as a means for integrating academic and financial planning within a college. The expanded model illustrates how the cost-effectiveness concept may be tailored to the needs of decision makers in other non-profit organizations.     

Direct and incentive planning within a university

This paper explores appropriate roles of “direct” and “incentive” academic planning in helping universities relate advantageously to the aspect of their environments represented by the instructional and research demands of their constituencies. Adopting these roles requires a university to have flexible, uncommitted resources which are difficult to obtain from program reductions because of the impossibility of administratively valuing a university's programs. The paper presents evidence that at one university these funds can be derived alternatively from improved tuition policy and legislative funding relationships.     

A model for planning locations of temporary distribution facilities for emergency response

We propose a network flow model for dynamic selection of temporary distribution facilities and allocation of resources for emergency response planning. The model analyzes the transfer of excess resources between temporary facilities operating in different time periods in order to reduce deprivation. Numerical analysis shows that the location of temporary facilities is determined by the demand and supply points. This work contributes to the emergency response planning that requires a quick response for the supply of relief materials immediately after a disaster hits a particular area.     

A cost minimization production planning model for continuous process chemical plant operations

The management of large continuous process chemical plants oftentimes must make operating decisions within a rapidly changing economic environment. This paper describes a decision making aid in the form of a production planning model which is immediately responsive to such changes. The model provides cost minimization solutions to “what if” questions of management through the use of linear programming. Implementation upon an interactive computer system provides a user oriented model. A specific type of chemical plant operation involving 13 decision variables illustrates the approach. Five example real-world situations demonstrate the approach's capability.     

A model of the national health service for structural analysis and planning

A model of the NHS linking indicators of “need” and demand for health care services, provision and availability of health care facilities, use made of these facilities and outcome of the care provided through the medium of sets of regression equations is described. Problems of obtaining suitable indicators or measures of these attributes are discussed. The structure of interactions between these facets of the NHS revealed by the model and application of the model to prediction of the impact of policy changes are illustrated.     

A mathematical programming model for planning training opportunities in relation to manpower targets for development

One major obstacle to the implementation of development projects in many developing countries is the inadequate supply of skilled manpower. Thus efficient planning of training opportunities to supply the requisite quantity and quality of skills in phase with project implementation is an important problem. This paper develops a mathematical programming model for planning training opportunities in relation to manpower targets determined for development projects. The projects are assumed to have been selected according to some criteria of desirability deriving either from social cost-benefit analysis or national goals. The model permits alternative avenues of developing skilled manpower to be investigated with a view to ensuring the availability of qualified personnel given a stated work/task schedule, over a period of time, while attempting to minimize costs to the manpower supply system.     

生态城市规划体系

生态城市不仅反映人类谋求自身发展的意愿,也体现了人类对人与自然关系更深刻的认识。生态城市不仅仅要在城市环境方面体现生态学的理念,还要在城市经济、城市社会、城市文化生活等诸方面体现生态学的理念。将生态学的理念全方位地贯彻到城市的发展过程,就需要有一个生态城市规划。本文从生态城市的环境生态、经济生态和社会生态三方面论述了生态城市规划体系的内涵。