Microfoundations of strategic problem formulation

Before a strategy can be developed, the problem it is supposed to address needs to be formulated. We establish the microfoundations of strategic problem formulation by developing a theory that predicts a core set of impediments to formulation that arise when complex, ill‐structured problems are addressed by heterogeneous teams. These impediments fundamentally constrain and narrow problem formulation, thereby limiting solution search and potential value creation. We establish these impediments as a set of design goals, which, if remedied by an appropriately constructed mechanism, can expand problem formulation to be more comprehensive. Finally, we consider how organizations can improve problem formulation by creating a structured process that satisfies the theoretically derived design goals and detail a specific example of this mechanism (collaborative structured inquiry). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rethinking the American farm problem

The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Meeting of the American Agricultural Economics Association, Iowa University, IA, 4–7 August 1985     

对债转股问题的思考

债转股作为企业减轻债务负担,改善国有商业银行资本结构的经济措施意义深远.但债转股政策执行中带来的诸多问题值得思考.本文对此提出7点设想及解决办法.即正确认识债转股的功能;严格政策把关;要坚持市场化运作;要注意防范风险;要予以法律支持;要充分考虑金融资产管理公司的退出方式;要注意相关部门的配合协作.     

论过度包装治理的路径选择

当包装的功能被过分强调时，过度包装便出现了。它浪费资源，危害环境，增加消费者负担，损害企业经济效益，恶化社会风气，扰乱市场秩序，严重阻碍了社会、企业的可持续发展。因此治理过度包装，成了当务之急。本文提出从立法、企业、消费者三个层面三管齐下，以彻底消除过度包装。     

物业管理问题浅析

物业管理是现阶段房地产发展的重要内容之一，本就现阶段物业问题产生的根源，物业标准物业立法等方面进行分析。     

The problem of unobservables in strategic management research

In this paper we argue that unobservable constructs lie at the core of a number of influential theories used in the strategic management literature—including agency theory, transaction cost theory, and the resource-based view of the firm. The debate over how best to deal with the problem of unobservables has raged in the philosophy of science literature for the best part of the current century. On the one hand, there are the positivists, who believe that theories containing unobservable constructs are only useful as tools for making predictions. According to positivists, such theories do not inform us about the deep structure of reality. On the other hand, there are the realists, who believe that our theories can give us knowledge about unobservables. Herein we review this debate, we argue for adopting a realist position, and we draw out the implications for strategic management research.     

Multi-product newsvendor problem with value-at-risk considerations

We consider the single period stochastic inventory (newsvendor) problem with downside risk constraints. The aim in the classical newsvendor problem is maximizing the expected profit. This formulation does not take into account the risk of earning less than a desired target profit or losing more than an acceptable level due to the randomness of demand. We utilize Value at Risk (VaR) as the risk measure in a newsvendor framework and investigate the multi-product newsvendor problem under a VaR constraint. To this end, we first derive the exact distribution function for the two-product newsvendor problem and develop an approximation method for the profit distribution of the N-product case (N>2). A mathematical programming approach is used to determine the solution of the newsvendor problem with a VaR constraint. This approach allows us to handle a wide range of cases including the correlated demand case that yields new results and insights. The accuracy of the approximation method and the effects of the system parameters on the solution are investigated numerically.     

Solving Africa's food problem

It has been predicted that the most difficult food problems in the world during the next decade will occur in the African continent as a whole and particularly in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. This article looks at the common characteristics of and differences between African countries, economy, socio-political conditions, agriculture and agricultural policies. Major problems of low agricultural production, increasing levels of poverty and high levels of food dependence are discussed, and policies to alleviate them put forward.     

Incorporating uncertainty into a supplier selection problem

Supplier selection is an important strategic supply chain design decision. Incorporating uncertainty of demand and supplier capacity into the optimization model results in a robust selection of suppliers. A two-stage stochastic programming (SP) model and a chance-constrained programming (CCP) model are developed to determine a minimal set of suppliers and optimal order quantities with consideration of business volume discounts. Both models include several objectives and strive to balance a small number of suppliers with the risk of not being able to meet demand. The SP model is scenario-based and uses penalty coefficients whereas the CCP model assumes a probability distribution and constrains the probability of not meeting demand. Both formulations improve on a deterministic mixed integer linear program and give the decision maker a more complete picture of tradeoffs between cost, system reliability and other factors. We present Pareto-optimal solutions for a sample problem to demonstrate the benefits of the SP and CCP models. In order to describe the tradeoffs between costs and risks in an analytical form, we use multi-parametric programming techniques to more completely analyze the alternative Pareto-optimal supplier selection solutions in the CCP model. This analysis gives insights into the robustness of the solutions with respect to number of suppliers, costs and probability of not meeting demand.     

考虑工艺流程的船体分段多堆场调度问题研究

为了有效解决在船舶建造过程中物流拥堵的问题,综合考虑分段建造工艺流程、分段大小和堆场布局,以最小分段移动度为目标,提出基于工艺流程的多堆场船体分段调度方法,并针对调度过程中出现的阻挡分段提出堆位调整算法。对上海某造船厂分段物流进行的实际验证表明,本方法可获得较优化的调度方案,可有效提高作业效率。     

Monopoly power and the problem of CLEC access charges

The analysis in this paper considers the problem of excessive originating and terminating access charges imposed by some competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) in the United States. The problem arises because the current institutional structure provides an incentive for CLECs to charge for access service in excess of what a competitive market would indicate. An examination of the data shows that the problem of excessive access charges imposed by CLECs is very real. An analysis of terminating access charges for September 2000 reveals that average terminating access charges billed to three interexchange carriers (IXCs) are excessive, exceeding average price cap regulated incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) access charges by 370–470 percent. Some solutions to the problem are offered including a first-best solution whereby the calling party would be required to pay for originating access service and have the receiving party pay for terminating access service. A second-best solution would be to limit CLEC's access charges to an IXC to be less than or equal to the access charges of the ILEC with which it directly competes for customers.     

The effect of advertising on the distribution-free newsboy problem

Advertising is very important for the newsboy problem because the shelf-life of the newsboy product is short and advertising may increase sales to avoid overstocking. In this paper, models to study the effect of advertising are developed for the distribution-free newsboy problem where only the mean and variance of the demand are known. As in Khouja and Robbins (2003), it is assumed that the mean demand is an increasing and concave function of advertising expenditure. Three cases are considered: (1) demand has constant variance, (2) demand has constant coefficient of variation, and (3) demand has an increasing coefficient of variation. This paper provides closed-form solutions or steps to solve the problem. Numerical results of the model are also compared with those from other papers. The effects of model parameters on optimal expenditure on advertising, optimal order quantity, and the lower bound on expected profit are derived or discussed.     

我国人力资源开发问题分析

本文对人力资源开发中存在的问题进行了深入分析,认为一个国家劳动力资源的素质决定其国家的生产效率和经济增长途径,进而决定其竞争力.而劳动力的质量则决定于人力资源的开发效果.同时指出,我国目前尚存在许多人力资源开发和投资上的不合理之处,这越来越成为我国经济腾飞的障碍.     

The maximum capture per unit cost location problem

This paper considers the problem of siting p new facilities of an entering firm to a competitive market so as to maximize the market share captured from competitors per unit cost. We first formulate the problem as a mixed 0-1 fractional programming model, in which we incorporate the fixed cost and transportation cost. The model can deal with the case where some demand nodes have two or more possible closest servers. We then re-formulate the problem as a 0-1 mixed integer linear program. We use a one-opt heuristic algorithm based on the Teitz-Bart method to obtain feasible solutions and compare them with the optimal solutions obtained by a branch-and-bound algorithm. We conduct computational experiments to evaluate the two algorithms. The results show that both algorithms can solve the model efficiently and the model is integer-friendly. We discuss other computational results and provide managerial insights.     

Potential problem analysis: A systematic approach to problem prediction and contingency planning—an aid to the smooth exploitation of research

Scientists and technologists have always attempted to predict ‘what is likely to go wrong’ with a particular project. At URL Colworth/Welwyn we now have some 24 years’ experience in a semi-formalized system of problem prediction. The paper describes the system, explains its worth and shows where and when it should be used as well as explaining the consequences of its use. A theoretical justification of some of the assumptions used in the system is also attempted.     

Sales force social exchange in problem resolution situations

While sales managers spend much of their time resolving sales force-related problems, existing theory offers little insight into the social exchange processes which occur in problem resolution situations. Using a qualitative inquiry method rooted in grounded theory, we uncover three key social exchange contributions used by sales managers when dealing with problem situations in the sales force: sales manager responsiveness, caring, and aggressiveness. We then show that the extent to which managers use these exchange contributions in problem situations is a function of manager characteristics, problem-specific characteristics, and the situational context. We also show that the extent to which managers invest in these three social exchange contributions has implications for the quality for the interpersonal relationships between salespeople and their managers, and for the effectiveness of problem resolution activity.