A Review of: “PROFITABILITY AND ECONOMIC CHOICE” by Paul H. Jeynes The Iowa State University Press 1968 622 pp. $13.50

Semisolid die casting (SSDC) is a newly developed technology to improve the quality of products and to reduce the costs of liquid die casting process. We assessed the gas-induced semisolid process (GISS), which generates a semisolid metal for die casting, in this comparison of the costs per unit between a traditional liquid die casting process and the semisolid die casting process. A process-based costing model (PBCM) was created to estimate the production costs. In principle, the PBCM consists of three submodels: process model, operation model, and financial model. This study indicates that three main factors, namely cycle time, rate of waste, and die life, affected the unit production costs. The production cost estimates decreased by approximately 13% when the process was switched from a liquid to a semisolid one.     

A Review of: “THE ANALYSIS OF MANAGEMENT DECISIONS” (Revised Edition) By William T. Morris,Richard D. Irwin,Inc., 1964 551 p. Trade $12.65 Text $9.50

This book has two very different parts. The first and main one, to page 260, evidently chiefly by Professor Jewkes, economist at Oxford University, is an argument aimed at belittling and casting doubt upon the inventiveness of the corporate laboratories; it fails. The second part, of 148 pages – more by Sawers, another English economist, and chiefly by Stillerman, a Chicago attorney – is “Summaries of Case Histories” of fifty important inventions from about the last sixty years, alphabetically arranged and including such inventions as the Ball-point pen, Freon, Cyclotron, Helicopter, Long-playing record, Synthetic detergents, and the Zipper. Eleven others are listed on page 72, and there is a chapter on nineteenth century invention, lists of inventors, etc. The histories of inventions are competent, highly factual, well documented, attentive to German, British and other foreign inventors, and can well correct our propagandized impressions that America has done it all; they are the valuable part of the book, and can serve many purposes of divers students of invention and history.     

A Review of: “ECONOMIA DELL'INGEGNERIA By Dino Zanobetti Casa Editrice - Professor Riccardo,Patron Bologna,Italy 1966 408 p.

Recently developed computer programs have greatly enhanced the application of decision analysis, especially in accounting for risk and uncertainty factors. Monte Carlo simulation and decision tree programs are now available from a wide variety of sources for both batch and time-sharing. The major programs, their features and capabilities, are summarized here. A table showing cost, computer requirements and where and how to obtain further information, is also included.     

A Review of: “THE CAPITAL BUDGETING DECISION” By Harold Bierman,Jr. and Seymour Smidt The Macmillan Company,New York,I960 246 pp. $6.00

The question posed is a complex one, and in order to clarify it the author describes the present shipping system operated by Matson. Fifteen cargo ships operate to Hawaii on a schedule of two sailings a week out of San Francisco, one sailing a week out of Los Angeles, and somewhat less frequent sailings out of Pacific Northwest ports – a total of about two hundred round trip voyages per year. Operating cost figures have shown that almost half of the total transportation costs from shippers' to consignees' doors is directly associated with cargo handling to and from the ship, and that this cost is steadily rising.