Independent Journal of Management & Production
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A method to solve two-player zero-sum matrix games in chaotic environment
Get PDFThis research article proposes a method for solving the two-player zero-sum matrix games in chaotic environment. In a fast growing world, the real life situations are characterized by their chaotic behaviors and chaotic processes. The chaos variables are defined to study such type of problems. Classical mathematics deals with the numbers as static and less value-added, while the chaos mathematics deals with it as dynamic evolutionary, and comparatively more value-added. In this research article, the payoff is characterized by chaos numbers. While the chaos payoff matrix converted into the corresponding static payoff matrix. An approach for determining the chaotic optimal strategy is developed. In the last, one solved example is provided to explain the utility, effectiveness and applicability of the approach for the problem.Abbreviations: DM= Decision Maker; MCDM = Multiple Criteria Decision Making; LPP = Linear Programming Problem; GAMS= General Algebraic Modeling System
Do informal groups threaten organizations? Comparing group conflict management styles with supervisors
Get PDFThis research aims to identify the role played by informal groups in organizational conflict. The existing literature mainly focuses on the effects of informal groups on the behaviors of employees, such as resisting management and disobeying instructions. However, studies that specifically measure how informal groups affect the behaviors of their members in handling conflicts with supervisors are lacking. This research uses quantitative methodology. Data were collected using the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory II survey. The participants were 316 workers in various American organizations. The results were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and the two-samples z-test. The results show that employees who belong to informal groups use the dominating style more frequently than do employees who do not belong to informal groups. However, they do not always use dominating styles; occasionally, they tend to use compromising and integrating styles as well. Age has a significant impact on the relationship between informal groups and integrating and dominating styles. There is also a relationship between gender and avoiding style among employees who belong to informal groups. However, there is no preference for a certain conflict style among the three types of informal groups. The results have implications for management science, including human resources and organizational behavior. However, the research applications may be limited for employees in collectivist societies that are different from American (an individualistic society). The relationship between informal groups and conflict style with supervisors has not been studied before. Thus, this research focuses on not only the five conflict styles but also the influence of demographic variables to comprehensively understand this relationship
Impact of environmental cost on the profitability of quoted manufacturing companies in Nigeria
Get PDFCorporate involvement in environmental initiatives and reporting is essential for increasing and sustaining performance in a dynamic and changing environment. However, this involvement in environmental activities is not without costs implication. Hence, business managers tend to sacrifice engaging and reporting environmental initiatives for economic benefits. This study examined the impact of environmental costs on the profitability of quoted manufacturing companies from 2007 to 2017. The study used the ex-post facto research design. Twenty mentioned manufacturing companies were purposively drawn from the population of sixty manufacturing companies listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The study variables were sourced from the annual reports and accounts as well as the stand-alone environmental information of the selected companies over eleven years from 2007-2017. The cost incurred on environmental initiatives to the community and training of employees on environmental concerns were used as proxies for environmental cost. At the same time, the DuPont return on equity was proxy for profitability. The findings from the panel random-effect regression analysis showed that asset use efficiency (F = 3.368, p = .01) and equity multiplier (F = 3.3301, p = .01) were significantly influenced by environmental cost; while operating efficiency (F= 0.5158, p = .72) was not significantly impacted by environmental cost at 5% level of significance. As such, in this study, the asset use efficiency and equity multiplier are the main drivers of a significant increase in the return on equity of quoted manufacturing companies in Nigeria from 2007 to 2017. The study, therefore, concluded that environmental costs significantly affect the profitability of quoted manufacturing companies in Nigeria
Performance enhancement of numerical approaches for scheduling problem on machine single
Get PDFIn this paper, we consider a single-machine scheduling problem, with the aim of minimizing the weighted sum of the completion time. This problem is NP-hard, making the search for an optimal solution very difficult. In this frame, two heuristics (H1), (H2) and metaheuristic tabu search are suggested.To improve the performance of this techniques, we used, on one hand, different diversification strategies (TES1 and TES2) with the aim of exploring unvisited regions of the solution space. On the other hand, we suggested three types of neighborhoods (neighborhood by swapping, neighborhood by insertion and neighborhood by blocks).It must be noted that tasks movement can be within one period or between different periods
QC-story as cost management support tool application and evaluation in a clothing industry
Get PDFA good cost management is a business need, where the process failures are identified and corrected, seeking continuous improvement, since competitiveness and lower prices are the market demanding. Such good management reflects on process economies, whether economic or energy efforts, and results in benefits for the company and final consumer, who receives a less costly product. In order to achieve this process of continuous improvement in costing process, the QC-story method was used to identify and analyze problems in cost calculation. For analysis of the problems some Quality Tools were used, making possible to identify the causes of the problems with cost management. At the end of the analysis, an action plan was proposed using the 5W2H tool to achieve the desired improvements. The application of the QC-story method was justified by the fact that divergences in cost management are common in all collections, directly impacting the company's income generation
Role of employer branding in enhancing the talent management strategies: applied study at commercial banks of Jordan
Get PDFThe main aim of this study is to identify to what extent the managerial leaderships in top, middle, and lower levels of commercial banks at Jordan practice the employer branding dimensions and talent management strategies. Also, it aims to explore the impact of employer branding dimensions on talent management strategies. The researcher relied on analytical-descriptive method to analyze and classify the data to achieve the objectives and to identify the variables of the study. To collect data a questionnaire was developed based on relevant literature and scales, (226) questionnaires were distributed, out of which (187) were returned and analyzed using SPSS (version 19), with response rate (82.7%). The results of the study showed that the relative importance of employer branding dimensions and talent management strategies practices in commercial banks of Jordan was high. Also, the results revealed that there is a positive relationship and significant impact of employer branding dimensions on talent management strategies among managers of commercial banks in Jordan
Challenges of education in Low Income Countries (LICs)
Get PDFAs globalization is increasingly affecting both Low Income Countries (LICs) and high income countries (HICs), the formation of mixed markets emphasizes the importance of private education. Functionalists, for example, highlight privately owned institutions as higher quality ones, as the competitive market forces them to innovate and follow the rapid technological improvements, to respond to customers’ demand. Higher education is becoming a necessity in LICs, as well. This is because it is much easier nowadays to “import” the workforce from another country. On the other hand, factories of transnational corporations are getting established in LICs. In this case, higher knowledge is not required, as the emphasis is placed on repetitive tasks and division of labor. The aim of this work is to provide a relevant analysis of scientific approach of various stand points in regards to different functions and applicability of knowledge, while considering the external factors, such as economic status of the country, to define the key challenges. Still, as the country progresses economically, the sector of production is likely to shift from primary (fishing, farming, agriculture) to the third one (services). As a result, LICs who aim to progress in an economical sense, must place greater emphasis on higher education, and align the educational process with the economic demand
Increasing the effectiveness of food supply chain logistics through digital transformation
Get PDFDuring the COVID-19 crisis, there were many restrictions to transportation. Due to that, a significant disruption in the food supply chain has emerged. The transportation of the fresh food and maintaining the quality, from farm to the table or distributing and then collecting from the warehouses and delivering to the consumer, has become crucial. Technologies and especially IoT, have become the primary tool to fight it. The research objective is to analyze and create new knowledge about digital technologies used to improve and make more effective the food supply chain processes. An exploratory case study methodology helps to investigate a large consortium based on IoT technologies, implemented in pilot cases on farm level and measuring their performance over the period of four years. This is an interpretative study, and the method of semi-structured interviews and document review for collecting the data was used. The results show IoT-connected sensors and systems in food and beverage supply chain logistics offer real-time visibility and data-driven analytics, allowing stakeholders to improve performance, cut operating costs, conduct predictive maintenance to avoid downtime, and even decrease energy usage or reduce negative environmental impacts
The main aspects of choosing the enterprises' operating strategy
Get PDFRetail trade occupies an important place in the economy of Ukraine, ensuring the sale of manufactured goods to end consumers. For retailers, it is important to achieve timeliness and reliability of services to meet customer needs, which can be achieved through the formation of operational strategy. The purpose of the article is to form a methodological approach to the development of operational strategy of retail enterprises, which is based on the requirements of corporate strategy, selected in accordance with the stage of the life cycle of the industry. The development of this methodological approach was carried out on the basis of Hill's model and system approach. As a result, a logical scheme of the process of developing an operational strategy is presented, which is specified by the list of input and output information. In order to determine the stage of the life cycle of the market of retail services in Ukraine, the eponymous concept of Porter was applied and the analysis was carried out according to the criteria: consumers and their behaviour, sales costs, changes in services, the nature of competition, profitability and found that the retail services market is growing. The method of observation, comparative and analytical method was used for the analysis, the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) was calculated on the basis of the data of the largest retail trade enterprises of Ukraine. As a result, it was found that the market of retail services in Ukraine is growing. With this in mind, an operational strategy for Ukrainian retailers has been proposed, which should aim to ensure the flexibility and variability of the operating system. The defined general direction of the operational strategy will allow to establish the content of decisions on the choice of operational processes, as well as the infrastructure to support them