Business Commons^™

Using Auctions To Divest Generation Assets, Peter Cramton, Lisa J. Cameron, Robert Wilson

Peter Cramton

In most states, ratepayers will compensate utilities for their stranded costs. As a result, these costs must be measured as accurately as possible, in a manner that is easily understood by all concerned parties. We describe the options for measuring stranded costs and argue that a simultaneous ascending auction is the best approach.

Evolving Null Hypotheses And The Base Rate Fallacy: A Functional Interpretation Of Scientific Myth, Brian Gibbs

Brian J. Gibbs

No abstract provided.

Combining Multi-Attribute Utility And Geographic Information For Boundary Decisions: An Application To Park Planning, Jeffrey Keisler, Ronald Sundell

Jeffrey Keisler

Combining Multi-Attribute Utility And Geographic Information For Boundary Decisions: An Application To Park Planning, Jeffrey Keisler, Ronald Sundell

Jeffrey Keisler

The quality and value of an area depend primarily on what is found within its designated boundaries. To determine the value of such areas in terms of boundaries, we have developed a methodology for integrating multi-attribute utility functions with spatial analysis so that desirable, or appropriate, boundaries can be determined on the basis of the goals and objectives for the park. The key to successful evaluation is the development of measures for what decision makers value, rather than merely using what is easily measured. In a detailed example for planning of national parks, the fundamental objectives are conservation and societal …

Package Bidding For Spectrum Licenses, Peter Cramton, John Mcmillan, Paul Milgrom, Bradley Miller, Bridger Mitchell, Daniel Vincent, Robert Wilson

Peter Cramton

The FCC was an innovator in adopting the rules of the simultaneous ascending-price auction for its sales of spectrum licenses. While these rules have performed well in the auctions conducted so far (and would perform even better with the design improvements suggested in our first report), there are two inherent limitations in any design that seeks to assign and price the licenses individually. First, such designs create strategic incentives for bidders interested in multiple licenses that are substitutes to reduce their demands for some of the licenses in order to reduce the final prices of the others; this is the …

As Easy As Abc - An Introduction To Activity Based Costing, Mark E. Pickering

Mark E Pickering

This article is an introduction to the concepts and mechanics of Activity Based Costing and how it can be used to provide different views of the costs and profitability of organisations to support management decisions.

Evaluating The Impact Of The Focus Model On The Efficacy Levels Of Teachers: A Field Based Study, John Fraas, Gary Russell, Isadore Newman

John W. Fraas

No abstract provided.

Research Report: Diffusion Of Information Systems Outsourcing: A Reevaluation Of Influence Sources, Qing Hu, Carol Saunders, Mary Gebelt

Qing Hu

Information systems outsourcing is an increasingly popular IS management practice in companies of all sizes. Examining the adoption of IS outsourcing from the well-developed theoretical foundation of innovation diffusion may shed some light on significant factors that affect the adoption decision, and clarify some misperceptions. This study explores the sources of influence in the adoption of IS outsourcing. Using a sample of 175 firms that outsourced their IS functions during the period from January 1985 to January 1995, we tested three hypotheses of sources of influences using four diffusion models: internal influence, external influence, and two mixed influence models. Our …

Auction Design Enhancements For Non-Combinatorial Auctions, Peter Cramton, John Mcmillan, Paul Milgrom, Bradley Miller, Bridger Mitchell, Daniel Vincent, Robert Wilson

Peter Cramton

We evaluate a number of possible enhancements to the FCC auctions. We consider only changes to the current auction rules that stay within the basic format of the simultaneous multiple round auction for individual licenses. This report summarizes and extends our e-mail exchanges with FCC staff on this topic. A subsequent report will cover auctions with combination bids. Overall, the FCC spectrum auctions have been an enormous success. However, there are two design goals in the auction where important improvement can be achieved within the basic rules structure. These are restricting collusion among bidders and reducing the time taken to …

Changes In Central Technical Services: Backlog Elimination, Karen S. Calhoun, Jim Leblanc

Karen S Calhoun

This report describes a cataloging backlog of about 97,000 items and outlines an innovative project to eliminate it without adding staff or slowing the processing of new receipts. Includes assessments of backlog content, growth rate, and underlying organizational issues that cause the backlog to be there and to grow.

Report On Stack Collocation Loss, Karen S. Calhoun

Karen S Calhoun

This internal report for Cornell University Library evaluates the probable impact of simply accepting call numbers in cataloging copy, rather than reviewing and adjusting them to assure stack order is maintained over time.

The Beginning And End Of The Church, Vaughan S. Roberts

Vaughan S Roberts

The Sea Of Faith: After Dover Beach?, Vaughan S. Roberts

Vaughan S Roberts

Auction Design For Standard Offer Service, Peter Cramton, Andrew Parece, Robert Wilson

Peter Cramton

During the transition to a competitive electricity market, when a consumer does not select an electricity provider, who provides service to the customer and at what price? An auction for this "standard offer service" is a market-based way to assign the service responsibility and to determine its price. We explore the design issues in establishing rules for such an auction.

Professional Development Seminars: Scouting Out Your Best Opportunities, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

No abstract provided.

Reply Statement On The Effect Of Nextwave’S Participation In The C-Block Auction On Antigone And Devco, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

For Antigone and Devco.

Managing Transitions, James A. Belohlav

James A. Belohlav

No abstract provided.

Hacks, Flacks And Counter-Attacks: Cigarette Advertising, Sponsored Research And Controversies, Richard W. Pollay

Richard W. Pollay

No abstract provided.

Statement On The Effect Of Nextwave’S Participation In The C-Block Auction On Antigone And Devco, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

For Antigone and Devco.

Charitable Endowments And The Democratization Of Dynasty, Evelyn Brody

Evelyn Brody

Charitable endowments and other passive investments exceed $425 billion. Why do many donors require that the principal of their contribution must be held in perpetuity, and that only the income may be used for charitable purposes? Why do most charity managers voluntarily accumulate operating surpluses, and reinvest a portion of real endowment income? This Article suggests that rather than looking at how charities use their endowment income, we should focus on what happens to the endowment principal. It appears that the taste for perpetual charitable endowments persists as the happy co-incidence of donors' desire for immortality for themselves and their …

A General Multiproduct, Multipollutant Market Pollution Permit Model: A Variational Inequality Approach, Anna Nagurney, Kathy Kanwalroop Dhanda, John K. Stranlund

Kathy K Dhanda

In this paper, we develop a new model in marketable pollution permits that consists of perfectly competitive, multi-product, multi-pollutant firms. The formulation and qualitative analysis of the model, as well as the computational approach, are based on the theory of variational inequalities.

Planning + Execution + Follow-Up = Great Trade Show Performance, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

No abstract provided.

The Use Of The Johnson-Neyman Confidence Bands And Mutiple Regression Models To Investigate Interaction Effects: Important Tools For Educational Researchers And Program Evaluators, John Fraas, Isadore Newman

John W. Fraas

No abstract provided.

Achieving Success In Information Systems Outsourcing, Carol Saunders, Mary Gebelt, Qing Hu

Qing Hu

A study of 34 large companies, which outsourced for at least 2 years, demonstrates that outsourcing can be successful even when information systems are viewed as core functions. However, outsourcing negotiations must reflect the role of the company performing the outsourced functions and the nature of the outsourced work. A critical key to success in outsourcing arrangements lies in having tight contracts, even when the outsourcing vendor is viewed as a strategic partner or the IS function is considered to be core.

Relativism, Reflective Equilibrium, And Justice, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

THIS PAPER IS THE CO-WINNER OF THE FRED BERGER PRIZE IN PHILOSOPHY OF LAW FOR THE 1999 AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE BEST PUBLISHED PAPER IN THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS.

The conflict between liberal legal theory and critical legal studies (CLS) is often framed as a matter of whether there is a theory of justice that the law should embody which all rational people could or must accept. In a divided society, the CLS critique of this view is overwhelming: there is no such justice that can command universal assent. But the liberal critique of CLS, that it degenerates into …

Reinventing Government: The Promise Of Comparative Institutional Choice And Government Created Corporations, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

This Article focuses on a subset of private/public partnerships - those that involve relationships between the public sector and charitable organizations, specifically "government created charitable organizations" (GCCOs). For example, the first President Bush, known as the "Education President," championed the creation of the New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC) as the cornerstone of his education policy. Designed as an independent charitable organization, the NASDC's proposed budget relied on private corporate contributions. In this way, the federal government could assert that it would fund its new educational program without increasing the federal bureaucracy, raising taxes, or cutting other budget items. To …

Risk-Based Capital, Portfolio Risk, And Bank Capital: A Simultaneous Equations Approach, Kevin T. Jacques, Peter Nigro

Kevin T Jacques

This paper examines the impact the risk-based capital standards had on bank capital and portfolio risk during the first year the risk-based standards were in effect.

The Fcc Spectrum Auctions: An Early Assessment, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

This paper analyzes six spectrum auctions conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from July 1994 to May 1996. These auctions were simultaneous multiple-round auctions in which collections of licenses were auctioned simultaneously. This auction form proved remarkably successful. Similar items sold for similar prices and bidders successfully formed efficient aggregations of licenses. Bidding behavior differed substantially in the auctions. The extent of bidder competition and price uncertainty played an important role in determining behavior. Bidding credits and installment payments also played a major role in several of the auctions.

Synergies In Wireless Telephony: Evidence From The Broadband Pcs Auctions, Peter Cramton, Lawrence M. Ausubel, R. Preston Mcafee, John Mcmillan

Peter Cramton

We examine bid data from the first two broadband PCS spectrum auctions for evidence of value synergies. First, we estimate a benchmark regression for the determinants of final auction prices. Then, we include variables reflecting the extent to which bidders ultimately won or already owned the adjacent wireless properties. Consistent with geographic synergies in an ascending-bid auction, prices were higher when the highest-losing bidder had adjacent licenses. The footprints of winning bidders suggest that they were often successful in realizing these synergies.

Risk Analysis Of Black Walnut And Red Oak Plantations, Douglas D. Stokke, Stephen H. Kolison Jr., Jianbang Gan

Douglas D. Stokke

Risks and uncertainties are prevalent in timber production due to the nature and length of the production process. This paper examines the volatility of timber prices and the effects of some economic uncertainties and risks such as fluctuations in timber prices and the interest rate on the economic returns of black walnut and red oak plantations. Historical patterns of timber prices for black walnut and oaks are investigated and compared with those of other timber species and stock price. The sensitivity of economic returns from black walnut and red oak plantations to changes in timber prices and the discount rate …