Business Commons^™

Simulation Model To Investigate Flexible Workload Management For Healthcare And Servicescape Environment, Michael Thorwarth, Paul Harper, Amr Arisha

Conference papers

High demand and poor staffing conditions cause avoidable pressure and stress among healthcare personnel which results in burnout symptoms and unplanned absenteeism which are hidden cost drivers. The work environment within an emergency department is commonly arranged in a flexible workload which is highly dynamic and complex for the outside observer. Using detailed simulation modeling within structured modeling methods, a comprehensive model to characterize the nurses' time utilization in such flexible dynamic workload environment was investigated. The results have been used to derive a generalized analytic expression that describes certain settings that lead to an instable queuing system with serious …

Ict Innovation Diffusion In Small Logistics Service Providers: An Empirical Survey, Pietro Evangelista, Edward Sweeney, Claudia-Maria Wagner

Conference papers

For companies competing in highly dynamic markets, innovation is considered a fundamental component of a successful business as it allows companies to sustain profit margins, sales growth and reduce competitors’ pressures. Information and communication technology (ICT) is essential innovation enablers especially in service companies. The focus of the paper is on the analysis of the role of ICT in innovation processes of small third-party logistics service providers (3PLs). On the basis of quantitative evidence emerging from a recent survey carried out on the Italian 3PL market, the paper analyses how ICT is used to support innovation and the factors the …

The Ceecs’ Banking System: A Risk Study During The Global Financial Crisis, Bernadette Andreosso-O'Callaghan, Lucia Morales, Valentina Tarkovska

Conference papers

We consider operational risk and market integration in the banking system of the Central and East European Countries’ (CEECs). The analysis provides an interesting framework in relation to the effects of the global financial crisis in some European emerging banks. We implement an econometric model that takes into account the level of integration of these banks in relation to a number of most developed institutions, which are represented by the Dow Jones STOXX 600 index, with the objective of analyzing how this could be impacting the level of operational risk in the region. This paper provides new evidence that links …

Examining The Inseparability Of Enterprise And Strategy Discourse, Brendan O'Rourke

Conference papers

Small owner-managed firms are an interesting site in which to examine the deployment of strategy discourse. On the one hand, small firms offer a location where the holistic nature of strategy (Clegg et al., 2004:24; Liedtka, 1998:122; Lilley,2001: 75) is more likely to feature in daily practice On the other hand, owner-managed firms lack a key reason for the original emergence of the strategy discourse i.e. strategy as a discourse of accountability by professional managers to shareholders (Knights & Morgan, 1991). Small firm owner-managers are the ideological heroes of the enterprise discourse (Carr, 2000:101). This work looks at how owner-managers …

Enabling Rfid Technology In Irish Hospitals, Khaled Ismail, Amr Arisha

Conference papers

Hospitals represent a significant part of healthcare systems and account for no less than 60% of the entire healthcare service in most of developed countries. Therefore, improving service in hospitals is an important element to the process of healthcare reform. Better use of resources, more consistent quality, and a higher service level are the keys to rationalise the huge expenditure in healthcare systems due to higher growth in demand. Even though massive spending has been directed towards hospital improvement in Ireland, services provided in Irish hospitals are ranked relatively low comparing to the other European countries. Growth of population, aging, …

Risk Assessment Model For Emergency Departments In Dublin Hospitals, Michael Thorwarth, Amr Arisha

Conference papers

The internal dynamics of emergency departments (ED) in Irish hospitals represent complex non-linear stochastic systems with an environment of uncertainty, variability and limited resources. Planning and managing such systems pose overwhelming demands. To improve operations, patient service, resource planning, and real-time reaction to unexpected events, sophisticated tools to efficiently achieve these goals must be applied.

Advanced solution techniques (e.g. simulation and optimisation) have been successfully applied in manufacturing operations to improve the delivery, cost-effectiveness and service quality. Yet, random arrival of patients, limited resources and multitasking are challenges in EDs that add more complexity to this critical area. This study …

Optimisation Methods In Supply Chain Applications: A Review, Amr Arisha, Waleed Abo Hamad

Conference papers

The competitiveness and dynamic nature of today’s marketplace is due to rapid advances in information technology, short product life cycles and the continuing trend in global outsourcing. Managing the resulting supply chain networks effectively is a complex and challenging task which is imputable to high level of uncertainty in supply-demand, conflict objectives, vagueness of information, numerous decision variables and constraints. With such level of complexity in the environment, supply chain optimisation has a potential to make a significant contribution to resolve the challenges. In this paper, a literature review – based on more than one hundred peer-reviewed articles – of …

Investigating The Factors Impacting Retailers Evaluations Of Web Solution Providers, Roisin Vize, Aileen Kennedy, Joseph Coughlan, Fiona Ellis-Chadwick

Conference papers

Relationship marketing has emerged as a central tenet in the B2B literature (Athanasopoulou, 2009). Research indicates that firms will be more successful if they build long term, mutually supportive relationships with their business customers (Rauyruen and Miller, 2007). Retailers are responding to ever increasing competitive challenges by building collaborative relationships with customers, suppliers and service providers. Increasingly SME retailers have been adopting third party web services to help them leverage the technical expertise and knowledge required to become more strategic in their e-business ventures (Ray and Ray, 2006). Such arrangements rely on relational exchange characterized by high levels of trust …

An Analysis Of Freight Logistics Requirements For The Island Of Ireland, Claudia-Maria Wagner, Edward Sweeney, Colm Ryan, Pietro Evangelista

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Hedonic Motivations, Socialibility And Shyness On The Implusive Buying Tendencies Of The Irish Consumer, Mayank Dhaundiyal, Joseph Coughlan

Conference papers

Previous empirical studies have shown that consumers' hedonic shopping motivations can reliably predict their impulsive buying tendencies (IBT). Impulsivity has been shown to have strong roots in people’s personality (Verplanken and Herabadi 2001). This study extended current research to include two other personality constructs - shyness and sociability - that have not been tested against impulsivity in the literature. A questionnaire comprising of subscales of IBT, hedonic shopping motivations, shyness and sociability as developed by Verplanken and Herabadi (2001), Arnold and Reynolds (2003) and Cheek and Buss (1981) respectively was administered to 194 respondents in two prominent Dublin city centre …

Learning Without Default: A Study Of One-Class Classification And The Low-Default Portfolio Problem, Kenneth Kennedy, Brian Mac Namee, Sarah Jane Delany

Conference papers

This paper asks at what level of class imbalance one-class classifiers outperform two-class classifiers in credit scoring problems in which class imbalance, referred to as the low-default portfolio problem, is a serious issue. The question is answered by comparing the performance of a variety of one-class and two-class classifiers on a selection of credit scoring datasets as the class imbalance is manipulated. We also include random oversampling as this is one of the most common approaches to addressing class imbalance. This study analyses the suitability and performance of recognised two-class classifiers and one-class classifiers. Based on our study we conclude …

Re(Dis)Covering Organizational Forming: The Case Of Ireland’S Industrial Development Authority, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

Organizational form, as an issue, has been the focus of attention since Weber’s formulation of the ideal-type bureaucracy. For organizational scholars, the very concept of form is at the heart of organization studies, such that “[w]here new organizational forms come from is one of the central questions of organizational theory” (Rao, 1998: 912). The Weberian “ideal type,” with its focus on the ontological possibility of identifying form, represents the inaugural moment in organization theory. Since that moment, and based on the need to say what is “organization” as the condition for having “organization theory,” it is a requirement of organization …

Contrasting Influences Of Entrepreneurs On Destination Development, Theresa Ryan, Ziene Mottiar, Bernadettte Quinn

Conference papers

This article argues that contemporary debates concerning the impacts of globalisation on the development of local tourism areas uncovers a dynamic interplay between global and local forces. Moving beyond traditional arguments that view tourism places as outcomes of global forces (Relph, 1976; Castells, 1993; Barnet & Cavanagh, 1995; Dunning & Hamdani, 1997) the research presents an overview of the significance of local entrepreneurs on tourism destination development.

The article draws from existing literature on models of tourism development including; Chrystaller (1963), Miossec (1976), Butler (1980), Gormsen (1981), Lundgren (1982), Keller (1987), Lewis (1998), Ritchie & Crouch (2003), as well as …

The Nomination And Motivations Of Irish Non-Executive Directors Of Listed Companies, Anna Egan, Rebecca Maughan, Joseph Coughlan

Conference papers

This paper reports the preliminary findings of an empirical investigation into the process of appointing non-executive directors and their motivations behind the adoption of the position. While research into the board of directors has been extensive, little deliberation has been given to the motives of non-executives who choose to sit on boards (Roberts, 2002). Given that the board of directors has been charged with much more responsibility in recent years and is being held to a higher level of accountability than would historically be expected (Donnelly and Kelly, 2005), the choice of non-executives to continue to take up roles on …

Digital Supply Chains: Towards A Framework For Software Distribution, Colm Ryan, Claudia-Maria Wagner, Edward Sweeney, Emilio Esposito, Pietro Evangelista

Conference papers

This paper assesses the effect of non-physicality of a digital product - software - on SCM practice. A number of in-depth, one-on-one interviews were held in 8 software companies that predominantly supply to enterprise customers on a global scale. The aim was to explore distribution challenges within software supply chains and how companies are addressing these challenges. The research has identified three different classes of software distribution models: One, which tends to rely on traditional physical infrastructures and paradigms, and two others that better exploit the properties of the digital products.

Tracing The Path To 'Tiger Hood': Ireland's Move From Protectionism To Outward-Looking Economic Development, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

Up to very recently, Ireland was spoken of in very adulatory terms, to the point of being dubbed the ‘Celtic Tiger.’ Taking path dependence as lens, this paper looks at an early sequence of events that shaped the country’s path to ‘tiger hood’, i.e., the policy shift from protectionism to outward-looking economic development. From relatively contingent and unpredictable beginnings has evolved an institutional matrix, with a clear focus on the global, that, ex ante, could not have been predicted when it was first established.

A Comparative Study Of Organisational Commitment Of Bank Employees In Ireland And China, Helen Chen

Conference papers

Organizational commitment is a complicated concept. However it is primarily regarded as an attitudinal construct dealing with the perceived utility of continued participation in the employing organization (Hrebriniak & Alutto, 1972). In a similar vein, it has also been described, according to Buchanan, (1974), as a partisan, affective attachment to the goals and values of an organization, to one’s role in relation to goals and values of an organization, and to the organization for its own sake; or according to Porter et al. (1974), as a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, a willingness to …

Seaport Management Aspects And Perspectives: An Overview, Amr Arisha, Amr Mahfouz

Conference papers

Ireland occupies the northern part of the western European coast which has a 70,000 Kilometres coasting along two oceans and four seas. These coasts are Europe’s lifeblood and represent the trade routes, climate regulator and source of food, energy and resources. Seaports and shipping are key maritime activities which allow European coast countries to benefit from the rapid growth of international trade. Therefore, port management became the centre of governments’ interest and the focal point of research to improve the efficiency. This research aims to summaries past publications of seaport systems to highlight challenges and reveal relevant research gaps. Having …

A Comparative Study Of Organisational Commitment Of Bank Employees In Ireland And China, Helen Chen

Conference papers

Organisational commitment has been extensively researched in the Western and non-Western contexts. However, little has been conducted to approach it from a cross-cultural perspective. This paper sets out to fill in the gap by examining bank employees’ organisational commitment in Ireland and China. Data was collected in two American banks, one in Ireland and the other one in China in June 2008. Research results showed interesting and dynamic differences of the three dimensions of the Irish and Chinese bank employees’ organisational commitment with regards to the effects of income, gender and tenure. Implications for managers in Ireland and China are …

The Role Of The Customer As A Quasi-Employee In Service Organisations: A Research Agenda, Jennifer Lawlor

Conference papers

No abstract provided.