Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons^™

Your Community Gets A B- : Analysis Of The Specific And Curious Realm Of Airport Bond Ratings, Richard R. Hawkins, Stephen A. Lemay, Peter M. Ralston

Peter Ralston

Commercial airports are publicly-owned transportation infrastructure, usually funded with bonds. The bond rating decision for these entities thus has important ramifications for bond investors, issuers, airport managers, and even the communities the airports serve, but the rating decision process is not well understood. This paper discusses a simulation of the rating process in two decision environments, including a downgrade. The effect of information framing in an environment of incomplete data is examined using amateur evaluators. Amateur evaluators were utilized to understand how people with limited financial analysis skills would respond when presented with incomplete information and a primed scenario. The …

Enhancing Dyadic Performance Through Boundary Spanners And Innovation: An Assessment Of Service Provider–Customer Relationships, Scott J. Grawe, Patricia J. Daughterty, Peter M. Ralston

Peter Ralston

Firms recognize that working together through collaborative relationships offers potential benefits such as improving cooperation, information sharing, and overall performance. An additional and extremely valuable benefit of working together is the potential for creating innovative business approaches and solutions. Thus, developing external linkages has become a higher priority within many organizations. Boundary spanning employees offer one means of achieving closer cross‐firm relationships. We investigate the roles of boundary spanners by examining service providers and their relationships with customers. More specifically, we examine boundary spanning employees that are physically on‐site at customer facilities. Results provide strong support that boundary spanners perceiving …

Logistics Salience Impact On Logistics Capabilities And Performance, Peter M. Ralston, Scott J. Grawe, Patricia J. Daugherty

Peter Ralston

Purpose – The purpose of this manuscript is to assess the impact of logistics salience on logistics capabilities and performance. Specifically, the impact of logistics salience on logistics innovativeness and logistics service differentiation is measured along with logistics innovativeness and logistics service differentiation effect on logistics performance. Design/methodology/approach – Conclusions were drawn from survey data gathered from logistics and supply chain managers at US firms. Structural equation modelling was utilized to measure the statistical significance of the hypothesized model paths with all findings meeting the basic requirements of interpretation. Findings – The results suggest that logistics salience positively impacts both …

The Past And Future Of Supply Chain Collaboration: A Literature Synthesis And Call For Research, Peter M. Ralston, R. Glenn Richey, Scott J. Grawe

Peter Ralston

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide scholarly and practical benefits by detailing the past and suggesting a future research agenda for supply chain (SC) collaboration. A literature review is utilized to examine what has been investigated prior, and what remains to be analyzed, in order to assist today’s managers and researchers. The research expands the understanding of SC collaboration from a focal firm perspective while providing boundaries for future investigation and at the same time detailing the current state of collaboration to practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach The current research utilizes a systematic review of the literature to shape a …

Perceptions Of On-Farm Emergency Slaughter For Dairy Cows In British Columbia, Katherine E. Koralesky, David Fraser

David Fraser, PhD

Some jurisdictions permit on-farm emergency slaughter (OFES) as one end-of-life option for dairy cows and other animals that cannot be transported humanely but are deemed fit for human consumption. Anecdotal reports suggest that OFES is controversial among dairy industry professionals, but to date their perceptions of OFES have not been studied systematically. Twentyfive individual interviews and 3 focus groups with 40 dairy producers, veterinarians, and other professionals in British Columbia, Canada, revealed positive and negative perceptions of OFES influenced by (1) individual values, (2) the perceived operational legitimacy of OFES, and (3) concern over social responsibility and public perception of …

Use Of On-Farm Emergency Slaughter For Dairy Cows In British Columbia, Katherine E. Koralesky, David Fraser

David Fraser, PhD

On-farm emergency slaughter (OFES), whereby inspection, stunning, and bleeding occur on the farm before the carcass is transported to a slaughterhouse, is permitted in some jurisdictions as a means to avoid inhumane transportation while salvaging meat from injured animals. However, OFES is controversial and its use for dairy cows has been little studied. Inspection documents for 812 dairy cows were examined to identify how OFES was used for dairy cows in British Columbia, Canada, over 16.5 mo. Producers used OFES for dairy cows aged 1 to 13 yr (median of 4 yr). Leg, hip, nerve, spinal, foot, and hind-end injuries …

Public Attitudes To Housing Systems For Pregnant Pigs, E. B. Ryan, David Fraser, Daniel M. Weary

David Fraser, PhD

Understanding concerns about the welfare of farm animals is important for the development of socially sustainable production practices. This study used an online survey to test how views on group versus stall housing for pregnant sows varied when Canadian and US participants were provided information about these systems, including access to scientific papers, YouTube videos, Google images, and a frequently-asked-questions page (S1 Appendix). Initial responses and changes in responses after accessing the information were analyzed from Likert scores of 242 participants and from their written comments. Participants were less willing to accept the use of gestation stalls after viewing information …

Effect Of Sand And Wood-Shavings Bedding On The Behavior Of Broiler Chickens, S. J. Shields, J. P. Garner, J. A. Mench

Sara Shields, PhD

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 2 different bedding types, sand and wood shavings, on the behavior of broiler chickens. In experiment 1, 6 pens were divided down the center and bedded half with sand and half with wood shavings. Male broilers (10/pen) were observed by scan sampling at 5- or 12-min intervals throughout the 6-wk growth period during the morning (between 0800 to 0900 h), afternoon (1200 to 1500 h), and night (2300 to 0600 h). There was a significant behavior x substrate x week interaction during the day (P < 0.0001) and at night (P < 0.0002). Drinking, dustbathing, preening, and sitting increased in frequency on the sand side but decreased on the wood shavings side during the day, as did resting at night. In general, broilers performed a greater proportion of their total behavioral time budget on the sand (P < 0.0001) as they aged. Broilers used the divider between the 2 bedding types to perch; perching behavior peaked during wk 4. In experiment 2, male broilers were housed in 8 pens (50 birds/pen) bedded only in sand or wood shavings. Bedding type had no effect on behavioral time budgets (P = 0.8946), although there were age-related changes in behavior on both bedding types. These results indicate that when given a choice, broilers increasingly performed many of their behaviors on sand, but if only one bedding type was provided they performed those behaviors with similar frequency on sand or wood shavings.

A Decade Of Progress Toward Ending The Intensive Confinement Of Farm Animals In The United States, Sara Shields, Paul Shapiro, Andrew N. Rowan

Sara Shields, PhD

In this paper, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) farm animal protection work over the preceding decade is described from the perspective of the organization. Prior to 2002, there were few legal protections for animals on the farm, and in 2005, a new campaign at the HSUS began to advance state ballot initiatives throughout the country, with a decisive advancement in California (Proposition 2) that paved the way for further progress. Combining legislative work with undercover farm and slaughterhouse investigations, litigation and corporate engagement, the HSUS and fellow animal protection organizations have made substantial progress in transitioning the …

Intra-Organizational Communication, Understanding, And Process Diffusion In Logistics Service Providers, Scott J. Grawe, Peter M. Ralston

Peter Ralston

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate, using survey data, how a firm may be able to leverage innovation or processes specifically developed for one customer across its entire customer network using onsite, or implanted, employees.

Design/methodology/approach – Data collected from a survey of 309 implanted logistics service provider (LSP) representatives are analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings – The findings show that intra-organizational task interdependence and face-to-face communication can lead to a greater understanding of firm processes developed for specific customers and greater diffusion of these new processes to other customers. Rather than separating customers that …

First-Case Operating Room Delays: Patterns Across Urban Hospitals Of A Single Health Care System, Callie M. Cox Bauer, Danielle M. Greer, Kiley B. Vander Wyst, Scott A. Kamelle

Callie Cox Bauer, DO, FACOG

Purpose

Operating room delays decrease health care system efficiency and increase costs. To improve operating room efficiency in our system, we retrospectively investigated delay frequencies, causes and costs.

Methods

We studied all first-of-the-day nonemergent surgical cases performed at three high-volume urban hospitals of a large health system from July 2012 to November 2013. Times for patient flow from arrival to procedure start and documented reasons for delay were obtained from electronic medical records. Delay was defined as patient placement in the operating room later than scheduled surgery time. Effects of patient characteristics, late patient arrival to the hospital, number of …

Impact Of Life-Cycle Costs Threshold Criteria In The Alternate Design Pavement Bidding Practices Of Public Transportation Agencies, Ilker Karaca, Douglas Gransberg, Ashley F. Buss

Ilker Karaca

This paper proposes a model that enables Department of Transportation (DOT) policy makers to quantify the expected volume of projects that will qualify for letting in their alternate design/alternate bid (ADAB) pavement bidding programs. Current guidance on alternate bidding recommends a fixed percentage as the life cycle cost (LCC) threshold criterion to determine whether pavement selection decisions should be made through ADAB bidding practices. The paper’s analysis shows that the fixed LCC threshold percentage approach may have considerable shortcomings. Instead, a dynamic threshold value is proposed that can subsequently be calibrated by agencies, based on the desired size of their …

First-Case Operating Room Delays: Patterns Across Urban Hospitals Of A Single Health Care System, Callie M. Cox Bauer, Danielle M. Greer, Kiley B. Vander Wyst, Scott A. Kamelle

Aurora Ob/Gyn Faculty

Purpose

Operating room delays decrease health care system efficiency and increase costs. To improve operating room efficiency in our system, we retrospectively investigated delay frequencies, causes and costs.

Methods

We studied all first-of-the-day nonemergent surgical cases performed at three high-volume urban hospitals of a large health system from July 2012 to November 2013. Times for patient flow from arrival to procedure start and documented reasons for delay were obtained from electronic medical records. Delay was defined as patient placement in the operating room later than scheduled surgery time. Effects of patient characteristics, late patient arrival to the hospital, number of …

Uncaging New Zealand's Sows: Scrutinizing Farrowing Crates, Andrew Knight

Andrew Knight, PhD

This 13,000 word report was published by SAFE (a leading NZ animal advocacy organisation). It documents the welfare problems experienced by around 15,000 New Zealand sows annually, who are confined within metal cages barely larger than their own bodies, in a practice claimed to decrease piglet mortality. It was delivered to NZ’s Primary Production Select Committee along with SAFE’s own submission in June 2018. The Committee was reviewing a 112,844 signature petition to Parliament (the largest in 5 years), which requested a ban on sow farrowing crates.

From Data To Decisions In Local Government, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

The Stewardship Of Trust In The Global Value Chain, Kishanthi Parella

Kish Parella

Global governance has not yet caught up with the globalization of business. As a result, our headlines provide daily accounts of the extent and consequences of these "governance gaps." The ability of corporations to evade state control also contributes to an unusual, even frightening, phenomenon: corporations are governing like states. Some governance functions traditionally delivered by state actors are now increasingly undertaken by transnational corporations. One area that is experiencing this substitution is dispute resolution of human rights. Corporations and other business enterprises, individually or collectively, are creating a variety of grievance mechanisms to address human rights and other conflicts …

Reforming The Global Value Chain Through Transnational Private Regulation, Kishanthi Parella

Kish Parella

In many industries, corporations have changed the organization of their production from a vertically integrated model to a model that is often characterized by outsourcing-shifting business activities to external parties -and offshoring, where production occurs at sites overseas. The global value chain (GVC) for an American corporation often involves several tiers of suppliers. One end of the GVC is often occupied by a multinational buyer (MNB), such as a large brand name corporation. At the opposite end of the value chain are the factories, farms, and other production sites that supply multinational corporations with their goods. This organization of production …

The Role Of Prior Sales Experience Of Buyers And Duration In Buyer-Seller Relationships, Scott C. Ambrose, Nwamaka A. Anaza, Brian N. Rutherford

Scott C. Ambrose

This paper examines the impact that a buyer’s prior sales experience and the duration of the buyer-salesperson relationship has on the satisfaction and commitment linkages established within the literature. First, two key facets of satisfaction (social and economic) are linked to buyer’s commitment to the salesperson. Next, buyer-salesperson relationship duration is examined as an influencer between the satisfaction and commitment linkages. Following this, the study shifts its focus to examine if and how buyers with prior sales experience view the buyer-salesperson relationship different than buyers without prior sales experience. Findings of the study highlight the importance of developing our understanding …

Strategies To Reduce Employee Turnover In Clinical Logistics, Brenda Simon

Brenda Simon

A Decade Of Progress Toward Ending The Intensive Confinement Of Farm Animals In The United States, Sara Shields, Paul Shapiro, Andrew N. Rowan

Andrew N. Rowan, DPhil

In this paper, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) farm animal protection work over the preceding decade is described from the perspective of the organization. Prior to 2002, there were few legal protections for animals on the farm, and in 2005, a new campaign at the HSUS began to advance state ballot initiatives throughout the country, with a decisive advancement in California (Proposition 2) that paved the way for further progress. Combining legislative work with undercover farm and slaughterhouse investigations, litigation and corporate engagement, the HSUS and fellow animal protection organizations have made substantial progress in transitioning the …

Containing Risk When Maximizing Supply-Chain Performance, Harrison Luvai

Harrison Luvai

No abstract provided.

Decision-Making In Simultaneous Games: Reviewing The Past For The Future, Mohsen Ahmadian, Ehsan Elahi, Roger Blake

Mohsen Ahmadian

Emerging Research Institutions' Technology Transfer Supply Chain Networks' Sustainability: Budget Resource Planning Tool Development, Clovia Hamilton

Clovia Hamilton

Hbcu Technology Transfer Supply Chain Networks’ Sustainability - Budget Resource Planning Tool Development.Pdf, Clovia Hamilton

Clovia Hamilton

Organizational Performance In Services, Rosemary Batt, Virginia Doellgast

Virginia Doellgast

The question of performance in service activities and occupations is important for several reasons. First, over two-thirds of employment in advanced economies is in service activities. Second, productivity growth in services is historically low, lagging far behind manufacturing, and as a result, wages in production-level service jobs remain low. In addition, labor costs in service activities are often over 50% of total costs, whereas in manufacturing they have fallen to less than 25% of costs. This raises the question of whether management practices that have improved performance in manufacturing, such as investment in the skills and training of the workforce, …

A Supply Chain Coordination Mechanism For Common Items Subject To Failure In The Electronics, Defense, And Medical Industries, Mikhail M. Sher, Seung-Lae Kim, Avijit Banerjee, Michael Paz

Michael Paz

Improved production processes, particularly miniaturization, have led to the development and use of non-reworkable items subject to failure in modern production environments. Coordinating supply chains for these items requires cooperation between suppliers and buyers in order to balance ordering/setup and holding costs among system partners. In this paper, we first determine optimal inventory policies for both the supplier and buyer. We then apply the bisection method to develop a mechanism which uses a common replenishment time to coordinate a supply chain consisting of a single supplier and n buyers. By utilizing this optimization framework, we minimize total system-wide costs and …

Managing Rentals With Usage-Based Loss, Vincent W. Slaugh, Bahar Biller, Sridhar R. Tayur

Vincent Slaugh

Motivated by new and innovative rental business models, this paper develops a novel discrete-time model of a rental operation with random loss of inventory due to customer use. The inventory level is chosen before the start of a finite rental season, and customers not immediately served are lost. Our analysis framework uses stochastic comparisons of sample paths to derive structural results that hold under good generality for demands, rental durations, and rental unit lifetimes. Considering different \recirculation" rules | i.e., which rental unit to choose to meet each demand | we prove the concavity of the expected profit function and …

The Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange Improves Its Matching Process, Vincent W. Slaugh, Mustafa Akan, Onur Kesten, M. Utku Ünver

Vincent Slaugh

The Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange (PAE) helps case workers who represent children in state custody by recommending prospective families for adoption. We describe PAE's operational challenges using case worker surveys and analyze child outcomes through a regression analysis of data collected over multiple years. A match recommendation spreadsheet tool implemented by PAE incorporates insights from this analysis and allows PAE managers to better utilize available information. Using a discrete-event simulation of PAE, we justify the value of a statewide adoption network and demonstrate the importance of better information about family preferences for increasing the percentage of children who are successfully adopted. …

Factor Market Myopia: A Driver Of Factor Market Revalry, Peter Ralston, Steven Lemay, Rose Opengart

Peter Ralston

Product Complexity: A Definition And Impacts On Operations, Mark A. Jacobs

Mark A. Jacobs

The difficulty for organizations arises because neither complexity nor its impacts on performance are well understood (Fisher & Ittner, 1999b). The mechanisms through which it affects cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility need to be explained (Ramdas, 2003). However, this cannot happen until complexity can be explained theoretically. But, to build theory there must first be a common understanding about the construct of interest (Wacker, 2004). Only then can researchers operationalize it and search for meaningful relationships. In light of this, I develop a definition of complexity below. A sampling of the operations management literature is then presented within the context …