Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 24 of 24

Full-Text Articles in Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering

Smes And Virtual R&D Teams: A Motive Channel For Relationship Between Smes, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha Dec 2009

Smes And Virtual R&D Teams: A Motive Channel For Relationship Between Smes, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

This paper explores potential advantages and barriers of virtual teams toward making an interrelation between small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) with a comprehensive review on different aspects of virtual teams in SMEs based on authentic and reputed publications. The purpose of the state-of-the-art literature review is to provide an overview of what is known about the structure and dynamics of virtual collaboration in SMEs which they are the back bone of the world business. This study seeks to address some of the advantages of virtual R&D team in the existing extensive literature on the increase SMEs interrelations. Besides of identify …


Simpler Packaging, Tomiko Oden Dec 2009

Simpler Packaging, Tomiko Oden

Graphic Communication

This project explains how product packaging is become more "green", and thus more simple. Packaging needs to go beyond just simplifying materials and graphics - it needs to create a simpler process in order to reduce wasted time, energy, and resources.


Determinants Of Foreign Direct Investment In Iran: An Empirical Study Using Structural Equation Modeling, Ahmad Jafarnejad, Arash Golnam, Nader Ale Ebrahim Nov 2009

Determinants Of Foreign Direct Investment In Iran: An Empirical Study Using Structural Equation Modeling, Ahmad Jafarnejad, Arash Golnam, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

This paper examines the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Iran by applying the structural equation modelling (SEM). Using the annual time series data for the 1991-2006 period, two models were developed. In the first model the correlation between 12 determining factors and FDI in Iran were analyzed and in the second model the 12 factors were fit into five categories of determinants namely: Business, Economic, Infrastructural, Oil and Science and Technology and the impact of each of the mentioned groups of factors was investigated. The results derived through the first model indicated that openness of trade and Gross …


Measurement And Analysis Of Shocks To Products Packaged In Pails In Single Parcel Ground Shipments, Sher Paul Singh, Jay Singh, Pakapol Kittipinyovath Nov 2009

Measurement And Analysis Of Shocks To Products Packaged In Pails In Single Parcel Ground Shipments, Sher Paul Singh, Jay Singh, Pakapol Kittipinyovath

Industrial Technology and Packaging

The objective of this study was to measure and analyse the shocks and impacts experienced by pails in the single parcel distribution environment, with and without a secondary corrugated shipper. The study was conducted in the FedEx Ground shipping environment in the USA. Instrumented 5 gal pails were shipped with and without an outer corrugated box, and with and without handling (precautionary warning) labels, from East Lansing, Michigan to destinations in California and New York. Data recorders were used to collect and analyse shock distribution data (drop heights, drop orientations and number of drops). The results showed that the precautionary …


Can We Make Accounting Relevant Again? Non-Traditional Accounting Systems Can Drive Productivity And Future Prosperity, Mark Doggett Nov 2009

Can We Make Accounting Relevant Again? Non-Traditional Accounting Systems Can Drive Productivity And Future Prosperity, Mark Doggett

Mark Doggett

No abstract provided.


A Conceptual Model Of Virtual Product Development Process, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha Jul 2009

A Conceptual Model Of Virtual Product Development Process, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

In today’s dynamic marketplace, companies are under strong pressure to introduce new products for long-term survival with their competitors. Besides, every company cannot cope up progressively or immediately with the market requirements due to knowledge dynamics being experienced in competitive milieu. Increased competition and reduced product life cycles put force upon companies to develop new products faster. In response to this pressing need there should be some new approach compatible in flexible circumstances. This paper presents a solution based on the Stage-Gate system, which is closely linked with virtual team approach. Virtual teams can provide a platform to advance the …


Innovation Process Is Facilitated In Virtual Environment Of R&D Teams, Mohammad Ali Shafia, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha Jul 2009

Innovation Process Is Facilitated In Virtual Environment Of R&D Teams, Mohammad Ali Shafia, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Innovation is becoming the most important key issue for company's success in the 21st century. In the competitive environment it is necessary for the enterprises to put together different capabilities and services with the goal. It is widely accepted that innovation can be better achieved by working in team particularly in the virtual environments. The employed web services technology, although very popular nowadays but it is still not mature enough, so dealing with it can bring new findings. Virtual teams base on information technology are formed to facilitate transnational innovation processes and it should be noted that innovation has a …


Virtual Teams For Npd – An Innovative Experience For R&D Engineers, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha Jun 2009

Virtual Teams For Npd – An Innovative Experience For R&D Engineers, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

New interaction tools such as internet allows companies to gain valuable input from research and development (R&D) engineers via virtual teams. Consequently engineers also get more expertise in diminutive timeframes. Virtual R&D teams present the key impetus to the technology acquisition process. The present knowledge-economy era is characterized by short product life-cycles. Virtual R&D teams may reduce time-to-market, make available a large pool of new product know-how and provide greater flexibilities which are the key success factors in a competitive market. This comprehensive review contains almost 100 references and covers the recent literature with emphasis on topic. The review has …


Virtuality, Innovation And R&D Activities, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha Jun 2009

Virtuality, Innovation And R&D Activities, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Innovation plays a central role in economic development, at regional and national level. In the competitive environment companies are obliged to produce more rapidly, more effectively and more efficiently in new product development which is a result of research and development (R&D) activities. It is necessary for them to put together different capabilities and services with the goal, through cooperation between suppliers and customers, service providers and scientific institutions to achieve innovations of high quality. Depending on the type of industry, the type of business, the type of innovation and the strategic objectives that have been set, firms will regularly …


Consideration Of The Virtual Team Work And Disabled Citizens, As Promising Opportunity Providers For The E-Government Infrastructure's Formation, Mohammad Ali Shafia, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Sumsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha May 2009

Consideration Of The Virtual Team Work And Disabled Citizens, As Promising Opportunity Providers For The E-Government Infrastructure's Formation, Mohammad Ali Shafia, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Sumsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

The Information area has revolutionized the workplace. Douglas Kruse, a professor of human resources and the director of the program for disability research at Rutgers University, states that 7% of employed persons with disabilities work 20 hours or more a week from home. While some modern countries have established “virtual teams”, which are said to be comprised of people who are geographically scattered and who work across boundaries of space and time using computer driven communication technologies, it is also true that many developing countries remain structured around conventional face-to-face teams. A motive toward virtual team working may be cost …


Virtual Teams And Management Challenges, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha May 2009

Virtual Teams And Management Challenges, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

As a result of globalization and advances in information and communication technologies, the increased use of virtual teams in business has become prominent. In the competitive environment companies are obliged to produce more rapidly, more effectively and more efficiently. It is necessary for them to put together different capabilities and services with the goal, through cooperation between suppliers and customers, service providers and scientific institutions to achieve firm’s objective with high quality. Nowadays shift from serial to simultaneous and parallel working in entity has become more commonplace. Literatures have shown that collaboration is as a meta-capability for companies. This article …


Virtual R&D Teams: Innovation And Technology Facilitator, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha May 2009

Virtual R&D Teams: Innovation And Technology Facilitator, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Innovation is becoming the most important key issue for company’s success in the 21st century. In the competitive environment is necessary for the enterprises to put together different capabilities and services with the goal. It’s a widely accepted that innovation is better achieved by working in team. The employed web services technology, although very popular nowadays but it is still not mature enough, so dealing with it can bring new findings. Virtual teams base on information technology are formed to facilitate transnational innovation processes and it should be noted that innovation has a positive impact on corporate performance. Information and …


Virtual R&D Team: Technology Transfer Facilitator, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Mohammad Ali Shafia, Hamid Tahbaz Tavakoli Apr 2009

Virtual R&D Team: Technology Transfer Facilitator, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Mohammad Ali Shafia, Hamid Tahbaz Tavakoli

Nader Ale Ebrahim

A conceptual model is proposed which facilitate the process of technology transfer by applying a virtual R&D team. The underlying hypothesis is responded to competitive challenges, the complex customer requirements and the high instability on the market. The context of the knowledge-based economy introduces a major shift from serial to simultaneous R&D activities in the way technology transfer is conceived. The traditional model of R&D team work is relies on the visual and face-to-face teams. The complexities involved in organizing face-to-face interactions among team members from one side, and the rapid developments of electronic communication technologies from the other ,caused …


Smes: Erp Or Virtual Collaboration Teams, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shansuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha Jan 2009

Smes: Erp Or Virtual Collaboration Teams, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shansuddin Ahmed, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Small firms are indeed the engines of global economic growth. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important role to promote economic development. SMEs in the beginning of implementing new technologies always face capital shortage and need technological assistance. Available ERP systems do not fulfil the specific requirements of Small firms. SMEs has scarce resources and manpower therefore many SMEs don‟t have the possessions to buy and operate an ERP System. On the other hand competition and competitiveness of SMEs have to be strengthened. This paper briefly reviews the existing perspectives on virtual teams and their effect on SMEs management. …


Automated Fixture Design For A Rapid Machining Process, Wutthigrai Boonsuk, Matthew C. Frank Jan 2009

Automated Fixture Design For A Rapid Machining Process, Wutthigrai Boonsuk, Matthew C. Frank

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Rapid prototyping techniques for CNC machining have been developed in an effort to produce functional prototypes in appropriate materials. One of the major challenges for rapid machining is to develop an automatic fixturing system for securing the part during the machining process. The method proposed in this paper is the use of sacrificial fixturing, similar to the support structures in existing rapid processes like Stereolithography. During the machining process, sacrificial supports emerge incrementally and, at the end of the process, are the only entities connecting the part to the stock material. This paper presents methodologies for the design of sacrificial …


Formal Verification Of Urban Traffic System Using The Concept Of Fuzzy Workflow Simulation, Manuj Darbari, Abhay Kumar Srivastava, Sanjay Medhavi Jan 2009

Formal Verification Of Urban Traffic System Using The Concept Of Fuzzy Workflow Simulation, Manuj Darbari, Abhay Kumar Srivastava, Sanjay Medhavi

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Modeling complex urban traffic system requires extensive use of workflow methodologies which can simulate almost real time traffic situations. Number of studies were done in the field of Urban Traffic Simulation like PLOTS, NETSIM and PALAMICS but none of them could provide a real formal solution. Our paper proposes a methodology using Fuzzy Petri nets for modeling real time traffic system. Fuzzy Petrinets are also visualised and tested by using Flow- Charter and HPSIM software packages. These packages help in providing successive iterations of process model for further refinement.


Egypt's Information Society Strategy: A Critical Lexicography, Neil Mcbride, Bernd Carsten Stahl Jan 2009

Egypt's Information Society Strategy: A Critical Lexicography, Neil Mcbride, Bernd Carsten Stahl

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The development of ICT policies within developing countries in the past ten years has opened up a new area for study. These documents chart the ambitions of the countries for the use of ICT to promote rapid development. As such they are intercultural documents, developing at the interface between the culture of the country and western economic culture. This paper develops a critical approach to understanding these documents and studying their message. The approach involves the preparation of a critical dictionary which identifies relevant terms within the ICT policy document and reflects on their multiple meanings. The approach was applied …


Usability Investigation Of E-Business Web-Based Forms, Gerald V. Post, Albert Kagan, Betsy Page Sigman Jan 2009

Usability Investigation Of E-Business Web-Based Forms, Gerald V. Post, Albert Kagan, Betsy Page Sigman

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Usability on Web sites is critical because almost no training is provided for users on commercial sites. Instead, Web design relies on standards and consistency across sites. Traditional usability results indicated that computer forms should follow paper-based forms. Yet, Web paradigms have evolved that are quite different from paper-based forms. Specifically, this study reveals that users commit fewer errors and prefer simple forms limited to a single concept per screen. This conclusion significantly alters the recommendations for designing business forms.


Supporting The Virtual Community: Social Bookmarking As A User- Based Classification Scheme In A Knowledge Library, Nicole Lytle, Tony Coulsom Jan 2009

Supporting The Virtual Community: Social Bookmarking As A User- Based Classification Scheme In A Knowledge Library, Nicole Lytle, Tony Coulsom

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Knowledge libraries hold the promise of widespread access to information available anywhere, anytime, freeing patrons from the geographical and temporal boundaries that currently exist. The classification of materials and subsequent searching of knowledge library content is an overall problem with many complex parts. Relevant classification is important for optimal information retrieval. This is especially important for the virtual communities that exist with extended organizations. Rooted in the virtual community and digital library literature, this paper develops a theory for improving the information classification and retrieval process of knowledge libraries that support virtual communities by applying social bookmarking techniques.


Rapid Development Of Multimedia Instructional Modules For Information Technology Education, Nanda Ganesan Jan 2009

Rapid Development Of Multimedia Instructional Modules For Information Technology Education, Nanda Ganesan

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

A multifaceted learning model was developed for implementing e-learning in a largely commuter campus. The primary objective of the model was to build a flexible learning environment that combined the learning effectiveness of in-class learning with the flexibility and accessibility of online learning. One of the components of the model was the multimedia instructional modules produced to teach various Information Technology courses. Several different types of modules were produced representing chalk-and-talk type of lectures, PowerPoint presentations and software tutorials. The chalk-and-talk type of lecture modules and the software tutorials that emulated the in-class learning experience contributed positively towards enhancing the …


Can Information Systems Foster Emotional Intelligence? A Design Theory-Based Approach, Richard J. Burkhard, Thomas A. Horan, Brian N. Hilton, Michael Leih Jan 2009

Can Information Systems Foster Emotional Intelligence? A Design Theory-Based Approach, Richard J. Burkhard, Thomas A. Horan, Brian N. Hilton, Michael Leih

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Researchers in Information Systems (IS) have conducted extensive research into various kinds of collaboration systems over the last twenty-five years. A parallel stream of inquiry in psychology and management has developed research in organizational Emotional Intelligence, which contributes to the effectiveness of group interactions by increasing cooperation and reducing conflict. Collaboration systems present a special opportunity to introduce soft management functions such as Emotional Intelligence because they are designed as an intelligent channel of interaction between group members. This research used an Information Systems Design Theory approach to guide the integration of Emotional Intelligence functions into collaboration systems. Two artifact …


Business Risks: When Is Fails To Detect Circumvention Activities, Stanley X. Lewis Jr., J. Scott Magruder, Eddy J. Burks, Carl Smolinski Jan 2009

Business Risks: When Is Fails To Detect Circumvention Activities, Stanley X. Lewis Jr., J. Scott Magruder, Eddy J. Burks, Carl Smolinski

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

A business must recognize and address various risk factors when establishing and maintaining its information system. The overall risk to management is that the control environment does not protect proprietary business data and the financial reporting system that produces financial statements and other information used by investors, creditors and regulatory agencies. These risks require that management implement efforts to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of control procedures over business activities while being aware of additional system issues such as failing to adequately consider other risks which are more business-oriented including the risk of failing to prevent or detect fraudulent or …


Automated Fixture Design For A Rapid Machining Process, Wutthigrai Boonsuk, Matthew C. Frank Jan 2009

Automated Fixture Design For A Rapid Machining Process, Wutthigrai Boonsuk, Matthew C. Frank

Wutthigrai Boonsuk

Rapid prototyping techniques for CNC machining have been developed in an effort to produce functional prototypes in appropriate materials. One of the major challenges for rapid machining is to develop an automatic fixturing system for securing the part during the machining process. The method proposed in this paper is the use of sacrificial fixturing, similar to the support structures in existing rapid processes like Stereolithography. During the machining process, sacrificial supports emerge incrementally and, at the end of the process, are the only entities connecting the part to the stock material. This paper presents methodologies for the design of sacrificial …


Automated Fixture Design For A Rapid Machining Process, Wutthigrai Boonsuk, Matthew Frank Jan 2009

Automated Fixture Design For A Rapid Machining Process, Wutthigrai Boonsuk, Matthew Frank

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Rapid prototyping techniques for CNC machining have been developed in an effort to produce functional prototypes in appropriate materials. One of the major challenges for rapid machining is to develop an automatic fixturing system for securing the part during the machining process. The method proposed in this paper is the use of sacrificial fixturing, similar to the support structures in existing rapid processes like Stereolithography. During the machining process, sacrificial supports emerge incrementally and, at the end of the process, are the only entities connecting the part to the stock material. This paper presents methodologies for the design of sacrificial …