Andreas C. Georgiou

A goal programming model for partner selection decisions in international joint ventures

Abstract The formation of International Joint Ventures (IJVs) has become a widely used mode of international expansion. The selection of the appropriate partner constitutes one of the major factors of success for the IJV. There have been several research efforts, which were concerned with the study of criteria needed for the selection of a partner but not with the development of an appropriate quantitative model. The objective of this paper is to present a quantitative model, based on the goal programming technique, which uses appropriate criteria to evaluate potential candidates and leads to the selection of the optimal partner.

Capturing and prioritizing students’ requirements for course design by embedding Fuzzy-AHP and linear programming in QFD

Customer requirements play a vital and important role in the design of products and services. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a popular, widely used method that helps translate customer requirements into design specifications. Thus, the foundation for a successful QFD implementation lies in the accurate capturing and prioritization of these requirements. This paper proposes and tests the use of an alternative framework for prioritizing students’ requirements within QFD. More specifically, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy-AHP) and the linear programming method (LP-GW-AHP) based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) are embedded into QFD (QFD-LP-GW-Fuzzy AHP) in order to account for inherent subjectivity of human judgements. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is assessed in capturing and prioritizing students’ requirements regarding courses’ learning outcomes within the process of an academic course design. Sensitivity analysis evaluates the robustness of the prioritization solution and implications for course design specifications are discussed.

Asymptotically attainable structures in nonhomogeneous Markov systems

In this paper, we provide and study a new aspect in the classical problem of the asymptotic behavior of a nonhomogeneous Markov system NHMS. The set of asymptotically attainable structures is determined as the convex hull of k vertices, which are given. Also, the rate of convergence to asymptotically attainable structures is studied and conditions are provided for the convergence to be geometrically fast. Finally, an illustration of the results with data from manpower systems is provided.

Integrating DEAHP and DEANP into the quality function deployment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to promote the integration of quality function deployment (QFD) with quantitative methods in an attempt to enhance its effectiveness and resolve issues like the failure of prioritizing customer requirements and determining proper importance levels.Design/methodology/approach – This paper discusses the combination of QFD with analytic hierarchy process‐analytic network process (AHP‐ANP) and DEAHP‐DEANP methodologies to prioritize selection criteria in a service context. DEAHP is a hybrid method, developed by Ramanathan. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is embedded in the AHP methodology and potentially replaces the eigenvalue method. In this paper DEAHP is used for completing the relationship matrix of house of quality (HOQ). Furthermore, in accordance with the DEAHP method, a methodological framework for completing the roof matrix of HOQ is developed, based on DEA and ANP techniques‐DEANP. The implementation of QFD along with the above mentioned quantitative approache...

A discrete event simulation model in the case of managing a software project

The design and development of large-scale software projects is a complex endeavor, often facing problems like cost and schedule overruns as well as low quality. Over the last years the management of software development projects has been recognized as the cornerstone point of seeking improvement and solutions. Simulation modeling of the software project process is gaining interest among academics and practitioners, as a method to tackle the complex questions with which relevant enterprises are confronted. It offers support on several issues, such as defining software product development strategies, decision-making regarding process improvement and training, in a time span ranging from a short portion of the life cycle to long term product evolution, with organization-wide implications. The aim of this work is to implement a model simulating a core part of a software project process, enabling the estimation of several project development details such as delivery times and quality metrics. The purpose of the model is to assist project managers in control and monitoring, but also in identifying the best planning alternatives. The model scope covers a portion of the life cycle of an incremental software development venture.

Cost models in nonhomogeneous Markov systems

Abstract We study the problem of introducing the phases through which a nonhomogeneous Markov system (NHMS) passes, as time goes to infinity. For each phase an appropriate objective function is introduced and a cost problem is formulated. Appropriate input policies subject to the cost objective functions which are established on the Markov manpower system are investigated. Finally, a procedure is provided that summarises the phases, the objective functions and the control policies commencing from the initial structure resulting to its stationary form.

Partial maintainability and control in nonhomogeneous Markov manpower systems

Abstract Concepts of recruitment control in nonhomogeneous Markov manpower systems are studied, in order to determine subsets of structures in a graded population, which can be maintained in one step, using partial recruitment information necessary for each subset. Two necessary and sufficient conditions are derived, and the Simplex algorithm is used to describe the regions of the so-called partially maintainable structures. The results are illustrated by numerical examples and the consideration of some interesting special cases.

Partial maintainability of a population model in a stochastic environment

We consider a non-homogeneous Markov system in a stochastic environment. Concepts of recruitment control are empoyed in order to study the probabilities of partially maintaining population structures under this establishment. Two conditions taken from the deterministic case of the partial control problem are further refined, providing the basis of the calculation of these probabilities. The stochastic environment is realized by pools of alternative transitions. Expected regions of partial maintainability are determined through the alternative transition policies calculated by a selection mechanism, the compromise Markov chain.

Periodicity of asymptotically attainable structures in nonhomogeneous Markov systems

We find the sets of d-periodic asymptotically attainable structures, and we establish the periodicities that exist between these structures, for a nonhomogeneous Markov system in the case where the imbedded nonhomogeneous Markov chain is periodic with period d. Also, it is proved that under certain conditions each converging subsequence of the sequence of relative structures has a geometric rate of convergence.

The multivariate non-homogeneous Markov manpower system in a departmental mobility framework

The present paper proposes a non-homogeneous multivariate Markov manpower system in the general category of mathematical human resource planning. More specifically, we suggest a model, which takes into account the divisions existing in an organization categorizing its employees into several groups (departments). In this context, it considers not only possible transitions within the departments (intra-department transitions), but also, transfers of personnel between departments (inter-department transitions). Additionally, the proposed modeling structure is accompanied by cost and stocks (personnel) objectives which are set and in the sequel could be achieved by controlling either the recruitment policy or the allocation policy of employees transferred to other departments (or both). We use a minmax fuzzy goal-programming approach, under different operating assumptions, in order to keep the operational cost below desired aspiration levels and reach desirable stock structures in the presence of system’s constraints and regulations. The paper concludes with a numerical illustration.