Jack Rappaport

A comprehensive set of models of intra- and inter-organisational coordination for marketing and inventory decisions in a supply chain

This paper presents a set of eight models of coordination for pricing and order quantity decisions in a supply chain consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer of a product with price sensitive demand. In many organisations, the marketing department makes the pricing decisions, whereas the operations department makes the order quantity decisions. Yet, many researchers have suggested that organisations can benefit from intra-organisational coordination for these two decisions. Similarly, in a typical supply chain, the manufacturers decisions are not coordinated with the retailers decisions. So far, many researchers have suggested that a supply chain can benefit from the coordination of the order quantity decisions of the manufacturer and the retailer. Others have recommended supply chain coordination for pricing decisions. Thus, there are a number of possibilities for intra- and inter-organisational coordination (or a lack of coordination) for the pricing and order quantity decisions in a supply chain. We study each possibility and compare its advantages and disadvantages relative to other coordination possibilities. The analysis leads to interesting and, at times, paradoxical results. For example, we find that, in the absence of inter-, intra-organisational coordination by either the manufacturer or the retailer, or both, leads to a reduction in the supply chains profit compared to its profit from a no-coordination situation. As would be expected, complete intra- and inter-organisational coordination results in the best profit for the supply chain. However, the supply chains profit from inter-organisational coordination for pricing decisions alone is only marginally smaller than the profit from complete coordination. Hence, considering the tangible and intangible costs of a coordination mechanism, we recommend that a supply chain should coordinate its pricing decisions, but should not indulge in the coordination of its order quantity decisions. An extensive sensitivity analysis confirms our major findings and yields interesting insights into the relative advantages and disadvantages of various coordination possibilities in marketing and inventory-related decisions.

An EFQM‐Rembrandt excellence model based on the theory of displaced ideal

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a new benchmarking framework that uses a series of existing intuitive and analytical methods to systematically capture both objective data and subjective beliefs and preferences from a group of decision makers (DMs).Design/methodology/approach – The proposed framework combines the excellence model developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management with the Rembrandt method, the entropy concept, the weighted‐sum approach, and the theory of the displaced ideal. Hard data and personal judgments are synthesized to evaluate a set of business units (BUs) with two overall performance scores plotted in a four quadrant model.Findings – The two performance scores are used to benchmark the performance of the BUs in accordance with their Euclidean distance from the “ideal” BU. Quadrants are used to classify the BUs as efficacious, productive ineffectual, proficient unproductive, and inefficacious. The efficacious BUs, referred to as “excellent”, fall in the competency zon...

Optimal allocation of arrivals to a collection of parallel workstations

Presents a model that minimizes an aggregate measure of waiting times and queue lengths for a collection of workstations. Shows that the naive allocation of arrivals among workstations in proportion to their processing times does not result in an optimized system. Uses the Lagrange multiplier in determining the proportional distribution rate that minimizes waiting times and queue lengths in a collection of workstations. Finally, shows the effectiveness of this model through analytical methods and computer simulation applied to a series of sample cases and an application problem.

An efficient multi-vehicle multi-criteria mission planning and control system for autonomous underwater vehicles

In their study, Tavana and Bourgeois (2010) proposed a multi-criteria decision analysis model that considered dynamic and episodic phenomenon on the surface of the ocean and provided specific navigation plans. They showed that the transect for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) includes not only the desired horizontal path, but also the depth range that the vehicle will operate in. They argued that the current models should be extended to include considerations that change vertically, that is, with different ocean depths. They also suggested expansion of the current models to cooperative teams of AUVs and showed that working together will allow underwater vehicles to complete tasks that could not be completed by a single vehicle. This study extends their model by: reducing the number of judgements required to generate the navigation scores within the decision region; considering ocean depth and finding the navigation scores for the ocean surface and interior; and developing a model which derives an optimal allocation of multiple vehicles to various locations within the decision region. The proposed framework is an efficient multi-vehicle multi-criteria mission planning and control system that considers ocean phenomenon on the surface and in the interior and provides an optimal allocation of vehicles with respect to the stated objective and subjective mission goals.

Teaching Note: Decision making using the racetrack betting markets

This paper describes an experiential learning case that uses the horse race betting markets as a vehicle to understand the process of decision making. In horse racing the spectator is also a decision maker. The experiment consists of using the class as a mini-simulcast centre whereby races are simulcast to the class from the internet and projected onto a big screen. The students also have access to individual terminals where they can access the real time wagering (betting) pools of a particular race and use Excel spreadsheets to monitor the results of their decisions.