Snjólfur Ólafsson

Developing balanced scorecards in local authorities: a comparison of experience

Public sector organisations, such as local authorities, are increasingly under pressure not only to improve their performance but also to be able to demonstrate such improvement through effective performance measurement. An increasing number are turning to the balanced scorecard as a way of responding to such pressures and challenges. This paper examines the attraction of the scorecard to local authorities and uses the authors’ experiences with a number of authorities and other public sector organisations to examine the challenges and difficulties of adopting a scorecard approach.

An Icelandic fisheries model

Abstract A model has been developed for the Ministry of Fisheries in Iceland which is being used as a decision support tool in fisheries management. With this model predictions can be made about catches of cod and other demersal species several years ahead. Furthermore earnings and costs in the fisheries are calculated. The starting point is the size of the fish stocks in the beginning of the planning period together with the size and classification of the fishing fleet. Changes in the fleet composition are among the control variables. Emphases are on details such as geographical distribution of the catches. The model is used by the Ministry, both in short term management regarding quota systems and for long term investment planning. Results suggest that in the long run the fishing fleet is now far too big. Parameters for the model are obtained from an intensive data base on catches of every boat for every month in the last decade, disaggregated by species and landing harbour. Parallel to this model a new method of stock size estimation was developed. The current model was preceded by an optimization model which was not politically accepted! The paper touches on the problems of technical consultation on a sensitive political issue.

A review of OR practice in Iceland

Abstract In this paper we give an overview of Operational Research (OR) in Iceland, which presents a situation different from most European countries. Four aspects of the situation affect how OR is used in Iceland: the countrys small population (260 000) and isolated location in the middle of the Atlantic, the fact that fish and fish products constitute 75% of the nations exports, the volatile economy and finally the fact that a relatively high percentage of the population has gained a second university degree abroad.

Leadership role and employee acceptance of change

Purpose – The change management literature on strategy implementation identifies different dimensions of resistance to change. The contrary view – that of dimensions of acceptance of change when implementing strategy – has received less attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of environmental sustainability strategies by Nordic insurers, the role of leadership in implementing these changes, and employee acceptance of change. Design/methodology/approach – For achieving this purpose, this paper reports on an explanatory case study of Nordic non-life insurers, where interviews with insurance executives and specialists were the primary source of data. Findings – The authors have developed simple strategy maps, focusing on insurers’ own operations, product offerings, loss prevention and claims settlements, investments and influence on stakeholders, to show how common elements of environmental strategies are implemented within the insurance industry. The importance of leadership in...

On the length of simplex paths: The assignment case

This paper reports on an experimental study of the distribution of the length of simplex paths for the Optimal Assignment Problem. We study the distribution of the pivot counts for a version of the simplex method that with essentially equal probabilities introduces any variable with negative reduced cost into the basis.In this situation the distribution of the pivot counts turns out to be normally distributed and independent of the actual cost coefficients, provided these are sufficiently spread out. Further, the mean and standard deviation grow only moderately with the size of the problem, namely asd1.8, andd1.5 respectively for ad×d problem, implying in particular that the pivot counts concentrate around the mean with growingd.The usual simplex method on the other hand gives a growth ofd1.6. Hence a large part of the favourable polynomial growth experienced on practical problems may be attributed to the fact that the simplex paths are rather short on the average, at least for assignment problems.

The Role of Employees in Implementing CSR Strategies

The missing link theme of this chapter is that CSR can be most effectively integrated into a company’s core business when employees are actively involved. To substantiate this claim the chapter addresses both the function of decision-makers and decision-making approaches in CSR management by examining selected aspects of employee roles in implementing CSR strategies at individual, organisational, and institutional levels. The focus covers a choice of key related themes such as: Collaboration between leaders and employees, a framework illustrating employee’s contribution to CSR integration, as well as an examination of employee participation and motivation when implementing CSR strategy using key frameworks such as Porter’s value chain. In doing so, the link between the organisation and the external operating environment is examined and solutions for mainstreaming CSR principles via employee participation in everyday business practice are proposed. We conclude that companies benefit from active employee participation in CSR implementation in various ways including employee commitment, loyalty, increased productivity as well as a stronger image and brand.

Teaching mathematical modellingto business students

In many educational programs in business administration and related fields, students arerequired to take one or more courses in operational research. Many of these courses arebased on textbooks that emphasise almost exclusively mathematical models and wheresolution methods play an important role. In recent years, however, many of these courseshave changed significantly. This paper presents the authors views of such educationalpractices, based on many years of continuous experimentation and reflection on the meansand objectives of an operational research course for business students.

Weighted matching in chess tournaments

In many chess tournaments the number of players is much larger than the number of rounds to be played. In such tournaments the pairing for a round depends on the results in earlier rounds. Many different systems have been constructed for these pairings. Two oommonly used systems are the Monrad system and the Swiss system though there exist a number of different variants of these two systems.

Role of insurance companies in dealing with environmental issues

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of insurance companies in solving environmental issues. Environmental issues we now face are many of such magnitude and severity that it is not just up to governments or heavy polluting companies to deal with them, everyone needs to contribute including authorities, institutions, corporations and individuals. Insurance systems differ between countries, but due to the size of the insurance sector and integration with almost every aspect oft society, insurers can be a powerful ally when it comes to implementing environment and climate policies of authorities. The article is based on a Ph.D. research of one of the authors which conducted a multi-case study of 16 Nordic insurance companies in the Aland Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The companies are divided into two case groups; the Islands group and the Mainland group. Differences in actions/inactions were evident between the case groups, meaning that most of the examples used are from the Mainland group. The environmental and climate change focus areas of the Mainland group are 1) products and services, 2) loss prevention and claim settlement, 3) investments, 4) companies own operation, 5) follow-up, and 6) insurers as a driving force of actions. In case of the Islands companies they mainly focus on loss prevention and few factors that affect their daily activities. Theoretical and practical contribution of the study is to highlight the role and contribution of insurance companies in dealing with environmental issues.

An icelandic fisheries model

Abstract A model has been developed for the Ministry of Fisheries in Iceland which is being used as a decision support tool in fisheries management. With this model predictions can be made about catches of cod and other demersal species several years ahead. Furthermore earnings and costs in the fisheries are calculated. The starting point is the size of the fish stocks in the beginning of the planning period together with the size and classification of the fishing fleet. Changes in the fleet composition are among the control variables. Emphases are on details such as geographical distribution of the catches. The model is used by the Ministry, both in short term management regarding quota systems and for long term investment planning. Results suggest that in the long run the fishing fleet is now far too big. Parameters for the model are obtained from an intensive data base on catches of every boat for every month in the last decade, disaggregated by species and landing harbour. Parallel to this model and a new method of stock size estimation was developed. The current model was preceded by an optimization model which was not politically accepted! The paper touches on the problems of technical consultation on a sensitive political issue.