Suman Niranjan

A Longitudinal Examination of the Relationship Between Team Leadership and Performance

The use of teams is ubiquitous and appears to be increasing in contemporary organizations. Teams allow individuals to work together and integrate their diverse knowledge and skills to deal with strategic and operational challenges confronting their organizations. In present study, the authors seek to advance scholarly knowledge on team leadership. They adopt a dynamic approach by collecting longitudinal data from teams competing in a simulated athletic footwear industry. In doing so, they examine the impact of team leadership on performance, as well as the impact of performance on subsequent team leadership, and they examine the mediating role of cohesion and conflict in the relationship between team leadership and performance. They use partial least squares to analyze the data. Finally, they discuss research and practical implications and highlight future research directions.

Supply Performance in Multi-Echelon Inventory Systems with Intermediate Product Demand: A Perspective on Allocation

In this article, we study the performance of multi-echelon inventory systems with intermediate, external product demand in one or more upper echelons. This type of problem is of general interest in inventory theory and of particular importance in supply chain systems with both end-product demand and spare parts (subassemblies) demand. The multi-echelon inventory system considered here is a combination of assembly and serial stages with direct demand from more than one node. The aspect of multiple sources of demands leads to interesting inventory allocation problems. The demand and capacity at each node are considered stochastic in nature. A fixed supply and manufacturing lead time is used between the stages. We develop mathematical models for these multi-echelon systems, which describe the inventory dynamics and allow simulation of the system. A simulation-based inventory optimization approach is developed to search for the best base-stock levels for these systems. The gradient estimation technique of perturbation analysis is used to derive sample-path estimators. We consider four allocation schemes: lexicographic with priority to intermediate demand, lexiographic with priority to downstream demand, predetermined proportional allocation, and proportional allocation. Based on the numerical results we find that no single allocation policy is appropriate under all conditions. Depending on the combinations of variability and utilization we identify conditions under which use of certain allocation polices across the supply chain result in lower costs. Further, we determine how selection of an inappropriate allocation policy in the presence of scarce on-hand inventory could result in downstream nodes facing acute shortages. Consequently we provide insight on why good allocation policies work well under differing sets of operating conditions.

Multi-echelon network optimization of pharmaceutical cold chains: a simulation study

To ensure quality of pharmaceutical raw materials and products it is very important to monitor specific factors throughout supply chain. In cold chains, temperature is closely controlled and monitored. Furthermore, it is critical to retain all associated information artifacts from a reporting, inspection and auditing standpoint. Loss in information can translate to significant monitory losses to parties involved. Consequently, cost not only includes all traditional supply chain costs, but also contains costs associated with penalties due to information loss/inaccuracy. Therefore, managing pharmaceutical cold chain costs is more challenging than managing traditional supply chain costs. This paper studies a typical cold chain and costs associated with a typical multi-echelon network under stochastic demand and probabilistic information handoff conditions. Dynamic equations are developed for individual nodes. A DOE is also proposed to understand sensitivity of key factors on costs. A simulation based optimization approach is adopted for the study.

Properties of optimal order-up-to levels for the newsvendor problem with random capacity

It is known that for the newsvendor problem with uncertain capacity as well as uncertain demand, order-up-to policies are optimal. This paper explores the structure of these order-up-to policies in more detail for the multiple period and infinite horizon problems for some special cases. Through numerical examples and analytic proofs the relationships between parameters of the demand and supply distributions and optimal order-up-to levels are explored. The specific cases include normally and exponentially distributed demand in each period. An ‘all-or-nothing’ type capacity distribution is assumed in these cases. A linear relationship is shown to exist between the mean demand and the optimal order-up-to level in these cases.

Mediating and moderating influencers of firm performance: Supply chain managers perspective

The purpose of this paper is to conduct an exploratory study that will assist supply chain firms in the development of partner satisfaction, flexibility, and supply chain performance. The authors examine how the interaction of information exchange, partner interaction, knowledge sharing and flexibility as mediated through partner satisfaction effectuates firm performance. The goal of this research is to answer the supply chain managers’ need to better understand where to invest their time and effort to get improved firm performance.,The model was tested with panel data from 105 experienced, US-based supply chain managers. Structural equation modeling using partial least squares approach was utilized to conduct the analysis.,The results provide crucial evidence that simple information exchange among supply chain partners does not result in improvements in firm performance or partner satisfaction, but, when mediated through the flexibility construct, it does. Further, the use of integration tools has a moderating effect on the relationship between flexibility and firm performance. The results suggest that working closely with supply chain partners helps ensure improved relationship satisfaction, and can reduce issues that can impact firm performance.,The empirical research presented requires additional validation though larger sample data from supply chain managers.,This study stresses on the importance of managers using information exchange, partner interaction, and knowledge sharing as a means of improving their firm’s indirect influence on firm performance through flexibility and integration tools.,This is one of the few studies in the supply chain literature that integrates flexibility as a mediator variable. Additionally, this study introduces the new construct of integration tools to the supply chain literature.

Earnings Management in Recession and Recovery Periods

This article investigates earnings management during the recession and recovery periods (2008 and 2013) for S&P 500 companies. Using the modified Jones model, the results suggest that these companies managed their earnings in both periods, but they managed their earnings much more in the recession period, which may be attributed to the desire to avoid or mitigate the negative consequences of experiencing deep losses. The results also raise questions about the reliability of the companies’ financial statements. The findings of this research are useful to the Securities and Exchange Commission and auditors, and they imply that more careful scrutinisation of companies’ financial statements is needed to better inform investors and creditors relying on these statements. JEL Classification: M41

Domestic Violence in College Students: The Effects of Male Dominance and Substance Abuse

This chapter explores domestic violence in college students. It also examines the paradigm of male dominance and substance abuse. Using structural equation modeling, we found that substance abuse influenced domestic violence. The results also showed that male dominance predicted domestic violence. To test the differences between males and females, we employed one-way ANOVA and found that there is a difference between males and females with respect to the rate of violence. We will also discuss our limitations, implications, and future research directions.

The “Global Logistics and International Business 2.0” Curriculum Internationalization Experience

In response to the challenges of globalization, many universities have adopted the strategy of “internationalizing the curriculum”for developing leaders that drive global problem solving with all stakeholders, rather than “simply” training skilled professionals for business. This chapter presents a case study about internationalization and introduction of an innovative curriculum in “Global Logistics” at a business school in a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the State of Georgia, United States. In order to provide students with a complete global experience for employment in the global economy, the business school introduced a new program with emphasis on Logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM), and International Business Environment called “Global Logistics and International Business (G-LIB).” In this chapter, we discuss the need of having an international business logistics program at a HBCU and discuss its implications for faculty, students, and businesses.