A methodology for transactional risk assessment and decision making in e-business interactions

The development and advancement of technologies have enabled users to complete their tasks efficiently. They have also provided them with various options and alternatives to complete and achieve their tasks. In such an environment, it is imperative for a user to make informed decisions that would ensure that its aims or objectives are achieved and its interaction experience is maximized. In the literature, various approaches for decision making have been proposed. But among those approaches, the notion of risk has been considerably ignored in the domain of e-business, despite its having been acknowledged as an important concept related to decision-making in any domain. In this paper, we propose a methodology by which users in an e-business domain can assess and analyze the level of transactional risk in the domain of e-business and then take it into consideration when making an informed interaction-based decision

A Fuzzy Approach for Transactional Risk Management in E-Business Collaborations

Risk Management is an important process to be carried out for any form of interaction before decision-making. This process will help the concerned user to take steps and actions accordingly in order to address risks and achieve the activity's desired goals. Various techniques and approaches for risk management have been discussed in the literature. But the process of risk management is not generic and it varies and changes according to the domain or purpose of the interaction for which it is being considered. E-business interactions are collaborative interactions that are mostly carried out over a virtual environment. But by considering the growth of e-business interactions, a process of risk management is needed by which the interacting user can actually minimize and lessen the level of risk before decision-making. In this paper, a quantitative approach for risk management in e-business interactions is proposed which the interacting user can utilize to lessen the level of risk and then make an interaction-based decision

Design of experiments for non-manufacturing processes : benefits, challenges and some examples

Design of Experiments (DoE) is a powerful technique for process optimization that has been widely deployed in almost all types of manufacturing processes and is used extensively in product and process design and development. There have not been as many efforts to apply powerful quality improvement techniques such as DoE to improve non-manufacturing processes. Factor levels often involve changing the way people work and so have to be handled carefully. It is even more important to get everyone working as a team. This paper explores the benefits and challenges in the application of DoE in non-manufacturing contexts. The viewpoints regarding the benefits and challenges of DoE in the non-manufacturing arena are gathered from a number of leading academics and practitioners in the field. The paper also makes an attempt to demystify the fact that DoE is not just applicable to manufacturing industries; rather it is equally applicable to non-manufacturing processes within manufacturing companies. The last part of the paper illustrates some case examples showing the power of the technique in non-manufacturing environments

Transactional risk-based decision making system in e-business interactions

The credit crunch and economic crisis have demonstrated the need to properly understand, characterize and assimilate risk in business activities. Failure to do this has resulted in serious consequences to the users involved. So the analysis and management of risk is one of the important pre-requisites to ensure a successful outcome in a business activity in any domain. In this paper we propose an approach by which an interaction initiating user in the domain of e-business ascertains beforehand the level of transactional risk in the successful completion of its business activity and utilizes it to determine on an interaction. The proposed model considers the different sub-categories and characteristics of transactional risk and ascertains in numeric and semantic terms the different levels and severities of its occurrence. It then utilizes the determined analysis of transactional risk to recommend on an informed interaction-based decision to the interaction initiating user

Assessment of access to health services and vulnerabilities of female fish traders in the Kafue Flats, Zambia: analysis report

Under the regional programme Fisheries and HIV/AIDS in Africa: Investing in Sustainable Solutions, the WorldFish Center conducted this study on access to health services and vulnerabilities of female fish traders in the Kafue Flats floodplains in Zambia. This report outlines and analyses the particular vulnerabilities of female fish traders in the Kafue Flats fishery and formulates recommendations to facilitate stakeholder uptake of strategic responses to tackle the drivers of the epidemic in fishing communities and improve the livelihoods of fisher folk and fish traders in the Kafue Flats and other fisheries in Zambia. (pdf contains 55 pages

Study on the Support Systems for Corporate Governance

The problems generated by the information asymmetry within the agency relationships at corporation level, governments and capital markets led to a higher necessity for corporate governance (CG). The information system of corporate governance is a very complex one, which involves a series of actors, decision-making and transactional processes, technologies, procedures and good practice codes. In order to ensure the efficiency and efficacy of corporate governance as a premise for increasing company’s performance and position consolidation for the company on the capital market, it is necessary to analyze the way information technology could contribute to this undertaking. The purpose of this study is to analyze the architecture of the corporate governance systems and to identify and classify the systems and technologies involved in ensuring CG support in order to underlie the basis for developing a conceptual model for a hybrid and collaborative support system for corporate governance.Corporate Governance, Support Systems, Information Technology, Decision-Making, Performance

Examining client perceptions of partnership quality and its dimensions in an IT outsourcing relationship

This paper reports on an empirical study of the multidimensionality of partnership quality in IT outsourcing arrangements and the relationships between these dimensions of partnership quality. A two-phase national survey was conducted to collect empirical data to confirm the dimensions of partnership quality in an IT outsourcing arrangement from the client organisation perspective and to identify the significant relationships between these dimensions using a second generation multivariate analysis technique—partial least squares (PLS). The findings from results of the data analyses show that inter-organisational trust, shared business understanding and to a lesser extent, functional and dysfunctional conflict between the client organisation and the outsourcing vendor in an IT outsourcing relationship are the key determinants of partnership quality. The key outcome variable for high partnership quality between the client organisation and the outsourcing vendor in an IT outsourcing relationship is mutual beneficial sharing of risks and benefits. Commitment in an IT outsourcing relationship is confirmed as a multidimensional construct of behaviour commitment and temporal/continuance commitment and was found to be influenced by the other dimensions of partnership quality. The key findings of this study provide support for the notion that trust and shared business understanding are key drivers in the IT outsourcing partnership style relationship ensuring that the sharing of risks and benefits are realised and conflict is minimised leading to a high quality and ultimately successful partnership between the client organisation and the outsourcing vendor. Furthermore our findings indicate that behavioural commitment to the contractual obligations of an IT outsourcing relationship sustains an ongoing temporal commitment to the partnership between the client organisation and the outsourcing vendor

Consumer finance: challenges for operational research

Consumer finance has become one of the most important areas of banking, both because of the amount of money being lent and the impact of such credit on global economy and the realisation that the credit crunch of 2008 was partly due to incorrect modelling of the risks in such lending. This paper reviews the development of credit scoring—the way of assessing risk in consumer finance—and what is meant by a credit score. It then outlines 10 challenges for Operational Research to support modelling in consumer finance. Some of these involve developing more robust risk assessment systems, whereas others are to expand the use of such modelling to deal with the current objectives of lenders and the new decisions they have to make in consumer finance. <br/

Operations research in consumer finance: challenges for operational research

Consumer finance has become one of the most important areas of banking both because of the amount of money being lent and the impact of such credit on the global economy and the realisation that the credit crunch of 2008 was partly due to incorrect modelling of the risks in such lending. This paper reviews the development of credit scoring,-the way of assessing risk in consumer finance- and what is meant by a credit score. It then outlines ten challenges for Operational Research to support modelling in consumer finance. Some of these are to developing more robust risk assessment systems while others are to expand the use of such modelling to deal with the current objectives of lenders and the new decisions they have to make in consumer financ