Engineering coordination : eine Methodologie für die Koordination von Planungssystemen

Planning problems, like real-world planning and scheduling problems, are complex tasks. As an efficient strategy for handing such problems is the ‘divide and conquer’ strategy has been identified. Each sub problem is then solved independently. Typically the sub problems are solved in a linear way. This approach enables the generation of sub-optimal plans for a number of real world problems. Today, this approach is widely accepted and has been established e.g. in the organizational structure of companies. But existing interdependencies between the sub problems are not sufficiently regarded, as each problem are solved sequentially and no feedback information is given. The field of coordination has been covered by a number of academic fields, like the distributed artificial intelligence, economics or game theory. An important result is, that there exist no method that leads to optimal results in any given coordination problem. Consequently, a suitable coordination mechanism has to be identified for each single coordination problem. Up to now, there exists no process for the selection of a coordination mechanism, neither in the engineering of distributed systems nor in agent oriented software engineering. Within the scope of this work the ECo process is presented, that address exactly this selection problem. The Eco process contains the following five steps. • Modeling of the coordination problem • Defining the coordination requirements • Selection / Design of the coordination mechanism • Implementation • Evaluation Each of these steps is detailed in the thesis. The modeling has to be done to enable a systemic analysis of the coordination problem. Coordination mechanisms have to respect the given situation and the context in which the coordination has to be done. The requirements imposed by the context of the coordination problem are formalized in the coordination requirements. The selection process is driven by these coordination requirements. Using the requirements as a distinction for the selection of a coordination mechanism is a central aspect of this thesis. Additionally these requirements can be used for documentation of design decisions. Therefore, it is reasonable to annotate the coordination mechanisms with the coordination requirements they fulfill and fail to ease the selection process, for a given situation. For that reason we present a new classification scheme for coordination methods within this thesis that classifies existing coordination methods according to a set of criteria that has been identified as important for the distinction between different coordination methods. The implementation phase of the ECo process is supported by the CoPS process and CoPS framework that has been developed within this thesis, as well. The CoPS process structures the design making that has to be done during the implementation phase. The CoPS framework provides a set of basic features software agents need for realizing the selected coordination method. Within the CoPS process techniques are presented for the design and implementation of conversations between agents that can be applied not only within the context of the coordination of planning systems, but for multiagent systems in general. The ECo-CoPS approach has been successfully validated in two case studies from the logistic domain.Reale Planungsprobleme, wie etwa die Produktionsplanung in einer Supply Chain, sind komplex Planungsprobleme. Eine übliche Strategie derart komplexen Problemen zu lösen, ist es diese Probleme in einfachere Teilprobleme zu zerlegen und diese dann separat, meist sequentiell, zu lösen (divide-and-conquer Strategie). Dieser Ansatz erlaubt die Erstellung von (suboptimalen) Plänen für eine Reihe von realen Anwendungen, und ist heute in den Organisationsstrukturen von größeren Unternehmen institutionalisiert worden. Allerdings werden Abhängigkeiten zwischen den Teilproblemen nicht ausreichend berücksichtigt, da die Partialprobleme sequentiell ohne Feedback gelöst werden. Die erstellten Teillösungen müssen deswegen oft nachträglich koordiniert werden. Das Gebiet der Koordination wird in verschiedenen Forschungsgebieten, wie etwa der verteilten Künstlichen Intelligenz, den Wirtschaftswissenschaften oder der Spieltheorie untersucht. Ein zentrales Ergebnis dieser Forschung ist, dass es keinen für alle Situationen geeigneten Koordinationsmechanismus gibt. Es stellt sich also die Aufgabe aus den zahlreichen vorgeschlagenen Koordinationsmechanismen eine Auswahl zu treffen, die für die aktuelle Situation den geeigneten Mechanismus identifiziert. Für die Auswahl eines solchen Mechanismus existiert bisher jedoch kein strukturiertes Verfahren für die Entwicklung von verteilten Systems und insbesondere im Bereich der Agenten orientierter Softwareentwicklung. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird genau hierfür ein Verfahren vorgestellt, der ECo-Prozess. Mit Hilfe dieses Prozesses wird der Auswahlprozess in die folgenden Schritte eingeteilt: • Modellierung der Problemstellung und des relevante Kontextes • Formulierung von Anforderungen an einen Koordinationsmechanismus (coordination requirements) • Auswahl/Entwurf eines Koordinationsmechanismuses • Implementierung des Koordinationsverfahrens • Evaluation des Koordinationsverfahrens Diese Schritte werden im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit detailliert beschrieben. Die Modellierung der Problemstellung stellt dabei den ersten Schritt dar, um die Problemstellung analytisch zugänglich zu machen. Koordinationsverfahren müssen die Gegebenheiten, den Kontext und die Domäne, in der sie angewendet werden sollen hinreichend berücksichtigen um anwendbar zu sein. Dieses kann über Anforderungen an den Koordinationsprozess formalisiert werden. Der von den Anforderungen getrieben Auswahlprozess ist ein Kernstück der hier vorgestellten Arbeit. Durch die Formulierung der Anforderungen und der Annotation eines Koordinationsmechanismus bezüglich der erfüllten und nicht erfüllten Anforderungen werden die Motive für Designentscheidungen dieses Verfahren expliziert. Wenn Koordinationsverfahren anhand dieser Anforderungen klassifiziert werden können, ist es weiterhin möglich den Auswahlprozess (unabhängig vom ECo-Ansatz) zu vereinfachen und zu beschleunigen. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird eine Klassifikation von Koordinationsansätzen anhand von allgemeinen Kriterien vorgestellt, die die Identifikation von geeigneten Kandidaten erleichtern. Diese Kandidaten können dann detaillierter untersucht werden. Dies wurde in den vorgestellten Fallstudien erfolgreich demonstriert. Für die Unterstützung der Implementierung eines Koordinationsansatzes wird in dieser Arbeit zusätzlich der CoPS Prozess vorgeschlagen. Der CoPS Prozess erlaubt einen ganzheitlichen systematischen Ansatz für den Entwurf und die Implementierung eines Koordinationsverfahrens. Unterstürzt wird der CoPS Prozess durch das CoPS Framework, das die Implementierung erleichtert, indem es als eine Plattform mit Basisfunktionalität eines Agenten bereitstellt, der für die Koordination von Planungssystemen verantwortlich ist. Im Rahmen des CoPS Verfahrens werden Techniken für den Entwurf und die Implementierung von Konversation im Kontext des agenten-orientiertem Software Engineerings ausführlich behandelt. Der Entwurf von Konversationen geht dabei weit über Fragestellung der Formatierung von Nachrichten hinaus, wie dies etwa in den FIPA Standards geregelt ist, und ist für die Implementierung von agentenbasierten Systemen im Allgemeinen von Bedeutung. Die Funktionsweise des ECo-CoPS Ansatzes wird anhand von zweierfolgreich durchgeführten Fallstudien aus dem betriebswirtschaftlichen Kontext vorgestellt

Going for the dough : Engaging governmental funds in the Ciénega de Zacapu, Mexico

This study follows a planned development intervention involving greenhouse production systems for tomatoes. The intervention played out in Mexico, where the Planning Sub- Committee for Regional Development (SUPLADER) promoted a strategy for the "development" of the Zacapu region in Michoacán, from 2002 to 2005. The intervention is illustrated through a detailed, in-depth ethnographic case study of the way in which the Unión de Invernaderos Ruta de la Libertad (a USPR or Union of Rural Producers Association) sought to materialize a greenhouse project. Using an actor-oriented perspective (Long, 2001; Nuijten, 2001; Diego, 1997) and the concepts of actor’s agency, networks, associations, collectives and organizing processes, the study aims to understand the character of intervention, and shows how programs and development projects serve different purposes – purposes which symbiotically relate to the prevailing social conditions. As a general conclusion, I argue that what is called “the dough” (la lana) is what drives the dynamics of development intervention. While important, it is central to understand the different roles “the dough” plays in these intervention settings: for planners, it is the means to accomplish development, whereas for project beneficiaries it is a goal in itself. Chapter 1 elaborates on the general context of planned intervention in Michoacán’s Zacapu region, delineates the theoretical framework, presents the main research question (How do stakeholders organize themselves around the greenhouse project, and how do they redefine the view of planned development by the local government?) and elaborates on the methodology employed. Chapter 2 describes the organizing processes underlying implementation of the greenhouse project in the Zacapu - Ciénega region. It explains how, in order to acquire resources for the project, stakeholders organized into groups, forming Rural Production Associations (SPRs) and Unions of Rural Producers’ Associations (USPRs). As a result, a total of 28 SPRs were formed. For the most part, members of these SPRs had extensive, prior experience in organizing and participating in programs similar to those promoted by SUPLADER. Chapter 3 describes the practices of the eight groups (SPR) who got no resources from SUPLADER and seek to compensate for an initial investment from the Alliance for the Countryside (Alianza). To complete the project file, the groups were linked to government agencies, municipalities and communities as well as with external agents (firms) to use the register as a professional services provider (PSP) and enter the file to the Alianza program. In addition, power differences and conflict relationships were evident (Lukes, 1974); conditions that led to negotiation (Diego, 1997). Advisor firms were considered necessary for the negotiations since their capabilities were required and considered essential for the expected benefit of the Asociación, although they appeared to be a very powerful party. Despite the regulations established by the State to exercise governmental programs, the parties responsible for exercising them applied ambiguous criteria. Chapter 4 describes the development of an ideal configuration of greenhouses that included technological, social and cultural elements associated with safety practices, automation and demanding consumers located in an international market. This perception was far from the project conditions of greenhouses in La Ciénega; however, it did not prevent generating expectations among the SPRs. For these actors, the greenhouse became an alternative livelihood, income, and development opportunity. To interpret the processes described I used Latour’s (2008) notion of a sociology of associations; this allowed me to interpret how actor-networks were incorporated in the greenhouse project. Chapter 5 describes a breakaway attempt from the Asociación spearheaded by 17 SPRs that chose to build their greenhouses with an alternative hardware supplier (ACEA). To obtain the necessary funds new negotiations were started with a range of agencies. The move eventually strengthened the Asociación and its institutional embeddedness. In Chapter 6, the Asociación is shown to be a heterogeneous collective with different agendas. This resulted in several conflicts, some of them, involving the advisory offices that intended to take the resources (“the dough”) from the project. Nonetheless, a regional bank authorized a cash disbursement for the initial stage of the greenhouse project. Chapter 7 presents the final stage of SUPLADER Zacapu’s greenhouse project. After complex negotiations and conflicts within the Asociación, complementary credit was obtained for the construction of the greenhouse. However, during a municipal election campaign key figures in charge of implementation changed position; this led to a change in project conditions, and the Asociación had to face interventions from external actors. The negotiation game restarted and triggered a new set of strategies (amongst others to obtain money directly through the new SEPLADE delegate). Eventually, some of the Asociación’s funds were reappropriated and assigned to USPR Agrícola Tsakapu and different factions (vying for of resources) resulted fom this. Chapter 8 provides the discussion and conclusion to this thesis, with insights that build on Mosse’s (2005) argument that policies to promote development are associated to organizational demands and needs to maintain existing relationships (rather than promoting a previously defined policy). However, in the case of La Ciénega, the agents of change (including the Michoacán Congress) supported and pushed through planners’ development initiatives. In line with Ferguson (1994), I conclude that development must be understood in relation to the political-economic-cultural interests of those behind its design and implementation. Rather than linear, hegemonic and rigid, however, actors’ practices and strategies mould and twist planned development intervention to suit their needs and desires.</p

Factors underlying companies response to supply chain disruption: a grounded theory approach

A wide range of recent man-made and natural disasters has demonstrated the importance of managing disruption risk in global supply chains. This research argues that supply chain disruptions are, de facto, unavoidable and consequently all complex supply chains can be considered inherently risky. This research focuses on a relatively unexplored issue in supply chain risk management, asking and answering the question of how companies specifically use time to respond to catastrophic events of low probability but high impact. Linking faster response lead-time with reduced impact, the goal is to identify and explore the underlying factors of managing disruption risk by answering how companies respond to supply chain disruptions. In reducing total response time by detecting the event, designing solutions, and deploying a recovery plan sooner after a disruption, the company can reduce the impact of disruption risk. The research uses Grounded Theory methodology to extend an emerging framework on time-based supply chain risk management. Empirical data is used from a range of sources including interviews and corporate publications from the events faced by global pharmaceutical manufacturer during a pandemic in 2009. The emerging categories of possible factors in response time are further developed using data from the events surrounding the worst maritime oil spill in history in 2010 under the management responsibility of the Exploration and Production (Upstream) division of a global energy company and from an industrial accident in 2005 in the Refining and Marketing division of the same firm. The research identifies four categories of factors that companies can focus on to reduce response time in the face of catastrophic events of low probability and high impact: organisational structure, preparation, partnership and reserve. The research derives new insights, presented as four propositions that relate the response time in managing supply chain disruption to negative or potentially positive impact

The cultural paradiplomacy of Barcelona since the 1980s: understanding transformations in local cultural paradiplomacy

This article seeks to explain the conditions for the emergence and institutionalization of the cultural paradiplomacy of the city of Barcelona and its local effects. The recognition of the city as an active participant on the international stage is based on its evolution from an industrial to a service economy. Against this backdrop, Barcelona's city council, in common with many other city authorities operating in the world's metropolises during the 1980s, initiated its own cultural paradiplomacy as a strategy for attracting capital and promoting local development. This policy became established as part of a new multilevel system of governance. This article analyzes the causes of the institutionalization of this activity from an intergovernmental perspective. It concludes that in the context of economic globalization, the emergence of cities' cultural paradiplomacy is strongly related to the restructuring of the State and its external administration and to the intensification of the 'cultural branding' of cities as a tool for global competition

Modelling and Solving Mixed-model Parallel Two-sided Assembly Line Problems

The global competitive environment and the growing demand for personalised products have increased the interest of companies in producing similar product models on the same assembly line. Companies are forced to make significant structural changes to rapidly respond to diversified demands and convert their existing single-model lines into mixed-model lines in order to avoid unnecessary new line construction cost for each new product model. Mixed-model assembly lines play a key role in increasing productivity without compromising quality for manufacturing enterprises. The literature is extensive on assembling small-sized products in an intermixed sequence and assembling large-sized products in large volumes on single-model lines. However, a mixed-model parallel two-sided line system, where two or more similar products or similar models of a large-sized product are assembled on each of the parallel two-sided lines in an intermixed sequence, has not been of interest to academia so far. Moreover, taking model sequencing problem into consideration on a mixed-model parallel two-sided line system is a novel research topic in this domain. Within this context, the problem of simultaneous balancing and sequencing of mixed-model parallel two-sided lines is defined and described using illustrative examples for the first time in the literature. The mathematical model of the problem is also developed to exhibit the main characteristics of the problem and to explore the logic underlying the algorithms developed. The benefits of utilising multi-line stations between two adjacent lines are discussed and numerical examples are provided. An agent-based ant colony optimisation algorithm (called ABACO) is developed to obtain a generic solution that conforms to any model sequence and it is enhanced step-by-step to increase the quality of the solutions obtained. Then, the algorithm is modified with the integration of a model sequencing procedure (where the modified version is called ABACO/S) to balance lines by tracking the product model changes on each workstation in a complex production environment where each of the parallel lines may a have different cycle time. Finally, a genetic algorithm based model sequencing mechanism is integrated to the algorithm to increase the robustness of the obtained solutions. Computational tests are performed using test cases to observe the performances of the developed algorithms. Statistical tests are conducted through obtained results and test results establish that balancing mixed-model parallel two-sided lines together has a significant effect on the sought performance measures (a weighted summation of line length and the number of workstations) in comparison with balancing those lines separately. Another important finding of the research is that considering model sequencing problem along with the line balancing problem helps algorithm find better line balances with better performance measures. The results also indicate that the developed ABACO and ABACO/S algorithms outperform other test heuristics commonly used in the literature in solving various line balancing problems; and integrating a genetic algorithm based model sequencing mechanism into ABACO/S helps the algorithm find better solutions with less amount of computational effort

Public Service Motivation of Firstline Managers and Employees in Health and Social Welfare Services of Public and Non-Profit Organizations in The Bahamas

The purpose of this research is to investigate public service motivation and examine the influences of organizational factors within Bahamian public and non-profit organizations of health and social welfare services from the perspective of Herzberg’s dual-factor theory along with self-determination theory and person-organization fits. A multiple case study is used with a mixed method design. Data were obtained using q-technique and semi-structured interviews. Public service motivation is tested with q-technique approach using revised public service motivation and continuous commitment scales. The sample consists of 12 first line managers and 25 employees. Data collection was conducted from January to March 2020. The results show that two dimensions of public service motivation are significant and contextual. Within public organizations commitment to public values is significant, and non-profits regard compassion dimension as important. The results further reveal differences in public servants and non-profit workers’ attitudes and perceptions about organizational factors. The evidence shows within public organizations, public service motivation is enhanced by teamwork, workload support, and harmonious working environment. However, the evidence also shows that inhibiting access to advanced education, rules and regulations, lack of autonomy, and inadequate working conditions negatively influence public services within government organizations. The results within non-profit organizations reveal that autonomy, easy access to user-specific training, manager-employee association, and working conditions promote public service motivation and are significant. Employee to employee interactions and insufficient supplies, however, are shown to negatively impact public services. Overall public organizations have greater challenges, but public services are delivered with team approach and public servants supporting one another. Non-profit organizations have fewer difficulties and deliver public services to meet service users’ needs

On CARICOM and the Varying Levels of and Motives for Integration Among the Member States

In an era of rapid transport and communication, spectators have come to expect a bridging of the classic political, social, and economic divide between states. It is taken for granted that states have more to work together than to strive independently for. CARICOM is the Caribbean\u27s experiment at regional integration and it member states have pledged their ostensible support. This study is aimed at gauging the true levels of enthusiasm of the member states, which have varied among them and over time. By analysing the trade pattern of the Members with each other in comparison with the rest of the world, the commitment of the member states was ascertained. The study explores various issues and characteristics of the region that help to bolster or threaten increased cooperation among the Members. Among these, external dependency, social peculiarities, and the vulnerability of the Members makes for an interesting and uncertain prediction for the group\u27s future. Using various indicators and indices from such sources as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Commonwealth Secretariat the states were compared and their various situations analysed to give reason for their varied levels of commitment to regionalisation through CARICOM. Certainly possessing more in common than not, the Members prove an exception, or perhaps a refutation to the idea of international cooperation being positively affected or catalysed by commonality