Functioning of the Clothing Networks on the Global Markets - Comparative Analysis

In the clothing sector the partnership networks are being created between the economic subject, because such actions are aimed at minimising the risk, as well as to reducing the production and distribution costs. The most often encountered networks in the textile-clothing branch are the franchising networks. The present article concentrates on the competitiveness aspect of the global clothing networks. A comparative analysis of the action of the commercial clothing networks was made, in order to show some features of its operation and proceeding, while focusing on the specified elements of the marketing-mix strategy. The obtained results allowed to show the differences and similarities in the used marketing strategies.W niniejszym artykule skoncentrowano się na aspekcie konkurencyjności globalnych sieci odzieżowych. Dokonano analizy porównawczej działania odzieżowych sieci handlowych, w celu ukazania pewnych cech jego działalności i postępowania skupiając się na określonych elementach strategii marketing-mix. Uzyskane wyniki pozwoliły na pokazanie róznic i podobieństw w stosowanych strategiach marketingowych

Creative Thinking and Modelling for the Decision Support in Water Management

This paper reviews the state of art in knowledge and preferences elicitation techniques. The purpose of the study was to evaluate various cognitive mapping techniques in order to conclude with the identification of the optimal technique for the NetSyMod methodology. Network Analysis – Creative System Modelling (NetSyMod) methodology has been designed for the improvement of decision support systems (DSS) with respect to the environmental problems. In the paper the difference is made between experts and stakeholders knowledge and preference elicitation methods. The suggested technique is very similar to the Nominal Group Techniques (NGT) with the external representation of the analysed problem by means of the Hodgson Hexagons. The evolving methodology is undergoing tests within several EU-funded projects such as: ITAES, IISIM, NostrumDSS.Creative modelling, Cognitive mapping, Preference elicitation techniques, Decision support

Development of Simulation Based Approaches for Cost Estimation and Effect Analysis in Industrial and Humanitarian projects, Including System Dynamic Model and Monte Carlo Simulation

Cost management has become an integral part of management fields these days and has acquired great weight in the sector of project management as well. For most beneficiaries in the industry and humanitarian field, the management of projects is synonymous with the management of cost that affects directly the funds they need to mobilize to deliver their scheme. This thesis deals with the development and validation of simulation-based methods in the industry and the humanitarian field. In addition, several novel methods of cost management have been proposed considering the complexity of different factors. In the industry field, construction projects are characterized by great uncertainty. Appropriate risk analysis techniques are required to estimate the adequate coverage level against the occurrence of extra costs to increase the progress of the project in the tenders. The project margin increases when an excessive provision leads to more comprehensive coverage of the risks. Also, an accurate estimation of the contingency reserve is a crucial subject in construction projects to reduce the risk of overruns\u2019 costs to an acceptable level and ensure the competitiveness of the company\u2019s bid. To achieve this goal, a Company\u2019s traditional approach has been applied to a real railway project and then a stochastic Risk Mode and Effect Analysis (RMEA) methodology base on Monte Carlo Simulation compared with the outcome of the company\u2019s traditional approach applied to the same project. Most of the contingency estimation methods are included problems of subjectivity, complex mathematical models, and inaccurate estimation. This research proposes a combination of the Risk Mode and Effect Analysis (RMEA) with Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) to determine the amount of allocated contingency fund that overcomes other methods\u2019 limitations. The output of the analysis is a cumulative distribution function that demonstrates a coverage level related to the contingency amount to control extra cost and reduce the amount of contingency in projects. The developed method is validated by applying a real construction project and the obtained results are compared with the outcomes\u2019 of the company\u2019s traditional approach, clearly demonstrate the potential and the benefits of the proposed methodology. The result of the proposed method allows the decision-makers to operate with a lower contingency amount and control extra expenses of projects. In addition, a Decision Support System (DSS) approach using Failure Mode Effect Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation has been discussed in this chapter. Besides, in the humanitarian field, A System Dynamic (SD) model has been applied to a humanitarian project to study the impact of different levels of financial aid paid to beneficiaries for different impact factors and estimate financial aid variation. Natural and man-made disasters seem unpredictable every year, increasing a wide range of universal sufferers. Several people are affected by the direct outcomes of these disasters, and their life depends on disaster relief aid administered by humanitarian organizations. Recently, there has been renewed interest in cash distribution in the humanitarian sector during disaster relief to increase access of vulnerable people to supporting services such as health or education and develop their life\u2019s condition while rising the efficiency of humanitarian organizations committed to the program. The research proposes a casual-loop and system dynamic model to assess multi aspects of related impact factors to provide optimal support of beneficiaries. The model provides a decision-making framework with a high-level overview of the interactions between the education and health aspects of the recipient\u2019s life, provides a system dynamics analysis including interactions that could have led to improving the vulnerable people's condition life. This system dynamics approach can be used to study the significant factors on education and health aspects of refugee crises such as the case of Syrian refugees in Turkey. Reviewing the humanitarian management literature, a causal loop is developed to better understand the health and education variables and their interactions. Then a system dynamic model is proposed and validated by historical data of Syrian refugees in Turkey. The result of financial aid sensitivity shows that more financial aid from humanitarian organizations are significantly improved the general health of refugees and also it is caused higher attendance for children in schools. In addition, enhanced financial aid supports can lead to improving access to water and hygiene facilities and also building more schools for their children

Development of an Advanced Practice Provider Diagnostic Clinic within an Oncology Practice

Background: The process of diagnosing cancer and the time to treatment can influence a patient’s experience with diagnosis of cancer at a later stage being associated with poorer cancer outcomes and decreased quality of life post-treatment. With increasingly complex oncologic imaging and pathology findings, effective interventions for early diagnosis of cancer requires a cohesive approach including referral, diagnosis, staging, and treatment phases. Objectives: The aim of this article is to outline the program development efforts initiated to apply current literature findings and organizational assessment to create a program development toolkit and business plan for an Advanced Practice Provider (APP) led diagnostic clinic in an outpatient oncology practice. Methods: A review of recent literature, application of implementation frameworks, and an organizational assessment guided the creation of the program development toolkit. Findings: The proposed business plan with break-even analysis demonstrated the need for a minimum number of patients to sustain the diagnostic clinic. The business plan and toolkit displayed the significance and limitations of the goal for increased patient and provider satisfaction

The New Basel Accord and the Nature of Risk: A Game Theoretic Perspective

Basel II changes risk management in banks strongly. Internal rating procedures would lead one to expect that banks are changing over to active risk control. But, if risk management is no longer a simple "game against nature", if all agents involved are active players then a shift from a non-strategic model setting (measuring event risk stochastically) to a more general strategic model setting (measuring behavioral risk adequately) comes true. Knowing that a game is any situation in which the players make strategic decisions – i.e., decisions that take into account each other's actions and responses – game theory is a useful set of tools for better understanding different risk settings. Embedded in a short history of the Basel Accord in this article we introduce some basic ideas of game theory in the context of rating procedures in accordance with Basel II. As well, some insight is given how game theory works. Here, the primary value of game theory stems from its focus on behavioral risk: risk when all agents are presumed rational, each attempting to anticipate likely actions and reactions by its rivals --New Basel Accord,event risk,behavioral risk,rating,simple game,Nash-equilibrium,game theory

Framework of Six Sigma implementation analysis on SMEs in Malaysia for information technology services, products and processes

For the past two decades, the majority of Malaysia’s IT companies have been widely adopting a Quality Assurance (QA) approach as a basis for self-improvement and internal-assessment in IT project management. Quality Control (QC) is a comprehensive top-down observation approach used to fulfill requirements for quality outputs which focuses on the aspect of process outputs evaluation. However in the Malaysian context, QC and combination of QA and QC as a means of quality improvement approaches have not received significant attention. This research study aims to explore the possibility of integrating QC and QA+QC approaches through Six Sigma quality management standard to provide tangible and measureable business results by continuous process improvement to boost customer satisfactions. The research project adopted an exploratory case study approach on three Malaysian IT companies in the business area of IT Process, IT Service and IT Product. Semi-structured interviews, online surveys, self-administered questionnaires, job observations, document analysis and on-the-job-training are amongst the methodologies employed in these case studies. These collected data and viewpoints along with findings from an extensive literature review were used to benchmark quality improvement initiatives, best practices and to develop a Six Sigma framework for the context of the SMEs in the Malaysian IT industry. This research project contributed to both the theory and practice of implementing and integrating Six Sigma in IT products, services and processes. The newly developed framework has been proven capable of providing a general and fundamental start-up decision by demonstrating how a company with and without formal QIM can be integrated and implemented with Six Sigma practices to close the variation gap between QA and QC. This framework also takes into consideration those companies with an existing QIM for a new face-lift migration without having to drop their existing QIM. This can be achieved by integrating a new QIM which addresses most weaknesses of the current QIM while retaining most of the current business routine strengths. This framework explored how Six Sigma can be expanded and extended to include secondary external factors that are critical to successful QIM implementation. A vital segment emphasizes Six Sigma as a QA+QC approach in IT processes; and the ability to properly manage IT processes will result in overall performance improvement to IT Products and IT Services. The developed Six Sigma implementation framework can serve as a baseline for SMEs to better manage, control and track business performance and product quality; and at the same time creates clearer insights and un-biased views of Six Sigma implementation onto the IT industries to drive towards operational excellence

Community based ecotourism as a panacea for protected areas: the use of common property theory in its analysis and development

Tourism is the worlds largest employer, accounting for 10% of jobs worldwide (WTO, 1999). There are over 30,000 protected areas around the world, covering about 10% of the land surface(IUCN, 2002). Protected area management is moving towards a more integrated form of management, which recognises the social and economic needs of the worlds finest areas and seeks to provide long term income streams and support social cohesion through active but sustainable use of resources. Ecotourism - 'responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well- being of local people' (The Ecotourism Society, 1991) - is often cited as a panacea for incorporating the principles of sustainable development in protected area management. However, few examples exist worldwide to substantiate this claim. In reality, ecotourism struggles to provide social and economic empowerment locally and fails to secure proper protection of the local and global environment. Current analysis of ecotourism provides a useful checklist of interconnected principles for more successful initiatives, but no overall framework of analysis or theory. This paper argues that applying common property theory to the application of ecotourism can help to establish more rigorous, multi-layered analysis that identifies the institutional demands of community based ecotourism (CBE). The paper draws on existing literature on ecotourism and several new case studies from developed and developing countries around the world. It focuses on the governance of CBE initiatives, particularly the interaction between local stakeholders and government and the role that third party non-governmental organisations can play in brokering appropriate institutional arrangements. The paper concludes by offering future research directions.

A study of System Interface Sets (SIS) for the host, target and integration environments of the Space Station Program (SSP)

System interface sets (SIS) for large, complex, non-stop, distributed systems are examined. The SIS of the Space Station Program (SSP) was selected as the focus of this study because an appropriate virtual interface specification of the SIS is believed to have the most potential to free the project from four life cycle tyrannies which are rooted in a dependance on either a proprietary or particular instance of: operating systems, data management systems, communications systems, and instruction set architectures. The static perspective of the common Ada programming support environment interface set (CAIS) and the portable common execution environment (PCEE) activities are discussed. Also, the dynamic perspective of the PCEE is addressed