Practical Open-Loop Optimistic Planning

We consider the problem of online planning in a Markov Decision Process when given only access to a generative model, restricted to open-loop policies - i.e. sequences of actions - and under budget constraint. In this setting, the Open-Loop Optimistic Planning (OLOP) algorithm enjoys good theoretical guarantees but is overly conservative in practice, as we show in numerical experiments. We propose a modified version of the algorithm with tighter upper-confidence bounds, KLOLOP, that leads to better practical performances while retaining the sample complexity bound. Finally, we propose an efficient implementation that significantly improves the time complexity of both algorithms

Accelerating Cooperative Planning for Automated Vehicles with Learned Heuristics and Monte Carlo Tree Search

Efficient driving in urban traffic scenarios requires foresight. The observation of other traffic participants and the inference of their possible next actions depending on the own action is considered cooperative prediction and planning. Humans are well equipped with the capability to predict the actions of multiple interacting traffic participants and plan accordingly, without the need to directly communicate with others. Prior work has shown that it is possible to achieve effective cooperative planning without the need for explicit communication. However, the search space for cooperative plans is so large that most of the computational budget is spent on exploring the search space in unpromising regions that are far away from the solution. To accelerate the planning process, we combined learned heuristics with a cooperative planning method to guide the search towards regions with promising actions, yielding better solutions at lower computational costs

Financial Planning and Challenges for College Libraries in Present Era

This article indicates the various financial problems associated with the college library budget. It studies the meaning of budget and examined the various techniques of budgeting that may be use in the libraries for fund acquisition and allocation. It draws the necessary steps to be taken for library budget preparation and finally concluded with the role of librarian for better utilization of limited fund.Fund crisis, Budget planning, Library budget, Fund allocation, Library financeIAC

Budget participation and budget emphasis in low uncertainty conditions - Considering alternative reasons to budget

This case study investigates how lower budget participation may be better suited to firms with a high budget emphasis, in lower uncertainty conditions. The organisation studied generates greater benefits when budget participation is low, though it has a high budget emphasis. This result is opposite to that found in Lau, et.al. (1995). The reason for this difference is shown to arise because budget emphasis in the case firm is not primarily related to performance evaluation as defined in prior budget research (Hopwood, 1972). Instead, the main reason for budgeting is operational planning (Hansen and Van der Stede, 2003), and this difference is shown to lead to the opposing findings. When budgets are used primarily for operational planning, their relationships to organisational antecedents appear to be different than when used for performance evaluation

Budget Planning, Budget Control, Business Age, and Financial Performance in Small Businesses

Over 390,000 businesses failed in the United States in 2014. The primary cause for most business failures is poor planning, and budgets are a primary means of planning. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine to what extent, if any, budget planning, budget control, and the age of the business significantly predict financial performance in small businesses. The target population consisted of small business leaders in the Midwest. Churchill and Lewis\u27s theory on the relative importance of selected management factors of small businesses through 5 stages of development formed the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected through a self-developed online survey using existing Likert-scale measures for each variable based on prior research about those variables. A convenience sample of 86 Midwest U.S. small business leaders identified through SurveyMonkey\u27s crowdsourcing pool resulted in 77 participants with useable responses. Standard multiple linear regression determined the extent to which budget planning, budget control, and age of the business predicted the value of financial performance. The model as a whole was able to significantly predict financial performance. The linear combination of predictor variables (budget planning, budget control, and business age) accounted for approximately 12% of the variation in financial performance. Budget planning significantly predicted financial performance, even when budget control and business age were held constant. Better planning using budgets may help leaders improve the financial health of their small businesses, potentially reducing business failures and job losses. Financially strong and healthy small businesses can create jobs and improve the economic health of local communities

Public expenditure planning in Albania

This paper looks at public expenditure planning in Albania, presenting and analysing the first two post-communist era Medium-Term Expenditure Plans (METPs) that have been introduced by the Albanian government for the periods 2000-2001 and 2002-2004, respectively. Albania's medium-term macroeconomic perspectives and elements of fiscal decentralisation, as incorporated by the Local Government Law of Albania, are presented, too. It is found that, taking into account the first years of post-communist governance, both METPs provide an improved framework for the budget drafting, i.e. for a realistic macroeconomic and fiscal planning of public expenditure and a clearer linkage of government policies with public expenditure plans, thus showing better the priorities in public expenditure. --public expenditure planning,Medium-Term Expenditure Plans,fiscal decentralisation

ANALISIS PERENCANAAN PENGANGGARAN KEUANGAN PADA DINAS PEKERJAAN UMUM KABUPATEN KEPAHIANG

The objective of this research is to analyze the planning of OPD financial budgeting in Kepahiang Regency. The type of this research is descriptive qualitative. The type of data used is the primary data  obtained through the in- depth interview and documentation studies. Informants in the study were  budget planners at OPD in Kepahiang Regency who were 5 informants. Data analysis method used is  qualitative descriptive analysis. This study concluded that planning budgeting in the Public Work Board in Kepahiang Regency has been  running well in accordance with applicable provisions. Budget in the implementation of government  work programs is the most important that supports the success of the work program. Without an  adequate budget, it is highly unlikely that a work plan or program will be well achieved. Therefore, the  budget for the work program must be well prepared and planned, so that the work program does not  experience funding constraints. Success in budget planning is largely determined by strategic factors,  such as accountability, transparency, internal control systems, leadership and organizational  commitment of a budget planner. That is, if the better the accountability, transparency, internal control  system, leadership and organizational commitment of an employee budget planner then the success  criteria of budget planning will be easily achieved

Strategic Profit Planning and Organizational Performance in Public Sector Commercial Banks of Nepal

This study aimed to examine strategic profit planning and its effect on the organizational performance of the public sector commercial banks of Nepal. Using a standardized questionnaire, primary data was obtained. Based on a judgment sampling method, 450 employees were taken for the sample. 72.70 percent of senior and middle-level employees participated in this study. In this study, budget planning, budget participation, budgetary sophistication, and budgetary control were considered as the independent variables and organizational performance was a dependent variable. The findings showed that the dimensions of strategic profit planning had a positive and important impact on the organizational performance of public commercial banks in terms of budget planning and budget participation. However, the other two dimensions of strategic profit planning like budgetary sophistication and budgetary control had a negative impact on the organizational performance of these banks. In such realities, companies need to focus on other factors that contribute to better performance apart from strategic profit planning dimensions, like employee motivation and invest more in staff development to enhance their organizational performance. Keywords: Budgeting, Commercial banks, Organizational performance, Public sector, Strategic profit planning DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-22-01 Publication date: November 30th 202