An integrated approach to inventory and flexible capacity management subject to fixed costs and non-stationary stochastic demand

In a manufacturing system with flexible capacity, inventory management can be coupled with capacity management in order to handle fluctuations in demand more effectively. Typical examples include the effective use of temporary workforce and overtime production. In this paper, we discuss an integrated model for inventory and flexible capacity management under non-stationary stochastic demand with the possibility of positive fixed costs, both for initiating production and for using contingent capacity. We analyze the characteristics of the optimal policies for the integrated problem. We also evaluate the value of utilizing flexible capacity under different settings, which enable us to develop managerial insights. © 2008 The Author(s)

Project Management For Developing Countries: Back to Basics

This article has been on ways by which developing countries can go back to the basics of project management as a means for developmental goals. Project management has proven to be an effective and flexible management approach, which has the potential of being of great value to developing countries. There is a need for a stronger emphasis on project implementation as a training mechanism for developing indigenous skills. Improved planning, administrative and technical capacity must be defined as project outputs. The need for highly trained development administrators, especially those with project management skills, is a recurring theme of international assistance evaluation reports. Developing countries require two types of trained project administrators: those who can plan and coordinate the entire project cycle as an integrated process and those who can manage the project as an organizational entity once it is selected and approved (Rondinelli, 1976)

THE HUMAN RESOURCES’ DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF ROMANIAN ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM APPLICATION

In order to align the Romanian public sector to the quality standards of the European sector, in order to increase the efficiency of the public institutions (that appear on the central and local level) in order to increase their capacity to apply the administrative reform, to strengthen and develop their human resources department, there must be put in front the flexible personnel management policies, which imposes the review of the entire labor legislation (including the administrative personell’s payroll field) and the development of a new labor position. From this perspective, this work includes two delicate aspects, extremely actual and important from the managerial point of view for the public institutions, meaning: the practics’ flexibility in the human resources’ management; the payroll – major component of the human resources’ development in the administration.flexibility, payroll, personnel management, reform.

Records management capacity and compliance toolkits : a critical assessment.

This article seeks to present the results of a project that critically evaluated a series of toolkits for assessing records management capacity and/or compliance. These toolkits have been developed in different countries and sectors within the context of the e-environment and provide evidence of good corporate and information governance. Design/methodology/approach - A desk-based investigation of the tools was followed by an electronic Delphi with toolkit developers and performance measurement experts to develop a set of evaluation criteria. Different stakeholders then evaluated the toolkits against the criteria using cognitive walkthroughs and expert heuristic reviews. The results and the research process were reviewed via electronic discussion. Findings - Developed by recognised and highly respected organisations, three of the toolkits are software tools, whilst the fourth is a methodology. They are all underpinned by relevant national/international records management legislation, standards and good practice including, either implicitly or explicitly, ISO 15489. They all have strengths, complementing rather than competing with one another. They enable the involvement of other staff, thereby providing an opportunity for raising awareness of the importance of effective records management. Practical implications - These toolkits are potentially very powerful, flexible and of real value to organisations in managing their records. They can be used for a "quick and dirty" assessment of records management capacity or compliance as well as in-depth analysis. The most important criterion for selecting the appropriate one is to match the toolkit with the scenario. Originality/value - This paper aims to raise awareness of the range and nature of records management toolkits and their potential for varied use in practice to support more effective management of records

Enhanced Management of Personal Astronomical Data with FITSManager

Although the roles of data centers and computing centers are becoming more and more important, and on-line research is becoming the mainstream for astronomy, individual research based on locally hosted data is still very common. With the increase of personal storage capacity, it is easy to find hundreds to thousands of FITS files in the personal computer of an astrophysicist. Because Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is a professional data format initiated by astronomers and used mainly in the small community, data management toolkits for FITS files are very few. Astronomers need a powerful tool to help them manage their local astronomical data. Although Virtual Observatory (VO) is a network oriented astronomical research environment, its applications and related technologies provide useful solutions to enhance the management and utilization of astronomical data hosted in an astronomer's personal computer. FITSManager is such a tool to provide astronomers an efficient management and utilization of their local data, bringing VO to astronomers in a seamless and transparent way. FITSManager provides fruitful functions for FITS file management, like thumbnail, preview, type dependent icons, header keyword indexing and search, collaborated working with other tools and online services, and so on. The development of the FITSManager is an effort to fill the gap between management and analysis of astronomical data.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in New Astronom

Market-based Instruments for Environmental Policymaking in Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons from Eleven Countries

This report is a summary of country studies in Latin America and the Caribbean, addressing the use of market-based instruments (MBIs) and command-and-control (CAC) measures for environmental management in the region. Even though MBIs can significantly add efficiency to existing CAC mechanisms, the scope of MBIs should match the countries institutional capacity to implement them. Gradual and flexible reforms are likely to succeed within the current regional context of continued institutional changes. A key function of MBIs is usually revenue collection, though it does not necessarily lead to successful environmental management. The study suggests that revenues should be channeled to local authorities for an effective MBI's implementation. The report also critiques the regular practice of international donor agencies in recommending the solutions suitable for developed countries, without considering the institutional conditions in developing countries. Further, the study explores both the successes and difficulties experienced in the region regarding regulations, macro-policies, and MBIs; the institutional frameworks of the countries under review; and, the issues considered in the design of MBIs, in order to promote a beneficial dialogue among them

Increasing renewable penetration on islanded networks through active network management : a case study from Shetland

The drive to reduce reliance on fossil fuel generation in meeting power system demand is encouraging network operators to develop novel methods of making greater use of available network capacity whilst maintaining stability and security. Challenges relating to network stability are particularly acute on islanded networks. The Northern Isles New Energy Solutions (NINES) project is implementing novel techniques for managing the power network on the Shetland Islands in the UK. Active Network Management is used to monitor and control the network and new wind generation in real time, and flexible demand is scheduled to minimise the use of conventional generation by reducing wind curtailment and minimising system losses. The flexible demand devices deployed also have the ability to respond to frequency therefore supporting system stability. This paper presents the development of two novel modelling techniques used in the design and deployment of NINES – an ‘envelope of stability wind generation’ and the use of Dynamic Optimal Power Flow to schedule flexible demand. A case study is presented which shows that an ANM scheme managing flexible demand has the potential to increase wind capacity connected on Shetland from the existing 4MW to 16.1MW. The management of domestic demand flexibility is shown to contribute up to 6.5GWh towards the reduction in conventional generation or up to 16.6GWh if domestic demand provides frequency response

Reactive scheduling using a multi-agent model: the SCEP framework

Multi-agent systems have been successfully applied to the scheduling problem for some time. However, their use often leads to poorly unsatisfactory disappointing results. A new multi-agent model, called supervisor, customers, environment, producers (SCEP), is suggested in this paper. This model, developed for all types of planning activities, introduces a dialogue between two communities of agents leading to a high level of co-operation. Its two main interests are the following: first it provides a more efficient control of the consequences generated by the local decisions than usual systems to each agent, then the adopted architecture and behaviour permit an easy co-operation between the different SCEP models, which can represent different production functions such as manufacturing, supply management, maintenance or different workshops. As a consequence, the SCEP model can be adapted to a great variety of scheduling/planning problems. This model is applied to the basic scheduling problem of flexible manufacturing systems, andit permits a natural co-habitation between infinite capacity scheduling processes, performedby the manufacturing orders, and finite capacity scheduling processes, performed by the machines. It also provides a framework in order to react to the disturbances occurring at different levels of the workshop