A Review of DEA-based Resource and Cost Allocation models: Implications for services

Data envelopment analysis (DEA), by its design, was not intended for resource allocation but for measuring relative efficiency of decision-making units. Despite this, many researchers have successfully applied this modelling technique to a variety of resource and cost allocation decisions in order to improve operational efficiencies. This paper is a comprehensive review and classification of such articles. The papers were classified by industry and by DEA model-orientation. The findings of this paper show that existing models predominately apply DEA to mass service industries (e.g., banking), thus, revealing the opportunity for researchers to further develop DEA-based resource allocation modelling toward improving the operational efficiencies of other service industries (e.g., professional services). To guide researchers to this end, we offer a discussion of the use of DEA modelling when the service provider and the customer are both resources needing to be allocated, in other words, using DEA to model professional or co-created services

Efficiency decomposition for multi-level multi-components production technologies

This paper addresses the efficiency measurement of firms composed by multiple components, and assessed at different decision levels. In particular it develops models for three levels of decision/production: the subunit (production division/process), the DMU (firm) and the industry (system). For each level, inefficiency is measured using a directional distance function and the developed measures are contrasted with existing radial models. The paper also investigates how the efficiency scores computed at different levels are related to each other by proposing a decomposition into exhaustive and mutually exclusive components. The proposed method is illustrated using data on Portuguese hospitals. Since most of the topics addressed in this paper are related to more general network structures, avenues for future research are proposed and discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Centralised resource allocation using Lexicographic Goal Programming. Application to the Spanish public university system

Identificador de proyecto: FEDER-UPO UPO-1380624This paper deals with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in centralised settings in which the operating units belong to the same organisation. In such a scenario, a global system-wide perspective may be adopted as regards resource allocation and target setting. In this paper, a new Lexicographic Goal Programming (lexGP) approach is proposed using three priority levels: the aggregated input consumption and output production goals; the input and output goals of the individual operating units; and the technical efficiency of the computed targets. It is assumed that the goals for the overall organisation are established by the Central Decision-Maker (CDM) and that they are consistent with those of the individual operating units. The proposed approach has been applied to the Spanish public university system, comprising 47 institutions. Given the CDM preferences in terms of input and output aggregate goals and relative importance weights, specific technical efficient targets have been computed for each university. The results show that the proposed approach is more suitable than the non-centralised DEA approach and produces targets that are more effective than other centralised resource allocation approaches in the sense that they are much closer to both the aggregate goals of the CDM and the specific goals of each university.Universidad de Sevill

Trade, protection and competitiveness in Brazil: the case of the auto industry

The question on why, when and how to impose tariff barriers to protect the domestic industry is far from settled. Although different branches of the literature acknowledge that the existence of market failures is a potential reason to protect, the identification and measurement of externalities, for example, is a very difficult empirical task. Thus, theoretical and empirical literature does not offer a satisfactory policy guidance. However, it is not an assessment of potential market failures such as externalities that should guide policy. More can be said about the different channels through the link between tariff protection/trade liberalization and competitiveness operates. To shed light on these channels we undertake a case study of the Brazilian automotive sector, following an inductive approach and relying on different sources of both qualitative and quantitative data. In this, we ask “Why is the Brazilian Automotive sector not yet competitive after 60 years of protection?”. The identified channels that could answer our research question can be divided into (i) actions and policies that affect the internal and external scale of domestic production; (ii) variables affecting competition and productivity; (iii) variables affecting the production and absorption of innovation; (iv) institutional aspects and the business environment faced by firms operating domestically. The results indicate that the structure of protection within the domestic value chain – namely the level of protection for intermediate goods, and the overall business environment, are two relevant aspects potentially affecting the long-term competitiveness of industrial sectors, and that these should be better taken into account in policymaking

Contribution to the research of port terminal capacities

Дисертацијом је обухваћено дефинисање и праћење показатеља при реализацији претоварних процеса на лучким терминалима. Такође, извршена је анализа утицаја претоварних процеса на пропусну способност лучких терминала и анализа релативне ефикасности поменутих процеса. Конкретно, посматран је претоварни процес расутог терета на речном лучком терминалу при пружању додатне лучке услуге, паковања расутог терета у вреће. Добра организација претоварног процеса и пружање додатне лучке услуге (у овом случају, конкретно, паковања вештачког ђубрива) утиче на пропусну способност лучког терминала и доприноси смањењу укупних трошкова због краћих времена задржавања пловила на пристајалишту, веће искоришћености ангажоване опреме и возила и смањења укупног времена трајања самог претоварног процеса. На основу мишљења експерата, осмишљено је више варијанти претоварног процеса расутог терета на лучком терминалу, са различитим претоварим и транспортним средствима (дизалице, тракасти транспортер и камиони), ангажованом радном снагом и локацијама паковања расутог терета (на оперативној обали или у складишту). За конципиране варијанте претоварног процеса расутог терета извршено је моделирање и израђени су симулациони модели. Дефинисани су и у симулационим експериментима праћени лучки показатељи. Помоћу симулационих резултата праћених показатеља извршена је анализа ефикасности предложених варијанти претоварног процеса расутог терета. За анализу ефикасности варијанти претоварног процеса расутог терета коришћена је DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) метода надограђена комбиновањем са AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) методом. Свака промена у броју и врсти транспортног и претоварног средства, ангажованој радној снази и локацији паковања расутог терета на лучком терминалу представљена је у DEA моделу као засебна јединица одлучивања. Примењен је најпре основни излазно оријентисани CCR (Charnes, Cooper и Rhodes) DEA модел, а после тога и модел суперефикасности, који међу ефикасним јединицама издваја најефикаснију јединицу...This thesis deals with defining and following up performance measures of cargo handling technologies at port terminals. In addition, the effect of cargo handling technologies on port terminal capacities has been analyzed, as well as their relative efficiencies. A particular case was studied, namely the handling of dry bulk cargo at a river port terminal which included an additional port service – dry bulk cargo packing. In fact, a proper organization of cargo handling and the additional service (involving fertilizer packing in this very case) affects the terminal performance and capacity, and contributes to minimizing overall costs, owing to a shorter total vessel time at the berth, a more efficient use of employed equipment and vehicles and a faster handling process as a whole. According to experts' opinions, different handling equipment and vehicles (cranes, belt conveyor and trucks), corresponding labour and locations chosen for dry bulk cargo packing (at the quay or in a storage) at the port terminal have been observed as variants of the dry bulk cargo handling technology. Modelling and simulations of designed variants of the dry bulk cargo handling technology have been performed. Port performance measures were defined and followed in simulation experiments. The simulation results served as a basis for studying the efficiency of the proposed variants of the dry bulk cargo handling technology. For that purpose, the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) method was applied and combined subsequently with the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method. It was assumed that every change of the number of vehicles, type of unloading equipment, engaged labour and place of dry bulk cargo packing at the port terminal represented a separate decision-making unit (DMU). A basic output-oriented CCR (Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes) DEA model was first applied, followed then by the superefficiency model enabling us to choose the most efficient DMU among the efficient DMUs. The most efficient DMU proved to be the variant of the fertilizer handling technology which involved packing at the quay using two quay cranes and three trucks for cargo unloading and transport to the storage area, respectively..

Ein DEA-basierter Ansatz zur Messung der Performance bei zentralisierten Managementstrukturen

Traditional performance measurement approaches are usually characterized by a number of different limitations. Among other things, these approaches require the subjective determination of weights to aggregate a set of indicators to an overall performance score. Furthermore, traditional approaches are usually not able to incorporate additional improvement potentials that can be received from a centralized management. A performance measurement framework which can overcome these limitations is called data envelopment analysis (DEA). Against this background, this thesis provides a thorough overview of how different degrees of centralization are modeled in the current DEA literature. The systematic literature review identified 135 different approaches that assume a centralized or partially centralized management structure. A concluding discussion of the respective DEA approaches showed two fundamental research gaps. In response to this, this thesis has two fundamental objectives: The first objective is to propose a DEA-based performance measurement approach for measuring performance changes over time. The second objective is to develop another DEA-based approach for comparing the performance of management groups. In contrast to so far developed DEA-models, the here proposed approaches explicitly incorporate the respective management structure. Both DEA approaches thus developed are based on the combination of the metafrontier concept and the Malmquist index. The first approach evaluates productivity changes of operating entities over time and, hence, may indicate potential sources for performance changes. Thereby, the proposed approach preserves the individual characteristics of each local group technology. The second DEA approach proposed here uses the Malmquist index for comparing the performance of management groups. This index accounts for the existence of a central decision maker who can, e.g., undertake resource reallocations to improve the overall performance of its managed group. The applicability and usefulness of both proposed approaches is empirically shown with real-world data from KONE Corporation.Traditionelle Performance Measurement Ansätze gehen mit einer Reihe von Herausforderungen einher. So erfordert die Aggregation unterschiedlicher Kennzahlen zu einem einzelnen Performancemaß die Verwendung von subjektiven Gewichtungen. Darüber hinaus lassen sich in traditionellen Ansätzen nur schwer etwaige Verbesserungspotentiale modellieren, die aus zentralisierten Managementstrukturen resultieren. Eine betriebswirtschaftliche Methode, welche die genannten Limitationen nicht aufweist, ist die Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Aufgrund dieser Vorteile wird in dieser Arbeit zunächst ein umfassender Literaturüberblick erarbeitet, wie unterschiedliche Managementstrukturen in einer DEA modelliert werden können. Mithilfe der Literaturrecherche wurden insgesamt 135 unterschiedliche Ansätze ermittelt, die entweder ein vollkommen zentralisiertes oder teilweise zentralisiertes Managementmodell unterstellen. Eine abschließende Diskussion der verschiedenen DEA-Ansätze zeigte allerdings eine Forschungslücke, woraus die beiden folgenden Forschungsziele für diese Arbeit abgeleitet wurden: Einerseits soll ein DEA-basierter Ansatz erarbeitet werden, der zur Messung von Effizienzveränderungen einzelner Produktiveinheiten über die Zeit geeignet ist. Andererseits soll eine DEA-basierte Methode entwickelt werden, welche bei Performancevergleichen zwischen Managementgruppen anwendbar ist. Im Gegensatz zu den bisher in der Literatur diskutierten Ansätzen sollten die entwickelten Methoden dabei die jeweils vorliegende Managementstruktur berücksichtigen. Die entwickelten DEA-Ansätze basieren auf der Kombination des Metafrontier-Konzepts mit dem Malmquist-Index. Der erste Ansatz erlaubt es, Performanceveränderungen von einzelnen Produktiveinheiten über mehrere Zeitperioden zu messen. Im Gegensatz zu konventionellen Metafrontier-basierten Malmquist-Indizes berücksichtigt der vorgeschlagene Ansatz die individuellen Eigenschaften der lokalen Produktionstechnologien. Der zweite vorgeschlagene DEA-Ansatz nutzt den Malmquist-Index für den Vergleich der Performance von Managementgruppen. Der Index berücksichtigt dabei explizit, dass eine zentrale Entscheidungsinstanz existiert, welche Ressourcenumverteilungen durchführen kann. Beide Ansätze werden anhand eines Datensatzes des Unternehmens KONE illustriert

Restricted reallocation of resources

This paper investigates restricted reallocation among individual units when the efficiency index is calculated for an aggregated unit in the DEA framework. Moreover, we address the question of the optimal reallocation flow - the optimal flow of inputs among the individual units subject to given transfer costs. Restrictions on reallocation can be given by the maximum cost the managers are willing to pay. In the framework of full reallocation there is a trade-off between the maximum allowed reallocation cost and the highest efficiency the aggregated unit can achieve. The final goal is to present a way to generate efficiency-gain functions that show this trade-off.Data envelopment analysis Network flows Reallocation of resources Reallocation flow