Assessing the efficiency in operations of a large Greek bank branch network adopting different economic behaviors

This paper reports on an assessment of the branches of a Greek bank in terms of their performance in three different dimensions: their efficiency in managing the economic record of the branches, their efficiency in meeting the demand for transactions with customers and their efficiency in generating profits. From a methodological point of view the paper employs the non-parametric method Data Envelopment Analysis. Furthermore, branches are assessed using a loglinear deterministic frontier method, in order to examine the concordance of efficiency rating between two models. Small differences were found in the distribution of efficiency estimates. In all cases, the results indicated that there is the scope for substantial efficiency improvements. The most useful information we can provide to bank management is the similar insights of the worst performing branches, as all models identify essentially the same - low performing branches in the bank network. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Greek hospitals: How well their resources are used

The paper concerns the use of different estimation methods (parametric and non-parametric), jointly or individually, as means of ascertaining relative efficiency, as well as specific estimates of the efficient marginal costs of hospital services (inpatient days in medical care, inpatient days in surgical area, etc.) of public, general and teaching hospitals in Greece. In addition, the efficient cost of hospitals is estimated and compared with the actual cost. The estimation of efficient marginal cost of outputs is particularly useful for hospitals, and can serve as a theoretical basis for determining the prices of different hospital services. The study came to the following conclusions, among others: there are potential savings of up to 20% on hospital spending; the difference between the actual and efficient cost is 27% for general hospitals and 16% for teaching hospitals; non-efficient hospitals could produce the same result, if the daily cost per patient was reduced by 26%. The results, also, indicated that at least 4.1% of health care costs in the gross domestic product are due to inefficiencies created by public, general and teaching hospitals. © Elsevier Science Ltd

Efficiency ranking of the OECD member states in the area of telecommunications: A composite AHP/DEA study

The purpose of this work is to compare and then rank all (30) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states as regards telecommunications efficiency. The required data series come from OECD's Telecommunications Database 2005. Two quantitative instruments have been employed: analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). Pair-wise country performance evaluation has been constructed at four levels by means of AHP. A two-dimensional analysis for assessing country efficiency in telecommunications has been carried out using both AHP and DEA. The overall analysis points to four different efficiency groups; each group occupies one of four possible quadrants. Eight countries have been found efficient on both dimensions of the productivity-revenue plane: they form the overall efficiency frontier and serve as benchmarks for the rest of the countries. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the results obtained, with an emphasis on the requirements for improving the efficiency of the countries lagging behind their respective benchmarks. The numerical examples given illustrate the effort required by these less efficient countries towards achieving full efficiency. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Efficient storage allocation for processing in backlog-controlled queueing networks using multicriteria techniques

Problems of efficient storage allocation arise in many real situations in which there exists competition for the use of available resources. In the present study, the problem of allocating efficiently waiting space for processing in closed queueing networks which support external backlog is investigated by a composite methodology based on operational (i.e. non-stochastic) queueing theory and multicriteria techniques. The usefulness of the methodology adopted is demonstrated in the field of computer communications for networks with arbitrary topology. For such networks, the above methodology can be implemented in a series of specific steps

Comparing the operational efficiency of the main European telecommunications organizations: A quantitative analysis

There are today many operators competing within the European telecommunications market. For these operators, efficiency should be considered as a key element for achieving greater revenue and enhancing market position. In this paper, comparison is made of the main European public telecommunications organizations (PTOs) in terms of their operational efficiency using data envelopment analysis, a well-known quantitative technique from operational research. The analysis is based on data provided in the edition (Communications Outlook, 1999, OECD Publication Service, Paris). The main conclusion is that full operational efficiency can equally be achieved by PTOs with large revenues as well as by others with medium and smaller revenues. Also notable is the presence of certain PTOs with full efficiency ratings which are considered here as models or benchmarks for the less efficient organizations. Finally, some implications of the findings for telecommunications management are examined at the end of this paper. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Evaluating productive efficiency in telecommunications: Evidence from Greece

Many public telecommunications organizations (PTOs) in the OECD domain, and especially in Europe, have central administrations and maintain regional network infrastructures. Using the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) as an example PTO, we investigate the productive efficiency of the OTE's regional network and suggest actions for improving present operational inefficiencies. Such actions are necessary for enhancing policies and management practices in the field of telecommunications in Greece. The evaluation methodology presented in this study, which is based on standardized measurements, could also be applicable to other PTOs with regional infrastructures

Near-optimal analysis of homogeneous central-server queueing networks

The problem of achieving near-optimality in homogeneous central-server queueing networks is investigated by means of a composite approach based on approximate operational analysis and goal programming procedures. A near-optimal solution is shown to exist: this includes the expected overall waiting time, the overall throughput rate, as well as the distribution of queue length values. The need to maintain a balanced network flow and the desire to minimize the overall waiting time are expressed as complimentary objectives. Numerical results, based on past measurements from a multi-server computing facility, indicate that the performance gains obtained by the application of the present methodology are quite significant throughout the network's feasible population scale. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Efficiency ranking of the OECD member states in the area of telecommunications: A composite AHP/DEA study

The purpose of this work is to compare and then rank all (30) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states as regards telecommunications efficiency. The required data series come from OECD's Telecommunications Database 2005. Two quantitative instruments have been employed: analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). Pair-wise country performance evaluation has been constructed at four levels by means of AHP. A two-dimensional analysis for assessing country efficiency in telecommunications has been carried out using both AHP and DEA. The overall analysis points to four different efficiency groups; each group occupies one of four possible quadrants. Eight countries have been found efficient on both dimensions of the productivity-revenue plane: they form the overall efficiency frontier and serve as benchmarks for the rest of the countries. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the results obtained, with an emphasis on the requirements for improving the efficiency of the countries lagging behind their respective benchmarks. The numerical examples given illustrate the effort required by these less efficient countries towards achieving full efficiency.Analytic hierarchy process Data envelopment analysis Production and revenue efficiency Telecommunications Benchmarking Policy requirements OECD area

Relative Efficiency in the branch network of a Greek bank: A quantitative analysis

Measuring and evaluating the efficient use of resources of Bank branches plays a decisive role in a Bank’s strategic planning. Usually, efficiency is measured by using accounting ratios, such as labor productivity, capital productivity, return on assets etc. When these ratios are properly used, they provide significant information regarding the effective operation of the branch, and contribute in carrying out intrabank comparisons and comparisons over a period of time. However, by using such ratios, an important part of the branch operation remains uncovered: the measurement of the effective use of the resources. New mathematical programming models that are related with the degree at which each branch makes use of its resources, are applied to deal with the weaknesses of such ratios. This study discuss the limitations of using accounting ratio analysis for assessing performance and, presents and interprets the results from the application of mathematical programming models in a sample of branches of a Greek Bank.Banking, efficiency, mathematical programming