Management education and the theatre of the absurd

In this paper we adopt a humanities perspective to reflect on the nature of business schools and management education (Vargish, 1991; March & Weil, 2005; Adler, 2006; McAuley & Sims, 2009). Business schools have been criticised for becoming the “hired hands” of business (Khurana, 2007) to the detriment of a higher purpose, institutions that champion a utilitarian morality, the shallowness and indeed the dangers of which are revealed in various business scandals and especially the financial crisis of 2007-8, the effects of which cast a long shadow over today’s economic and social landscape. This has led to the criticism that business schools have lost part of their essential “philosophic connection” to issues of humanity and human identities (Augier & March, 2011: 233-4). We argue that one way to encourage philosophical reconnection is to expand management education’s engagement with the humanities (Czarniawska & Gagliardi, 2006)

Deal or no deal? Some reflections on the ‘Baker-Thompson rule,’ ‘matching,’ and ‘market design’

This article raises the issue of why the idea of a ‘deal’ has become so prevalent in the discussion of political matters and policy proposals associated with future economic developments. It does this by linking the deal with several features of market design. Principal amongst these are game theory and matching algorithms. The Barker-Thompson Rule is presented as an example of a particular type of market construction operating in a game theoretic context, while the ‘matching engine’ is explored in a variety of contexts where it is argued to have become a standardized technique indicating to a possible reshaping of the economic terrain more generally. The consequences of these developments and trends are the emergence of a ‘dealing culture’ that threatens to overwhelm other forms of decision-making and consume the policy-making environment with the immediacy of its dealing logic

Analysis of magnetic resonance imaging–based blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow measurements in patients with Chiari I malformation: a system approach

Object A pilot study was performed to assess noninvasively the change in intracranial compliance (ICC) and intracranial pressure (ICP) in patients with Chiari I malformation who undergo foramen magnum decompression. The working hypothesis was that the main effect of the decompressive surgery is a change in ICP. Noninvasive cine phase-contrast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a motion-sensitive dynamic MR imaging technique that allows for visualization and quantitation of tissue motion and flow. The authors' group has used dynamic phase-contrast MR imaging to visualize and quantify pulsatile blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow in the craniospinal system. Methods A system approach has been used to characterize the hemodynamic–hydrodynamic coupling in the craniospinal system and to derive measures for ICC and ICP. Magnetic resonance imaging–based ICC and ICP values are derived from the ratio of the volume and pressure changes that occur naturally during each cardiac cycle. The authors conducted a prospective study of four patients, three of whom were studied before and after decompressive surgery; significant change in MR imaging–derived ICC and ICP values was documented in only one of the three surgically treated patients. A significant change in the dynamics of the intracranial volume change (ICVC) during the cardiac cycle, however, was observed in all three patients. In healthy individuals the ICVC waveform usually consists of the following sequence: monotonic increase in intracranial volume (ICV) during the systolic phase due to increased blood inflow, monotonic decrease in ICV caused by the onset of CSF outflow into the spinal canal, and increase in the venous outflow. A nonmonotonic decline in the ICVC waveform has been observed in all patients with headaches, and a relatively normal waveform was found in those without headaches or whose headaches were resolved or alleviated by the surgery. A “partial-valve” mechanism is proposed as an explanation for the abnormal ICVC dynamics. The monotonic decline in ICVC is interrupted by a “premature” reduction in the CSF outflow. This may be caused by a displacement of the hindbrain into the cervical spinal canal during the systolic phase. This obstructs the CSF flow at the later part of the systolic phase such that the ICV does not continue its gradual decline. Postsurgery, the ICVC waveforms presented a more normal-appearing ICVC dynamics profile. Conclusions Magnetic resonance imaging measurement of transcranial CSF and blood flow may lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of Chiari malformations and may prove to be an important diagnostic tool for guiding for the treatment of patients with Chiari I malformation

The Impact of Quick Response in Inventory-Based Competition

We propose an extension of the competitive newsvendor model to investigate the impact of quick response under competition. For this purpose, we consider two retailers that compete in terms of inventory: customers that face a stockout at their first-choice store will look for the product at the other store. Consequently, the total demand that each retailer faces depends on the competitor's inventory level. We allow for asymmetric reordering capabilities, and we are particularly interested in the case when one of the firms has a lower ordering cost but can only produce at the beginning of the selling season, whereas the second firm has higher costs but can replenish stock in a quick response manner, taking advantage of any incremental knowledge about demand (if it is available). We visualize this problem as the competition between a traditional make-to-stock retailer that builds up inventory before the season starts versus a retailer with a responsive supply chain that can react to early demand information. We provide conditions for this game to have a unique pure-strategy subgame-perfect equilibrium, which then allows us to perform numerical comparative statics. We confirm that quick response is more beneficial when demand uncertainty is higher or exhibits a higher correlation over time. We also find that the competitive advantage from quick response is larger when facing a slow response competitor, and interestingly, asymmetric competition can be desirable to both competitors.operations strategy, supply chain management, inventory competition, game theory, fast fashion