Online Bin Covering: Expectations vs. Guarantees

Bin covering is a dual version of classic bin packing. Thus, the goal is to cover as many bins as possible, where covering a bin means packing items of total size at least one in the bin. For online bin covering, competitive analysis fails to distinguish between most algorithms of interest; all "reasonable" algorithms have a competitive ratio of 1/2. Thus, in order to get a better understanding of the combinatorial difficulties in solving this problem, we turn to other performance measures, namely relative worst order, random order, and max/max analysis, as well as analyzing input with restricted or uniformly distributed item sizes. In this way, our study also supplements the ongoing systematic studies of the relative strengths of various performance measures. Two classic algorithms for online bin packing that have natural dual versions are Harmonic and Next-Fit. Even though the algorithms are quite different in nature, the dual versions are not separated by competitive analysis. We make the case that when guarantees are needed, even under restricted input sequences, dual Harmonic is preferable. In addition, we establish quite robust theoretical results showing that if items come from a uniform distribution or even if just the ordering of items is uniformly random, then dual Next-Fit is the right choice.Comment: IMADA-preprint-c

Boeing: A Human Resources Analysis for Issues and Solutions

The study presented has analyzed Boeing, an aircraft manufacturing company, and its issues as a company through a human resources based standpoint, and thus providing human resources based solutions. Issues that have been identified include a toxic workplace, union difficulties, lack of quality, and more that have caused additional sub-issues as well. These various problems have been identified to stem from human resources practices, and it is suggested that Boeing address these issues through human resources. They may reevaluate their hiring and onboarding process to focus on strong ethics and valuing safety in their operations. It is crucial for Boeing to value their employees as well, and they may want to reevaluate compensation for assembly line workers/maintenance technicians. Overall, it is clear that Boeing’s issues have caused them to be in a state of crisis, and by focusing on addressing their human resources practices, they may be able to pull away from this crisis and find a solution for their number of issues