Entrepreneurship and the development of global brands

Over the course of the twentieth century, entrepreneurs developed a number of successful global brands in consumer-goods industries. However, few independent brands survived the merger waves of the 1980s. To address the question of why so few independent brands survived, this paper examines successful brands in industries that rely principally on advertising for competitive success. Successful consumer-goods brands in several industries and countries are compared in order to highlight innovative strategies pursued by brand managers. The analyzed brands are mainly owned by Europeans, although a few examples of American and Japanese brands are covered as well

Is perception of quality more important than technical quality in patient video cases?

Background: The use of video cases to demonstrate key signs and symptoms in patients (patient video cases or PVCs) is a rapidly expanding field. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether the technical quality, or judgement of quality, of a video clip influences a paediatrician's judgment on acuity of the case and assess the relationship between perception of quality and the technical quality of a selection of video clips. Methods: Participants (12 senior consultant paediatricians attending an examination workshop) individually categorised 28 PVCs into one of 3 possible acuities and then described the quality of the image seen. The PVCs had been converted into four different technical qualities (differing bit rates ranging from excellent to low quality). Results: Participants' assessment of quality and the actual industry standard of the PVC were independent (333 distinct observations, spearmans rho = 0.0410, p = 0.4564). Agreement between actual acuity and participants' judgement was generally good at higher acuities but moderate at medium/low acuities of illness (overall correlation 0.664). Perception of the quality of the clip was related to correct assignment of acuity regardless of the technical quality of the clip (number of obs = 330, z = 2.07, p = 0.038). Conclusions: It is important to benchmark PVCs prior to use in learning resources as experts may not agree on the information within, or quality of, the clip. It appears, although PVCs may be beneficial in a pedagogical context, the perception of quality of clip may be an important determinant of an expert's decision making. © 2015 Roland et al

An Automation System for Optimizing a Supply Chain Network Design under the Influence of Demand Uncertainty

This research develops and applies an integrated hierarchical framework for modeling a multi-echelon supply chain network design, under the influence of demand uncertainty. The framework is a layered integration of two levels: macro, high-level scenario planning combined with micro, low-level Monte Carlo simulation of uncertainties in demand. To facilitate rapid simulation of the effects of demand uncertainty, the integrated framework was implemented as a dashboard automation system using Microsoft Excel, Risk Solver, and Visual Basic. The integrated framework has been applied to the problem of quantifying the effects of demand uncertainty on total cost in multi-echelon supply chain network design for high-tech products

Multidisciplinary system design optimization of fiber-optic networks within data centers

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, Engineering and Management Program, 2016.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 136-142).The growth of the Internet and the vast amount of cloud-based data have created a need to develop data centers that can respond to market dynamics. The role of a data center designer, whom is responsible for scoping, building, and managing the infrastructure design is becoming increasingly complex. This work presents a new analytical systems approach to modeling fiber-optic network design within data centers. Multidisciplinary system design optimization (MSDO) is utilized to integrate seven disciplines into a unified software framework for modeling 10G, 40G, and 100G multi-mode fiber-optics networks: 1) market and industry analysis, 2) fiber-optic technology, 3) data center infrastructure, 4) systems analysis, 5) multi-objective optimization using genetic algorithms, 6) parallel computing, and 7) simulation research using MATLAB and OptiSystem. The framework is applied to four theoretical data center case studies to simultaneously evaluate the Pareto optimal trade-offs of (a) minimizing life-cycle costs, (b) maximizing user capacity, and (c) maximizing optical transmission quality (Q-factor). The results demonstrate that data center life-cycle costs are most sensitive to power costs, 10G OM4 multi-mode optical fiber is Pareto optimal for long reach and low user capacity needs, and 100G OM4 multi-mode optical fiber is Pareto optimal for short reach and high user capacity needs.by Rany Polany.S.M. in Engineering and Managemen

An Automation System for Optimizing a Supply Chain Network Design under the Influence of Demand Uncertainty

This research develops and applies an integrated hierarchical framework for modeling a multi-echelon supply chain network design, under the influence of demand uncertainty. The framework is a layered integration of two levels: macro, high-level scenario planning combined with micro, low-level Monte Carlo simulation of uncertainties in demand. To facilitate rapid simulation of the effects of demand uncertainty, the integrated framework was implemented as a dashboard automation system using Microsoft Excel, Risk Solver, and Visual Basic. The integrated framework has been applied to the problem of quantifying the effects of demand uncertainty on total cost in multi-echelon supply chain network design for high-tech products

Asteroid Deflection Campaign Design Integrating Epistemic Uncertainties

Asteroid deflection entails multiple sources of epistemic uncertainties and stochastic uncertainties. Epistemic uncertainties can be reduced by replenishing incomplete information with a better means of observation, whereas stochastic uncertainties are inherent and irreducible owing to their randomness. Our understanding of asteroid deflection is largely limited by lack of in-situ data or full-scale experiments. Reducing these epistemic uncertainties in (1) the physical properties of asteroids or (2) the consequences of human interference will drastically benefit our mitigation efforts against their hazards. Much of previous literature concentrated on single-stage missions or simple asteroid models with fixed physical attributes, making it inadequate to handle epistemic or stochastic uncertainties. To fill this gap, this paper tries to incorporate different kinds of uncertainties within a campaign design framework. In a multi-stage campaign, a precursor is deployed first to reduce epistemic uncertainties. Because stochastic uncertainties cannot be reduced by nature, the campaign should be optimized to maximize its robustness against the worst random situations. Finally, whether or not a two-stage campaign is better than a single-stage mission can be visualized as a decision map for decision-makers. The paper analyzes a hypothetical scenario of deflecting 99942 Apophis and discusses future work