A novel cost allocation method applying fuzzy DEMATEL technique

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 2569-2587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Mirzamohammadi ◽  
Saeed Karimi ◽  
Mir Saman Pishvaee
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Cost Allocation ◽  
Fuzzy Dematel ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Support Unit ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Business Units ◽  
Allocation Process ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Unit Organization

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a new systematic method for a multi-unit organization to cope with the cost allocation problem, which is an extension of the reciprocal method. As uncertainty is the inherent characteristic of business environments, assuming changes in engaged parameters is almost necessary. The outputs of the model determine the total value of each unit/business lines or product. Design/methodology/approach In the proposed method, contrary to existing models, business units are able to transfer their costs to other units, and also, not necessarily transfer the total costs of support units completely. The DEMATEL approach, which finds all relationships between different parts of a system, is also applied for computing effects of the units’ expense paid to each other. Moreover, a fuzzification approach is used to capture linguistic experts’ judgments about related data. Findings Being closer to the real-world problem in comparison to the previous approach, the proposed systematic approach encompasses the other cost allocation models. Practical implications Applying the proposed model for a system like a multi-unit organization, the total price of each unit/business line can be obtained. Moreover, this cost allocation process guides the related decision-makers to better manage the expenses that each unit pays the others. Originality/value In the existing studies, business units cannot pay expense support units. However, in the proposed method, the business units are able to pay expenses for other units, and also, not necessarily pay total expenses for support unit completely. Moreover, considering engaged parameters as fuzzy numbers makes the proposed model closer to real-world problems.

scholarly journals How to evaluate sustainability of supply chains? A dynamic network DEA approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 1866-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vahid Shokri Kahi ◽  
Saeed Yousefi ◽  
Hadi Shabanpour ◽  
Reza Farzipoor Saen
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Real World ◽  
Performance Optimization ◽  
Network Dynamic ◽  
Network Dea ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dea Model ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
First Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel network and dynamic data envelopment analysis (DEA) model for evaluating sustainability of supply chains. In the proposed model, all links can be considered in calculation of efficiency score. Design/methodology/approach A dynamic DEA model to evaluate sustainable supply chains in which networks have series structure is proposed. Nature of free links is defined and subsequently applied in calculating relative efficiency of supply chains. An additive network DEA model is developed to evaluate sustainability of supply chains in several periods. A case study demonstrates applicability of proposed approach. Findings This paper assists managers to identify inefficient supply chains and take proper remedial actions for performance optimization. Besides, overall efficiency scores of supply chains have less fluctuation. By utilizing the proposed model and determining dual-role factors, managers can plan their supply chains properly and more accurately. Research limitations/implications In real world, managers face with big data. Therefore, we need to develop an approach to deal with big data. Practical implications The proposed model offers useful managerial implications along with means for managers to monitor and measure efficiency of their production processes. The proposed model can be applied in real world problems in which decision makers are faced with multi-stage processes such as supply chains, production systems, etc. Originality/value For the first time, the authors present additive model of network-dynamic DEA. For the first time, the authors outline the links in a way that carry-overs of networks are connected in different periods and not in different stages.

An areal openness model (AOM) for quantifying the “openness” of floor plans

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoraya Roldán Rockow ◽  
Brandon E. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Floor Plan ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Plan ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Reasonable Approach ◽  
Floor Plans

PurposeThis paper aims to describe and demonstrate a quantitative areal openness model (AOM) for measuring the openness of floor plans. Creation of the model was motivated by the widely reported but rarely quantified link between openness and adaptability.Design/methodology/approachThe model calculates values for three indicators: openness score (OS), weighted OS (WOS) and openness potential (OP). OS measures the absence of obstructions (walls, chases, columns) that separate areas in a floor plan. WOS measures the number of obstructions while also accounting for the difficulty of removing them. OP measures the potential of a floor plan to become more open. Indicators were calculated for three demolished case study buildings and for three adapted buildings. The case study buildings were selected because openness – or lack thereof – contributed to the owners' decisions to demolish or adapt.FindingsOpenness indicators were consistent with the real-world outcomes (adaptation or demolition) of the case study buildings. This encouraging result suggests that the proposed model is a reasonable approach for comparing the openness of floor plans and evaluating them for possible adaptation or demolition.Originality/valueThe AOM is presented as a tool for facility managers to evaluate inventories of existing buildings, designers to compare alternative plan layouts and researchers to measure openness of case studies. It is intended to be sufficiently complex as to produce meaningful results, relatively simple to apply and readily modifiable to suit different situations. The model is the first to calculate floor plan openness within the context of adaptability.

A model for the comparison of business units

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Momčilo Dobrodolac ◽  
Libor Švadlenka ◽  
Marjana Čubranić-Dobrodolac ◽  
Svetlana Čičević ◽  
Bojan Stanivuković
Keyword(s):  
Call Center ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Wage Structure ◽  
The State ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Business Units ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Stress Levels ◽  
Distribution Index

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for the comparison of business units and to illustrate its implementation. Job stress is introduced as a mediator variable. A postal company is taken as a case study and its three business units are compared. The units (i.e. employees who have direct contact with customers) analyzed are postal clerks, couriers and call center operators. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were collected using two questionnaires: the first to assess the state of predefined organizational parameters, and the second to measure the stress levels of employees. The χ2 test of independence (χ2 test) and Fisher’s exact test are used to calculate correlation. Work stress score and stress distribution index, which are proposed in this study, are used to quantify the levels of stress, the state of organizational parameters and possible improvement points, as well as to compare the business units. Findings According to the results, the most demanding job is that of couriers, followed by postal clerks and call center operators. Originality/value The proposed model could be used to assess and improve businesses and to reduce the stress levels of employees. Further, a model for the comparison of business units might be a useful tool for managers in defining working hours, breaks, length of holiday periods and even in creating a wage structure.

scholarly journals A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm-based soft computing model for educational data mining

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-123
Author(s):  
Choo Jun Tan ◽  
Ting Yee Lim ◽  
Chin Wei Bong ◽  
Teik Kooi Liew
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Evolutionary Algorithm ◽  
Soft Computing ◽  
Real World ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Computing Model ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Proposed Model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a soft computing model based on multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA), namely, modified micro genetic algorithm (MmGA) coupled with a decision tree (DT)-based classifier, in classifying and optimising the students’ online interaction activities as classifier of student achievement. Subsequently, the results are transformed into useful information that may help educator in designing better learning instructions geared towards higher student achievement. Design/methodology/approach A soft computing model based on MOEA is proposed. It is tested on benchmark data pertaining to student activities and achievement obtained from the University of California at Irvine machine learning repository. Additional, a real-world case study in a distance learning institution, namely, Wawasan Open University in Malaysia has been conducted. The case study involves a total of 46 courses collected over 24 consecutive weeks with students across the entire regions in Malaysia and worldwide. Findings The proposed model obtains high classification accuracy rates at reduced number of features used. These results are transformed into useful information for the educational institution in our case study in an effort to improve student achievement. Whether benchmark or real-world case study, the proposed model successfully reduced the number features used by at least 48 per cent while achieving higher classification accuracy. Originality/value A soft computing model based on MOEA, namely, MmGA coupled with a DT-based classifier, in handling educational data is proposed.

Strategy maps: the middle management perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Real World ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Performance Measurement System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Performance ◽  
Strategy Maps ◽  
Business Units ◽  
Real World Setting

Purpose The second major step in the development of the balanced scorecard was the introduction of strategy maps. Although much has been written about the benefits of strategy maps, there have been relatively few empirical studies that explore their use in a real-world setting. Additionally, the studies that have been done do not focus on the perspective of middle managers and employees who execute the strategy on a daily basis. This study addresses these gaps through observing the construction of strategy maps in two main business lines of a commercial bank. The participating managers are then asked if they agree that the resulting strategic performance measurement system assist organizations in the three ways most discussed in the literature: translating and operationalizing strategy, communicating the strategy and measuring the strategy. This study also provides some additional insights regarding the construction and use of strategy maps in organizations. The findings provide evidence to management that strategy maps are beneficial and guidance on how these could be implemented. The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation of strategy maps in a real-world setting. Strategy maps are an extension of the well-known and adopted balanced scorecard, but have received little attention in empirical studies. Design/methodology/approach The researcher introduced middle managers and operational staff to strategy maps and assisted them in the construction of a map for their business unit. The participants were then interviewed as to whether they agree with the benefits outlined in literature. Findings Participants agreed with the three main benefits outlined in literature and also provided additional feedback on the use of strategy maps from the perspective of their role as middle managers and those who had not used strategy maps in the past. Research limitations/implications This study should be replicated in a larger setting. It would be particularly helpful to involve multiple departments across one organization or replicate the research in different organizations in the industry. Practical implications It would be helpful to guide business units through the construction of strategy maps and then survey employees at different levels throughout the business units to obtain their feedback concerning the resulting product. Social implications Because this study involves middle managers and operational level employees, it provides insight on the use of strategy maps, which could be extrapolated to other strategic performance management tools. This is a level of management that has not been involved to a large extent in previous research. Originality/value This paper is the first to observe middle managers in their development of a strategy map, which puts it in the unique position to note the opinions of this group on the benefits of the tool.

Research and application of novel Euler polynomial-driven grey model for short-term PM10 forecasting

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiwang Xiang ◽  
Xin Ma ◽  
Minda Ma ◽  
Wenqing Wu ◽  
Lang Yu
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Pm10 Concentration ◽  
Euler Polynomial ◽  
Grey Model ◽  
Grey System ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Model ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Grey Models

PurposePM10 is one of the most dangerous air pollutants which is harmful to the ecological system and human health. Accurate forecasting of PM10 concentration makes it easier for the government to make efficient decisions and policies. However, the PM10 concentration, particularly, the emerging short-term concentration has high uncertainties as it is often impacted by many factors and also time varying. Above all, a new methodology which can overcome such difficulties is needed.Design/methodology/approachThe grey system theory is used to build the short-term PM10 forecasting model. The Euler polynomial is used as a driving term of the proposed grey model, and then the convolutional solution is applied to make the new model computationally feasible. The grey wolf optimizer is used to select the optimal nonlinear parameters of the proposed model.FindingsThe introduction of the Euler polynomial makes the new model more flexible and more general as it can yield several other conventional grey models under certain conditions. The new model presents significantly higher performance, is more accurate and also more stable, than the six existing grey models in three real-world cases and the case of short-term PM10 forecasting in Tianjin China.Practical implicationsWith high performance in the real-world case in Tianjin China, the proposed model appears to have high potential to accurately forecast the PM10 concentration in big cities of China. Therefore, it can be considered as a decision-making support tool in the near future.Originality/valueThis is the first work introducing the Euler polynomial to the grey system models, and a more general formulation of existing grey models is also obtained. The modelling pattern used in this paper can be used as an example for building other similar nonlinear grey models. The practical example of short-term PM10 forecasting in Tianjin China is also presented for the first time.

An evolutionary algorithm approach for the constrained multi-depot vehicle routing problem

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carin Lightner-Laws ◽  
Vikas Agrawal ◽  
Constance Lightner ◽  
Neal Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Vehicle Routing ◽  
Real World ◽  
Vehicle Routing Problem ◽  
Completion Time ◽  
Routing Problem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Heterogeneous Fleet ◽  
Delivery Times ◽  
Allocation Process ◽  
Nested Genetic Algorithm

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore a real world vehicle routing problem (VRP) that has multi-depot subcontractors with a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles that are available to pickup/deliver jobs with varying time windows and locations. Both the overall job completion time and number of drivers utilized are analyzed for the automated job allocations and manual job assignments from transportation field experts. Design/methodology/approach – A nested genetic algorithm (GA) is used to automate the job allocation process and minimize the overall time to deliver all jobs, while utilizing the fewest number of drivers – as a secondary objective. Findings – Three different real world data sets were used to compare the results of the GA vs transportation field experts’ manual assignments. The job assignments from the GA improved the overall job completion time in 100 percent (30/30) of the cases and maintained the same or fewer drivers as BS Logistics (BSL) in 47 percent (14/30) of the cases. Originality/value – This paper provides a novel approach to solving a real world VRP that has multiple variants. While there have been numerous models to capture a select number of these variants, the value of this nested GA lies in its ability to incorporate multiple depots, a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles as well as varying pickup times, pickup locations, delivery times and delivery locations for each job into a single model. Existing research does not provide models to collectively address all of these variants.

Extracting bibliographical data for PDF documents with HMM and external resources

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Feng Hsiao ◽  
Te-Min Chang ◽  
Erwin Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
State Model ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Metadata Extraction ◽  
Proposed Model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an automatic metadata extraction and retrieval system to extract bibliographical information from digital academic documents in portable document formats (PDFs). Design/methodology/approach – The authors use PDFBox to extract text and font size information, a rule-based method to identify titles, and an Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to extract the titles and authors. Finally, the extracted titles and authors (possibly incorrect or incomplete) are sent as query strings to digital libraries (e.g. ACM, IEEE, CiteSeerX, SDOS, and Google Scholar) to retrieve the rest of metadata. Findings – Four experiments are conducted to examine the feasibility of the proposed system. The first experiment compares two different HMM models: multi-state model and one state model (the proposed model). The result shows that one state model can have a comparable performance with multi-state model, but is more suitable to deal with real-world unknown states. The second experiment shows that our proposed model (without the aid of online query) can achieve as good performance as other researcher's model on Cora paper header dataset. In the third experiment the paper examines the performance of our system on a small dataset of 43 real PDF research papers. The result shows that our proposed system (with online query) can perform pretty well on bibliographical data extraction and even outperform the free citation management tool Zotero 3.0. Finally, the paper conducts the fourth experiment with a larger dataset of 103 papers to compare our system with Zotero 4.0. The result shows that our system significantly outperforms Zotero 4.0. The feasibility of the proposed model is thus justified. Research limitations/implications – For academic implication, the system is unique in two folds: first, the system only uses Cora header set for HMM training, without using other tagged datasets or gazetteers resources, which means the system is light and scalable. Second, the system is workable and can be applied to extracting metadata of real-world PDF files. The extracted bibliographical data can then be imported into citation software such as endnote or refworks to increase researchers’ productivity. Practical implications – For practical implication, the system can outperform the existing tool, Zotero v4.0. This provides practitioners good chances to develop similar products in real applications; though it might require some knowledge about HMM implementation. Originality/value – The HMM implementation is not novel. What is innovative is that it actually combines two HMM models. The main model is adapted from Freitag and Mccallum (1999) and the authors add word features of the Nymble HMM (Bikel et al, 1997) to it. The system is workable even without manually tagging the datasets before training the model (the authors just use cora dataset to train and test on real-world PDF papers), as this is significantly different from what other works have done so far. The experimental results have shown sufficient evidence about the feasibility of our proposed method in this aspect.

Business management in the football industry from a supply chain management perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaleh Memari ◽  
Abbas Rezaei Pandari ◽  
Mohammad Ehsani ◽  
Shokufeh Mahmudi
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Flow Management ◽  
Manufacturing Firm ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Football Industry

PurposeTo understand the football industry in its entirety, a supply chain management (SCM) approach is necessary. This includes the study of suppliers, consumers and their collaborations. The purpose of this study was to present a business management model based on supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 academic and executive football experts. After three steps of open, axial and selective coding based on grounded theory with a paradigmatic approach, the data were analysed, and a football supply chain management (FSCM) was developed. The proposed model includes three managerial components: upstream suppliers, the manufacturing firm, and downstream customers.FindingsThe football industry sector has three parts: upstream suppliers, manufacturing firm/football clubs and downstream customers. We proposed seven parts for the managerial processes of football supply chain management: event/match management, club management, resource and infrastructure management, customer relationship management, supplier relationship management, cash flow management and knowledge and information flow management. This model can be used for configuration, coordination and redesign of business operations as well as the development of models for evaluation of the football supply chain's performance.Originality/valueThe proposed model of a football supply chain management, with the existing literature and theoretical review, created a synergistic outcome. This synergy is presented in the linkage of the players in this chain and interactions between them. This view can improve the management of industry productivity and improve the products quality.

A framework of decision making based on bipolar fuzzy competition hypergraphs

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Sundas Shahzadi ◽  
Areen Rasool ◽  
Musavarah Sarwar ◽  
Muhammad Akram
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Real World ◽  
Fuzzy Models ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Business Market ◽  
Strength Of Competition

Bipolarity plays a key role in different domains such as technology, social networking and biological sciences for illustrating real-world phenomenon using bipolar fuzzy models. In this article, novel concepts of bipolar fuzzy competition hypergraphs are introduced and discuss the application of the proposed model. The main contribution is to illustrate different methods for the construction of bipolar fuzzy competition hypergraphs and their variants. Authors study various new concepts including bipolar fuzzy row hypergraphs, bipolar fuzzy column hypergraphs, bipolar fuzzy k-competition hypergraphs, bipolar fuzzy neighborhood hypergraphs and strong hyperedges. Besides, we develop some relations between bipolar fuzzy k-competition hypergraphs and bipolar fuzzy neighborhood hypergraphs. Moreover, authors design an algorithm to compute the strength of competition among companies in business market. A comparative analysis of the proposed model is discuss with the existing models such bipolar fuzzy competition graphs and fuzzy competition hypergraphs.

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