Setting Retail Staffing Levels: A Methodology Validated with Implementation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marshall Fisher ◽  
Santiago Gallino ◽  
Serguei Netessine
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Labor Management ◽  
Staffing Level ◽  
Staffing Levels ◽  
Industry Practice ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Problem definition: How should retail staffing levels be set? While cost of labor is well understood, the revenue implications of having the right staffing level are hard to estimate. Moreover, these implications vary by store; hence, staffing levels should vary as well. Academic/practical relevance: We provide a novel method for setting store associate staffing at the individual store level. We discuss a field implementation that tested this methodology. Methodology: We use historical data on revenue and planned and actual staffing levels by store to estimate how revenue varies with the staffing level at each store. We disentangle the endogeneity between revenue and staffing levels by focusing on randomly occurring deviations between planned and actual labor. Using historical analysis as a guide, we validate these results by changing the staffing levels in a few test stores. We implement the results chain-wide and measure the impact in a large specialty retailer. Results: We find that the implementation validates predictions of the historical analysis. The implementation in 168 stores over six months produces a 4.5% revenue increase and a nearly $7.4 million annual profit increase. The impact of staffing level on revenue varies greatly by store. Managerial implications: Our paper makes three contributions to academic literature and to retail practice. First, we describe a process by which retailers can improve the most common industry practice: set store labor to be proportional to forecasted store revenue. Our proposed approach systematically sets the labor level in each store. Second, we demonstrate the effectiveness of that process via a field test and then via chain-wide implementation over a six-month time period. Finally, most retailers set store labor at the same level across stores, proportionate to revenue. We show that this is not the best approach because the revenue impact of store labor varies by store. The stores in our study that could benefit from relatively more labor were those with high potential demand, closely located competition for that demand, and experienced store managers. Overall, we provide the first simple but rigorous, field-tested approach that any retailer can use to increase revenue and profitability through better labor management.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Church–State Model for an Effective Guarantee of Religious Freedom: A Study of the Peruvian Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Laws ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Susana Mosquera
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Dual Nature ◽  
Legal Model ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Institutional Guarantee ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Individual Dimension ◽  
The Church

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments established important restrictions on religious freedom. Due to a restrictive interpretation of the right to religious freedom, religion was placed in the category of “non-essential activity” and was, therefore, unprotected. Within this framework, this paper tries to offer a reflection on the relevance of the dual nature of religious freedom as an individual and collective right, since the current crisis has made it clear that the individual dimension of religious freedom is vulnerable when the legal model does not offer an adequate institutional guarantee to the collective dimension of religious freedom.

scholarly journals Nonbinding Goals in Teams: A Real Effort Coordination Experiment

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 1026-1044
Author(s):  
James Fan ◽  
Joaquín Gómez-Miñambres
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Weak Link ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Team Production ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Impact

Problem definition: We investigate the impact of nonbinding (wage-irrelevant) goals, set by a manager, on a team of workers with “weak-link” production technology. Can nonbinding goals improve team production when team members face production complementarity? Academic/practical relevance: Nonbinding goals are easy to implement and ubiquitous in practice. These goals have been shown to improve individual performance, but it remains to be seen if such goals are effective in team production when there is production complementarity among workers. Methodology: We first develop a theoretical model where goals act as reference points for workers’ intrinsic motivation to complete the task. We then test our hypotheses in a controlled, human-subjects experiment. In our experiment, participants act as managers or workers, and we examine the impact of nonbinding goals on team outcomes. Results: Consistent with our model, we find evidence that team production does increase when managers are able to set goals. This effect is strongest when goals are challenging but attainable for weak-link workers. However, we also find evidence that many managers assign goals that are too challenging for weak-link workers, resulting in suboptimal team production, lower profits, and higher wasted performance (performance above the weak-link level). Managerial implications: Our analysis indicates that goals are effective motivators in teams, but some managers may have difficulty overcoming personal biases when setting goals. The task of setting team goals is more complex than setting individual goals, and many managers can benefit from training on how to set good goals for the team. Moreover, our finding that suboptimal goals also increase wasted performance suggests that improving goal-setting strategies is especially important in production settings where overperformance is costly for the firm (scrap, energy use, inventory costs, lower prices as a result of oversupply, etc.).

Earning the Right to Indulge: Effort as a Determinant of Customer Preferences toward Frequency Program Rewards

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Kivetz ◽  
Itamar Simonson
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Marketing Mix ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Customer Preferences ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Level Of Effort ◽  
Practical Implications

Although frequency programs (FPs) have become ubiquitous in the marketplace and a key marketing-mix tool for promoting customer relationship and loyalty, little is known about the factors that determine how such programs are evaluated by consumers. The authors investigate the impact of the level of effort participants must invest to obtain the reward on the types of rewards they prefer and, consequently, on the decision to join the FP. In particular, the authors propose that higher required effort shifts consumer preferences from necessity to luxury rewards, because higher efforts reduce the guilt that is often associated with choosing luxuries over necessities. A series of studies with approximately 3100 consumers demonstrated that (1) higher program requirements shift preferences in favor of luxury rewards, (2) this effect is also observed when consumers choose between luxury and necessity rewards (of the same value) that they themselves proposed, and (3) the effect of program requirements on reward preferences is stronger among consumers who tend to feel guilty about luxury consumption and among those for whom the effort is invested in the context of work rather than pleasure. In addition, contrary to an alternative explanation based on the notion that higher requirements signal higher value of luxury rewards, the authors show that (1) when the program requirements are held constant but the individual consumer's effort is higher, the shift in preference toward luxuries is still observed and (2) increasing the monetary cost of participating in the FP decreases consumer preferences for luxury rewards. The authors discuss the theoretical implications of this research and the practical implications with respect to the design, targeting, and promotion of FPs.

scholarly journals The right of information privacy between the challenges of technology and the reality of legal protection: الحق في الخصوصية المعلوماتية بين تحديات التقنية وواقع الحماية القانونية

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Qara Mustafa Aisha
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Method ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Information Privacy ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Technical Challenges ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed to identify the international, regional and even national efforts to protect the rights and privacy of the individual from the impact of informatics, and the extent to which it succeeded in achieving this. To achieve this, the researcher used the analytical method by explaining the new technical challenges to personal data and various legal mechanisms to protect this right. The research was based on an introduction, two papers and a conclusion. The first topic was entitled "What is the privacy of informatics and the dangers it faces in the digital age", while the second topic is devoted to international and regional efforts to protect information privacy. The results of the study showed that most of the legislations, especially the Arab ones, are not able to deal with violations of personal data, and concluded that new legal rules must be enacted to protect information privacy, based on established international principles in the field of informatics.

scholarly journals Criteria for Housing Design with Emphasis on Comparison between Traditional and Today Contemporary Iranian Architecture

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 182
Author(s):  
Tahereh Nasr
Keyword(s):  
Design Pattern ◽  
Field Method ◽  
Traditional Architecture ◽  
Housing Design ◽  
Residential Architecture ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
House Design ◽  
The Impact

<p>Settling in the cities and the numerous efforts being made for massive supply of houses in a short time period, makes difficult the access to a pattern as appropriate for family life with increase in concentration in building construction, the individual and family borders, too, are neglected.</p><p>Though due to the extensiveness and complexity of the concept of housing, one cannot give a comprehensive, unique definition of it, but the housing, as a shelter, is regarded as the primary and basic needs of the family.</p><p>House as a place for relaxation and comfort and a shelter for removing tiredness has been a peace and security locality from a long time ago. House demand is one of the most essential human`s demands. According to Article 31 of fundamental law of Islamic Republic of Iran also, possessing a suitable house is considered as the right for every person and every Iranian family. House not only as a shelter, but also as a place for humans raise, has a great importance in the initial and most fundamental society union, namely family.</p><p>Identifying the identity and investigating the residential complexes in regard to the aesthetics implies the precise and conscious observing and noticing their beauties and or ugliness.</p><p>Main Questions in this paper are:</p><ul><li>What are the consequences of disregarding the identity of today's housing architecture, especially the architecture of the ancient towns?</li><li>Can the components of Iranian traditional architecture be applied in today contemporary residential architecture and be effective to create a sense of place?</li></ul><p>So the main purpose of this article is Pathology of Today Contemporary Iranian housing Architecture and Comparison with traditional Iranian architecture.</p><p>The method explored is a descriptive-analytical and field method to gather information and documents are available. The impact of known factors and variables in Iranian contemporary and traditional residential architecture has been evaluated and compared.</p><p>Accordingly, having some criteria for achieving a suitable house design pattern is essential in a way that makes it possible to understand all its visual embodiments and identify its identity.</p>This research also state the reasons for disability of today`s architecture and urban development against house problem and recommend some criteria for achieving a house design pattern after an overview of the definition of housing and examination of Iranian housing.

AI and Procurement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruomeng Cui ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
Shichen Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Price Discrimination ◽  
Recommendation System ◽  
Wholesale Price ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Trading Company ◽  
Smart Control ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Price Quotes

Problem definition: In this research, we study how buyers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) affects suppliers’ price quoting strategies. Specifically, we study the impact of automation—that is, the buyer uses a chatbot to automatically inquire about prices instead of asking in person—and the impact of smartness—that is, the buyer signals the use of a smart AI algorithm in selecting the supplier. Academic/practical relevance: In a world advancing toward AI, we explore how AI creates and delivers value in procurement. AI has two unique abilities: automation and smartness, which are associated with physical machines or software that enable us to operate more efficiently and effectively. Methodology: We collaborate with a trading company to run a field experiment on an online platform in which we compare suppliers’ wholesale price quotes across female, male, and chatbot buyer types under AI and no recommendation conditions. Results: We find that, when not equipped with a smart control, there is price discrimination against chatbot buyers who receive a higher wholesale price quote than human buyers. In fact, without smartness, automation alone receives the highest quoted wholesale price. However, signaling the use of a smart recommendation system can effectively reduce suppliers’ price quote for chatbot buyers. We also show that AI delivers the most value when buyers adopt automation and smartness simultaneously in procurement. Managerial implications: Our results imply that automation is not very valuable when implemented without smartness, which in turn suggests that building smartness is necessary before considering high levels of autonomy. Our study unlocks the optimal steps that buyers could adopt to develop AI in procurement processes.

Prepositioning and Local Purchasing for Emergency Operations Under Budget, Demand, and Supply Uncertainty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahyar Eftekhar ◽  
Jing-Sheng Jeannette Song ◽  
Scott Webster
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Rapid Onset ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Supply Uncertainty ◽  
Approximate Methods ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Solution Methods ◽  
Local Supply ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Impact

Problem definition: Considering a mix of prepositioning and local purchasing, common to cover humanitarian demands in the aftermath of a rapid-onset disaster, we propose policies to determine preposition stock. These formulations are developed in the presence of demand, budget, and local supply uncertainties and for single-items delivery. Academic/practical relevance: The immediate period aftermath of a disaster is the most crucial period during which humanitarian organizations must supply relief items to beneficiaries. Yet, because of many unknowns such as time, place, and magnitude of a disaster, supply management is a significant challenge, and these decisions are made intuitively. The features and complexities we examine have not been studied in the literature. Methodology: We derive properties of the optimal solution, identify exact solution methods, and determine approximate methods that are easy to implement. Results: We (i) characterize the interplay of supply, demand, and budget uncertainties, as well as the impact of product characteristics on optimal prepo stock levels; (ii) show in what conditions the prepo stock is a simple newsvendor solution; and (iii) discuss the value of emergency funds. Managerial implications: We show that budget level is a key determinant of the optimal policy. When it is above a threshold, inventory increases in disaster frequency and severity, but the reverse is true otherwise. When budget is limited, the rate of savings from improved forecasts is amplified (attenuated) for critical (noncritical) items, reflecting opposing directional effects of mismatch cost and cost of insufficient funding. Our model can also be used to estimate the value of initiatives to mitigate constraints on local spend (e.g., a line of credit underwritten by large donors that is available during the immediate relief period).

The Gilets Jaunes and the New Social Contract

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Devellennes
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Fundamental Challenge ◽  
New Type ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

This book provides a detailed account of the gilets jaunes, the yellow vest movement that has shaken France since 2018. The gilets jaunes are a group of French protesters named after their iconic yellow vests worn during their demonstrations, who have formed a new type of social movement. They have been variously interpreted since they began their occupation of French roundabouts: at first received with enthusiasm on the right of the French political establishment, and with caution on the left. They have provided a fundamental challenge to the social contract in France, the implicit pact between the governed and their political leaders. The book assesses what lessons can be drawn from their activities and the impact for the contemporary relationship between state and citizen. Informed by a dialogue with past political theorists — from Hobbes, Spinoza and Rousseau to Rawls, Nozick and Diderot — and reflecting on the challenges posed by the yellow vest movement, the book rethinks the concept of the social contract for contemporary societies around the world. It proposes a new relationship between the state and the individual, and establishes the necessity of rethinking the modern democratic nature of our representative polities in order to provide a genuine process for the healing of social ills.

The impact of ICT on learning on-the-job

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilla Hortovanyi ◽  
Adrienn Ferincz
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Ict Tools ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between on-the-job learning and information and communication technology (ICT). Design/methodology/approach – Action research methodology was applied to study 62 small- and medium-sized corporations, and to interview over 200 knowledge workers and managers. The qualitative, textual data collected were transformed into 16 variables and analysed by multidimensional scaling. Findings – The paper provides insights into the optimal use of ICT in intra-organizational knowledge transfer and learning. We found that it is essential to use the right combination and number of technologies, aligned with the organization’s internal processes. Four different types of organizations with sub-optimal usage of ICT and possible strategies for them to reach the optimal zone were identified. For successful organizational learning, however, more is needed: the individual must also understand the value of learning and must be motivated to take part in it. Research limitations/implications – On-the-job-learning can be facilitated with ICT tools but only if the organization invests in the right levels of ICT. Too much technology can be as destructive to on-the-job learning as too little. Future research should look at other contexts (size, age, industry, etc.) to validate these findings. Practical implications – The paper demonstrates the effective use of ICT in knowledge transfer and on-the-job learning. Originality/value – The paper extends our understanding of human–computer collaboration. It highlights that finding the optimal level of ICT is essential for successful knowledge transfer and on-the-job learning.

Personality and Liberty

Philosophy ◽  
1949 ◽  
Vol 24 (89) ◽  
pp. 144-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaf Stapledon
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Epistemological Problem ◽  
Clear View ◽  
Immortal Soul ◽  
Philosophical Account ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Two rival passions are at work in men's hearts to-day, the cult of individuality and the cult of society. They give rise all too often to extravagant praise of liberty and to a no less extravagant insistence on discipline for society's sake.It is impossible to form a balanced idea of the functions of liberty and discipline, or of the right relation between the individual and his social environment, without having a clear view of the nature of personality and community. I offer a brief and dogmatic sketch of this subject.A personality is the product of the impact of the objective universe, past and present, on a particular experiencing subject.I do not wish to imply that a “subject” is necessarily a substance (in the philosophical sense) or a metaphysical ego, or an immortal soul. Whether such eternal individual spirits exist or not, I do not pretend to know. I do not even, by the word “subject,” pledge myself to what Professor Broad has called a “centred theory” of the nature of mind, I do not know whether a mind is a system of experiences united in an enduring centre, as the spokes of a wheel are united in the hub; or whether it is a centreless “net” of experiences all related together in a special way. By “subject” I mean only “that which experiences,” whatever the true philosophical account of it. I mean the seeming focus or centre of experience and action. This focus is in some sense located in time and space, in fact it is located within the organism. For my purpose the subject is simply that to which experience happens, and that which responds with conscious behaviour. I do not wish to raise the epistemological problem. I merely assume the rejection of solipsism, and the reality of an objective universe which the individual experiences, however imperfectly.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document