Reinforcement learning, one of the most active research areas in artificial intelligence, is a computational approach to learning whereby an agent tries to maximize the total amount of reward it receives when interacting with a complex, uncertain environment. In Reinforcement Learning, Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto provide a clear and simple account of the key ideas and algorithms of reinforcement learning. Their discussion ranges from the history of the field's intellectual foundations to the most recent developments and applications. The only necessary mathematical background is familiarity with elementary concepts of probability. The book is divided into three parts. Part I defines the reinforcement learning problem in terms of Markov decision processes. Part II provides basic solution methods: dynamic programming, Monte Carlo methods, and temporal-difference learning. Part III presents a unified view of the solution methods and incorporates artificial neural networks, eligibility traces, and planning; the two final chapters present case studies and consider the future of reinforcement learning.

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Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction

Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

Data Mining - Concepts and Techniques.

According to W. Edwards Deming, American companies require nothing less than a transformation of management style and of governmental relations with industry. In Out of the Crisis, originally published in 1982, Deming offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management's failure to plan for the future, he claims, brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved product and service. In simple, direct language, he explains the principles of management transformation and how to apply them.

Out of the Crisis

How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

Understanding the impact of business analytics on innovation

Purpose – Qualitative theory building approaches, such as grounded theory method (GTM), are still not very widespread and rigorously applied in operations management (OM) research Yet it is agreed that more systematic observation of current industrial phenomena is necessary to help managers deal with their problems The purpose of this paper is to provide an example to help guide other researchers on using GTM for theory building in OM research Design/methodology/approach – A GTM study in the German automotive industry consisting of 31 interviews is followed by a validation stage comprising a survey (110 responses) and a focus group Findings – The result is an example of conducting GTM research in OM, illustrated by the development of the novel collaborative enterprise governance framework for inter-firm relationship governance in the German automotive industry Research limitations/implications – GTM is appropriate for qualitative theory building research, but the resultant theories need further testing Research is necessary to identify the transferability of the collaborative enterprise governance concept to other industries than automotive, to other organisational areas than R&D and to product and service settings that are less complex and innovative Practical implications – The paper helps researchers make more informed use of GTM when engaging in qualitative theory building research in OM Originality/value – There is a lack of explicit and well-informed use of GTM in OM research because of poor understanding This paper addresses this deficiency The collaborative enterprise governance framework is a significant contribution in an area of growing importance within OM

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Using grounded theory for theory building in operations management research: a study on inter-firm relationship governance

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Expert Systems: A Decision Support Approach.

https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa56941/Download/56941__20195__87e5f3633a5b4d52834e83a7aa5eb1b7.pdf

Understanding managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions towards using artificial intelligence for organizational decision-making

Reports on an investigation of computer‐based support for developing marketing strategy. First, on the basis of a literature study, the nature of marketing strategy development is clarified. The needs for computer‐based support are identified. The status and underlying problems of existing computer‐based information systems for developing marketing strategy are then examined. Finally, a mail questionnaire survey on computer‐based support for developing marketing strategy is discussed. The major issues addressed in the survey were: managers’ needs for computer‐based support in developing marketing strategy; the current provision of computer‐based information systems; and the gaps between the identified needs and current provision. It is believed that this was the first study to use a large‐scale questionnaire survey to explore these issues. The findings provide important evidence and implications for both researchers and designers of computer‐based support for marketing strategy development.

John S. Edwards

Papers

Understanding the impact of business analytics on innovation

Using grounded theory for theory building in operations management research: a study on inter-firm relationship governance

Expert Systems: A Decision Support Approach.

Understanding managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions towards using artificial intelligence for organizational decision-making

Computer-based support for marketing strategy development