Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY. 1. Human Inquiry and Science. 2. Paradigms, Theory, and Research. 3. The Ethics and Politics of Social Research. Part II: THE STRUCTURING OF INQUIRY: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 4. Research Design. 5. Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement. 6. Indexes, Scales, and Typologies. 7. The Logic of Sampling. Part III: MODES OF OBSERVATION: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE. 8. Experiments. 9. Survey Research. 10. Qualitative Field Research. 11. Unobtrusive Research. 12. Evaluation Research. Part IV: ANALYSIS OF DATA:QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE . 13. Qualitative Data Analysis. 14. Quantitative Data Analysis. 15. Reading and Writing Social Research. Appendix A. Using the Library. Appendix B. Random Numbers. Appendix C. Distribution of Chi Square. Appendix D. Normal Curve Areas. Appendix E. Estimated Sampling Error.

社会研究方法基础 = The Basics of Social Research

OR/MS research in disaster operations management

Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

A natural resource-based view of the firm

PROJECT MA NA GEMENT: A SYSTEMS A PPROA CH TO PLA NNING, SCHEDULING, A ND CONTROLLING To download Project Manag ement: A Systems A pproach to Planning , Scheduling , and Controlling PDF, please access the link under and save the file or gain access to additional information which might be have conjunction with Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling ebook.

Project Management: A Systems Approach To Planning, Scheduling and Controlling (Book)

Most executives know that how they respond to the challenge of sustainability will profoundly affect the competitiveness—and perhaps even the survival—of their organizations. Yet most are flailing around, launching a hodgepodge o f initiatives without any over arching vision or plan. That’s not because they don’t s e e sustainability as a s t ra tegic issue. Rather, it’s because t h e y think t h e y ’ r e facing an unprecedented journey fo r which there is no road map. But there is a road map. Our research into the forces that have shaped the competitive landscape in recent decades reveals that ―business megatrends‖ have features and trajectories in common. Sustainability is an emerging megatrend, and thus its course is to some extent predictable. Understanding how firms won in prior megatrends can help executives craft the strategies and systems they’ll need to gain advantage in this one. The concept of megatrends is not new, of course. Businessman and author John Naisbitt popularized the term in his 1982 best seller of the same name, referring to incipient societal and economic shifts such as globalization, the rise of the information society, and the move from hierarchical organizations to networks. Our focus is on business megatrends, which force fundamental and persistent shifts in how companies compete. Such transformations arise from technological innovation or from new ways of doing business, and many factors can launch or magnify the process of change. Business megatrends may emerge from or be accelerated by financial crises, shifts in the social realities that define the marketplace, or the threat of conflict over resources. The geopolitics of the Cold War, for example, drove the innovations that launched both the space race and rapid developments in the field of microelectronics—ultimately unleashing the information technology megatrend. Electrification, the rise of mass production, and globalization were also megatrends, as was the quality movement of the 1970s and 1980s. The common thread among them is that they presented inescapable strategic imperatives for corporate leaders.

The Sustainability Imperative

A review of the extensions of a modified EOQ model for imperfect quality items

An economic order quantity (EOQ) for items with imperfect quality and inspection errors

It is imperative for contemporary businesses to proactively search for ways of continuously improving the performance of their supply chains. Supply chain coordination and integrated decision making across the supply chain among various supply chain partners are frequently employed towards this end. Such supply chain coordination strategies include the use of common cycle time, quantity discounts, optimal lot sizing, quality improvements and inspections, etc. An important issue lacking in the supply chain literature relates to the incorporation of such quintessential and omnipresent human factors as errors in quality inspections and production improvements due to learning. This paper provides a simple but integrated mathematical model for determining an optimal vendor–buyer inventory policy by accounting for quality inspection errors at the buyer’s end and learning in production at the vendor’s end. The objective is to minimize the joint annual cost incurred in the supply chain. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the application and the substance of the proposed model. We discuss how such integrated models can be used for justifying investments in such strategic and operational areas as relationship management, product design, process design, and personnel training. We also provide some very interesting and challenging future research directions.

An integrated supply chain model with errors in quality inspection and learning in production

Information sharing in a sustainable supply chain

Simulation-based educational products are excellent set of illustrative tools that proffer features like visualization of the dynamic behavior of a real system, etc. Such products have great efficacy in education and are known to be one of the first-rate student centered learning methodologies. These products allow students to practice skills such as critical thinking and decision-making. In this paper, a case is presented where a scenario-based e-learning product namely 'supply chain simulator' is developed at KFUPM for an introductory technology course. The product simulates a supply chain - a network of facilities and distribution systems that carries out the task of procurement and transformation of materials from manufacturer to customer. The product was put to test during four semesters and results of the survey conducted by the instructors and the students are presented. The results clearly suggest the benefits of using such a tool in enhancing student learning.

Mehmood Khan

Papers

A review of the extensions of a modified EOQ model for imperfect quality items

An economic order quantity (EOQ) for items with imperfect quality and inspection errors

An integrated supply chain model with errors in quality inspection and learning in production

Information sharing in a sustainable supply chain

Supply chain simulator: A scenario-based educational tool to enhance student learning