Author
William W. Cooper
Other affiliations: Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institution for Science
Bio: William W. Cooper is an academic researcher from University of Texas at Austin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Data envelopment analysis & Linear programming. The author has an hindex of 79, co-authored 254 publications receiving 76641 citations. Previous affiliations of William W. Cooper include Harvard University & Carnegie Mellon University.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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21 Jul 1966
TL;DR: Network characterizations are developed for effecting contacts between accounting and mathematical programming altered and related to suitable generalizations of classical network ideas such as the Kirchhoff node conservation laws.
Abstract: : Network characterizations are developed for effecting contacts between accounting and mathematical programming. En route to these objectives some of the customary uses of double entry accounting are altered and related to suitable generalizations of classical network ideas such as the Kirchhoff node conservation laws. Extensions of the usual node-link incidence relations provide a basis for effecting these contacts. Concrete illustrations are supplied including a goods-flow-funds-flow model which is preceded by a simpler example involving a PERT-Critical Path application. The latter is examined in the context of a uni-dimensional physical flow involving time only while the former suggests how double entry can be extended to flows that involve a variety of different dimensions. A possibility for joint coordinated uses of programming and accounting of management planning is indicated and amplified and some of the implications for alterations in accounting practice are then examined. Suggestions for further extensions include probabilistic formulations and multi-dimensional objectives.
22 citations
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TL;DR: The July, I960, issue of Management Science contains an English translation of an important original article by L. V. Kantorovich as discussed by the authors, "Mathematical Methods of Organizing and Planning Production".
Abstract: The July, I960, issue of Management Science contains an English translation of an important original article by L. V. Kantorovich [Kantorovich, L. V. Mathematical Methods of Organizing and Planning Production. Leningrad University, 1939, with a Foreword by A. R. Marchenko (Russian). An English translation, prepared by R. W. Campbell and W. H. Marlow, appears under this same title in Management Science Vol. 6, No. 4, (July, 1960), pp. 366–422.] and an introductory note by T. C. Koopmans [Koopmans, T. C. 1960. A note about Kantorovich's paper, ‘Mathematical Methods of Organizing and Planning Production'. Management Sci. 6 (4, July) 363–365.] which is both evaluative and explanatory. In his penultimate paragraph, Professor Koopmans accords a tribute to this writing of Kantorovich which is at least partly deserved, although it is also paid for, we think, at too high a price in modesty for Professor Koopman's own work as well as the work of others. There is a certain lack of precision at critical points in the...
22 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated productivity growth, technical progress, and efficiency change for a group of the 56 largest CPA firms in the US from the period 1996-1999 through the period 2003-2006, where the former preceded, and the latter followed, enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).
Abstract: This paper investigates productivity growth, technical progress, and efficiency change for a group of the 56 largest CPA firms in the US from the period 1996–1999 through the period 2003–2006, where the former preceded, and the latter followed, enactment of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX). Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to calculate Malmquist indices of three measures of interest: productivity growth, technical progress, and efficiency change. Results indicate that CPA firms, on average, experienced a productivity growth of approx. 17% from the pre- to post-SOX period. Consistent with the finding of Banker et al. [Banker RD, Chang H, Natarajan R. Productivity change, technical progress and relative efficiency change in the public accounting industry. Management Science 2005;51:291–304], this productivity gain can be attributed primarily to technical progress rather than a change in relative efficiency. In addition, results indicate that the “Big 4” firms underperformed their non-Big 4 counterparts in both productivity growth and technical progress.
22 citations
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TL;DR: New organizational forms for accomplishing this include what are sometimes referred to as the “core and cloud organization forms” described in this paper, suggested for delivering education and effecting the kind of applications-driven theory that management schools will be better able to undertake.
Abstract: This article reviews some of the very severe criticisms of university education and research that are now being made by businessmen and government officials as well as by distinguished members of the academy such as Peter Drucker and Milton Friedman. The focus is on business schools, and, in particular, business schools in research universities. One part of the response suggested in this paper can be described as “applications driven theory”, meaning that relevance is to be attained by starting with a concrete problem in the context of an actual application. This is what we mean by “applications driven”. “Theory” becomes a recognizable part of such a research effort when the approaches used are generalized and made publicly available (e.g., by publication) for interest, and use, by others with sufficient rigor and precision to admit of validation by “third parties”. Classroom relevance is attained by addressing the need for bringing research and its management uses into the classroom. This is also to be done in a manner that will help and encourage students to learn to use the university as a resource in their subsequent careers. New organizational forms for accomplishing this include what are sometimes referred to as the “core and cloud organization forms” described in this paper. Uses of this form with accompanying examples are suggested for delivering education and effecting the kind of applications-driven theory that management schools will then be better able to undertake. An Addendum compares US higher education with the situations in other countries.
22 citations
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TL;DR: It is argued that movement toward the ‘control’ aspects of management should be effected to expand OR/MS activities beyond their present (almost exclusive) emphasis on ‘planning’ functions, which will involve increasing the amount of empirical-inferential approaches to research as one way to help bring this about.
Abstract: It is argued that movement toward the ‘control’ aspects of management should be effected to expand OR/MS activities beyond their present (almost exclusive) emphasis on ‘planning’ functions. This will involve increasing the amount of empirical-inferential approaches to research (based on ex-post data) as one way to help bring this about. Examples of such empirical-inferential research activities in OR/MS are supplied by reference to the early (founding) work of PMS Blackett and others on high-level policy problems during World War II. Extensions to the control function are evidenced in the work of Robert Fetter and others in the development of Diagnostic Related Groups on which the Prospective Payment Systems are based with large and important impacts on the health care delivery systems in the USA as well as other countries. Other examples covered include the use of OR concepts in the early ‘turnaround’ of Federal Express from failure to success. Other new methods will nevertheless be needed to extend and improve presently available OR/MS approaches. Some of these possibilities are illustrated with Data Envelopment Analysis. Ways to combine DEA with commonly used statistical methods are described to show how new and old methods may be combined to further enhance their power and range. Similar relations of DEA to other OR/MS approaches are now being studied, some of which are presently occurring with ‘fuzzy sets’ and ‘multiple objective programming.’
21 citations
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TL;DR: A nonlinear (nonconvex) programming model provides a new definition of efficiency for use in evaluating activities of not-for-profit entities participating in public programs and methods for objectively determining weights by reference to the observational data for the multiple outputs and multiple inputs that characterize such programs.
25,433 citations
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TL;DR: The CCR ratio form introduced by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes, as part of their Data Envelopment Analysis approach, comprehends both technical and scale inefficiencies via the optimal value of the ratio form, as obtained directly from the data without requiring a priori specification of weights and/or explicit delineation of assumed functional forms of relations between inputs and outputs as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In management contexts, mathematical programming is usually used to evaluate a collection of possible alternative courses of action en route to selecting one which is best. In this capacity, mathematical programming serves as a planning aid to management. Data Envelopment Analysis reverses this role and employs mathematical programming to obtain ex post facto evaluations of the relative efficiency of management accomplishments, however they may have been planned or executed. Mathematical programming is thereby extended for use as a tool for control and evaluation of past accomplishments as well as a tool to aid in planning future activities. The CCR ratio form introduced by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes, as part of their Data Envelopment Analysis approach, comprehends both technical and scale inefficiencies via the optimal value of the ratio form, as obtained directly from the data without requiring a priori specification of weights and/or explicit delineation of assumed functional forms of relations between inputs and outputs. A separation into technical and scale efficiencies is accomplished by the methods developed in this paper without altering the latter conditions for use of DEA directly on observational data. Technical inefficiencies are identified with failures to achieve best possible output levels and/or usage of excessive amounts of inputs. Methods for identifying and correcting the magnitudes of these inefficiencies, as supplied in prior work, are illustrated. In the present paper, a new separate variable is introduced which makes it possible to determine whether operations were conducted in regions of increasing, constant or decreasing returns to scale in multiple input and multiple output situations. The results are discussed and related not only to classical single output economics but also to more modern versions of economics which are identified with "contestable market theories."
14,941 citations
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31 Jul 1985
TL;DR: The book updates the research agenda with chapters on possibility theory, fuzzy logic and approximate reasoning, expert systems, fuzzy control, fuzzy data analysis, decision making and fuzzy set models in operations research.
Abstract: Fuzzy Set Theory - And Its Applications, Third Edition is a textbook for courses in fuzzy set theory. It can also be used as an introduction to the subject. The character of a textbook is balanced with the dynamic nature of the research in the field by including many useful references to develop a deeper understanding among interested readers. The book updates the research agenda (which has witnessed profound and startling advances since its inception some 30 years ago) with chapters on possibility theory, fuzzy logic and approximate reasoning, expert systems, fuzzy control, fuzzy data analysis, decision making and fuzzy set models in operations research. All chapters have been updated. Exercises are included.
7,877 citations
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01 May 1981TL;DR: This chapter discusses Detecting Influential Observations and Outliers, a method for assessing Collinearity, and its applications in medicine and science.
Abstract: 1. Introduction and Overview. 2. Detecting Influential Observations and Outliers. 3. Detecting and Assessing Collinearity. 4. Applications and Remedies. 5. Research Issues and Directions for Extensions. Bibliography. Author Index. Subject Index.
4,948 citations
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30 Nov 1999TL;DR: In this article, the basic CCR model and DEA models with restricted multipliers are discussed. But they do not consider the effect of non-discretionary and categorical variables.
Abstract: List of Tables. List of Figures. Preface. 1. General Discussion. 2. The Basic CCR Model. 3. The CCR Model and Production Correspondence. 4. Alternative DEA Models. 5. Returns to Scale. 6. Models with Restricted Multipliers. 7. Discretionary, Non-Discretionary and Categorical Variables. 8. Allocation Models. 9. Data Variations. Appendices. Index.
4,395 citations