HEC Montréal

About: HEC Montréal is a education organization based out in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Vehicle routing problem & Corporate governance. The organization has 1221 authors who have published 5708 publications receiving 196862 citations. The organization is also known as: Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montreal & HEC Montreal.

A Unified Decomposition Matheuristic for Assembly, Production, and Inventory Routing

Abstract: While the joint optimization of production and outbound distribution decisions in a manufacturing context have been intensively studied in the past decade, the integration of production, inventory,...

Solving Lot-Sizing Problems on Parallel Identical Machines Using Symmetry-Breaking Constraints

Abstract: Production planning on multiple parallel machines is an interesting problem, both from a theoretical and practical point of view. The parallel machine lot-sizing problem consists of finding the optimal timing and level of production and the best allocation of products to machines. In this paper, we look at how to incorporate parallel machines in a mixed-integer programming model when using commercial optimization software. More specifically, we look at the issue of symmetry. When multiple identical machines are available, many alternative optimal solutions can be created by renumbering the machines. These alternative solutions lead to difficulties in the branch-and-bound algorithm. We propose new constraints to break this symmetry. We tested our approach on the parallel machine lot-sizing problem with setup costs and times, using a network reformulation for this problem. Computational tests indicate that several of the proposed symmetry-breaking constraints substantially improve the solution time, except when used for solving the very easy problems. The results highlight the importance of creative modeling in solving mixed-integer programming problems---specifically, the potential added value of symmetry-breaking constraints.

A structured literature review and suggestions for future effectuation research

Abstract: In spite of all the scholarly attention it has garnered, effectuation research continues to face a series of theoretical and methodological challenges. In order to help move effectuation research forward, we content-analyze a comprehensive sample of 101 effectuation articles published in JCR®-listed journals between 1998 and 2016 (inclusively), with the specific aim of uncovering the main conceptual and methodological articulations that have underpinned effectuation research to date. In doing so, we not only uncover some the field’s achievements and shortcomings but also examine the extent to which published effectuation research addresses its most salient criticisms. We build on these observations to propose three recommendations for future advances, namely (1) conceiving effectuation as a “mode of action”; (2) developing new methodological indicators centered on effectuation’s concrete manifestations; and (3) examining the underlying dynamics explaining effectuation’s antecedents and consequences.

External facilitators and interprofessional facilitation teams: a qualitative study of their roles in supporting practice change

Abstract: Facilitation is a powerful approach to support practice change. The purpose of this study is to better understand the facilitation roles exercised by both external facilitators and interprofessional facilitation teams to foster the implementation of change. Building on Dogherty et al.’s taxonomy of facilitation activities, this study uses an organizational development lens to identify and analyze facilitation roles. It includes a concise definition of what interprofessional facilitation teams actually do, thus expanding our limited knowledge of teams that act as change agents. We also investigate the facilitation dynamics between change actors. We carried out a qualitative analysis of a 1-year process of practice change implementation. We studied four family medicine groups, in which we constituted interprofessional facilitation teams. Each team was supported by one external facilitator and included at least one family physician, one case manager nurse, and health professionals located on or off the family medicine group’s site (one pharmacist, plus at least one nutritionist, kinesiologist, or psychologist). We collected our data through focus group interviews with the four teams, individual interviews with the two external facilitators, and case audit documentation. We analyzed both predetermined (as per Dogherty et al., 2012) and emerging facilitation roles, as well as facilitation dynamics. A non-linear framework of facilitation roles emerged from our data, based on four fields of expertise: change management, project management, meeting management, and group/interpersonal dynamics. We identified 72 facilitation roles, grouped into two categories: “implementation-oriented” and “support-oriented.” Each category was subdivided into themes (n = 6; n = 5) for clearer understanding (e.g., legitimation of change/project, management of effective meetings). Finally, an examination of facilitation dynamics revealed eight relational ties occurring within and/or between groups of actors. Facilitation is an approach used by appointed individuals, which teams can also foster, to build capacity and support practice change. Increased understanding of facilitation roles constitutes an asset in training practitioners such as organizational development experts, consultants, facilitators, and facilitation teams. It also helps decision makers become aware of the multiple roles and dynamics involved and the key competencies needed to recruit facilitators and members of interprofessional facilitation teams.

Individual, Familial, and Organizational Determinants of Career Plateau An Empirical Study of the Determinants of Objective and Subjective Career Plateau in a Population of Canadian Managers

Abstract: This article examines the effects of various individual and organizational variables on two measures of career plateau, an objective measure of job stability and a subjective evaluation of having reached a dead end. The study is based on a sample of 2,183 managers from all organizational ranks, representing 41 business establishments and three Canadian economic sectors. The results show wide differences between the variables explaining the fact of having reached a career plateau and the feeling of being in a dead end. The best predictors of objective plateau are objective factors such as past success, age, and education. For the subjective plateau, personal variables such as desire for advancement and personality (locus of control) play the most important role. In both cases, individual factors come out as better predictors of career plateau than familial and organizational factors.