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.

The Corruption of Managerial Techniques by Organizations

Abstract: Public sector organizations are under pressure to adopt private sector tools to sustain legitimacy despite uncertainty about the compatibility of the techniques with this context. We explore the consequences of the misfit between the theories underlying two widely adopted managerial techniques (strategic planning and quality management) and the pluralistic power structure and values of public hospitals. We identify four scenarios of adaptation and use qualitative data to examine their empirical prevalence. We suggest that when the compatibility gap is large, there is greater likelihood that formalized techniques will be captured by and integrated into existing organizational dynamics (corruption of the technique) than that the technique will change these dynamics in a way consistent with its objectives (transformation of the organization). We examine the implications of our observations for understanding the role of managerial techniques in organizational change.

The maximal expected coverage relocation problem for emergency vehicles

Abstract: In the Maximal Expected Coverage Relocation Problem the aim is to provide a dynamic relocation strategy for emergency vehicle waiting sites in such a way that the expected covered demand is maximized and the number of waiting site relocations is controlled. The problem can be formulated as an integer linear program. When the number of vehicles is relatively small this program can be solved within reasonable computing time. Simulations conducted with real-life emergency medical services data from the Montreal area confirm the feasibility of the proposed approach.

The Reliability of Inflation Forecasts Based on Output Gap Estimates in Real Time

Abstract: A stable predictive relationship between inflation and the output gap, often referred to as a Phillips curve, provides the basis for countercyclical monetary policy in many models. In this paper, we evaluate the usefulness of alternative univariate and multivariate estimates of the output gap for predicting inflation. Many of the ex post output gap measures we examine appear to be quite useful for predicting inflation. However, forecasts using real-time estimates of the same measures do not perform nearly as well. The relative usefulness of real-time output gap estimates diminishes further when compared to simple bivariate forecasting models which use past inflation and output growth. Forecast performance also appears to be unstable over time, with models often performing differently over periods of high and low inflation. These results call into question the practical usefulness of the output gap concept for forecasting inflation.