Managing the movement of components and products from suppliers to customers and ultimately to end-users is undergoing rapid changes. Supply chain management has increasingly gained attention as companies have sought to reduce costs and improve service performance in a quest for gaining an advantage on the competition.

This dissertation examines task specialization in the public administration profession through studying the job tasks that a public procurement practitioner performs, manages, and both performs and manages. The purpose of this dissertation was to establish a baseline to benchmark what these practitioners actually do on their jobs. Factor analysis was used to study a data set of 2,549 respondents that were administered a survey by the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) in 2012. The research question to be answered involved addressing what job tasks public procurement practitioners perform, manage, and both perform and manage. Hypotheses were examined that predicted task specialization existing within public procurement to the extent that practitioners in more senior job positions display more task specialization and that practitioners from larger organizations also display more task specialization. A review of literature discusses the alternative perspectives on what constitutes professionalism in the public sector. The reasons for focusing on public procurement professionalism were subsequently presented through the literature. The various views of what entails professionalism in public administration were discussed as to responsibility (Stivers, 1994), sociological issues (Simon, 1947), constitutional issues (Lowi, 1995; Rohr, 1986), technical specialization and empirical rigor (Parsons, 1939), as means of contextualizing the nature of public administrators’ roles and responsibilities in conjunction with the job tasks that are executed. Factor analysis was conducted on 75 job tasks in order to identify relationships between practitioner job tasks for the purposes of finding out what it is that public procurement practitioners actually do for their work. The job tasks found to share relationships may be grouped together for further inquiry into the nature of the relationships between job tasks and overarching competency areas of related job tasks. Additionally, factor analyses were conducted to identify relationships between job tasks in public procurement and control variables such as organization size and job position, which were predicted to impact whether or not practitioners perform, manage, both perform and manage, or do neither, for each of the job tasks surveyed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Based on the findings of previous studies, we propose that culture and management practices significantly influence ERP decisions that include using or not using ERP and using which type of ERP system. To provide more insights for the ERP vendors to develop systems which fit Chinese culture and practices as well as for Chinese manufacturers to choose a suitable ERP system, this study explores and aims to empirically validate factors influencing ERP decisions from the perspectives of organizational culture and SCM practices. / In the past decade, more and more Chinese manufacturers adopt enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems to facilitate their planning, manufacturing, logistics and other business processes and management. Meanwhile, how to choose a suitable ERP system becomes a difficult problem for many companies. / Scholars have conducted many studies related to ERP decision problem. Findings of those existing studies have provided important references for companies to make decision on using or not using ERP system. However, very limit insight can be found from the previous studies regarding of which type of ERP system should be chosen. / We propose two research models integrating organizational culture, SCM practices and ERP decisions, based on a comprehensive review on the literatures of IT and culture, management practices and culture. We conduct a survey in the manufacturing firms in five cities in Pearl River Delta (PRD) regions and empirically validate our research models. The empirical results indicate that process versus results oriented, open versus closed system and information sharing significantly influence the decision on using or not using ERP system; in addition, loose versus tight control, normative versus pragmatic, information quality and internal agile practices significantly influence the decision on using which type of ERP system. / Tang, Mincong. / Advisers: Xiande Zhao; Waiman Cheung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-07(E), Section: A. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-205). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract and appendix also in Chinese.

本论文由两个供应链模型组成，是关于定价、渠道结构和策略消费者行为的综合研究。 / 由于互联网和电子商务的出现，在过去几年中大量创新的销售策略被引入到在线旅游业内。在第一部分中，我们主要研究了策略消费者的情绪因子（后悔）和不同的信息结构在“买方自主定价“渠道中的影响。通过加入策略消费者的预期后悔，我们首先刻画了每个消费者的购买渠道选择和投标策略，然后导出了以最大化利润为目标、具有双渠道结构的寡头服务供应商的贝叶斯纳什均衡，通过比较得到服务供应商的最优销售渠道选择和最优定价。最后，我们评估了不同类型的预期后悔（预期作为后悔和预期不作为后悔）对服务供应商定价，总利润和最优销售渠道选择的影响。对不同的信息结构按照相同的逻辑也做了分析。 / 另一方面，随着公众越来越意识到环境问题，绿色供应链管理已经得到了越来越多的关注。在第二部分中，我们建立了公司在两个部门下分别管理其新产品和可区分的再制造产品的定价模型。我们首先把在两个独立市场下的研究作为这一问题的基准，然后得到了在同一市场的广义模型下，集中式系统的最优定价以及分散式系统的纳什均衡结果。通过对确定性模型的分析和数值试验，得到了管理上的一些洞识。 / This thesis, consisting of two supply chain models, is an integrated study of pricing, channel structures and strategic consumer behavior. / Due to the the emergence of internet and e-commerce, masses of innovative selling strategies have been introduced in the online travel industry over the past few years. In the first part, we mainly investigate the impact of the strategic consumer’s emotional factor (regret) and the alternative information structure on the Name-Your-Own-Price (NYOP) channel. By incorporating the strategic consumers’ anticipated regret, we first characterize the optimal channel choice and bidding strategy for each consumer. Then we derive the Bayesian Nash equilibrium for a profit maximizing monopoly service provider with a dual channel. Optimal channel selection, followed by the corresponding optimal pricing decision, are obtained via comparison. Finally, we evaluate the impact of different types of anticipated regret - action regret and inaction regret - on the service provider’s pricing, overall profit and optimal channel selections. The alternative information structure could be analyzed following the same logic. / On the other hand, Green Supply Chain Management has gained increasing attention as the public becomes more aware of environmental issues. In the second part, we examine a pricing model for a firm that manages both new and differentiated remanufactured products under two divisions. We first investigate the problem under two independent markets as a baseline, and then derive the optimal pricing decisions in a centralized system as well as the Nash equilibrium results in a decentralized system for the general model under one market. Several managerial insights are obtained from the deterministic model and numerical study. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Jiang, Jun. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-124). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Table of Contents --- p.x / Chapter 0 --- Notation / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- Sell through an NYOP Channel: Information and Regret --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.6 / Chapter 2.2 --- Literature Review --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Regret Theory --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Name-Your-Own-Price Selling Mechanism --- p.13 / Chapter 2.3 --- The General Model and Assumptions --- p.16 / Chapter 2.4 --- Consumer Regret --- p.19 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Consumer Inaction Regret --- p.20 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Bayesian Nash Equilibrium with Inaction Regret --- p.29 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Consumer Action Regret --- p.32 / Chapter 2.4.4 --- Comparison --- p.35 / Chapter 2.5 --- Consumer Information --- p.40 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Clear Capacity --- p.40 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- No Commitment of Clearing Capacity --- p.43 / Chapter 2.6 --- Extensions --- p.45 / Chapter 2.6.1 --- Vertical Integration of the NYOP Channel --- p.45 / Chapter 2.6.2 --- Optimal Linear Pricing Contract --- p.47 / Chapter 2.7 --- Numerical Study --- p.50 / Chapter 2.7.1 --- The Impact of Inaction Regret --- p.50 / Chapter 2.7.2 --- The Impact of Action Regret --- p.55 / Chapter 2.7.3 --- The Impact of Information --- p.59 / Chapter 2.8 --- Summary --- p.61 / Chapter 3 --- Intra-firm Competition in Manufacturing and Remanufacturing Operations --- p.62 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.62 / Chapter 3.2 --- Literature Review --- p.65 / Chapter 3.3 --- The Model --- p.67 / Chapter 3.4 --- Random Return --- p.68 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Independent Market --- p.69 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Centralized System --- p.70 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Decentralized System --- p.72 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- Multiplicative Return Form --- p.81 / Chapter 3.4.5 --- Efficiency Improvement Methods --- p.83 / Chapter 3.5 --- Deterministic Model --- p.85 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Independent Market --- p.85 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Centralized System --- p.86 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Decentralized System --- p.89 / Chapter 3.5.4 --- Coordination --- p.92 / Chapter 3.6 --- Numerical Study --- p.94 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- The Impact of System Parameters --- p.94 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Deterministic Model --- p.97 / Chapter 3.6.3 --- Efficiency Improvement Comparison --- p.99 / Chapter 3.7 --- Summary --- p.100 / Chapter 4 --- Conclusion --- p.101 / Appendix / Bibliography --- p.113

In a world going towards automation, I ask whether salespeople making pricing decisions in a high human interaction environment such as business to business (B2B) retail, could be automated, and under what conditions it would be most beneficial. I propose a hybrid approach to automation that combines the expert salesperson and an artificial intelligence model of the salesperson in making pricing decisions in B2B. The hybrid approach preserves individual and organizational knowledge both by learning the expert's decision making behavior and by keeping the expert in the decision making process for decisions that require human judgment. Using sales transactions data from a B2B aluminum retailer, I create an automated version of each salesperson, that learns the salesperson's pricing policy based on her past pricing decisions. In a field experiment, I provide salespeople in the B2B retailer with their own model's price recommendations through their CRM system in real-time, and allow them to adjust their original pricing accordingly. I find that despite the loss of non-codeable information that is available to the salesperson but not to the model, providing the model's price increases profits for treated quotes by as much as 10% relative to a control condition, which translates to approximately $1.3 million in yearly profits. Using a counterfactual analysis, I also find that a hybrid pricing approach, that follows the model's pricing most of time, but defers to the salesperson's pricing when the model is missing important information is more profitable than pure automation or pure reliance on the salesperson's pricing. I find that in most cases the model's scalability and consistency lead to better pricing decisions that translate to higher profits, but when pricing uncommon products or pricing for unfamiliar clients it is best to use human judgment. I investigate different ways, including machine learning methods, to model the salesperson's behavior and to combine salespeople's expertise as reflected by their automated representations, and discuss implications for automation of tasks that involve soft skills.

No description available.

Xu Xiaolin. / "August 2006." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-156). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

Song Xiping. / "August 2006." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 136-142). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

退貨産品在國民經濟中發揮重要作用，近些年來在工業界和學術界引起廣泛關注。由于受到退貨産品的巨大經濟潛能驅動以及迫于相關法律的強大壓力，企業開始積極整合現有供應鏈流程和産品退貨流程，但是在這個過程中生産計劃和庫存管理運營遇到了前所未有的挑戰。本論文分析了可修護單壹産品的多周期庫存系統管理問題，其中該庫存系統包含隨機的新産品需求和産品保修需求。所探討的系統還包含了以下特征： i. 産品供應源的完美替換。新訂購産品和維修後的退貨産品並無二異。ii. 需求優先級。在單個周期內，新産品需求優先級高于保修需求。iii. 新産品訂購和退貨産品維修特性。兩項流程交付時間都假設爲零。在每個周期中，維修退貨産品過程涉及且考慮維修損失。我們探尋到了所考察系統的最優庫存補貨和處理控制策略。 / Product returns play an important role in the economy and have attracted more and more attention both from industry and academia in the past few years. Motivated by enormous economic potential of and dramatic legislation pressure on product returns, companies today actively integrate product-return processes with their existing forward supply-chain processes, but must confront the considerable challenge of production planning and inventory control problems compared to traditional problems without returns and repairs. / This thesis analyzes a multi-period single-item repairable inventory system with stochastic new and warranty demands. The system investigated has the following features: i. perfect substitution of supply sources. Newly-procured items are indistinguishable from items repaired from repairable warranty returns. ii. demand priority. New demand has higher priority than warranty demand within a period and thus needs to be satisfied first. iii. properties on the processes of purchasing and repairing. We assume zero lead-time for both processes. Further we capture the "repair loss" in repairing returns in each period. We identify the optimal inventory replenishment and disposal policies for the investigated system. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Lin, Yizhong. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-87). / Abstracts also in Chinese.

Wang Tong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-61). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.9 / Chapter 3 --- Evaluation of Cost and Service --- p.13 / Chapter 3.1 --- Preliminaries --- p.13 / Chapter 3.2 --- Evaluation --- p.15 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Cost Function --- p.15 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Expression of Time-window Ready Rate --- p.16 / Chapter 4 --- Optimization of the Inventory Policy --- p.19 / Chapter 4.1 --- "Monotonicity of Cost C(s, S)" --- p.19 / Chapter 4.2 --- Optimization Algorithms - Case(i) --- p.20 / Chapter 4.3 --- Optimization Algorithm ´ؤ Case(ii) --- p.27 / Chapter 5 --- Heuristic Method for Case(ii) --- p.30 / Chapter 5.1 --- Approximation of Q(S) --- p.30 / Chapter 5.2 --- Algorithm --- p.33 / Chapter 6 --- Comparison with the ADI Model --- p.34 / Chapter 6.1 --- The ADI Model --- p.35 / Chapter 6.1.1 --- Cost Function --- p.35 / Chapter 6.1.2 --- Service Rate --- p.37 / Chapter 6.1.3 --- Optimal Policy --- p.37 / Chapter 6.2 --- Numerical Comparison --- p.37 / Chapter 7 --- Numerical Experiments --- p.40 / Chapter 7.1 --- Cost Impact --- p.40 / Chapter 7.1.1 --- Cost Impact of Ready Rate --- p.41 / Chapter 7.1.2 --- Cost Impact of Time-window --- p.41 / Chapter 7.1.3 --- Cost Impact of Other Parameters --- p.45 / Chapter 7.2 --- Performance of the Algorithms --- p.46 / Chapter 7.3 --- Numerical Study of Heuristic --- p.48 / Chapter 8 --- Conclusion --- p.50 / Chapter A --- Some omitted proofs --- p.52 / Chapter A.1 --- Proof of Lemma 1 --- p.52 / Chapter A.2 --- Proof of Lemma 10 --- p.53 / Chapter A.3 --- Proof of Lemma 12 --- p.55 / Chapter A.4 --- Proof of Lemma 15 --- p.56 / Bibliography --- p.61