Proefschrift Maastricht. / Met lit. opg., index. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

Proefschrift Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam.

The availability of large data sets and powerful computing resources has made data analysis an increasingly viable approach to understanding random processes. Of particular interest are exploratory techniques which provide insight into the local path behavior of highly positively correlated processes. We focus on actual and simulated teletraffic data in the form of time series. Our foremost objective is to develop a methodology of identifying and classifying shape features which are essentially unrecognizable with standard statistical descriptors. Using basic aspects of human vision as a heuristic guide, we have developed an algorithm which "sketches" data sequences. Our approach to summarizing path behavior is based on exploiting the simple structure of a sketch. We have developed a procedure whereby all the "shapes" of a sketch are summarized in a visually comprehensible manner. We do so by placing the shapes in classes, then displaying, for each class, both a representative shape and the number of shapes in the class. These "shape histograms" can provide substantial insight into the behavior of sample paths. We have also used sketches to help model data sequences. The idea here is that a model based on a sketch of a data sequence may provide a better fit under some circumstances than a model based directly on the data. By considering various sketches, one could, for example, develop a Markov chain model whose autocorrelation function approximates that of the original data. We have generalized this use of sketches so that a data sequence can be modeled as the superposition of several sketches, each capturing a different level of detail. Because the concept of path shape is highly visual, it is important that our techniques exploit the strengths of and accommodate for the weaknesses of human vision. We have addressed this by using computer graphics in a variety of novel ways.

<p> High Throughput Screening (HTS) systems are highly technological and fully automated plants which are used for the analysis of thousands of biochemical substances to provide basis for the drug discovery process. As the operation of these systems is remarkably expensive, the scheduling for the processes of such complex systems is critical to the HTS companies. Since the processing time affects the throughput and the efficiency of the system, a time-optimal schedule must be developed for the system which can yield high throughputs. In this thesis, a Mixed Integer Programming model is presented, minimizing the overall processing time and therefore maximizing the throughput of the system. To generate the mathematical model, the principles of Job-Shop Scheduling and Cyclic Scheduling are utilized. The results of the study are supported by an experiment conducted at the High Throughput Screening plant at Washington University in St. Louis. As a conclusion, the model has generated a time-optimal cyclic schedule which improves the total processing time of the system by 3 minutes for 25 batches. The projection of the model for experiments that run with hundreds of batches is interpreted to generate greater improvements for the overall processing time of the system.</p><p>

<p> Team collaboration and decision making have a significant role in the overall performance of complex System of Systems (SoS). Inefficient decisions can result in significant extra cost and reduction in the overall team performance within the organizations. Therefore, the early and effective evaluation of the individual and collaborative team decisions are essential. The degree of utility of alternative strategy designs may vary given the condition, but these conditions are not always considered when the decisions are being made. Improved Systems Engineering (SE) processes and tools are needed during the systems&rsquo; development lifecycle to make decisions, and rapidly evaluate and assess multiple design alternatives to effectively select architectural design strategies that yield the highest mission performance. This research applies the SE principles of design for change and flexibility in an agent-based model to simulate design alternatives for systems analysis and decision making. The model evaluates and selects the decision(s) for SoS comprised of collaborative teams resulting in higher mission performance. The proposed agent-based model was applied to test the team decision-making improvements within the SoS structure of the air transportation domain. The experimental results indicated significant improvements in decision coordination, decision workload, and overall system performance in air transportation domain. This research contributes to the agent-based modeling of the SoS teams and can assist with evaluating team decisions and improving decision making as an essential element in the field of Systems Engineering.</p><p>

<p> This practicum sought to study whether the systematic creation of a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM) at University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) would increase research staff confidence in their ability and improve knowledge of resources. We wished to determine also faculty confidence in research staff before and after SOP creation. The term SOP and its use came to prominence in the mid 20th century as a descriptor for a systematic method to ensure consistency and efficiency in task completion in organizations. An SOP is any document that seeks to standardize, through plain and instructive language, a common process or task in an organization to ensure the quality and uniformity of the outcome or product of said task or process. The DEM at UTSW was recently created as its own department when it split off from under the umbrella of the Department of Surgery and did not have any documented standardized processes in place regarding research administration actions and procedures. This could have been hindering the ability of the staff to operate efficiently, consistently, and correctly. For this project, the clinical research staff and faculty of the DEM of UTSW were surveyed regarding their confidence levels before and after a set of administrative SOPs was systematically developed to evaluate the success of the aforementioned SOPs. Before creating the SOPs, the staff and faculty were consulted on which SOPs they felt were most needed and, based upon the outcome of these consultations, creation of those SOPs was prioritized accordingly. Then, after looking at SOPs for similar or identical processes from other departments, they were collaboratively created with input and insights of research staff and faculty from these other departments. It was hypothesized that having SOPs would increase research staff confidence, increase efficiency, and increase accuracy in the completion of their duties, as well as increase faculty confidence in research staff. A statistical analysis of the seven pre-SOP research staff responses with six post-SOP research staff responses and 22 pre-SOP faculty responses with 15 post-SOP faculty responses yielded no significant associations. However, the mean response improved for all but one question of the faculty and research staff surveys. Considering the limitations of the present study, including a limited sample size and limited time window for completion, future studies with improved design are needed to further evaluate the impact of SOPs. But valuable, however, is the confirmation by the present study that involvement of personnel to whom SOPs apply is not only valuable and preferred, it is essential to ensuring that they are applicable and useful.</p><p>

<p> Organizations achieve their strategy through projects. Organizations also embark on strategic change initiatives to fill performance gaps in their operational practices. The interaction between strategy and organizational activities is complicated. Accordingly, integrating the performance of the organizational domains with the strategy domain is a challenge. </p><p> The strategic portfolio performance management approach in three large organizations was investigated to have a closer look at the performance management practices. Understanding the views of practitioners regarding the strategic portfolio performance management practices in their organizations or those of their clients was important. Therefore, a questionnaire was conducted, and 164 professionals represent different industries, and geographical locations participated. </p><p> The results showed the absence of a comprehensive enterprise-wide performance management model. Moreover, organizations usually confuse among the success factors of various organizational domains. Therefore, it is not uncommon to find project management metrics used to measure strategic objectives performance. A similar confusion was observed between project performance and operation performance. Additionally, communicating the organization strategy to project and operation domains is still a challenge. More importantly, it was observed that existing portfolio performance models and practices focus on the performance of only projects, and ignore other portfolio components. Finally, organizations overlook the continuity of the strategic alignment of the projects in a portfolio, even though it was significantly relevant. </p><p> Based on the findings, there is a need for an enterprise-wide strategic portfolio performance management system that looks at enterprise portfolio from a broader perspective than that of just a portfolio of projects. </p><p> The findings of the field study, semi-structured interviews, questionnaire and literature review were used to develop Enterprise Strategic Portfolio Performance (ESP2) Management Model. The ESP2 model suggests structuring the organizational units into portfolios. Each portfolio encompasses three portfolio components: projects, operations, and change initiatives. The ESP2 model uses a Strategy-Portfolio Integration Matrix that fully integrates the performance of the portfolio domains with that of the strategy domain. The integration matrix also serves as a dashboard that facilitates executive dictions making related to the enterprise performance management. </p><p> The research contributes to improving the practices of strategic portfolio performance management. The proposed ESP2 model serves as a basis for further enhancements and research in the field.</p><p>

<p> Current building standards for protective design focus on a &ldquo;fortress&rdquo; approach that does not effectively protect against contemporary attack vectors such as active shooters. Furthermore, these standards provide little guidance to private building owners whose facilities are increasingly targeted by &ldquo;active shooters.&rdquo; This study combines the NetLogo agent-based modeling platform with the Autodesk Revit building design software to test key building geometry configurations for their impact on active shooter event casualties. The findings show that overall building geometry has an effect on active shooter casualties and that modifications to interior door alignment and the addition of direct exit doors can reduce the casualties in active shooter events. This research provides guidance to building designers who want to mitigate the risk of active shooter events with their building designs.</p><p>

<p> Given the increasing complexity of systems and the cost associated with test and evaluation of aerospace systems, more efficient methods are sought. Randomized test designs for aviation developmental test activities and other complex systems may not enable safe test conduct and may be prohibitively costly from a financial or time point of view. This research reviews Design of Experiments (DoE) test design approaches applicable to aerospace prototype test and evaluation activities. It proposes the use of Split Plot Optimal Designs to leverage advantages of DoE while satisfying requirements for limited randomization of the test runs. Through the use of case studies, the Split Plot Optimal Design approach is demonstrated to provide a 58% cost and schedule savings versus a One Factor At a Time approach, and 53% savings from the fully randomized Central Composite Design, while maintaining relevant statistical power. Through the use of Monte Carlo data simulation, the designs are evaluated for application to linear and quadratic models, with statistically significant results measured by Chi Squared and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. </p><p>

abstract: While agency problems inevitably exist in buyer-supplier relationships, the focus on how to overcome such problems has been confined to the buyer-supplier dyad as if the dyad exists in isolation. In this dissertation, I re-frame the agency problems beyond the dyadic relationship between a buyer and its supplier and suggest a new way to overcome agency problems. While the current Agency Theory suggests that the buyer can monitor and provide incentives to mitigate the agency problems, I propose to look beyond the dyad in addressing buyer-supplier agency problems. In the first chapter, I examine the impact of the “indirect links” in which the buyer is connected to the supplier through a third actor. I propose a conceptual framework that specifies how the indirect links can overcome agency problems through the effects of information exchange, mutual monitoring, power change, and network governance. These different effects are enabled by the indirect links based on the different network positions and levels of connectivity of the third actor. The first chapter provides a theoretical framework for Chapter 2 and 3. In Chapter 2, the effect of network governance enabled by the indirect links is investigated. In particular, two scenario-based role-play experiments were conducted with managers to examine the effects of dyadic and network governance mechanisms on supplier opportunism. In Study 1, the participants took the perspective of a supplier, while in Study 2, the participants took the role of a buyer. The results show that network governance mechanism reduces the supplier's opportunistic behavioral intentions directly and indirectly through the negative affection prediction, and while suppliers may overlook the buyer's reactions as they make decisions, the buyers are likely to react against the supplier, such as engage in negative word-of-mouth or reduce level of commitment. Finally, directed sourcing, a direct application of how a buyer could overcome agency problems beyond the dyad, is examined in Chapter 3. Directed sourcing is an emerging sourcing practice in which the buying firms bypass the top-tier suppliers and directly manage or contract with lower-tier suppliers, and research on this new practice is in its infancy. Therefore, multi-tier multi-task principal-agent models are developed to investigate the effect of directed sourcing practice on each member in this three-tier supply chain, comparing with traditional tiered sourcing. The results show that directed sourcing generally benefits the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the lower-tier supplier, while it harms the top-tier supplier. Yet, directed sourcing is not always beneficial to the OEM. Therefore, an OEM should be selective in implementing this new strategy. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2016