Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-177).

This research project specifically investigates the use of information processing strategies by organizational buyers in the first stage of the supplier selection process, the selection of an evoked set of qualified suppliers. In this selection process it is hypothesized that the buyer's use of evaluation functions or information processing strategies is influenced by the task faced by the buyer. The varying levels of risk, familiarity and informational requirements of the buying situation should impact the use of the information processing strategies. Structured protocols--written descriptions of compensatory and noncompensatory information processing strategies--were used to determine the evaluation function which organizational buyers use to qualify suppliers into an evoked set. The data was collected in a field study of 135 organizational buyers from 76 different organizations. The subjects were interviewed about purchases they were presently working on in which suppliers had been selected but the final purchase decision was still pending. Identification of the buying task, new task, modified rebuy, and straight rebuy also utilized the structured protocol technique. Written descriptions, based on the constitutive definitions of Robinson and Farris (1967), were used to address the following research question: Is there a difference in the decision rules or information processing strategies utilized by organizational buyers in the development of an evoked set of qualified suppliers when the buyer is qualifying suppliers for a new task, modified rebuy, or straight rebuy buying task? In addition to the information gathered via the structured protocols, information was gathered about the level of risk, familiarity and information requirements of the purchasing task. This was done to gain a better understanding of the use of information-processing strategies by organizational buyers. Analysis of the data indicates that the buying task is related to the choice of an information-processing strategy. The data also support the contention that the organizational buyer will utilize any of the information-processing strategies in the selection of an evoked set of suppliers. Although the buying task was found to significantly influence the use of the information-processing strategies, the study shows that all of the strategies were reported as being used for each of the buying tasks. In addition to finding that the buying task influences the choice of an information-processing strategy, the data support the model of information processing presented. The model addressed the impact that risk, familiarity, and information load had on the use of the evaluation functions. The risk node of the model was supported by two of the five risk variables included in the study: product homogeneity and supplier homogeneity. At the familiarity nodes of the model, the subjective measures of familiarity which support the model are supplier familiarity and frequency of product purchase. Supplier familiarity was found to be significantly different between the weighted and unweighted compensatory strategies. The significant difference in the level of familiarity found in the use of the conjunctive and disjunctive information processing strategies is associated with the frequency of product purchase. The final nodal section of the information-processing model which was supported is the comparison of the conjunctive and lexicographic strategies. The lexicographic strategy was found to be used when there was a higher perceived number of suppliers capable of supplying the needed product. In general this study has shown that the situation in which suppliers are selected impacts the use of an information-processing strategy. The findings are consistent with the research and hypothesizing associated with the use of information-processing strategies by consumers.

Transport infrastructures such as roads are assets for the society as they not only ensure mobility but also strengthen society’s economy. Considerable amount of energy and materials, that include bitumen, aggregates and asphalt, are required to build and maintain roads. Improper utilization of energy and/or use of materials may lead to more waste and higher costs. The impact on the environment cannot be neglected either. Life cycle assessment (LCA) as a method can be used to assess the environmental impacts of a road system over its entire life time. Studying the life cycle perspective of roads can help us improve the technology in order to achieve a system that has a lower impact on the environment. There are number of LCA tools available. However, implementation of such tools is still unseen in real road projects. This clearly indicates that there are gaps which are needed to be filled in order to bring these tools into practice. An open road LCA framework was developed for the asphalt roads in order to help in decision support at the late project planning stage such as that related to the green procurement. The framework takes into account the construction, maintenance and end of life phases and focuses on energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Threshold values for the production of some additives were also determined to show how LCA tools can help material suppliers to improve the road materials production processes and the road authorities to set limits on the use of different materials based on the environmental criteria. Additive consideration and feedstock energy in road LCAs were also identified as gaps that were looked in detail. The attributes that are important to consider in an asphalt road LCA that seeks to serve as a decision support in a procurement situation are described. A brief literature review was carried out that focused on project LCAs, and specifically those considering pavements, as this level is assumed to be appropriate for questions relevant in a procurement situation. Following the different standards; road LCAs developed all over the world have generated a lot of knowledge and the studies have been different from each other such as in terms of goals and system boundaries. Hence, the patterns observed have been very different from study to study. It was also difficult to assess the decision support level for which the various LCA frameworks or tools were developed. It is important to define system boundaries based on where in the system the decision support is needed. For LCA to be useful for decision support in a procurement situation, it is important to have a clear understanding of the attributes that constitute the life cycle phases and how data of high quality for them are obtained. The level of consistency and transparency of road LCAs becomes increasingly important in pre-procurement and procurement situations. The key attributes used in a road LCA should mirror the material properties used in a pavement design and therefore be closely linked to the performance of the road in its life cycle. From the different case studies, it was found that asphalt production and transportation of materials are usually highest in the energy and GHG emissions chain. It is highly favorable to have the quarry site, the asphalt plant and the construction site not far from each other and to use the electricity that has been produced in an efficient way. Based on the laboratory test results, it is shown that the effects of chemical warm mix asphalt additives (WMAA)s must be evaluated on a case by case basis since WMAA interaction with the aggregate surface mineralogy appears to play a significant role and thus affects its long term structural behavior. Using the material properties obtained from the Superpave indirect tensile test (IDT) results, pavement thickness design was done in which Arlanda aggregate based asphalt mixtures resulted in thinner pavements as compared to Skärlunda aggregate based asphalt mixtures for the same design life period. Energy (feedstock and expended) saving and reduction in GHG emissions were also seen with addition of WMAA, for both aggregate type cases, based on the data used. Importantly, the results presented illustrate the importance of a systems based LCA approach for evaluating the sustainability for different design and construction options. In this context, having actual pavement material properties as the key attributes in the LCA enables a pavement focused assessment of environmental costs associated with different design options. / <p>QC 20141118</p>

The aim of this thesis is by using methods and practices of managerial decision-making process to choose suitable supplier and propose measures to reduce risk. The first section of the theoretical part deals with the different phases of the decision-making process. The second part is devoted to the procurement as one of the corporate functions. The practical part applies the managerial decision-making process on the current situation of a company producing fast moving consumer goods is looking for a new supplier of packaging material. Choice of supplier was performed by using a multi-criteria decision-making, first the decision criteria was defined, followed by a description of the alternatives and their consequences. Evaluation of the alternatives was based on the additive multi-criteria utility function, to determine the weights of the criteria was used method determining weights by preferential arrangements. From five potential vendors was recommended supplier A. The end of the practical part is devoted to proposals of measures to reduce the risk which company may face in the process of selection and also in the process of delivering of the material.

本研究選取國內七間不同層級的公私立醫院，藉由與院方相關決策人員的深度訪談，以個案研究方法，探討各級醫院對於美容雷射儀器與高階影像醫療儀器之採購決策行為，研究中設定「首次採購新型儀器」與「後續購買改良型儀器」的兩種決策情境，以採購意願、採用規格與採用速度等三大決策面向，分析歸納各級醫院對於高階決策的決策行為與考量因素之異同。 本研究結果發現，醫院權屬與層級及採購儀器本身屬性均會影響決策的採購意願、採用速度及採用規格。醫學中心基於學術研究之需，首次購買新型儀器時，偏好採購儀器創新程度高的機種，且其採用速度較地區醫院快。反觀地區醫院較不會追逐儀器的新穎度，對於「儀器是否符合需求及性價比」的重視程度較「儀器先進與否」來得高，不過當地區醫院鎖定特定醫療項目作為策略目標時，會集中資源採購最先進的儀器，並弱化非核心醫療項目之設備的採購意願。 就各層級醫院採購決策的考量因素而言，儀器預期的財務性效益大多是首要考量，私立醫院較公立醫院更注重之，地區醫院則較醫學中心在意儀器的性價比。此外，貴重儀器之醫療必要性的高低亦造成不同層級醫院的決策差異，儀器本身的技術含量與技術創新速度也可能影響醫院採購的意願。 / There are two purposes of this research. The first purpose is to explore how the ownership of hospitals and the features of devices impact on medical procurement decisions. The second purpose is to investigate the factors affecting innovation adoption of medical devices. Based on the case studies of procurement decision experiences made by seven selected hospitals and medical centers in Taiwan, the study focuses on analyzing the willingness of adoption, adoption time, and the favorable standards in procurement decision of aesthetic devices and medical imaging devices. The findings and conclusions drawn from the study show that the academic level and strategy objective of a hospital are associated with the willingness and adoption time of innovation. Academic medical centers are likely to adopt the innovative device earlier for researching purpose, whereas small-to-middle-sized hospitals would be early adopters of innovative products for strategic purpose. In addition, the features of devices also have substantial impacts upon innovative device adoption. Academic medical centers will be early adopters of the medical devices with significant medical necessity. The degree of technology involved and the length of product life cycle of medical devices will affect the medical procurement decision as well. Besides, the priority of distinct factors affecting medical procurement decisions varies from case to case. However, generally speaking, economic benefit will be the most important concern of both private and public hospitals.