Rationalization of Metaphorical Exploration: Improving the Creativity Phase of Total Systems Intervention (TSI) on the Basis of Theory and Practice

Metaphors play a significant role in the creativity phase of Total Systems Intervention (TSI). They help managers and other stakeholders to think creatively about their organizations and to highlight their organizational problems. However, in the current form of the creativity phase of TSI there are no explicit criteria in the selection of metaphors or in the disclosure and prioritization of organizational issues. This paper seeks to open a dialog with management consultants who might be interested in the consulting meta-methodology called TSI. It proposes the creativity phase of TSI to management consultants along with the theoretical improvements, as well as the context-dependent and conditional practical innovations. It emphasizes my reflections about the potential of this stage in the appreciation of organizational problems and invites new modifications. To reach this aim, the paper initially gives a brief account of the creativity phase of TSI, deals with its shortcomings, highlights its theoretical improvements and empirical findings in the PALMEK manufacturing company, Turkey, and then rationalizes this phase through proposing an appropriate method for its implementation. This method, on the whole, facilitates systematic and comprehensive analyses of problem situations, characterization of organizational issues, and disclosure and prioritization of concealed organizational problems in a structured and democratic conversational setting.     

Decision Support Systems (DSS) development using a model of user inquiry types: Methodological proposals and a case study

A study of the DSS implementation area reveals an increased emphasis on methodologies for DSS development. As the DSS field matures, a larger number of methodological options are becoming available to the DSS developer. Existing methodologies have adopted various methods for performing the important task of DSS requirements analysis and specification. In envisaging a hierarchy of requirements analysis methods, a method for improved requirements analysis is proposed to remedy observed deficiencies within it. This method is based on a view of generic types of inquiries or solicitations made by the DSS user during decision-making. This formalism constitutes the basis of a proposed DSS development methodology that offers several benefits to DSS development. The intended benefits include a sharper and more focused requirements analysis to improve the DSS development process. This paper describes the model and methodology, alongside details of a real-world example of their use in developing a Marketing Decision Support System (MKDSS) for the support of marketing decision-making.     

ARMA(1,1)需求条件下需求信息延迟对两级供应链牛鞭效应和平均成本的影响

为了分析需求信息延迟对供应链绩效的影响,考虑由一个零售商和一个制造商所组成的两级供应链,顾客需求满足ARMA(1,1)过程。首先从理论上建立需求信息不延迟与需求信息延迟时零售商和制造商订单量波动程度的定量描述模型,通过两种情形下的比较分析得出:当需求自回归系数为正数时,需求信息延迟将减小牛鞭效应,当需求自回归系数为负数时,需求信息延迟将提高牛鞭效应;其次运用仿真方法对需求信息延迟与需求信息不延迟时制造商和零售商的平均成本进行了比较分析,同样得出:当需求自回归系数为正数时,需求信息延迟将降低制造商和零售商的平均成本,而需求自回归系数为负数时,需求信息延迟将提高制造商和零售商的平均成本。