One of the primary issues in line balancing problems is the uncertainty associated with the processing times. There are different reasons for having uncertain processing times such as task deterioration, failure in machines, etc. On the other hand, there are different objectives, such as cycle time, number of workstations in an assembly line balancing. In this paper, we present a multi-objective decision making assembly line balancing which minimizes different objectives such as cycle time and number of workstations. The resulted problem is formulated based on Lp-norm mixed integer programming and a meta-heuristic approach is also presented to solve the resulted model. The problem formulation is solved for some test examples and the results are discussed under different conditions.

The XPRESS project introduces a completely new scalable concept of a manufactronic networked factory, which is composed by a co-ordinated team of specialized autonomous objects (Manufactrons), each knowing how to do a certain process optimally. This knowledge based concept integrated the complete chain: production configuration (decrease of ramp-up time of at least 50%), multi-variant production line (varying types and volumes on a single line) and 100% quality monitoring. The manufactronic networked architecture allows continuous process improvement, and will be able to anticipate and to respond to rapidly changing consumer needs, producing high-quality products in adequate quantities while reducing costs. This concept is demonstrated in the automotive, aeronautics and electrical industry but can be transferred to nearly all production processes.

This study presents optimal ordering policies for retailer when supplier offers cash discount and two progressive payment schemes for paying of purchasing cost. If the retailer pays the outstanding amount before or at first trade credit period M, the supplier provides r_1cash discount and does not charge any interest. If the retailer pays after M but before or at the second trade period N offered by the supplier, the supplier provides r_2 cash discount and charges interest on unpaid balance at the rate ?Ic?_1 . If retailer pays the balance after N, (N & GT; M) then the supplier does not provide any cash discount but charges interest on unpaid balance at the rate ?Ic?_2. The primary objective of this paper is to minimize the total cost of inventory system. This paper develops an algebraic approach to determine the optimal cycle time, optimal order quantity and optimal relevant cost. Numerical example are also presented to illustrate the result of propose model and solution procedure developed.

In today & apos; s global marketplace, individual firms do not compete as independent entities rather as an integral part of a supply chain. Uncertainty is the main attribute in managing the supply chains. Accordingly, we develop a (Q, R) inventory model with service level constraint and variable lead-time in fuzzy-stochastic environment. In addition, the triangular fuzzy numbers counts upon lead-time are used to construct fuzzy-stochastic lead-time demand. Using credibility criterion, the expected shortages are calculated. Without loss of generality, we assume that all the observed values of the fuzzy random variable, representing the demand are triangular fuzzy numbers. Consequently, the value of total expected cost in the fuzzy sense is derived using the expected value criterion or credibility criterion. To determine an optimal policy, a numerical technique is presented and the results are analyzed using scan and zoom for constraint optimization. Finally, in order to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed model, numerical example and sensitivity analysis are also included.

This paper demonstrates the importance of incorporating and solving the machining optimisation problem jointly with part selection and machine loading problems in order to avoid unbalanced workload in the FMS. Unbalanced workload renders to ineffective FMS such that some machines on the manufacturing shop floor become more occupied than others. Since CNC machine tools employed in the FMS are rather expensive, it is mostly important to balance the workload so that all machines can be effectively utilised. Therefore, in this study, two mathematical models are presented and solved in efforts to balance the workload and improve the performance of the FMS. A two-stage sequential approach is adopted whereby the first stage deals with the maximum throughput objective while the second stage deals with the minimum production cost objective. The results show that when part selection, machine loading and machining optimisation problems are jointly solved, more practical decisions can be made and a wide range of balanced workload in the FMS can be realised with minimum production cost objective. The results also show that the available machine time and tooling budget have enormous effects on throughput and production cost.

There used to be an assumption that any conflict has negative and destructive influences and we must remove it from the system. However, recent studies indicate that conflict is the result of interaction with different people having various personalities, social and cultural behaviors and this is an unavoidable issue. The existence of conflict is not necessarily a bad thing; in fact, there are many evidences, which show that organizations with no conflict may fail. In other words, people who work for business units with no conflict are most likely so disparate that they cannot fit themselves to environmental conditions. In this paper, we discuss how to handle a conflict in any organization and lead the business units to organizations that are more productive.

In order to prepare students for the workforce, academic programs incorporate a variety of tools that students are likely to use in their future careers. One of these tools employed by business and technology programs is the integration of live software applications such as SAP through the SAP University Alliance (SAP UA) program. Since the SAP UA program has been around for only about 10 years and the available literature on the topic is limited, research is needed to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the SAP UA program. A collaborative study of SAP UA faculty perceptions of their SAP UAs was conducted in the fall of 2011. Of the faculty invited to participate in the study, 31% completed the online survey. The results indicate that most faculty experienced difficulty implementing SAP into their programs and report that a need exists for more standardized curriculum and training, while a large percentage indicated that they are receiving the support they need from their schools and SAP.

One of the most important issues affecting profitability is to determine the impact of different factors influencing purchasing activities. In this paper, we perform an extensive literature survey to detect different purchasing factors influencing customers & apos; behavior. The factors are categorized in three different groups and they are ranked using analytical network process. The results of our survey indicate that three factors of personal, product and situational play important roles in purchasing impulse. The personal item includes different factors where demographic characteristic factors receive the highest ranking (35%) followed by other factors are feelings, excitement and fun, self identify, education and novelty. There are also three sub-factors associated with demographic characteristics including gender, age and race and the weights are 0.46748, 0.42668 and 0.10584, respectively, which means gender is the most important factor followed by age and race. Finally, the other factor is associated with situational factors & apos; group, which includes presence of others, culture, design of store, time available, local market condition, sales staff and self service with the relative importance of 0.04296, 0.08733, 0.12130, 0.22217, 0.05643, 0.15346 and 0.31635, respectively.

Competitive advantage is an important factor in boosting companies & apos; success and is considered more emphatically in management and strategic marketing literature in recent years. There are many different ideas about effective factors in creation of competitive advantages. Also fast rate of change in business, is forcing CEOs to utilize some strategies, which have the best impact on current organizational circumstances and the future trend of investigation in organizational trades. Outsourcing is one of the best strategies, which are widely utilized by CEOs in different organizations. Many managers believe that outsourcing is the solitary way for preserving the balance of organization in 21 century. Based on Porter competitive advantage model, there are three strategies, which lead a company to reach competitive advantage. These strategies are cost leadership, differentiation strategy and segmentation strategy. In this article, we are investigating outsourcing effects on creation of competitive advantages through Porter model in an automotive factory in Iran. We design a questionnaire for gathering necessary information about the role of outsourcing in creation of different strategies as competitive advantages in managers & apos; point of view. We analyze the questionnaires and implement a goodness of fit test to recognize the distribution of data and the statistical method. Preliminary results show that nonparametric statistic methods can be utilized for testing our hypothesis. We use a Wilcoxon test to consider the null hypothesis and a Friedman test to estimate the rank of means. Our findings verify an undeniable effect of outsourcing on creation of competitive advantage and the ranking list is presented.

These days, we see unexpected changes in customers & apos; behaviors in financial and service institutions, especially in banks. There are different reasons for having such changes but the recent advances of technology could be one of the main reasons. Today banks are obliged to link their existence with customers, recognize their demands and needs in present competitive environment and take necessary actions to increase their productivity. The main objective of the present research is to identify bank readiness for establishing customer relationship management. Findings of the present study show that the readiness degree of bank is well above moderate with respect to intellectual dimension and is below moderate with respect to social and technological dimensions.