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ABSTRACTExperience with branch and bound algorithms indicates that computational time is a function of not only the size of the problem, but also the nature of the input data. This paper formulates statistically‐based variables which describe certain characteristics of the input data and experimentally evaluates their ability to predict computational time for one branch and bound algorithm, the relative location of facilities or "plant layout" problem. Results suggest that the described experimental procedure may be useful for an a priori assessment of the computational difficulty of specific branch and bound problems.

ABSTRACTA sample of graduate and undergraduate degree holders in accounting are being studied during the first five years of their public accounting careers. Data on the biographical characteristics, vocational interests, and personality factors are analyzed in this study to discover if different profiles exist for those who remain with their firm of original employment in public accounting following graduation and those who find new positions. A number of significant differences were found. The findings should be of benefit to educators and representatives from the accounting profession because of their mutual concern with recruiting, staff development and retention, and academic preparation and career counseling.

ABSTRACTThis study uses expectancy theory to predict the sorority choices of 121 undergraduate students. Results show that the complete, multiplicative expectancy model is only a slightly better predictor of choice behavior than other versions of the model. Several personal and situational correlates of individuals' expectancies of entering sororities also are examined. Results show significant relationships between expectancy and subjects' self‐esteem, perception of value similarity with sorority members, and number of perceived friendships with sorority members.

ABSTRACTThe main focus of this article is to compare utility functions derived by the Von Neumann‐Morgenstern conceptual apparatus with those imputed through actual pricing behavior. The study is cast in a competitive bidding setting in the oil drilling industry. A version of the Friedman bidding model is used to generate separate bidding models for two drilling contractors. From the actual bids submitted by the contractors and those generated by the model, one can construct each contractor's imputed utility function. An examination of a contractor's derived and imputed utility functions over a common range of outcomes then provides a diagnostic check on the veracity of the Von Neumann‐Morgenstern theory as a prescriptive model of executive behavior.

ABSTRACTA descriptive life cycle model of process development and innovation, as previously reported, is used as a framework to analyze historical trends in the technological development of U.S. automotive engine plants. Using the plant as the unit of analysis, the author examines trends in product diversity, equipment development, backward integration, and productivity improvement. Results support the original research framework and help to clarify the important impact of process changes on the sources of productivity improvement, the capability for product innovation, and the cost of change.

ABSTRACTIn multi‐stage production‐inventory systems, the demand for precursor items derives from the demand for successor items at the later stages in the system. This paper presents a method for evaluating the performance of two different strategies for forecasting the demand for precursor items. The dependent strategy relies on successor item forecasts to build a precursor item forecast, while the independent strategy relies on the extrapolation of past precursor demand. An expression indicating the conditions under which one strategy is preferred to the other is developed, and the effect of changing these conditions is illustrated with simulation results.

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a methodology for production‐distribution planning in a large scale commodity processing network. Based on earlier research efforts dealing with single‐commodity and multi‐commodity distribution system modeling and on production planning for a single‐plant commodity processing facility, a mathematical programming methodology is developed for a multiplant soybean processing network. Application of the model leads to the specification of a production plan for a multi‐period time horizon, while at the same time indicating the quantities of soybean meal and soybean oil to be supplied to various customers in various locales. Both sets of decisions are made under the general criterion of maximizing the net income produced by the soybean processing complex, subject to various production, inventory, capacity, supply and demand constraints. Test results from application of the model are presented and discussed.

ABSTRACTThere is no theory to prescribe how frequently accounting reports should be issued for management decisions; indeed, one research study could not find evidence that frequency of reports is a variable in the decision process. Accounting reports are discrete aggregations from continuous processes, and frequency affects information content of reports. If frequency affects information, it therefore must be a variable in the decision process. This research investigated the question of whether the report frequency had any effect on evaluations made from accounting reports issued on different intervals. Evidence is presented to support the conclusion that frequency is a factor in the decision process and that decision behavior is affected by the frequency of reports. This report merely demonstrates the existence of the report frequency variable; much more research is necessary to control the variable for optimal system design.

ABSTRACTWhen customers call a motel or a hotel to reserve a particular room (large, small, suites, single‐bed, double‐bed, etc.) decisions have to be made concerning the allocation of the available rooms. This paper presents a model for determining the maximum number of specific bookings that should be made for each type of room. The objective is to maximize the expected contribution to profit per rental day. The model considers the distribution of requests for reservations over time as well as cancellations. Also included are the effects of late (unbooked) arrivals and overbookings.

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a practical method for determining the waiting time distribution of a single‐stage queueing system for general distribution of inter‐arrival/service times. The method requires the matrix solution of Lindley's equation for waiting time distribution by treating time in discrete units. Some important characteristics of the method are: a) it is easily programmable; b) it has high accuracy; c) it has modest CPU time and storage requirements; and, d) it requires no mathematical functional form for inter‐arrival/service time distributions.

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a simulation study to examine the effects of different organizational structures on the performance of a dual‐constraint job shop production system. A hypothetical shop in which machines and workers are constraining resources is the setting of the study. The shop consists of divisions comprised of work centers which contain machines to which workers are assigned. There are fewer workers than machines. Variations in organizational structure are achieved by segmenting a fixed number of work centers equally into varying numbers of divisions. Mean flow‐time, flow‐time variance, and worker transfers between divisions and work centers are used as performance measures. Changes in organizational segmentation are shown to affect the performance of the production system and the effects are dependent on the extent to which workers can be transferred between the divisions of the system.

ABSTRACTTraditional methods of identifying cost‐oriented market boundaries have three fundamental deficiencies. They assume transportation charges are proportional to distance. Second, where non‐proportional cost‐distance relationships are considered, a high degree of abstraction, generally stopping at the purely theoretical level, is present. Third, because of the time consuming and tedious work required, they appear to be operationally unfeasible.The method presented in this paper accommodates certain non‐linear transportation cost‐distance relationships and is operationally feasible in cost‐oriented market area analyses.

ABSTRACTResearchers and scholars have been concerned for many years with the normative aspects of amalgamating individual preferences to form a group decision. The present paper studies how managers actually make decisions involving intransitive preference functions by examining how the Voter's Paradox Conflict (VPC) is actually resolved by homogeneous groups of subjects from five different populations (Denmark, England, Switzerland, U.S. Private, and U.S. Military). The results showed that level of cooperation, the reward structure (real versus imaginary money), and experience with the VPC are the major factors relating to the solution obtained. Nationality differences explained little of the variance in decision outcomes. Intrasitivity in preferences seems to be handled similarly by executives in the countries studied. Interpretations are drawn in the context of cooperative and competitive decision theory and for cross‐cultural decision research.

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a travel simulation model developed to analyze the effects of alternative management practices on the quality of low‐density recreation experiences. The model represents the first attempt to represent the travel behavior of wilderness recreationists in a format consistent with the analysis of management policy. The model can accommodate large scale areas and has been applied to the Spanish Peaks Area in Montana and the Desolation Wilderness in California. It is illustrated with a simple example. Experience with the framework suggests that it can function as an instrument for managerial policy with wilderness areas.