International Journal of Management and Decision Making (8 papers in press)

• STUDENT ENROLMENT AND CLASS SCHEDULING FOR A PRIVATE LANGUAGE SCHOOL BUSINESS
  by Zu-Hsu Lee, Rafal Bartkow 
  Abstract: This paper studies the class scheduling method and managerial issues involved for a private language school in New Jersey. A linear programming formulation is used to find the optimal class schedule while considering total teacher’s salary, classroom capacity and space limitation, hiring new instructors, offering new classes and limiting future enrolment. To maximise the profit from enrolment increase, and decide whether to open new sessions or put a cap on enrolment instead of accepting more students, the school needs to ensure any proposed new class brings a positive net income to the business. We calculate the marginal revenue of additional enrolment and additional costs incurred if new classes are going to be offered (e.g. the rate of the instructor).
  Keywords: class scheduling; employee scheduling; linear programming; student enrolment.
   
• Technology Acceptance in Public Sector: An Empirical Study of a Knowledge Management System in Kaohsiung City Government
  by PIN-YU CHU, Tai-Zu Wu, Chien-Hao Lee 
  Abstract: This research investigates the applicability of the extended technology acceptance model to user acceptance of a government knowledge management system. Significant positive relationships between perceived usefulness, ease of use, and behavioral intention were consistent with previous research results. The observed mediating role of perceived usefulness in the relationship between ease of use and behavioral usage was in consonance with earlier findings of similar research in private sector. Cognitive instrumental processes, including job relevance, output quality, result demonstrability, and perceived ease of use significantly affect perceived usefulness. Policy implications and improvement recommendations for promoting knowledge management systems are further discussed.
  Keywords: electronic government; knowledge management; technology acceptance model; public sector; Taiwan.
   
• Minimising Quality Uncertainty by the Root Cause and Failure Analysis Method
  by Lalit Wankhade, Balaji Dabade 
  Abstract: The occurrence of quality uncertainty due to information asymmetry is a complex phenomenon. This paper attempts to develop a simpler method for minimising this quality uncertainty. The paper undertakes a root cause analysis of quality uncertainty by using an affinity and interrelationship diagram. The data generated through the interrelationship diagram is then used for the failure analysis of quality uncertainty. The feasibility of this failure analysis is demonstrated in the appendix. The issues resulting from this analysis are then prioritised and solutions are offered as a tree diagram. The comparison between developing and developed nations is also unravelled for further illustrating the nuances of quality uncertainty. In the end, the paper concludes that the mechanism of containing quality uncertainty can be used by focusing on the industry specific factors and by assigning suitable weight to each factor.
  Keywords: quality uncertainty; developed nations; developing nations; seven management tools; root cause analysis; failure analysis.
   
• Exploring the Triple Helix of Academia-Industry-Government for Supporting Roadmapping in Academia
  by Jie Yan, Tieju Ma, Yoshiteru Nakamori 
  Abstract: Recently roadmapping sees its application in academia as a strategic planning tool for researchers and as a methodology for knowledge management and supporting knowledge creation. This paper argues that exploring the triple helix of academia-industry-government is very helpful for roadmapping in academia, since it is most likely that a future technology system is shaped by academia, industry and government together. Based on this argument, this paper puts forward a computer-based approach for exploring the triple helix of academia-industry-government. The approach uses a four-level ontology to analyze (search, visualize networks and calculate similarities) three data sets – namely, academia data set, industry data set, and government data set – collected within a specified domain. Finally, this paper gives a case study of the application of the approach to help academic researchers in the field of fuel cell technology to build their research roadmaps.
  Keywords: road mapping; triple helix; academia; industry; government.
   
• Do policies on bullying make a difference? Contrasting strategy regimes within higher education in Australia and Croatia.
  by Dragana Krestelica, Llandis Barratt-Pugh 
  Abstract: It is well established that bullying within organisations has a significant negative effect upon individuals, social relations and business performance, with an emotionally destructive impact upon organisational actors and financial implications for organisations. In this paper we present the findings from a study that investigated contrasting regimes of anti-bullying policy within higher education to explore the relations between policy, organisational awareness, and resulting social behaviours. The findings indicate that the formation of policy in itself seems to have a limited effect upon organisational behaviour. It appears that bullying behaviour in the workplace is difficult to dislodge, and may require a far greater emphasis upon permeating the culture than is achieved by the mere production of informative policy texts. The paper suggests that organisations are specifically challenged in their task of bridging the divide between the words on the page of policy and the everyday actions of actors within the workplace.
  Keywords: bullying; policies; prevention; amelioration; universities; higher education; cross-cultural; cultural differences; Croatia; Australia; international; anti-bullying strategies; management decisions.
   
• EVALUATING MOBILE GAME PROSPECTS –PERSPECTIVE OF A GAME PUBLISHER
  by Petri Hallikainen, Virpi Tuunainen, Janne Vihinen 
  Abstract: The mobile gaming industry is undergoing a transformation from SMS based games to downloadable and multi media card (MMC) games. Current development budgets are much lower than before and mobile game developers have to concentrate development activities to games which can generate revenue. In this paper, we examine the key decision making criteria for new game selection of a mobile game publisher and propose a tentative framework for the evaluation of new mobile product prospects in the game and entertainment industry. The preferences for the criteria are derived by applying the principles of the Analytic Hierarchy Process method. The results show that the case company emphasizes expected profit and volume more than risk factors in decision making, although they also search for proven game concepts and rely on seasonal products with low risk of not having enough sales volume.
  Keywords: Mobile Games, mobile products, mobile entertainment, decision making
   
• Projects and Politics: Exploring the duality between action and politics in complex projects
  by Jonas Söderlund 
  Abstract: Traditional research and literature on project management and organization theory tend to view project organizations as non-political bodies and purely action-oriented endeavors. In contrast, this paper presents an alternative analysis drawing on the idea of projects as political and emergent processes. Based on in-depth, case-study findings of a complex development and implementation project, we suggest an analytical framework that focuses on the interrelatedness of action and political processes and which explains how project management deals with the two processes simultaneously. We identify and analyze three separate but nested organizational logics applied by the project management team to cope with the dual challenges of politics and action. The general idea is to illustrate the notion of projects as emergent processes involving both politics and action. The three logics are: 1) balancing openness and closure; 2) reformulating tasks to seek solutions; and 3) relating to improve action capacity. Our findings add to the literature on the role and practice of project management in complex projects that entail both stakeholder and technological challenges.
  Keywords: projects, politics, project management, action, decision, practice, emergent processes, organization, logic.
   
• Measuring Efficiency of Higher Education Institutions
  by Tommaso Agasisti, Antonio Dal Bianco 
  Abstract: The issue of cost recovery for higher education (HE) is central to the recent debates about the challenges for the future of the sector. In this paper, we use a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to analyse the cost efficiency of Italian universities. Different combinations of input and outputs are employed to obtain a robust model of efficiency ranking. Then, we use the same set of variables to perform a parametric approach using Stochastic Frontier (SF) analysis, in order to obtain a different set of efficiency scores. Efficiency rankings and scores are then compared: although some common patterns arose among the results, there is no evidence of a strong statistical relationship in efficiency rankings. The different results determined by the two alternative methods are more attributable to heterogeneity among universities than to differences in methodologies. In fact, after clustering universities in homogenous groups, similarities between DEA and SF results emerge. Finally, some policy implications are derived and suggested from our results.
  Keywords: higher education; universities; efficiency; cost recovery; data envelopment analysis; DEA; stochastic frontiers; Italy.