Profit Objectives Research Articles

An advanced modeling system for optimization of wind farm layout and wind turbine sizing using a multi-level extended pattern search algorithm

This paper presents a system of modeling advances that can be applied in the computational optimization of wind plants. These modeling advances include accurate cost and power modeling, partial wake interaction, and the effects of varying atmospheric stability. To validate the use of this advanced modeling system, it is employed within an Extended Pattern Search (EPS)-Multi-Agent System (MAS) optimization approach for multiple wind scenarios. The wind farm layout optimization problem involves optimizing the position and size of wind turbines such that the aerodynamic effects of upstream turbines are reduced, which increases the effective wind speed and resultant power at each turbine. The EPS-MAS optimization algorithm employs a profit objective, and an overarching search determines individual turbine positions, with a concurrent EPS-MAS determining the optimal hub height and rotor diameter for each turbine. Two wind cases are considered: (1) constant, unidirectional wind, and (2) three discrete wind speeds and varying wind directions, each of which have a probability of occurrence. Results show the advantages of applying the series of advanced models compared to previous application of an EPS with less advanced models to wind farm layout optimization, and imply best practices for computational optimization of wind farms with improved accuracy.

Current asset management

Current asset management includes two different, but at the same time complementary areas of business decision making, and those are the use of current assets and combination of funding sources. In terms of use, it is primary to ensure an appropriate scope of current assets to achieve business tasks. There is uncertainty of legal conclusions in funding sources for current assets, too. Companies do not operate with their own assets exclusively, and the question is which combination is the best one, and from which point of view it is evaluated. Appropriate current asset management has two crucial objectives that need to be aimed at: maintaining of permanent ability to pay for liabilities, on one hand, and to maximize profitability, or revenue from total invested current assets. However, liquidity and profitability objectives are complementary.

Supply Chain Maturity Driving Company Performance in Indian Companies

India is one of the fast growing economies in the world. As a country with diverse set of industries, it has its own challenges in implementing practices that are well established around the world. Supply chain management, and maturity of the supply chain process is one of the most significant vectors that can be optimized to enable companies achieve the end objective of growth and profitability. This paper is an effort to map Indian companies based on their supply chain maturity levels. It also establishes an empirical relationship between the supply chain maturity and the company's performance in an Indian context.

Instant Cities on the Wet Coastal Zones-Tunisia

Since the early 2000's, the Tunisian wet coastal zones are much sought-after from Global Real Estate Developers, to develop on it several mega project of Instant Cities. As a contractor teacher for 17 years at ENAU, National Higher School of Architecture and Urbanism, I had had opportunity to lead numerous workshops and research projects with my graduating students on this theme. Based on extensive documentation and context analysis of these several projects, the research work had consisted in proposing alternative project that would insure the objective of economical profit, while preserving the role of these sites as important natural water storage and as natural protection against flooding. The Panel we are submitting is a presentation of a selection of the most significant and creative proposals of my students.

Optimizing the cut off grade in Sarcheshmeh copper mine using Lane Quartet Model

Lane Algorithm is used to determine optimum cut off grade for a mining operation. There may be three parts in each operation: mining, concentration and refining. In Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine the concentrate coming from the stock has the average grade in addition to the production rate and cost. Therefore, the grade distribution is affected by production rate and cost parameters. The calculation of the cut off grade is done using a modified Lane Algorithm. Therefore, a mix of blending stock received from outside and the concentrate from the mine was considered in the Lane Algorithm. Initially, the profit objective function was taken into account with the addition of the stock limitations; then, the Lane Quartet Model was used and the cut off grade determined. The model uses the technical and economical data of different parts to determine the cut off grade. The result of the model was a cut off grade of (0.1408%), which brings about an increase of848051645 US dollars as profit, in comparison to the cut off grade (0.1617%) that was obtained by the Lane tripartite model.

GranuLab: Strategies for Growth

GranuLab Sdn. Bhd. (GranuLab) was in the business of manufacturing patented synthetic bone graft substitute made from limestones and pure chemicals called GranuMaS. The bone graft substitute industry in Malaysia was a growing market with many large multinational players. In December 2010, the company began selling GranuMaS to several Malaysian hospitals. It had also completed the construction of its new production facility in Shah Alam, about 30 km from Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. With the facility’s pending operation in January 2011, the company had to find ways to leverage its high-volume production capacity. GranuLab’s approval for the CE Mark certification for GranuMaS’ exporting as well as the ISO certification to operate as an OEM contract manufacturing provider were still pending. Therefore, it was unable to export GranuMaS to Europe and other international markets, forcing the company to restrict its sales within Malaysia. Each day, the need to bring in revenue from sales of GranuMaS was mounting for Mr. Romli Ishak, the Managing Director of GranuLab particularly with the manufacturing facility due to begin its operation soon. Mr. Romli and his management team began to ponder on the appropriate strategies to adopt in order to achieve the company’s objective of high profitability. This teaching case is designed to stimulate discussion regarding strategic posturing of a young medical device company with aspirations for high growth.

A recursive approach for lot sentencing problem in the presence of inspection errors

ABSTRACTIn this paper, a new sequential acceptance sampling plans in the presence of inspection errors is developed. A suitable profit objective function is employed for optimizing the lot sentencing problem. A backward recursive approach is applied for obtaining the profit of different decisions in each stage of sampling. Required probabilities are obtained using Bayesian rule. A case study is solved for illustrating the application of proposed models and sensitivity analysis are carried out on the parameters of the proposed methodologies and the behaviour of models by changing the parameters are investigated.

Macroeconomies as constructively rational games

Real-world decision-makers are forced to be locally constructive; that is, their decisions are necessarily constrained by their interaction networks, information, beliefs, and physical states. This study transforms an otherwise standard dynamic macroeconomic model into an open-ended dynamic game by requiring consumers and firms with intertemporal utility and profit objectives to be locally constructive. Tested locally constructive decision processes for the consumers and firms range from simple reactive reinforcement learning to adaptive dynamic programming (ADP). Computational experiments are used to explore macroeconomic performance under alternative decision-process combinations relative to a social planner benchmark solution. A key finding is that simpler decision processes can outperform more sophisticated decision processes such as ADP. However, memory length permitting some degree of adaptive foresight is critical for good performance.

From “virtuous” to “pragmatic” pursuit of social mission

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to offer a sustainability-based typology for non-profit organizations and corresponding strategies to sustain the mission and/or financial objectives of non-profit organizations. The balance of mission and money, known in the non-profit literature as the double bottom line, is a challenge for professional managers who run non-profits and scholars who study them.Design/methodology/approach– Typologies are often used to classify phenomena to improve understanding and bring about clarity. In this paper, non-profit organizations are viewed from a social and fiscal viability perspective, developed from the long standing challenge of balancing mission and money.Findings– The typology developed in this paper identifies several normative strategies that correspond to the social and fiscal viability of non-profit organizations. In fact, the strategies offered in this paper can help non-profit managers achieve organizational sustainability, thus enabling them to continue what they are meant to do – to provide greater social value to their constituents.Research limitations/implications– The typology presented is a classification system rather than a theoretical typology. Its purpose is to help managers of non-profits to recognize threats to their organizations’ long-term survival and offer strategies that if adopted can move the organizations to less vulnerable positions. However, the recommended strategies are by no means exhaustive. Furthermore, the focus of the paper is on non-profit organizations, not profit-driven or hybrid entities. The sustainability-based typology of non-profit organizations and the corresponding strategies have implications for practitioners and academics. The typology and its contents can help managers assess their non-profits, competitive environment and their current strategies, plan their double bottom line strategies and last but not the least, develop and implement strategies for social and fiscal sustainability. In addition, our paper provides great opportunities for future research to subject our typology and its contents to conceptual and empirical scrutiny.Practical implications– The strategies described here are developed based on scholarly research and examples from successful non-profits. The typology and the related list of strategies provide a manager with the tools to accurately diagnose organizational challenges and adopt plans to improve the organization’s viability.Social implications– Non-profit organizations are an integral part of society that bolsters economic prosperity, environmental integrity and social justice. This paper may provide guidance for a number of non-profit managers to keep their organizations operating and serving important social missions.Originality/value– In the context of organizations for social mission, several typologies exist that looked at firms from the perspectives of ownership versus profit objectives, entrepreneurship conceptualizations of economists and origins and development paths of social enterprises. While these typologies provided foundations for theoretical and empirical work into social enterprises, our typology offers strategies for the sustainability of mission and/or money objectives of non-profits. The value of this research lies in integrating virtuous and pragmatic objectives of non-profit sustainability that, in turn, can ensure the social mission of non-profits.

A goal programming model for working capital management

This paper proposes a goal programming model for working capital management.Goal programming is necessary to model the working capital decision, as a balance has to be achieved between the conflicting objectives of liquidity and profitability. The model determines, for given working capital turnover and fixed assets turnover ratios, how funds should be maintained between working capital/current assets and fixed assets to achieve targeted levels of liquidity andprofitability, whilst minimizing the opportunity cost/loss of excess liquidity.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE-BASED DYNAMIC ADJUSTMENT MODEL TO BALANCE THE STAKEHOLDERS’ SATISFACTION IN PPP PROJECTS

Aiming to balance the interests of the principal stakeholders (the private sector, the government and the general public) in Public–Private Partnerships (PPP) projects, the satisfaction of stakeholders were researched thoroughly in this paper. A satisfaction evaluation model was structured based on authors’ prior questionnaire survey focusing on the performance objective indicators (POIs) of different stakeholders. The parties’ preferred POIs were identified as follows: all three parties emphasize the objectives of construction quality, service quality, cost, time, and lifecycle cost very much. Individually, the private sector prefer the objectives of profit making and government support, the government prefer the objectives of budget saving and risk transfer, and the general public prefer the objectives of toll rate and the facilities’ quantities. Furthermore, a satisfaction adjustment model was proposed based on the interrelationships of the adjusting POIs and their impact on the stakeholders’ satisfaction by using the feedback loops of System Dynamics (SD). An illustrative case was also introduced, the results of which indicated that the satisfaction evaluation and adjustment model could be well applied to balance the interests of stakeholders and also improve the general performance of the project.

Toward Mass Adoption of Electric Vehicles: Impact of the Range and Resale Anxieties

Key to the mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is the establishment of successful business models based on sound understanding of consumer behavior in adopting this new technology. In this paper, we study the impact of two major barriers to mass adoption of EVs: (i) range anxiety, the concern that the driving range of EVs may be insufficient to meet the driving needs, and (ii) resale anxiety, the concern that used values of EVs may deteriorate quickly. Using a stylized model calibrated to a data set based on the San Francisco Bay Area, we show that although both types of consumer anxieties typically harm the firm’s profit, they often improve consumer surplus. In addition, we show that a business model that requires consumers to lease the EV batteries (rather than purchase them) may lead to a greater level of adoption and emission savings when the level of resale anxiety is high. Further, a business model that offers EV range improvement through enhanced charging infrastructure typically yields greater adoption and consumer surplus, but lowers the firm’s profit, compared with one that offers enlarged batteries. Overall, we find that the combinations of battery owning/leasing with enhanced charging service, referred to as the (O, E) and (L, E) models in our paper, typically yield the best balance among the objectives of EV adoption, emission savings, profitability, and consumer surplus, when the degree of resale anxiety is low and high, respectively.

Residential photovoltaic plant: environmental and economical implications from renewable support policies

Photovoltaic technology has grown globally over the past 4 years at a remarkable rate (from 24 GW worldwide in 2009 to 138 GW in 2013) and is on its way to becoming a strategic electricity source (EPIA 2014a, b). This paper aims to determine whether the objectives of environmental protection and economic profit can coexist in an investment in residential photovoltaic power generation facilities in Italy. Currently, investors are choosing the principle of economic maximisation; in this way, even if a photovoltaic system is designed to reduce carbon emissions, it is not guaranteed that the carbon emissions will be reduced at a minimum level (environmental maximisation). The government support to promote renewable energy is essential for photovoltaic investments. In this article, the effectiveness of supporting renewable electricity policies (such as feed-in-tariff and tax deduction) has been assessed for the multiple combinations of energy output and electrical energy required; 2,304 numerical experiments (related to 2012–2014) demonstrate the effects of policies that could be adopted for supporting renewable electricity generation. Furthermore, is presented a comparison among the profitability of residential photovoltaic facilities in 2012, 2013 and 2014 that are affected by different investment costs and several incentive mechanisms.

Making Money Out of Football

AbstractIn the US, most economists argue that professional sports teams are profit‐maximising businesses, but it is a widely held view in Europe that professional football clubs are not run on a profit‐maximising basis. This belief has important implications for the impact of widely‐advocated policy measures, such as revenue sharing. This paper looks at the performance of 16 English football clubs that acquired a stock exchange listing in the mid‐1990s. If the European story is true, we should have observed a shift toward profit‐maximising behaviour at these clubs, under the assumption that investors were attracted to these football clubs to earn a positive return. This paper finds no evidence of any shift in the behaviour of these 16 clubs after flotation. This result is consistent with the view that football clubs in England have been much more oriented toward profit objectives than is normally assumed.

Optimal Spatial-Dynamic Management of Groundwater Conservation and Surface Water Quality with On-Farm Reservoirs

We examine how much on-farm reservoirs can increase groundwater quantity and improve surface water quality using a spatial-dynamic model of farm profit maximization in the Arkansas Delta. Sensitivity analysis of the farm profit objective by including the value of surface water quality and the groundwater buffer value evaluates how accounting for environmental value affects the optimal crop mix, water use, and farm profits. The best policy for a critical water resource area is to have the government cost share construction of on-farm reservoirs because groundwater conservation and surface water quality goals are achieved efficiently for a modest redistribution of income.

Discrimination against customers by retail chain stores and the impact of the law

Profit and other related objectives of business emphasise the need to distinguish between different customers or groups of customers. The South African Constitution, on the other hand, specifically prohibits unfair discrimination. This paper examines the legal principle of non-discrimination, as set out in the Constitution and the Equality Act, as well as the impact that these provisions have on discrimination against customers. The literature study shows that there is a legal obligation on business to ensure the provision of equitable customer service. An exploratory study was conducted among the customers of retail chain store outlets in Clermont, a historically disadvantaged area, to identify examples of differentiated treatment of customers by retail chain stores. Customer perceptions have in fact shown areas of differentiation which could be viewed as unfair discrimination unless justified

Relationship Between Learning Orientation And Business Performance And The Moderating Effect Of Competitive Advantage: An Accounting Services Firms Perspective

This study examines the influence of learning orientation on business performance (achievement of sales and profit objectives) in the context of pure service, specifically that of public accounting services firms. The conceptual framework used in this research has been drawn from marketing, finance, and organizational behavior theory. Specifically, relationships related to learning orientation, sources of competitive advantage, and business performance have been identified.This research tests a framework about learning orientation and its consequences in an accounting services firm. Specifically, this study focused on several research questions, including: 1) Is there a relationship between learning orientation and business performance in terms of the achievement of sales and profit objectives in an accounting services firm?, 2) Is there a relationship between learning orientation and competitive advantage in an accounting services firm?, and 3) Does competitive advantage moderate the relationship between learning orientation and business performance in an accounting services firm?A survey-based research methodology is used to explore these research questions and pertinent findings reported in previous studies (Martinette, 2006; Martinette & Obenchain-Leeson, 2010; Martinette & Obenchain-Leeson, 2012). The findings of this study suggested that as learning orientation increases in public accounting services firms, business performance scores and competitive advantage also increase. The findings of this study did not suggest that competitive advantage moderates the relationship between learning orientation and business performance in public accounting services firms.

CEOs’ Transformational Leadership and Product Innovation Performance: The Roles of Corporate Entrepreneurship and Technology Orientation

Product innovation is an important research topic that has stimulated significant interest among management scholars and practitioners. Leadership has been suggested to be a critical factor affecting product innovation. Numerous studies have documented that transformational leadership positively influences product innovation performance, which is conceptualized as the degree to which a new product and/or service has achieved its market share, sales, rates of asset return, rates of investment return, and profit objectives. However, there is a lack of studies examining the specific means through which transformational leadership influences product innovation performance at the firm level. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the processes through which such effect is achieved and to determine whether corporate entrepreneurship and technology orientation as intervening factors influence this effect. To test the hypotheses, data were collected from 151 matched top management team (TMT) members and chief executive officers (CEOs) from Chinese manufacturing firms. Two separate questionnaires were used to collect the data. TMT members’ questionnaire included measures of CEO's transformational leadership, whereas CEOs’ questionnaire included questions about corporate entrepreneurship, technology orientation, and product innovation performance. Hierarchical linear regression was used to test the hypothesized effects. The results of the analysis provided the support for the fully mediating role of corporate entrepreneurship on the relationship between CEOs' transformational leadership and product innovation performance. In addition, technology orientation was found to significantly moderate the CEOs' transformational leadership–corporate entrepreneurship linkage. Furthermore, the mediated moderation effect of corporate entrepreneurship on the relationships among CEOs’ transformational leadership, technology orientation, and product innovation performance was significantly supported. By studying leadership among CEOs, this study contributes to the research by elucidating the mechanisms through which transformational leadership influences product innovation performance. The mediating role of corporate entrepreneurship encourages managers to improve their leadership style so as to enhance the development of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation practices. The findings also show that technology orientation provides the conditions for the smooth translation of the CEO's transformational leadership into actual entrepreneurial activities. Hence, firms should prioritize technology orientation to optimize the implementation of transformational leadership so as to emphasize innovation and new venture creation.

A review of competitive facility location in the plane

In this paper, we review competitive location models. Retail facilities operate in a competitive environment with an objective of profit and market share maximization. These facilities are different from each other in their overall attractiveness to consumers. The basic problem is the optimal location of one or more new facilities in a market where competition already exists or will exist in the future. Extensions to the models include an analysis of the optimal allocation of a budget among new facilities and their best locations, modeling location under conditions of uncertainty and future competition, incorporating the concept of a threshold in competitive location, modeling lost demand, and minimizing cannibalization.

The impact of strategic consistency on market share and ROA

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to take a contingency theory approach to examine how performance is affected by the relationships between the Miles & Snow strategic groupings and a variety of marketing strategy concepts, including a firm's service focus, service growth, market coverage, marketing initiative, market growth, Porter strategy, and market orientation.Design/methodology/approach– Data for the study were gathered from a statewide survey among 125 chief executives of credit unions belonging to the Florida Credit Union League (FCUL). ROA figures were derived from government-mandated accounting reports in the state of Florida. ANOVA and correlation analysis were employed to analyze data.Findings– This study shows that firms that match an aggressive Miles and Snow profile with a more aggressive approach to seven other strategy dimensions often enjoy higher market share relative to credit unions characterized by a different alignment of the various aspects of marketing strategy. The results also suggest that achieving such a fit is not relevant to maximizing a firm's ROA.Research limitations/implications– The research sample was biased toward medium to larger firms that may possess strategic resources superior to those of the smaller firms in the industry. Also, credit unions may tend to have somewhat less aggressive profit objectives compared to other institutions in the banking industry.Practical implications– The findings outline to financial services executives the benefits of considering all dimensions of corporate strategy simultaneously, rather than one at a time.Originality/value– The paper illustrates how aligning certain aspects of marketing strategy can boost particular performance indicators and provides insight as to what the most appropriate alignments are depending on the circumstances.