Service Reward Research Articles

Blockchain technology for ecological and environmental applications

This research study examines the use of Blockchain technology for ecological and environmental applications. The study presents a conceptual view aided by a literature survey to identify three major Blockchain themes connecting with the research topic - Transparency and Traceability, Conservation and Incentives, and Data Management and Monitoring. The goal of the study is to use the features offered by Blockchain Technology for sustainability, ecology, and environmental applications. As this research shows, technology can help in conservation and incentive practices such as conservation finance, tokenized rewards for ecosystem services, and rewards for sustainable practices. Blockchain has good data management and monitoring practices that can help secure environmental data, monitor various environmental parameters in real time, and provide a decentralized platform/infrastructure for environmental data analytics. Findings from this study can help environmental practitioners and researchers, research bodies, and Governmental agencies keen to use technology to preserve ecology and the environment and encourage sustainable practices.

The Operational Data Analytics (ODA) for Service Speed Design

We develop the operational data analytics (ODA) framework for the classical service design problem of [Formula: see text] systems. The customer arrival rate is unknown. Instead, some historical data of interarrival times are collected. The data-integration model, specifying the mapping from the arrival data to the service rate, is formulated based on the time-scaling property of the stochastic service process. Validating the data-integration model against the long-run average service reward leads to a uniformly optimal service rate for any given sample size. We further derive the ODA-predicted reward function based on the data-integration model, which gives a consistent estimate of the underlying reward function. Our numerical experiments show that the ODA framework can lead to an efficient design of service rate and service capacity, which is insensitive to model specification. The ODA solution exhibits superior performance compared with the conventional estimation-and-then-optimization solutions in the small sample regime. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, operations management. Funding: Z. Jiang’s research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 71931007]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.00655 .

Analyzing Queueing Problems via Bandits With Linear Reward & Nonlinear Workload Fairness

Queueing models serve as important building blocks in many networking applications such as task scheduling in mobile edge computing nodes, traffic scheduling in networks, congestion control in Internet, etc. However, queueing theory often needs to make strong assumptions about the arrival process or service rewards at each queue. In addition, fairness in serving workload among all queues is of great importance in many applications. In this paper, we address how to optimize resource allocation among multiple queues with a fairness guarantee and without any a priori knowledge of these queues' parameters. To characterize queues with unknown parameters and the fairness requirement, we formulate an online learning model with a varying and continuous action space, as well as a nonlinear utility objective. We design an online learning algorithm to tackle the problem. We prove that our algorithm has a regret upper bound of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O(\sqrt{T}\log T)$</tex-math></inline-formula> and our model has a regret lower bound of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Omega (\sqrt{T})$</tex-math></inline-formula> , where <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T$</tex-math></inline-formula> stands for the number of decision rounds. The asymptotic closeness of upper and lower bounds guarantees their near tightness and our algorithm's near optimality. We discuss our model's real-world applications in mobile edge computing, wireless networks, and crowdsourcing, and conduct simulations to validate our algorithm's effectiveness.

Research on the Construction of a Reward and Commendation System for Volunteer Service with Chinese Characteristics

Establishing a volunteer service reward and recognition system with Chinese characteristics is not only a theoretical issue but also a practical issue. This article will be based on studying foreign experience in volunteer service rewards and recognition, starting from the current situation and actual development needs of my country's volunteer service work, and discussing the construction and improvement of the volunteer service reward and recognition system. It will be combined with reality, highlight characteristics, and focus on material and spiritual incentives. Incentives should be combined to establish a volunteer service reward and recognition system that is universal, normative, and consistent with volunteers' motivations. Establishing a sound volunteer service reward and recognition system is a general trend for developing China's volunteer service industry and the only way to achieve the "Two Centenary Goals."

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction at Ikan Bakar Jingkrak Restaurant Bandar Lampung

This study was directed to determine the factors that determine employee job satisfaction at the Ikan Bakar Jingkrak restaurant. The study also investigated the effect of customer service training on job satisfaction, customer service rewards on job satisfaction, management styles on job satisfaction, and lastly job competence on job satisfaction. The study used quantitative methods. Data was collected through an online questionnaire using a Likert scale, a population of 35. The sampling technique used is saturated samples and uses Non Probability Sampling samples, data analysis using multiple linear tests with the help of SPSS version 25 and also hypothesis tests such as t tests and F tests.

Pengaruh Gaji terhadap Kinerja Guru Honorer di Persekolahan Yayasan Pendidikan Katolik Keuskupan Manado Perwakilan Tomohon

In improving teacher performance to be better and optimal, to create quality and useful human resources for the future of the nation. One of the factors supporting the improvement of teacher performance is salary. Salary is a reward for services or work. But at this time the salary received by honorary teachers is still very less. This study aims to determine the effect of salary on the performance of honorary teachers. This research was conducted in May 2023 at the Tomohon YPK-KM school. The respondents in this study were honorary teachers who were at the YPK-KM school representing Tomohon. The research method used is quantitative. The sampling technique uses the Slovin technique. The sample studied amounted to 126 teachers. The research instrument used was a questionnaire (questionnaire) with alternative answers Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Disagree (2), and Disagree (1). This quantitative research uses simple linear regression analysis. The results of the study show that there is an effect of salary on the performance of honorary teachers. This is evidenced by the results of the calculated F value of 14.197 with a significance level of 0.000 &lt;0.005, and a correlation or relationship of 0.321 and a coefficient of determination of 10.3%. Thus there is a very low and significant effect of salary on the performance of honorary teachers. Salary can be said to influence and contribute to improving the performance of honorary teachers at YPK-KM schools representing Tomohon.

Payment and Motivation: Female Community Health Volunteers in Nepal

The paper attempts to critically discuss the payment issue among Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHV) in Nepal. It examines how the Female Community Health Volunteers experience such issues and the impact on them. The payment issues among Community Health Workers are very contentious, particularly in developing countries. The prevalence of this issue in Nepal merits critical attention. The paper further examines Female Community Health Volunteers’ motivation to work despite the numerous challenges. The paper is based on fieldwork in the Bardiya District of Nepal where most respondents expect to receive some basic remuneration for their service regularly. The question, therefore, arises for examination as to why they are unwilling to leave their position even though they do not receive any financial rewards for community service. Social status, mobility, gaining new knowledge, participating in various programs, and building relationships with others are some of the motivating factors for FCHVs.

Industrial-organizational psychologists and volunteer work

AbstractMany of the larger employers in this country and abroad have benefited from industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists’ evidence-based practice. However, charitable and not-for-profit organizations have not always been aware of our services or able to afford them when cognizant of them. Volunteering professional services to charitable organizations provides an opportunity to extend these benefits. In addition, volunteers reap the intrinsic rewards of service, acquire opportunities to hone their skills, and learn from others, and pro bono work has the potential of informing our understanding of the science and practice of I/O psychology. This paper provides five case studies from five I/O psychologists who share their volunteer experiences in their own words. Each case study describes what the I/O psychologist did for the organization, how he or she became involved, and what he or she got out of the experience and learned. The paper offers ways SIOP and the SIOP Foundation might facilitate volunteer activities and concludes by inviting readers to share their own volunteer experiences and suggestions for encouraging volunteer work.

Exploring service climate in healthcare using a change management approach

ABSTRACT Understanding nurses’ perception of service climate in a resource-constrained environment undergoing continuous change is important as patients seek patient-centered health services. Unfortunately, organizational change approaches influencing service climate have yet to be explored. The study’s objectives included: (1) assessing nurses’ perceptions of service climate (orientation, feedback, and managerial practices) and their strategic change mindsets (Theories E, O, and EO) in a post-restructuring environment; and (2) determining the best model of fit, based on organizational dimensions of change and strategic change mindsets, for service climate. A cross-sectional survey collected responses from nurse members of a professional association. Linear regression analysis was used to obtain the service climate models. The findings revealed nurses’ perception of service climate was positive, except for managerial practices. The predominant mindset was Theory EO (balance between Theory E – economic value and Theory O – organizational capabilities). Capacity to change and learn, managerial practices and behaviour, and position level positively predicted service climate; the best model of fit was for nurses who adopted a Theory EO mindset. In conclusion, to enhance nurses’ perception of service climate, leaders/managers need to provide recognition and rewards for high-quality service and use a Theory EO approach (balance financial performance with internal capabilities).

Public Service Rewards System and Workers’ Satisfaction in Rivers State Civil Service, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Specifically, the purpose of this research was to determine which aspects of the public service incentives system in Rivers State, Port Harcourt, would contribute to employee happiness. There were a total of 327 responders, and they were all given a questionnaire that they could fill out on their own time. There was an 89% return on the survey's initial query. All of the predictors showed a substantial contribution to employee satisfaction in the Rivers State Civil Service, according to regression and Pearson correlation analyses. Employee satisfaction was found to be highest with regard to salary and lowest with regard to bonuses and other incentives. The results show that a company's rewards system has a positive effect on how happy workers are with their jobs.

The effect of information on the strategic behavior in a Markovian queue with catastrophes and working vacations

ABSTRACT A stochastic clearing system is studied from a game-theoretic perspective in the paper where the server is subject to a Poisson-generated catastrophe and a follow-up repair process. Whenever a fatal shock (catastrophe) occurs, all customers are cleared from the system and the server fails. A repair is rendered immediately to fix the server with an exponential repair time. During the repair process, no customers are allowed to enter the system. Customers are strategic and they have the right to decide whether to join the system or balk based on a linear reward-cost structure with two types of rewards: A service reward for those customers that receive service and a compensation for those customers that are forced to abandon the system due to a catastrophe. During the service process, the server takes a working vacation after serving all the customers in the system. Our study is the first attempt to provide models to jointly characterize and analyse the queueing system with working vacation and catastrophes, with an emphasis on game-theoretic modeling of such a service system. The customer’s equilibrium strategy and social benefit of the system under four different information scenarios are obtained. In particular, we find that customers obey the follow-the-crowd (FTC) property in almost observable condition, which provides managerial insight on the operations management perspective. Numerical experiments are presented to show the effects of system parameters and information levels on the equilibrium joining behavior of customers.

On strategic customers with correlated utility attributes: Effects and information benefits

In this paper, we investigate a service system where heterogeneous customers arrive with varying assessments of service reward and unit waiting cost. Additionally, we allow for correlation between a customer’s valuations for service reward and unit waiting cost. We first model the service facility as an unobservable M/M/1 queue and demonstrate that the correlation between the previously mentioned utility attributes affects various critical performance metrics. If the expected net utility of the customers, when exactly half of the customers join the facility, is positive (negative), then the equilibrium arrival rate increases (decreases) with the correlation. We also show that the expected utility of arriving customers decreases with correlation. Finally, we examine the observability of queue length within our model and calculate regions of model parameters where disclosing queue length information benefits the customers and the service provider the least or the most.

Incentive Mechanisms in Peer-to-Peer Networks — A Systematic Literature Review

Centralized networks inevitably exhibit single points of failure that malicious actors regularly target. Decentralized networks are more resilient if numerous participants contribute to the network’s functionality. Most decentralized networks employ incentive mechanisms to coordinate the participation and cooperation of peers and thereby ensure the functionality and security of the network. This article systematically reviews incentive mechanisms for decentralized networks and networked systems by covering 165 prior literature reviews and 178 primary research papers published between 1993 and October 2022. Of the considered sources, we analyze 11 literature reviews and 105 primary research papers in detail by categorizing and comparing the distinctive properties of the presented incentive mechanisms. The reviewed incentive mechanisms establish fairness and reward participation and cooperative behavior. We review work that substitutes central authority through independent and subjective mechanisms run in isolation at each participating peer and work that applies multiparty computation. We use monetary, reputation, and service rewards as categories to differentiate the implementations and evaluate each incentive mechanism’s data management, attack resistance, and contribution model. Further, we highlight research gaps and deficiencies in reproducibility and comparability. Finally, we summarize our assessments and provide recommendations to apply incentive mechanisms to decentralized networks that share computational resources.

Community resilience to natural resource vulnerability due to sand mining through the application of Integrated Farming System (IFS)

Changes in natural resources have presented major problems for farming communities in rural areas. In general, farmers diversify their livelihoods in the non-agricultural sector without paying attention to the impact on the availability of natural resources in the future. Sand mining activity has become one of the short-term solutions for farming communities in rural areas. As a result, a problem such as land degradation occurs in the village, thereby generating negative impacts on the availability of nature for the next generation. This study aimed to analyze the causes of land degradation and describe the Integrated Farming System (IFS) as a solution to address the land degradation problem in Bambang Village, Wajak District, Malang Regency. This study applied a qualitative case study research design, and the research methods included in-depth interviews with 40 informants, observation, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The location of this study was determined by purposive sampling, considering that Bambang Village is one of the villages affected by land degradation due to sand mining. The results of the study revealed that land degradation was due to the vulnerability of the farming community; thus, another alternative was proposed to utilize part of the land (20%) as a sand mining area without neglecting environmental preservation as a reward for environmental services. In addition, IFS and the actors as ecopreneurs were considered as alternative solutions to meet the needs and to prepare the farming community resilience through ecological preservation by sustaining the ecosystem balance. In practice, IFS requires integration among stakeholders, farmers and concerned institutions.

The Influence of Tenure of Service Rewards, Job Satisfaction, and Work Environment on the Performance of Regional Inspectorate Employees in Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province

The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze the effect of long service rewards, job satisfaction, and work environment on the performance of the employees of the Regional Inspectorate of Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province. In this study, the design used was a descriptive design that also examined the relationship between variables (causal design), which is useful to measure the relationship between research variables or to analyze the influence of a variable on other variables. In this study, data were collected ex post facto; in other words, the researcher relied on the respondents' perceptions to explain their experiences and then analyzed them according to a descriptive and causal design. The data collection technique in this study used the survey method, using a closed questionnaire as a tool. The sample for this research involved all employees—as many as 63 people. The results of the study show that long service awards, job satisfaction, and work environment will affect employee performance at the Regional Inspectorate, Kolaka Regency.

Dismantling White Supremacy and Promoting Antiracism in Social Work: Tensions, Paradoxes, and a Collective Response

The social work profession in the United States is striving to advance antiracism amidst increasing threats of white supremacist violence. However, tensions and paradoxes in the contexts of academic research and knowledge development, education and teaching, and service undermine the profession’s efforts. Structural or institutional processes—in higher education broadly and in schools of social work specifically—shape who publishes research, educates, and serves, and how labor is evaluated and rewarded. We identify practical recommendations to advance antiracism while cautioning against overemphasizing the responsibility of individual actors. Recommendations include prioritizing and generously funding scholarship on white supremacy and antiracism, providing clinical and adjunct faculty with sufficient remuneration and supports to excel in teaching, joining with students in protest against oppressive conditions in higher education, and equalizing rewards for service in accordance with those for research. Social workers must work proactively across multiple contexts to realize our professional commitment to dismantling white supremacy and advancing antiracism.

STRATEGIC DIVERGENCE IN THE US-PAKISTAN RELATIONSHIP UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

This study analyses the US-Pakistan relationship during the Trump administration from a neo-classical realist lens. Along with systemic influences, the analysis framework also includes the role of domestic and cognitive factors in understanding both sides’ perceptions, behaviors, and preferences toward each other. During Trump’s presidential term, both sides could not fritter away the mistrust and move beyond the traditional course of engagement characterized by tactical convergence based on the rewards for service rendered by Pakistan. Pakistan was not a strategic choice for Washington since the two countries had contrasting expectations on evolving global developments, emerging regional geo-political and domestic reconfigurations. Parallel to this, Pakistan’s economic vulnerabilities were exploited by the Republicans to reassert their leverage in bargaining. This grey area helped the White House allure Pakistan with its carrot-and-stick approach and compelled policy planners in Islamabad to think that a strong foreign policy always rests on a strong domestic base.

Managerial ties and learning ambidexterity: the moderating effects of manager service support and employee service rewards

PurposeManagerial ties (i.e. business ties and political ties) could help manufacturers conduct learning ambidexterity by providing external resources. However, the resource management perspective claims that merely accessing external resources does not guarantee learning ambidexterity. As manufacturers utilize their resources by implementing services, this study aims to investigate how the impact of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity depends on human resource service practices (i.e. manager service support and employee service rewards).Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data from 150 high-tech manufacturing firms through a survey-based questionnaire, which was completed by two managers in one firm. The ordinary least squares regression was employed to test the research model and hypotheses.FindingsBusiness ties hurt learning ambidexterity when manager service support is high, whereas business ties benefit learning ambidexterity when employee service rewards are high. Similar findings are not applied to political ties.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors did not examine the mechanism underlying the effect of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity. The non-significant findings on political ties suggest potential mediators for future research. Another limitation is that the study’s data are only from China. Manager ties are also important in other developing countries like Turkey. More data from other countries are needed to test the generalization of the authors’ findings.Practical implicationsFirst, managers should focus on business ties more than political ties when learning ambidexterity is important to their firms. Second, managers should reward service-oriented employees.Originality/valueThe study enriches the literature on investigating the impact of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity. The authors also contribute to the literature by examining servitization as a service context. Prior studies mainly examine servitization as a driver of firm performance. The findings suggest that servitization as a business context can affect other business activities.

Managing Queues with Reentrant Customers in Support of Hybrid Healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly boosted the use of hybrid healthcare settings, which orchestrate face-to-face services together with virtual ones. The advantages of virtual healthcare services are clear: they are less costly and less disruptive for patients who can receive the service in the comfort of their home and reduce patients’ exposure to illnesses prevalent in healthcare facilities. Nevertheless, there is evidence that patients are likely to require a supplementary in-person service upon completion of their virtual service. Motivated by such settings, we study a multiservice queueing system with face-to-face, virtual, and supplementary service channels. The service operator needs to allocate service capacity among the three classes and decide how to prioritize the patients when a service provider becomes available. The strong dependency between virtual and supplementary visits makes the problem challenging. Based on a fluid relaxation, we develop an index-based policy, the [Formula: see text] rule (or the [Formula: see text] rule in short), which, in addition to the holding cost, service time, abandonment rate, and service reward, also carefully balances the return probability and associated penalty. The theoretical results along with numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed policy and the importance of capacity coordination when managing hybrid service settings. Our work provides insights on the trade-off between convenience and the value of care when offering virtual healthcare services. Funding: The author was supported in part by an Israel Science Foundation [Grant 277/21] and the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research [Grant 2021/160/R].

Equilibrium strategies and pricing for a congested system with opaque price and loss-averse customers

In this paper, we study a service provider with opaque price strategy who sells services to loss-averse customers in a congestion-prone facility. The opaque price strategy means that the service provider discloses a price range of services to potential customers through social media. Loss aversion aims to characterize customers' reference-dependent preferences. We analyze a queueing game model with the help of an M/M/1 queueing system and adopt the cutoff structure characterized by reservation price to represent the loss-averse customers' joining decision. Then, we derive the loss-averse customer's reservation price and queueing strategies at equilibrium. In addition, the service provider sets the price to maximize her profit. We obtain some insights into how customers' degree of loss aversion affects the service provider's optimal price. For example, customers with a higher degree of loss aversion on the waiting time and the payment would push the service provider to decrease the optimal price. Customers with a higher degree of loss aversion about the service reward would urge the service provider to increase the optimal price. Furthermore, considering the attachment effect, we obtain the lowest possible expected profit of the service provider.