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Cost Efficiency (cost + efficiency)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	52%
Medical Sciences	11%
Humanities and Social Sciences	11%
Engineering	11%
Life Sciences	8%
2 Other Domains	7%

Selected Abstracts

Manufacturing Practices and Strategy Integration: Effects on Cost Efficiency, Flexibility, and Market-Based Performance

DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2005
Morgan Swink
ABSTRACT Manufacturing plant managers have sought performance improvements through implementing best practices discussed in World Class Manufacturing literature. However, our collective understanding of linkages between practices and performance remains incomplete. This study seeks a more complete theory, advancing the idea that strategy integration and enhanced manufacturing capabilities such as cost efficiency and flexibility serve as intermediaries by which practices affect performance. Hypotheses related to this thesis are tested using data from 57 North American manufacturing plants that are past winners and finalists in Industry Week's"America's Best" competition (Drickhamer, 2001). The results suggest that strategy integration plays a strong, central role in the creation of manufacturing cost efficiency and new product flexibility capabilities. Furthermore, strategy integration moderates the influences of product-process development, supplier relationship management, workforce development, just-in-time flow, and process quality management practices on certain manufacturing capabilities. In turn, manufacturing cost efficiency and new product flexibility capabilities mediate the influence of strategy integration on market-based performance. These findings have implications for practice and for future research. [source]

Cost Efficiency in South Asian Banking: The Impact of Bank Size, State Ownership and Stock Exchange Listings,

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF FINANCE, Issue 1-2 2007
SHRIMAL PERERA
ABSTRACT This study examines the cost efficiency performance of 111 commercial banks in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka over 1997,2004. The primary focus is to assess whether bank size, state ownership and stock exchange listing have significant effects on South Asian banks' efficiency performance. To this end, a translog-form composite-error cost efficiency model, which allows for exogenous environmental influences, is estimated. The results indicate that the overall efficiency of South Asian banks declined over 1997,2004. Larger banks and banks with widespread ownership through stock exchange listings were found to be relatively more cost efficient. In contrast, state-owned banks were less efficient. [source]

Use of Intradermal Dilutional Testing and Skin Prick Testing: Clinical Relevance and Cost Efficiency

THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 9 2006
Dr. Merritt Seshul MD, FAAOA
Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis: The objective was to determine the agreement of the positive results from a multiple skin prick test (SPT) device with the ability to determine a definable endpoint through intradermal dilutional testing (IDT) to compare semiquantitatively the degree of positivity of SPT results with quantitative results from IDT and to analyze the cost of immunotherapy based on SPT compared with IDT guided by SPT. Study Design: Retrospective review of clinical data (random accrual). Methods: One hundred thirty-four patients underwent allergy screening using a multiple SPT device. Antigens testing positive by skin prick device were tested using IDT on a separate day. Antigens testing negative by SPT were not evaluated by IDT. Regional allergy testing practice patterns were determined, and a cost analysis using Medicare rates was performed Results: There was good agreement between an antigen testing positive by SPT and the determination of a definable endpoint (93.33%, n = 1,334 antigens). The degree of positivity from the SPT correlated poorly with the final endpoint concentration (r = 0.40, P < .0001). Blended testing techniques were similar in cost when compared with several commonly used allergy testing protocols. Conclusions: Antigens which show reactivity to a multiple SPT device usually have a treatable endpoint that is independent of the degree of positivity of the SPT result. IDT is an important step in the determination of the strongest starting dose of immunotherapy that may be safely administered. Initiating immunotherapy in this manner may potentially create significant health care savings by shortening the time required for a patient to reach their individual maximally tolerated dose. The use of a relatively large screening panel is cost effective and does not increase the average number of antigens treated by immunotherapy. Blended allergy testing techniques that include IDT in their protocol are comparable in cost with commonly used allergy testing protocols. [source]

Cost Efficiency of the Banking Sector in Vietnam: A Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Approach with Regularity Constraints

ASIAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010
Ha Thu Vu
C11; D24; G21 This paper investigates the cost efficiency of the Vietnamese banking industry. To obtain an appropriate estimate of cost efficiency, monotonicity and concavity constraints are incorporated in the estimation of the cost frontier using the Bayesian approach. Overall, the level of cost efficiency of Vietnam's banking sector is relatively high, around 87 percent. The findings reveal minor and insignificant differences in the cost efficiency of different groups of banks classified by ownership. Furthermore, throughout the estimation period, the industry faced a slight decrease in cost efficiency. This could be explained by increases in the costs of managing diverse activities, the enlargement of branch networks and the upgrading of the banking technology platform. [source]

Cost Efficiency for Alberta and Ontario Dairy Farms: An Interregional Comparison

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2-3 2005
Getu Hailu
In this study, two non-homothetic translog stochastic meta-frontier cost functions,with and without local concavity imposed,are estimated using a nonlinear maximum likelihood estimation procedure to compare the cost efficiency of Alberta and Ontario dairy farms for the period 1984,96. The resulting cost efficiency estimates are not very sensitive to whether or not curvature is imposed. In contrast, the properties of the cost and input demand functions (e.g., elasticities) are sensitive to imposition of local concavity during estimation. The implication is that if an inappropriate model that does not satisfy the properties required by the economic theory is used, the estimated input demand functions may not be reliable. Average cost efficiency for the pooled sample, with local concavity imposed, is approximately 89%. This suggests some potential for improved performance in the sector. The results also suggest that Ontario dairy farms may be more cost efficient than Alberta dairy farms, but the statistical evidence is inconclusive. Dans la présente étude, nous avons estimé deux fonctions de coût métafrontières, stochastiques, non homothétiques de forme translogarithmique, avec et sans la concavité locale imposée, à l'aide de la procédure d'estimation du maximum de vraisemblance non linéaire pour comparer l'efficacité-coût des exploitations laitières de l'Alberta et de l'Ontario au cours de la période 1984,96. Les estimations des indices d'efficacité-coût ne sont pas très sensibles à l'imposition ou non de la concavité. En revanche, les propriétés des fonctions de coût et de demande d'intrants (ex. élasticités) sont sensibles à l'imposition de la concavité locale. La conséquence est que si on utilise un modèle incorrect qui ne respecte pas les propriétés requises par la théorie économique, les fonctions estimées de demande d'intrants peuvent ne pas être fiables. L'efficacité-coût moyen de l'échantillon total, avec la concavité locale imposée, est d'environ 89%. Ces résultats laissent supposer que certaines améliorations sont possibles dans le secteur. Ils laissent également supposer que les exploitations laitières de l'Ontario sont plus efficaces par rapport aux coûts que celles de l'Alberta, mais ces résultats ne sont pas statistiquement concluants. [source]

Has Minority Foreign Investment in China's Banks Improved Their Cost Efficiency?

CHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 3 2008
James Laurenceson
C24; D24; F21; G21 Abstract Since 2001, foreign investors have been permitted to acquire minority ownership stakes in China's banks. This paper assesses whether there is any evidence of a cost efficiency payoff in those banks that have taken on foreign investment. Data envelopment analysis is first used to generate measures of cost efficiency for China's banks over the period 2001,2006. A second stage regression is then performed to determine whether foreign investment has an impact on cost efficiency. The results indicate a positive relationship, although one that is not statistically significant. Policy implications are discussed. [source]

Cost efficiency and value driver analysis of insurers in an emerging economy

MANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2009
Attiea Marie
This study investigated cost inefficiencies and its relationship with value drivers of insurers in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study revealed that there were 21,33% cost inefficiencies in these insurers under different model specifications of stochastic frontier and DEA; value drivers such as lower leverage risk, lower capital risk significantly improved cost efficiencies consistent with Basel II norms; ROE positively influenced cost efficiencies with further trade off between increased profit margin, decreased asset utilization and/or reduced equity multiplier by the insurer managements to achieve a target-ROE; and the trend of cost efficiency was improving during 2000,2004. The study suggests that stock insurers could overcome their cost inefficiencies through adoption of efficient measures such as risk mapping of clients, risk prioritization besides ALM techniques. The study has direct implications for individual and institutional investors in making their portfolio investment decisions in insurance sector, policymakers, and regulators to closely monitor inefficient insurers consistent with Basel II norms. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Productivity,quality,costs,safety: A sustained approach to competitive advantage,a systematic review of the national safety council's case studies in safety and productivity

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 2 2008
Tushyati Maudgalya
The marked improvement in workplace safety levels in the past few decades has resulted in companies experiencing fewer safety accidents than before, thus making it less effective to argue that money spent on workplace safety and on injury prevention will yield much bottom-line benefit. To make a compelling business case for workplace safety investment, one must link safety objectives to other business objectives. The objective of this study is to determine whether workplace safety as a business objective adds value to the business bottom line. This research reviews published case studies to determine if there is a relationship between safety initiatives and increased productivity, quality, and cost efficiencies. Eighteen case studies (17 published by the National Safety Council) were analyzed using the Workplace Safety Intervention Appraisal Instrument. The appraisal scores ranged from 0.55 to 1.27, with an average of 0.91. The case studies were relatively strong in the Evidence Reporting and Data Analysis categories, as compared to the Subject Selection, Observation Quality, and Generalization to Other Populations categories. Following workplace safety initiatives, the studies revealed an average increase of 66% (2%,104%) in productivity, 44% (4%,73%) in quality, 82% (52%,100%) in safety records, and 71% (38%,100%) in cost benefits. In a few reported cases, it took only 8 months to obtain a payback in terms of monetary investment in the safety initiative. Although the studies did display a correlation between safety, productivity, and quality, there is insufficient evidence to categorically state that the improvements in productivity, quality, and cost efficiency were brought about by the introduction of an organization-wide safety culture. Notwithstanding, there is demonstrable evidence to indicate that safety as a business objective can assist an organization in achieving the long-term benefit of operational sustainability, that is, achieve a long-term competitive advantage by balancing business costs against social costs. Further research is required to conclusively prove the exact (possibly quantifiable) impact of safety investment on increased productivity, quality, and cost efficiency. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Cost-effectiveness of blood programmes , the Asia Pacific Blood Network perspective

ISBT SCIENCE SERIES: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTRACELLULAR TRANSPORT, Issue n2 2009
C.-K. Lin
Globally, cost management of blood programs is seen as a critical strategic issue. This needs to be balanced with other strategic priorities, including sustainability of the blood system and provision of sufficient, safe and appropriate products and services for patient care. Asia Pacific blood services seek improvement in cost efficiencies through both local initiatives, and through partnering with other countries via international networks such as the Asia Pacific Blood Network (APBN). Through the APBN, blood services participate in 2 key areas that have the potential to yield improved cost efficiencies. These are a.,Comparison of Practice b.,Knowledge Exchange This paper outlines the way in which the APBN members have utilised these opportunities to identify and understand internal and external cost drivers and through this, help address challenges. Cost data is less useful in effecting change than measures of operational efficiency, as well as utilisation and wastage rates. Some common tools and approaches will be discussed, although it is recognized that for each country with its unique set of stakeholders, geography, and socio-political, legal, regulatory and economic parameters, the decisions made may well be quite different but appropriate for the local context. [source]

Bank Mergers, Competition, and Liquidity

JOURNAL OF MONEY, CREDIT AND BANKING, Issue 5 2007
ELENA CARLETTI
credit market competition; bank reserves; internal money market; banking system liquidity; monetary operations We model the impact of bank mergers on loan competition, reserve holdings, and aggregate liquidity. A merger changes the distribution of liquidity shocks and creates an internal money market, leading to financial cost efficiencies and more precise estimates of liquidity needs. The merged banks may increase their reserve holdings through an internalization effect or decrease them because of a diversification effect. The merger also affects loan market competition, which in turn modifies the distribution of bank sizes and aggregate liquidity needs. Mergers among large banks tend to increase aggregate liquidity needs and thus the public provision of liquidity through monetary operations of the central bank. [source]

Estimating the Relative Efficiency of Brazilian Publicly and Privately Owned Water Utilities: A Stochastic Cost Frontier Approach,

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 5 2007
Geraldo Da Silva e Souza
R15; R38 Abstract:, This paper assesses cost efficiencies of Brazilian public and private companies of water supply. To measure the efficiency, we used a stochastic frontier model derived from the translog family , a specification similar to a Cobb-Douglas including a quadratic term in log output. The model parameters are estimated by maximum likelihood using Brazilian data for the year 2002. Statistical inference leads to the conclusion that there is no evidence that private firms and public firms are significantly different in terms of efficiency measurements. [source]

Cost efficiency and value driver analysis of insurers in an emerging economy

The Welfare Effects of the National Cooperative Research Act (NCRA) of 1984 and the National Cooperative Production Amendments (NCPA) of 1993

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY, Issue 5 2007
Yi Liu
Cooperative R&D and production joint ventures may enable firms to achieve significant cost efficiencies. However, they can also be a means of controlling industry output and raising product prices. A review of the literature on the welfare implications of allowing rival firms to cooperate in the R&D and production stages indicates that the issue is controversial from a theoretical perspective. There is need to examine the motivations of R&D and production joint ventures in order to assess the welfare implications of the National Cooperative Research Act (NCRA) of 1984 and National Cooperative Production Amendments (NCPA) of 1993, which relaxed the antitrust treatment of R&D and production joint ventures. Using samples of 127 cooperative R&D joint ventures and 342 cooperative production joint ventures announced by U.S. domestic firms during 1979,1999, this article finds that these endeavors do not meet the criteria for collusive behavior specified by the market power doctrine. We interpret these findings as suggesting that cooperative R&D and production joint ventures are motivated by cost efficiencies and are, therefore, welfare enhancing. Our results pose some challenges to the doctrine that antitrust actions by regulatory authorities are always welfare improving. [source]

Cost-efficient higher-order crossover designs for two-treatment clinical trials

PHARMACEUTICAL STATISTICS: THE JOURNAL OF APPLIED STATISTICS IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY, Issue 4 2005
Ying Yuan
Abstract Higher-order crossover designs have drawn considerable attention in clinical trials, because of their ability to test direct treatment effects in the presence of carry-over effects. The important question, when applying higher-order crossover designs in practice, is how to choose a design with both statistical and cost efficiencies from various alternatives. In this paper, we propose a general cost function and compare five statistically optimal or near-optimal designs with this cost function for a two-treatment study under different carry-over models. Based on our study, to achieve both statistical and cost efficiencies, a four-period, four-sequence crossover design is generally recommended under the simple carry-over or no carry-over models, and a three-period, two-sequence crossover design is generally recommended under the steady-state carry-over models. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Comparison of Economic Efficiency Estimation Methods: Parametric and Non,parametric Techniques

THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 5 2002
Hsin Huang
We employ a wide range of parametric and non,parametric cost frontiers' efficiency estimation methods to estimate economic efficiency and economies of scale, using the same panel data of 22 Taiwanese commercial banks over the period 1982,97. According to our empirical implementation, the two methodologies yield similar average efficiency estimates, yet they come to very dissimilar results pertaining to the efficiency rankings, the stability of measured efficiency over time, the consistency between frontier efficiency and conventional performance measures, and the estimates of scale economies. Thus, the choice of an estimation approach can result in very different conclusions and policy implications regarding cost efficiencies and cost economies. These findings suggest that making policy decisions and evaluations relies on multiple techniques and specifications. [source]

Considerations of scale in biodiversity conservation

ANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 3 2010
J. T. Du Toit
Abstract The dilemma of conservation practice lies in weighing the urgency for action against the need for sustainable long-term solutions, with urgent responses incurring the risk of failure and long-term solutions incurring the cost of time. Wisdom of hindsight reveals that sustainable solutions are not achieved when conservation action is initiated at an inappropriate scale. Here, I review recent studies that have included considerations of scale to illustrate how conservation problems and solutions might be unapparent, or even counterintuitive, to conservation practitioners responding to issues at the scales at which they were first perceived. Case studies cover the conservation of ecosystems, ecosystem services, species and populations. These studies collectively illustrate how most biodiversity conservation efforts can be improved by considering the problem at a broader spatiotemporal scale than that at which local natural resource management has traditionally operated. Globalization is increasingly challenging conservation practitioners to search for solutions across an ever-wider range of spatiotemporal scales and institutional levels. Identifying real problems and threats at relevant scales is part of conservation triage, when opportunity costs and cost efficiencies of alternative interventions are evaluated and ranked, before action is implemented through the appropriate institutional levels. [source]

Testing and Implementing the Use of Multiple Bidding Rounds in Conservation Auctions: A Case Study Application

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2009
John Rolfe
Conservation auctions are typically framed as closed, discriminatory, single round, first-price auctions, and are based on the assumption that landholders will offer bids determined by their "independent private values." Where landholders are unfamiliar with conservation tender processes and the supply of environmental services, they may find it very difficult to construct bids in this way. Bid values may be influenced by other factors, such as concerns about "winner's curse," a desire to capture economic rent, and premiums for risk and uncertainty factors. Sealed, single round auctions may exacerbate information gaps and uncertainty factors because of the limited information flows compared to traditional market exchanges and open, ascending auctions. In this paper, the cost efficiencies of a multiple bidding round auction for landholder management actions are explored with the use of field experiments and a conservation auction. The case study application is improved grazing management in a rangeland area of Australia, where landholders are unfamiliar with supplying environmental services or conservation auctions. Results suggest that multiple round auctions may be associated with efficiency gains, particularly in initial rounds. Les enchères pour la conservation sont généralement des enchères au premier prix, à un tour, discriminatoires et par offre écrite. Elles reposent sur l'hypothèque que les offres des propriétaires fonciers refléteront leur ,valeur privée,. Lorsque les propriétaires fonciers ne sont pas familiers avec les processus d'enchères pour la conservation et la prestation de services environnementaux, ils peuvent éprouver de la difficultéà attribuer une valeur à leur offre. Cette valeur peut-être influencée par d'autres facteurs, tels que la crainte de la ,malédiction du vainqueur ,, le désir de réaliser une rente économique, les primes de risque et les facteurs d'incertitude. Les enchères scellées à un tour peuvent aggraver le manque d'information et les facteurs d'incertitude étant donné que les enchérisseurs disposent de peu d'information comparativement aux enchères ascendantes ouvertes traditionnelles. Dans le présent article, nous avons examiné, à l'aide d'expériences sur le terrain et d'enchères pour la conservation, l'efficacité-coût d'une enchère à tours multiples pour des mesures de gestion de la part de propriétaires fonciers. L'exercice visait à améliorer la gestion des pâturages d'un parcours naturel en Australie, où les propriétaires fonciers ne sont pas familiers avec la prestation de services environnementaux ni avec les enchères pour la conservation. Les résultats autorisent à penser que les enchères à tours multiples pourraient offrir des gains d'efficience, particulièrement durant les premiers tours. [source]

The Cost Efficiency of Wild Dog Conservation in South Africa

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2005
P. A. LINDSEY
crianza de especies cinegéticas; financiamiento de donantes; Lycaon pictus; metapoblación; reintroducción Abstract:,Aside from Kruger National Park, no other suitable reserves of sufficient size exist in South Africa that will hold a viable population of wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Consequently, conservation efforts have been focused on creating a metapopulation through a series of wild dog reintroductions into isolated fenced reserves. Additional potential exists for conserving wild dogs on private ranch land. Establishing the metapopulation was an expensive process, accounting for approximately 75% of the US$380,000 spent on wild dog conservation in South Africa during 1997-2001. The principal goal of the metapopulation project was to reduce the risk of catastrophic population decline. Now that this has been achieved, we developed a uniform cost-efficiency index to estimate the cost efficiency of current and potential future conservation strategies in South Africa. Conserving wild dogs in large protected areas was predicted to be the most cost-efficient conservation strategy (449 packs/$100,000 expenditure). Establishing the metapopulation has been less cost efficient (23 packs/$100,000), and expansion of the metapopulation was predicted to be even less cost efficient if predation by wild dogs results in additional costs, as is to be expected if private reserves are used for reintroductions (3-13 packs/$100,000). Because of low logistical costs, conserving wild dogs in situ on private ranch land was potentially more cost efficient than reintroducing wild dogs (14-27 packs/$100,000). We recommend that donor funding be used to reintroduce wild dogs into transfrontier parks, when they are established, to maintain the existing metapopulation and to establish conservation programs involving wild dogs on private ranch land. Investing in the expansion of the metapopulation should be limited to state-owned nature reserves willing to carry predation costs without compensation. Resumen:,Además del Parque Nacional Kruger, en África del Sur no existen otras reservas de suficiente tamaño como para mantener una población viable de perros salvajes (Lycaon pictus). En consecuencia, los esfuerzos de conservación se han enfocado en la creación de una metapoblación por medio de una serie de reintroducciones en pequeñas reservas cercadas. Hay un potencial adicional para la conservación de perros salvajes en terrenos privados. El establecimiento de la metapoblación fue un proceso costoso, ,75% de US $380,000 que fueron gastados en la conservación de perros salvajes entre 1997 y 2001 en África del Sur. La meta principal del proyecto de metapoblación fue la reducción del riesgo de una declinación catastrófica de la población. Ya que esto se ha logrado, desarrollamos un índice de rentabilidad uniforme para estimar la rentabilidad de las actuales y potenciales estrategias de conservación en África del Sur. Se predijo que la estrategia de conservación de más rentable (449manadas/$100,000 de gasto) era la conservación de perros salvajes en áreas protegidas grandes. El establecimiento de la metapoblación ha sido menos rentable (23 manadas/$100,000), y se predijo que la expansión de la metapoblación sería aun menos rentable si la depredación por perros salvajes resulta en costos adicionales, como se esperaría si se utilizan reservas privadas para las reintroducciones (3-13 manadas/$100,000). Debido a los bajos costos de logística, la conservación de perros salvajes in situ en terrenos privados fue potencialmente más rentable que reintroducir a los perros salvajes (14-27 manadas/$100,000). Recomendamos que el financiamiento de donantes sea utilizado para reintroducir perros salvajes en parque transfronterizos, cuando sean establecidos, para mantener a la metapoblación existente y para establecer programas de conservación que involucren a perros salvajes en terrenos privados. La inversión en la expansión de la metapoblación deberá limitarse a reservas naturales propiedad del estado que estén dispuestas a absorber los costos de la depredación sin ser compensadas. [source]

Manufacturing Practices and Strategy Integration: Effects on Cost Efficiency, Flexibility, and Market-Based Performance

On the compensation of non-active current components of three-phase loads with quickly changing unsymmetry

EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 5 2001
V. Staudt
Some types of loads, like arc furnaces, present a special challenge to compensation strategies. They vary quickly and have a very high rated power. For example the arcs of an arc furnace are not burning continuously especially when starting the melting process. This causes variations of the line voltage with frequencies well below the line frequency commonly known as voltage flicker. Because of cost efficiency the energy storage capability of compensators for the mitigation of voltage flicker effects can still only be small compared to the energy taken by the arc furnace during one period of the line voltage. This paper discusses the use of a compensation tool which quickly detects negative sequence current components in comparison to the calculation of an equivalent conductance using the so-called FBD method (Fryze-Buchholz-Depenbrock method). Simulations are used to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of the tool for detecting negative sequence current components. It is shown that the quick detection and compensation of negative sequence current components can reduce the amount of voltage flicker considerably. [source]

Toward a More Embedded Production System?

GROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2009
Automotive Supply Networks, Localized Capabilities in Poland
ABSTRACT The article addresses the embeddedness of automotive production in Poland in terms of supply networks. A comprehensive analysis of more than 550 suppliers, supported by company interviews, shows that foreign-owned producers become embedded in Poland in the automotive supplier networks they have largely created themselves. Numerous local suppliers gain access to export markets and become integrated in a Europe-wide production system. This trend has been accompanied by significant upgrading of foreign affiliates and domestic firms in terms of product quality, cost efficiency, adaptability, and fast response, but far less in nonproduction competences such as R&D. It is argued that the competences of automotive suppliers in Poland are built upon the localized capabilities, which are a product of the dynamic interplay between the activity of foreign firms and the changing local environment comprising various stakeholders. The localized capabilities constitute elements of a company's sunk costs and are embedding automotive producers in Poland. At the same time, the dependence on decisions and innovations from abroad and the limited development of local design and brands may constrain the future role of suppliers from the semiperipheral economy of Poland. [source]

Does Prospective Payment Really Contain Nursing Home Costs?

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002
Li-Wu Chen
Objective. To examine whether nursing homes would behave more efficiently, without compromising their quality of care, under prospective payment. Data Sources. Four data sets for 1994: the Skilled Nursing Facility Minimum Data Set, the Online Survey Certification and Reporting System file, the Area Resource File, and the Hospital Wage Indices File. A national sample of 4,635 nursing homes is included in the analysis. Study Design. Using a modified hybrid functional form to estimate nursing home costs, we distinguish our study from previous research by controlling for quality differences (related to both care and life) and addressing the issues of output and quality endogeneity, as well as using more recent national data. Factor analysis was used to operationalize quality variables. To address the endogeneity problems, instrumental measures were created for nursing home output and quality variables. Principal Findings. Nursing homes in states using prospective payment systems do not have lower costs than their counterpart facilities under retrospective cost-based payment systems, after quality differences among facilities are controlled for and the endogeneity problem of quality variables is addressed. Conclusions. The effects of prospective payment on nursing home cost reduction may be through quality cuts, rather than cost efficiency. If nursing home payments under prospective payment systems are not adjusted for quality, nursing homes may respond by cutting their quality levels, rather than controlling costs. Future outcomes research may provide useful insights into the adjustment of quality in the design of prospective payment for nursing home care. [source]

Productivity,quality,costs,safety: A sustained approach to competitive advantage,a systematic review of the national safety council's case studies in safety and productivity

US Outward Foreign Direct Investment in the European Union and the Implementation of the Single Market: Empirical Evidence from a Cohesive Framework

JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 5 2008
FRAGKISKOS FILIPPAIOS
In this article we investigate the determinants of US outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the European Union for the period 1982,2002. The data set allowed us to discern differences in the pattern of US FDI between EU core and EU periphery countries, as well as over different time periods during the last two decades. The results indicate that the US FDI pattern varies among different groups of countries and that there was a restructuring in multinational firms' investment activity after the implementation of the single market plan. Agglomeration factors, market size, qualified and productive labour and cost efficiency of local production seem to dominate in the location choice of US investors. [source]

The Competitive Dynamics of Geographic Deregulation in Banking: Implications for Productive Efficiency

JOURNAL OF MONEY, CREDIT AND BANKING, Issue 5 2008
DOUGLAS D. EVANOFF
market entry; bank mergers; banking deregulation; cost X-efficiency Deregulation of geographic restrictions in banking over the past 20 years has intensified both potential and actual competition in the industry. The accumulating empirical evidence suggests that potential efficiency gains associated with consolidating banks are often not realized. We evaluate the impact of this increased competition on the productive efficiency of non-merging banks confronted with new entry in their local markets and find that the incumbent banks respond by improving cost efficiency. Thus, studies evaluating the impact of bank mergers on the efficiency of the combining parties alone may be overlooking the most significant welfare-enhancing aspect of merger activity. [source]

CO2 Laser , Workhorse for Industrial Manufacturing

LASER TECHNIK JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009
Flexible, reliable, well proven tool for a large variety of laser processing systems
For more than 30 years lasers are used for industrial production with high success. Modern efficient production would not be imaginable without lasers and laser processes. Since the beginning days CO2 lasers were dominating the market of continuous cutting and welding applications (referred here as "Macro" applications) because of their high power and electrical efficiency, reliability and cost efficiency. [source]

Cost efficiency and value driver analysis of insurers in an emerging economy

Australian Banking Efficiency and Its Relation to Stock Returns

THE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue 258 2006
JOSHUA KIRKWOOD
We used Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate cost efficiency of Australian banks in producing banking services and profit between 1995 and 2002. Empirical results indicate the major banks have improved their efficiency in producing banking services and profit, while the regional banks have experienced little change in the efficiency of producing banking services, and a decline in the efficiency of producing profit. An attempt is made to relate the changes in efficiency to stock returns. Results indicate that for our sample, changes in firm efficiency are reflected in stock returns. [source]

The role of medical simulation: an overview,

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ROBOTICS AND COMPUTER ASSISTED SURGERY, Issue 3 2006
Kevin Kunkler
Abstract Robotic surgery and medical simulation have much in common: both use a mechanized interface that provides visual "patient" reactions in response to the actions of the health care professional (although simulation also includes touch feedback); both use monitors to visualize the progression of the procedure; and both use computer software applications through which the health care professional interacts. Both technologies are experiencing rapid adoption and are viewed as modalities that allow physicians to perform increasingly complex minimally invasive procedures while enhancing patient safety. A review of the literature and industry developments concludes that medical simulators can be useful tools in determining a physician's understanding and use of best practices, management of patient complications, appropriate use of instruments and tools, and overall competence in performing procedures. Future use of these systems depends on their impact on patient safety, procedure completion time and cost efficiency. The sooner simulation training can be used to support developing technologies and procedures, the earlier, and typically the better, the results. Continued studies are needed to identify and ensure the ongoing applicability of these systems for both training and certification. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]