			Home About us Contact

Time Efficiency (time + efficiency)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	55%
Engineering	22%

Selected Abstracts

The Impact of Generating Initial Hypothesis Sets of Different Sizes on the Quality of the Initial Set, and the Resulting Time Efficiency and Final Judgment Accuracy

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 1 2004
Sudip Bhattacharjee
This study examines the impact of generating initial hypothesis sets of different sizes on the quality of the hypotheses generated (i.e., the ability to consider both the direction and accounts that are over- or understated). We also examine the time efficiency, information search effectiveness, and the final judgment accuracy, conditional on the quality of the initial hypothesis set. Sixty auditors performed an analytical procedures task where they were asked to generate and test either a specific number of initial hypotheses (one, three, or six), or any number of hypotheses desired in order to uncover an error seeded in the financial statements. The results indicate that the three hypotheses group initially generated hypotheses of the highest quality and maintained the hypothesis quality after efficiently searching information and generating additional causes. The one hypothesis group improved the quality of their hypotheses only after generating and testing several causes. However, auditors who generated six hypotheses or any number desired (as in audit practice) considered hypotheses of lower quality in the initial set, and did not improve the hypotheses quality after going through the information search stage. These results suggest that the size of the initial hypothesis set can lead to differences in the gains that accrue from the hypothesis generation and information search stages of diagnostic decisions. [source]

Increasing Learning and Time Efficiency in Interorganizational New Product Development Teams,

THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2010
Ludwig Bstieler
Despite the growing popularity of new product development across organizational boundaries, the processes, mechanisms, or dynamics that leverage performance in interorganizational (I-O) product development teams are not well understood. Such teams are staffed with individuals drawn from the partnering firms and are relied on to develop successful new products while at the same time enhancing mutual learning and reducing development time. However, these collaborations can encounter difficulties when partners from different corporate cultures and thought worlds must coordinate and depend on one another and often lead to disappointing performance. To facilitate collaboration, the creation of a safe, supportive, challenging, and engaging environment is particularly important for enabling productive collaborative I-O teamwork and is essential for learning and time efficient product development. This research develops and tests a model of proposed factors to increase both learning and time efficiency on I-O new product teams. It is argued that specific behaviors (caring), beliefs (psychological safety), task-related processes (shared problem solving), and governance mechanisms (clear management direction) create a positive climate that increases learning and time efficiency on I-O teams. Results of an empirical study of 50 collaborative new product development projects indicate that (1) shared problem solving and caring behavior support both learning and time efficiency on I-O teams, (2) team psychological safety is positively related to learning, (3) management direction is positively associated with time efficiency, and (4) shared problem solving is more strongly related to both performance dimensions than are the other factors. The factors supporting time efficiency are slightly different from those that foster learning. The relative importance of these factors also differs considerably for both performance aspects. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of the factors that facilitate a favorable environment for productive collaboration on I-O teams, which go beyond contracts or top-management supervision. Establishing such an environment can help to balance management concerns and promote the success of I-O teams. The significance of the results is elevated by the fragility of collaborative ventures and their potential for failure, when firms with different organizational cultures, thought worlds, objectives, and intentions increasingly decide to work across organizational boundaries for the development of new products. [source]

Roxarsone and transformation products in chicken manure: Determination by capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

ELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 7-8 2005
Charlita G. Rosal
Abstract The determination of the animal feed additive roxarsone (3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid) and six of its possible transformation products (arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonate, dimethylarsinate, 3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid, and 4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid) in chicken manure was investigated using capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (CE-ICP-MS). Initial method development was conducted using ultraviolet (UV) detection for ruggedness and time efficiency. Separation of these seven arsenic species was effected using a 20,mM phosphate buffer at pH 5.7. The CE-ICP-MS limits of detection in terms of As for each of the species was in the low µg·L,1 range, corresponding to absolute detection limits in the range 20,70,fg As (based on a 23,nL injection). Overall, the method developed in this study provides high selectivity and low limits of detection (1,3,µg·L,1 or low-ppb, based on As), uses small sample volume (low nL), and produces minimal wastes. [source]

Parallel computation of a highly nonlinear Boussinesq equation model through domain decomposition

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 1 2005
Khairil Irfan Sitanggang
Abstract Implementations of the Boussinesq wave model to calculate free surface wave evolution in large basins are, in general, computationally very expensive, requiring huge amounts of CPU time and memory. For large scale problems, it is either not affordable or practical to run on a single PC. To facilitate such extensive computations, a parallel Boussinesq wave model is developed using the domain decomposition technique in conjunction with the message passing interface (MPI). The published and well-tested numerical scheme used by the serial model, a high-order finite difference method, is identical to that employed in the parallel model. Parallelization of the tridiagonal matrix systems included in the serial scheme is the most challenging aspect of the work, and is accomplished using a parallel matrix solver combined with an efficient data transfer scheme. Numerical tests on a distributed-memory super-computer show that the performance of the current parallel model in simulating wave evolution is very satisfactory. A linear speedup is gained as the number of processors increases. These tests showed that the CPU time efficiency of the model is about 75,90%. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The Impact of Generating Initial Hypothesis Sets of Different Sizes on the Quality of the Initial Set, and the Resulting Time Efficiency and Final Judgment Accuracy

Accurate and time efficient estimation of the probability of error in bursty channels,

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, Issue 7 2003
M. Stevan Berber
Abstract A method and a technique for the probability of error estimation in digital channels with memory are developed and demonstrated. The expressions for the mean and variance of a random variable, representing a block of bits transmission in a bursty channel (channel with memory), are derived. The influence of the memory is expressed by a parameter called the memory factor. It is shown that the traditional Monte Carlo method can be applied for the probability of error estimation. In order to control the accuracy and increase the time efficiency of estimation this method is modified and a new method, called the modified Monte Carlo method, is proposed. Based on this modified method a technique of estimation with controlled accuracy is developed and demonstrated using data obtained by simulation. According to this technique the sample size is adjusted in the course of estimating procedure to give an accurate estimate of the probability of error for a minimum required time of estimation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Workers' Remittances to India: An Examination of Transfer Cost and Efficiency

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 5 2010
Bhupal Singh
Regarding the time efficiency of remittance transfer channels to India, the evidence suggests that traditional banking instruments are relatively inefficient as compared to the new information technology-enabled products. Transfer arrangement of the Indian banks with overseas exchange houses has reduced the settlement cycle and the cost. Both the banks and money transfer operators (MTOs) are able to keep the transaction cycle low through the use of information technology-enabled formats. Given that the average cost curve of the banks is located to the right of the average cost curve of the MTOs, greater potential exists for the improvement in overall efficiency of the two entities, particularly through the sharing of messaging and the access and disbursement networks to reduce the overhead cost. The estimates of error correction model reveal that the transaction fee and payment infrastructure are significant determinants of remittance flows, underscoring the scope of policy measures in influencing remittance inflows. The estimates indicate that over the medium to long-term horizon, transaction cost emerges as the most dominant variable explaining the variation in remittances. The payments infrastructure also explains about 10 per cent variation in remittances over the medium-term. The impulse response analysis further reveals that the favourable shocks to transaction fees and the payments infrastructure cause steady improvement in remittance inflows over the medium-term horizon, thus underlining the importance of cost and efficiency in affecting the workers' remittances. [source]

Working with concepts in the fuzzy front end: exploring the context for innovation for different types of concepts at Volvo Cars

R & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2007
Maria Backman
Automotive firms are balancing the increasing needs for cost and time efficiency with the necessity of developing more innovative products to stand out on in a competitive market. The strive for efficiency has led to an increasingly structured development process with limited allowances for deviations. Previous academic work has pointed out the importance and embedded potential of the fuzzy front end, where new concepts still have the possibility to impact the new product development (NPD) process. However, most research has focused on the transfer of new technologies, while concepts based on e.g. customer or market knowledge have been more or less neglected. This paper discusses the need for alternative and contingent approaches in the front end of NPD to also consider the transfer of other types of concepts. More specifically, it addresses the need to distinguish between different types of concepts and to explore their different prerequisites in NPD. It is argued that customer- and market-based concepts experience certain difficulties due to the history and power of technology in research and development (R&D) domains in the automotive context as well as a lack of support from the existing, formal processes. In this paper, we argue that all new concepts need to be conceptualized before being introduced to the NPD process, but that does not always suffice. Concepts other than technology concepts also need a contingent package to enable an evaluation in the context of the R&D process , they need to be contextualized. This paper draws on an in-depth case study of Volvo Cars within a long-lasting collaborative research setup. It is based on an interview study with key persons in the areas of concept work and NPD, and uses an insider/outsider approach. [source]