Quasi-experimentation as a Research Method

The following main points on Quasi-experimentation (QE), are based on Cook (1983):

1. Unlike conventional experimentation, QE most often take place outside a laboratory
2.  Assignment of units to treatments is not random in QE
3. QE involve one or more treatments and measurements before and after a treatment.
4. Random assignment of units to treatment is sometimes not possible for ethical and logistical reasons. Thus, QE is employed
5. QE's ontological assumption is that an external world of objects exists, and these objects are lawfully interrelated.
6. The goal of QE is to identify manipula that can make a difference to specific outcomes. QE seek knowledge about dependable but probablistic causal relationships between manipula (independent variables) and measured outcomes, knowing that understanding and prediction will be enhanced by learning why particular consequences have occurred.

Related note

Reference
Cook, T.D. (1983) "Quasi-experimentation: its ontology, epistemology, and methodology" pp. 74-94, .(editor) Beyond Method, SAGE.

On staffing - a brief note

The following resources are on the topic of staffing:

1. Basic idea: http://www.managementstudyguide.com/staffing-function.htm
2. On staffing strategy: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/develop-a-staffing-strategy-when-making-hiring-decisions/5062217

Also refer to: http://josephho33.blogspot.hk/2012/04/personnel-planning-and-recruitment-in.html

Decision theory - a brief note

The following are some resources on the topic of Decision Theory:

1. Basic description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_theory
2. Decision theory notes (pdf): http://db.lib.uidaho.edu/ereserve/courses/s/stats/262_01/Notes01.pdf
3. More detailed notes (pdf): http://home.abe.kth.se/~soh/decisiontheory.pdf

Also note a related topics on decision tree and groupthink for class discussion purpose: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink

Queueing theory - a brief note

The following are some resources on the topic of Queueing Theory:

1. Basic description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queueing_theory
2. Queueing theory basics: http://www.eventhelix.com/realtimemantra/congestioncontrol/queueing_theory.htm
3. Lecture notes in pdf format: http://williams.comp.ncat.edu/comp755/Q.pdf
4. Queueing theory calculator: http://www.supositorio.com/rcalc/rcalclite.htm

Related note:

References

1. Pannerselvam, R. (2006) "Chapter 9: Queueing Theory" Operations Research, Prentice Hall of India
2. On Poisson distribution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution

Product life cycle management study

The following are some resources on Product Life Cycle Management for the Engineering and Technology Management class:

1. Basic description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_lifecycle_management
2. More detailed notes in pdf: http://www.urenio.org/tools/en/Product_Life_Cycle_Management.pdf
3. Related portal: http://www.product-lifecycle-management.com/
4. Videos: video 1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pygu7vyRm4; video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfjJ9yOyp0&feature=related

Basic information:

1. Understanding of a product's life cycle enables a company to decide when to introduce a product, how to position its product in the market and when to withdraw a product.
2. The main phases:
• Product development
• Product introduction
• Product growth
• Product maturity
• Product decline
3. Phase 1: Product development
• Translate info and incorporate them into a new product
• Involves test market
4. Phase 2: Product introduction
• Spend large expenditure on promotion
• Introduce distribution arrangements
• Need to formulate pricing strategy
5. Phase 3: Product growth
• Attempt to increase market share
• Try to differentiate new products from that of competitors
• Keep promoting the products
6. Phase 4: Product maturity
• Attempt to compete for market share to achieve growth objective (if this is the goal)
• Probably enjoy highest returns from the product if market share is large enough
• Compete with better distribution strategy
7. Phase 5: Product decline
• Decide whether to withdraw the product
• Experience decline of product sale revenue
• Need to reduce product promotion and distribution effort
8. A product manager must attempt to figure out which phase of its product life cycle is a product and adjust adjust strategic goals, product strategies, price goals, promotion goals, and distribution goals.
9. Relationship of Product life cycle with technology life cycle (with innovators, technology enthusiasts > early adoptors> early majority pragmatists> late majority conservatives. laggards, skeptics)

The notion of product life cycle is strongly supported by the theory of diffusion.



Some notes relating product life cycle with technology mgt:
Note 1

Note 2

Note 3

Students need to refer to Ansoff, H.I. (1984) Implanting Strategic Management, Prentice Hall to learn the details of the reasoning on the two diagrams above.

Note 4

The following main points are noted from Komninos (2002):

At the introduction phase

• Development: focus on time to market and uniques
• Manufacturing: high expenditure for new production capacity

At the growth phase

• Development: complete development; market penetration is sustained with variation and improvements of the products
• Manufacturing: addition of capacity and automation

At the maturity phase

• Development: focused on cost reductions
• Manufacturing: focused on increasing yield and productivity

At the decline phase

• Development: focused on cost reduction
• Manufacturing: no capital expenditures, outsourcing 

Note 5

Now, examine your assignment task (2012) [Engineering Management]

Task 1 (60 marks)

"Discuss how the conceptual framework on Product Life Cycle Management can be employed by Engineering Manager(s) to enhance their contribution to new product development in their companies. You are required to provide relevant real-life examples to support your line of reasoning."

Question: How do the viewpoints and ideas from the working papers and academic readings contribute your review exercise on the assignment task?

References
Fleisher, C.S. and Bensoussan, B.E. (2003) "Chapter 23: Product Life Cycle Analysis" Strategic and Competitive Analysis: Methods and Techniques for Analyzing Business Competition, Prentice Hall.
Product lifecycle and engineering (pdf): http://www.me.iitb.ac.in/~bravi/lab/paper/2007PLEM_PLEM.pdf

Marketing campaign - resources

Some resources on the topic of marketing campaign are as follows:

1. Definition: http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82444.html
2. Develop a marketing campaign: http://www.4hb.com/0107flmarketingcampaign.html
3. Guerilla marketing campaign: http://www.designer-daily.com/cool-and-creative-guerilla-marketing-campaigns-13471

For eCommerce students, also refer to Greenberg, P. (2001) "Chapter 5: Marketing Automation isn't automatic" CRM at the Speed of Light, McGraw- Hill.


Related note:

Thermal comfort in Building Services - resources

Some resources on Thermal Comfort in Building Services Engineering study:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_comfort
2. (in pdf - slides): http://reschool.chania.teicrete.gr/Lecture_notes/5_1_Pavlou%20Thermal%20Comfort%20in%20Buildings.pdf
3. Thermal comfort and green building: http://www.sesam-uae.com/greenbuilding/presantation/10.%20Dr.%20Ommid%20Saberi,%20WSP.pdf
4. As related to Building Mgt: http://www.fmlink.com/article.cgi?type=Sustainability&pub=BuildingGreen&id=40598&mode=source
5. Root causes of thermal comfort: http://www.buildings.com/tabid/3334/ArticleID/13374/Default.aspx

Students on this topic should also conduct proper literature review with academic journals

Internet and corporate culture - some resources

 

The following resources are related to the theme of Internet and corporate culture:

 

1. Corporate culture in Internet time: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/10374?gko=48515
2. Impact of Internet on corporate culture: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=44745
3. How to create a unified culture: http://www.inc.com/guides/201102/how-to-create-a-unified-corporate-culture.html
4.  Corporate culture and digital tools: http://www.fastcompany.com/3000552/can-corporate-culture-be-built-digital-tools
5. Virtual workplace and corporate culture: http://www.managementsite.com/261/The-virtual-workplace-and-the-company-culture.aspx

l-commerce - some resources

The following resources are on location-based commerce (l-commerce):

1. Definition and basic description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location-based_commerce
2. Location based commerce for mobile shopping: http://www.insightedblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/location-based_commerce_evolution_in_mobile_shopping.pdf
3. Location based service: http://gigaom.com/2012/03/09/loopt-sales-shows-future-of-location-is-commerce/
4. Forrester blog article: http://blogs.forrester.com/category/location_based_commerce_0
5. Development of location based service (pdf): https://www.msu.edu/~steinfie/elifelbschap.pdf

Related notes
[Steinfield, C. "The Development of Location Based Services in Mobile Commerce" in Priessl, B. et al. (editors) Elife after the dotcom bust, Berlin: Springer]

Note 1

Note 2

Note 3

Note 4

C-Commerce - resources

The following resourcesare related  to Collaborative Commerce (c-commerce):

1. c-commerce (powerpoint slides): http://www.worldinternetcenter.com/Other_Events/C-T-E_2002/08_14_02_CTE/08_14_02_CTE_Pres.pdf
2. c-commerce and corporate portal: http://www.ehow.com/facts_7346973_relationship-between-c_commerce-corporate-portals.html
3. Barriers to c-commerce: http://www.bobyhermez.com/2012/01/barriers-to-e-collaboration-and-c-commerce/
4. On CPFR: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_planning,_forecasting,_and_replenishment
5. c-commerc innovation (pdf): http://kmap2005.vuw.ac.nz/papers/C-Commerce%20Innovation.pdf
6. Collaborative systems: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_software

On e-marketplace and e-hub

The following are some resources on e-marketplaces and e-hubs

1. Types of e-marketplaces: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1075387418&type=RESOURCES
2. e-marketplace technology: http://www.jsatech.com/?page_id=63
3. Web-hub: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/e-hub

Related note

Reference
blog article on e-supply chain management: http://josephho33.blogspot.hk/2011/08/e-supply-chain-management-resource-list.html

Virtual community as a ecommerce topic - resources

The following resources are on Virtual Community as a topic in eCommerce:

Virtual community explained: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_community

What is a virtual community: http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitywhatwhy.htm

eBook on virtual community: http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/

Virtual community attractions: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue1/ridings_gefen.html

Identity and deception in virtual community (pdf): http://vivatropolis.com/papers/Donath/IdentityDeception/IdentityDeception.pdf



Related lecture note:
Note 1

Note 2:

Re: McWilliam, G. (2000) "Building Stronger Brands through Online Communities" Sloan Management Review Spring, pp. 43-54.


Also refer to a related topic: http://josephho33.blogspot.hk/2012/09/community-of-practice-some-resources.html

Brand - different notions

Based on Chernatony (2009), I note the following notions of brand:

Differentiation: name or sign to identify goods/services of one seller (to differentiate them from those of competitors)

Positioning: To deliver and communcate a specific funcational advantage to customers

Personality: Brand and staff values are aligned to enforce customers' trust toward a brand

Vision: Brand values are supportive to a specific vision, e.g. social well-being enhancement, resulting in higher customer commitment toward to a brand

Added value: Make use of pan-value chain-driven management to consistently manage touchpoints with customers, who are considered as co-creator of value; management team also measure brand equity to inform them to promote brand valuation.



Reference
Chernatony, L.d. (2009) "Towards the holy grail of defining 'brand'" Marketing Theory 9(1), pp. 101-105.

Operations Management framework - a brief note

The following notes briefly summarize an Operations Management framework based on the works of Ray Wild:

Note 1:

Note 2:

Diagrams for discussion

Diagram 1

Dia

Diagram 2

 

Students need to study Ray Wild's articles and textbook to learn more details of his works on Operations Management.

About Ray Wild: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/people/honorary-graduates/honorary-graduates-2001/professor-ray-wild

References

• Wild, R. (1982) "Contingent Decision Making Processes in Operations" Management Research News Vol. 5(4), pp. 7-12.
• Wild, R. (2007) "Organisation Design, Technology and the Influence of Operations Management" Personnel Review Vol. 8(3), pp. 5-11
• On customer queue management (blog article - JKK Ho): http://josephho33.blogspot.hk/2012/11/customer-queue-management-some-resources.html
• On capacity management (a blog article by JKK Ho): http://josephho33.blogspot.hk/2012/11/capacity-management-in-operations.html
• On activity scheduling (a blog article by JKK Ho): http://josephho33.blogspot.hk/2012/11/activity-scheduling-in-operations.html

Website design guidelines - online resources

The following resources are on Website design guidelines:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_design
2. http://www.usabilitynet.org/tools/webdesign.htm
3. http://www.smartwebby.com/web_site_design/
4. http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/31/10-principles-of-effective-web-design/
5. http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/important-usability-principles-website-designers/

Relationship Marketing - online resources

The following are online resources on Relationship Marketing:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relationship_marketing
2. https://ritdml.rit.edu/bitstream/handle/1850/2858/PASorceMonograph09-2002.pdf?sequence=1 (pdf)
3. http://www.ehow.com/facts_6867925_difference-between-relationship-marketing-crm.html
4. http://sdh.ba.ttu.edu/commitment-trust-JM94.pdf (pdf)

Related note:

Re: Egan, J. (2001) Relationship Marketing, Prentice Hall.

Customer Relationship Management - online resources

Some online resources on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) are as follows:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management
2. http://www.destinationcrm.com/
3. http://www.allthingscrm.com/
4. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/CRM.html
5. http://www.crm-daily.com/
6. On analytical CRM: http://www.managementstudyguide.com/analytical-crm.htm
7. On operational CRM: http://www.managementstudyguide.com/operational-crm.htm

For students to study CRM, academic resources and professional journal articles/ books should also be studied.

On soft complexity

In systems thinking, a problem situation can be described as exhibiting soft complexity (SC) and SC can be captured in the form of a rich picture in Soft Systems Methodology. The concept of soft complexity is depicted in the following note:

These 4 systems ideas: (a) 2-dimensions of complexity, (b) social systems model of Ackoff, (c) soft systems view of organization and (d) rich picture diagramming in Soft Systems Methodology (of Checkland) all explain the nature of soft complexity and these 4 systems ideas are compatible and related theoretically. Soft means inter-subjective in this case (with different stakeholders holding different viewpoints that can be incompatible and interests that are conflicting; complexity mainly refers to the dense inter-relatedness of many elements involved. As a consequence, stakeholders are facing a problem situation [with soft complexity] without a consensus view on "what to do" about the problem situation.