Martin Haensel and Erik Hofmann
This study aims to observe different purchasing and evaluation phases during the buying of business services, thus revealing the necessity for integration of different entities…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to observe different purchasing and evaluation phases during the buying of business services, thus revealing the necessity for integration of different entities during the purchasing process.
Design/methodology/approach
On the basis of a systematic analysis, explorative case study methods involving five Swiss multinational companies are used. In addition, the study provides a structured literature review and uses the short-term perspective of the industrial marketing and purchasing (imp) approach as a conceptual approach.
Findings
In addition to specific and business service-related difficulties, the research observes different phases “levels of integration” within the evaluation process that takes place within a company: a preparation phase, an acquisition phase and an operational phase.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to a qualitative research approach addressing five cases from Switzerland. However, assuming the results are generalizable, future research on service evaluation should always differentiate between the different phases of an evaluation.
Practical implications
It is shown that for practitioners, social, financial, service and informational exchange (as per imp approach) is closely related to an adequate integration of all involved entities during the different phases of purchasing. Therefore, this research provides practical support for the purchasing process to ensure highly efficient business services.
Originality/value
As there has been almost no research on business service evaluation, this paper is the first work known to extend the short-term perspective of the imp approach by addressing the different purchasing phases of an integrated service evaluation.
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The following questionnaire was devised by Mr. William F. Kluckas and Mr. Joseph M. D'Allegro of E.R. Squibb & Sons, Inc. It is designed to alleviate many of the problems software…
Abstract
The following questionnaire was devised by Mr. William F. Kluckas and Mr. Joseph M. D'Allegro of E.R. Squibb & Sons, Inc. It is designed to alleviate many of the problems software buyers encounter in the process of evaluating, selecting, contracting for, and installing software products.
Optical publishing will become very widespread in the next few years because it dramatically lowers the cost of information dissemination and use. Libraries and other professional…
Abstract
Optical publishing will become very widespread in the next few years because it dramatically lowers the cost of information dissemination and use. Libraries and other professional users of information will be the first to use this new technology. This paper provides an overview of why optical publishing will make such an impact. In addition it poses and answers many of the questions which are most frequently asked about this technology and its use.
Chemical warfare: ACS fires back at Dialog The American Chemical Society (ACS) has finally answered Dialog's $150 mil‐lion lawsuit against it with a countersuit and accusations…
Abstract
Chemical warfare: ACS fires back at Dialog The American Chemical Society (ACS) has finally answered Dialog's $150 mil‐lion lawsuit against it with a countersuit and accusations that Dialog defrauded it of $10 million in royalties. ACS seeks an additional $30 million for punitive damages and asked the courts to insist on a formal audit of Dialog's payments.
CD‐ROM was first demonstrated in the United States in November 1984. Since then many organizations, including agencies of the Federal government, have embraced the technology, and…
Abstract
CD‐ROM was first demonstrated in the United States in November 1984. Since then many organizations, including agencies of the Federal government, have embraced the technology, and an increasingly large and diverse product base is emerging. In March 1986, Microsoft Corporation sponsored a major conference on the topic, which was attended by almost 1000 persons. The registration fee of $900 precluded most librarians from attending. David Miller provides a thorough report on the conference, and a complete directory of participants, for the benefit of those who could not attend.
Norman Haussmann, Robin Mease, Martin Zang, Steven Stroka, Hendrik Hensel and Markus Clemens
Magneto-quasi-static fields emanated by inductive charging systems can be potentially harmful to the human body. Recent projects, such as TALAKO and MILAS, use the technique of…
Abstract
Purpose
Magneto-quasi-static fields emanated by inductive charging systems can be potentially harmful to the human body. Recent projects, such as TALAKO and MILAS, use the technique of wireless power transfer (WPT) to charge batteries of electrically powered vehicles. To ensure the safety of passengers, the exposing magnetic flux density needs to be measured in situ and compared to reference limit values. However, in the design phase of these systems, numerical simulations of the emanated magnetic flux density are inevitable. This study aims to present a tool along with a workflow, based on the Scaled-Frequency Finite Difference Time-Domain and Co-Simulation Scalar Potential Finite Difference schemes, to determine body-internal magnetic flux densities, electric field strengths and induced voltages into cardiac pacemakers. The simulations should be time efficient, with lower computational costs and minimal human workload.
Design/methodology/approach
The numerical assessment of the human exposure to magneto-quasi-static fields is computationally expensive, especially when considering high-resolution discretization models of vehicles and WPT systems. Incorporating human body models into the simulation further enhances the number of mesh cells by multiple millions. Hence, the number of simulations including all components and human models needs to be limited while efficient numerical schemes need to be applied.
Findings
This work presents and compares four exposure scenarios using the presented numerical methods. By efficiently combining numerical methods, the simulation time can be reduced by a factor of 3.5 and the required storage space by almost a factor of 4.
Originality/value
This work presents and discusses an efficient way to determine the exposure of human beings in the vicinity of wireless power transfer systems that saves computer simulation resources and human workload.
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Przemysław G. Hensel and Piotr T. Makowski
It has long been recognized that overwhelmed employees of bureaucratic organizations use a variety of strategies to cope with demand for their services, often at the expense of…
Abstract
It has long been recognized that overwhelmed employees of bureaucratic organizations use a variety of strategies to cope with demand for their services, often at the expense of their clients. One such strategy involves discouraging clients from taking action by making references to complex bureaucratic procedures and routines. While the public management literature has a well-developed research program focusing on the mobilization of such administrative burdens, organization theory seems to be lagging behind in the analysis of that type of misconduct. In this chapter, we explain how references to the representational dimension of routines can be used to discourage clients from taking action, what are the boundary conditions of such a strategy, and its possible consequences for clients.
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Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…
Abstract
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.