Research Papers/Topics in Operations Management

Intra- and Inter-Group Performance of Oil Producing Countries: A Meta- and Global Frontier Analysis

ABSTRACT  Oil and gas is an important factor in the economic growth and development of most economies and an integral part of the global economy. Oil producing countries (OPCs) play a substantial part in the ownership, production and marketing of extracted hydrocarbons. This has made oil and gas production and supply decisions at the country level key to operations managers globally. To enhance their oil and gas management capabilities, some countries in the international oil industry have c...

Online Crime Management and Public Services

Nowadays, much of the crimes committed were unreported to the authorities. Given this fact, the study presents the development of Online Crime Server through  idea draws its motivation from the inconvenience of going to the police station and personal belief of the weak investigative capabilities of the authorities to resolve petty crimes and limited spreading of crime information to the community. The project specifically looks into the crime detection and prevention. This study aims to pro...

Application of Ant Colony Optimizer (ACO) For Effective Path Planning in a Big-Box Store or Retail Facility

ABSTRACTReal-life stochastic problems are better addressed by adopting metaheuristic techniques. One of the interesting metaheuristic techniques for defining the shortest path is the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm. A considerable number of maps for shortest path have been considered in time past using classical techniques which is appropriate for deterministic variables. For stochastic or nondeterministic decision variables, metaheuristic techniques are much more appropriate. This is...

Accounting For Environmental Factors In Energy Efficiency Analysis

ABSTRACT This study utilizes a nonparametric DEA approach, to assess the energy efficiency of 135 selected countries across the globe during the period of 2000 - 2014 to account for environmental factors in energy efficiency analysis and to analyze the relationship between economic factors and energy efficiency within a two - stage framework. Three kinds of variables are used: input, desirable output, and undesirable output. The inputs are labor, capital, and energy consumption. The undesira...

Assessing The Efficiency And Productivity Of Cooperative Credit Unions In Ghana: A Metafrontier Approach

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to assess the efficiency and productivity change of three groups of cooperative credit unions (CCUs) in Ghana using a DEA metafrontier and the metafrontier Malmquist productivity index (MMPI) framework. The framework helps to decompose the technical efficiency change and technical change components in the standard Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) into a pure technical catch-up (PTCU) and frontier catch-up (FCU) in order to account for the catch-up effect. A...

Total Quality Management: A Catalyst For Operational Excellence In Small And Medium Sized Enterprises (Sme’s) In Ghana

ABSTRACT Globalization presents both opportunities to economies in the form of new market as well as threat of competition from foreign entrants due to trade liberalization. In addition to globalization are changing need of the customer and technological advancement. This situation is adversely affected by local businesses in countries in Africa including Ghana. It is also evident that about 90% of businesses in Ghana are SMEs. Therefore, the operations of SMEs are affected by these new trend...

Total Quality Management Practices Among Manufacturing Firms In Ghana

ABSTRACT The ―total quality‖ concept is a general philosophy of management which includes all key requirements that contribute not only to customer-perceived quality, but also to customer satisfaction. The International organization for standardization defined Total Quality Management (TQM) as coordinated activities aimed at the control and direction of the organization towards quality. This has driven most organizations to provide products or services which consistently meet or exceed cu...

Balancing The Gap Between The Hidden Contradictions In Tqm Implementation

ABSTRACT The signing of the European partnership agreement (EPA) between the ECOWAS economies and the European Union in April 2014 has facilitated trade agreement between the two economies. This coupled with increasing globalization and technology has contributed to the adoption and implementation of total quality management (TQM) by most organizations in West Africa to provide products which are consistent with the needs and expectations of all stakeholders and to enhance competitive advanta...

Dynamic Productivity Differences Between State And Private Ownership In The International Oil Industry

ABSTRACT The participation of countries in the international oil industry in the form of national oil companies started in 1914 and has continued to this date. Although their role in market systems has been seen in literature to be a major cause of inefficiency, active state participation does not seem to be waning. This is primarily because of state dependence on oil products, growth of major state-owned oil companies and the belief that state control over its resources is a major sign of na...

Capacity Expansion Planning For Electric Power Generation In Ghana

ABSTRACT The Ghanaian electric power system, like most Sub-Saharan African countries, is bedevilled with the problem of inadequate generation of electric power amidst growing demand for electricity. Governments over the years have tried to tackle the issue of inadequate generation capacity and supply of electricity in Ghana to meet the increasing demand for electric power. Yet electricity supply in Ghana remains erratic and inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to develop a long-term (...

Growing Trend Of Health Infomediaries In Developing Economies: Understanding Motivations, Affordances And Constraints

ABSTRACT Information Technology (IT) plays a key role in health care management. Over the years, numerous IT artifacts have been introduced to improve health care delivery and access. These artifacts are often largely under the control of health professionals with little or no patient involvement. Recently however, there is a growing phenomenon of user-controlled health IT artifacts that give direct power and control to its users. One of such health IT artifacts are so-called infomediaries wh...

Estimating The Cost Productivity Index Of Banks In Ghana

ABSTRACT The role of the banking sector in promoting economic growth cannot be underestimated. In view of this, the assessment of the performance of the banking industry is very important. Increasingly, a number of methods have been used to effectively account for the total factor productivity of banks. This study employed the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) cost Malmquist productivity analysis to assess the productivity of banks in Ghana. This is a technique that has strong roots in optimiza...

Improving Operational Efficiency In Ghanaian Government Hospitals Using The Six Sigma Model

ABSTRACT In today's complex healthcare environment, a focus on quality is of particular importance. Hospitals are increasingly realizing the need to focus on improved efficiency as a means of eliminating poor quality of services, and as well, improve on their competitive position. Within any industry, organizations must strive to continuously improve on their efficiency while dealing with the complex and dynamic business environment. Reports have shown that efficiency levels in the healthcare...

An Incestigation Into Customer Satisfaction in The Local Airline Industry; A Total Quality Management Approach

ABSTRACT  Air transportation plays a vital role in the socio-economic life of many people especially in the developing countries. The provision of air transport services in Ghana is done by AWA and STARBOW airline transport companies. This study set out to investigate customer satisfaction in the local airline industry using a total quality management approach. Using the customer satisfaction index, the study investigates customer satisfaction of the two airlines using the five dimensions of...

PRODUCTIVITY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND PRIVATE OWNERSHIP IN THE INTERNATIONAL OIL INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT The participation of countries in the international oil industry in the form of national oil companies started in 1914 and has continued to this date. Although their role in market systems has been seen in literature to be a major cause of inefficiency, active state participation does not seem to be waning. This is primarily because of state dependence on oil products, growth of major state-owned oil companies and the belief that state control over its resources is a major sign of na...


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