Knowledge@Emory -- Operations Management

Floriculture: Global Business is Blooming

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:49:28 EST

Flowers are more than delicate pollinators or symbols of gratitude, love and sympathy, says Amy Stewart, author of the New York Times bestseller, Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers. A $40 billion global industry, today’s cut flowers are the product of a collaboration between nature, technology and entrepreneurship that supplies everything from grocery store bouquets to elegant wedding arrangements. Stewart investigates the complex and “bewitching” business of delivering simple and perishable blooms to consumers worldwide, offering a fascinating—and at times provocative—view of the international floral trade.

Navigating the Risks and Challenges of Offshoring

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:24:54 EST

For American companies, sending work overseas has been a hit or miss proposition. The winners cite the cost savings and expertise garnered abroad. However, for the losers, offshore projects gone awry can result in lost intellectual property and/or disgruntled customers. With the rate of offshoring on the rise, supply chain experts at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and other Atlanta-area outsourcing experts say for companies to succeed, the ability to navigate risk and understand the intricacies of managing an offshore project are essential.

When 'Winging it' Won't Work: How Spreadsheets Can Aid Start-ups with Production Planning

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:43:04 EST

What does a start-up do when its production-planning needs require more than written notes on back of envelopes but aren�t quite advanced enough to use complex software? That question was posed to Steve Walton and Richard Metters, both information systems and operations management faculty at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School, by an alumnus who helped found The Permanent Escape and Rescue Ladder or PEARL Protected. Their answer evolved into the paper entitled, �Spreadsheets for Start-up Firms: Production Planning at PEARL Protected.� The paper details how the professors developed a production-planning process the entrepreneurs could use right in Excel.

Betting on the �Killer App� of Revenue Management

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:55:46 EST

Ever been on the highway on a Friday night and decided to steer the car toward a casino? It�s a scenario that Harrah�s Cherokee Casino Hotel is not only betting on, but can predict. In a new paper, The �Killer Application� of Revenue Management: Harrah�s Cherokee Casino Hotel, Richard Metters, an associate professor of decision and information analysis at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School, and colleagues detail how Harrah�s use of revenue and customer relationship management systems is proving to be a powerful tool in predicting customer behavior. One surprise? The goal of the Cherokee is to have a full hotel with an average room rate of $0/night and still make a profit.

Exploring the Strategic and Operational Tradeoffs in Internet and Physical Store Retailing

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:38:53 EST

Americans shopping for the holidays over the Internet spent 26% more in 2006 than they did a year ago. According to a January 3 report from Virginia-based ComScore Networks, online sales in November and December jumped almost $25 billion. Although this is good news, operationally retail over the Internet and traditional retail have vastly different drivers, including supply chain structures and delivery mechanisms. In a new paper by Richard Metters and Steve Walton, associate professors of decision and information analysis at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School, the strategic and operational trade-offs inherent in multi-channel retailing are explored and the researchers offer options while noting one size does not fit all.

In Offshoring One Size Does Not Fit All

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 17:30:32 EST

The decision to offshore operations to another country is often made to reduce labor costs and, in some cases, to add talent. Although some companies have managed to make the transition work, many others avoid taking the step or forge ahead only to find that what worked back in the U.S. does not work in the new location. In a new paper titled, �Offshoring Services and National Culture,� Richard Metters, an associate professor of operations management at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School, interpreting the work of Emory faculty member Carla Freeman of the anthropology and women's studies department, explores the business challenges that occur when international cultures and operations management intersect.

UPS� Gene Long Reflects on Partnering, Trust and the Benefits of an Effective Supply Chain

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 19:07:44 EST

There�s a lot more to UPS than the company�s ubiquitous brown trucks. Every day in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, UPS connects two million sellers with six million buyers. Recently, Gene Long, president of UPS Supply Chain Solutions Consulting Services, explained to a group of students in a supply chain management course at Emory University's Goizueta Business School the company�s growth strategy and how it continues to reinvent itself.

Factors that Redefine the Face of Corporate America

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 23:13:46 EST

In January 2004, press reports disclosed that IBM planned to cut costs by $168 million a year by transferring 3,000 U.S.-based jobs overseas. The revelations sparked an uproar inside and outside of the company, according to trade reports. But faculty from Emory University�s Goizueta Business School and other observers note that offshoring is only one small part of the reconfiguration of the corporate structure. Just as the steam engine and the Industrial Revolution set the stage for the rise of the corporation, other forces, including economics, demographics and the knowledge revolution, are reshaping the very structure of businesses and the way that employees relate to their employers.

How GM�s �Basic DNA� Detoured Its Smooth Ride

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 15:18:37 EST

As American car makers like GM and Ford struggle to regain their balance after seeing their debt downgraded to junk in May, some observers see a Chapter 11 filing as the only way out. But that tactic would ignore the root causes of the problems, says Jagdish Sheth, a chaired professor of marketing at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School. In a candid discussion with Knowledge@Emory, Sheth analyzes the market and explains why GM�s focus on financing, not operations, is at the root of its problems.

Why Is Organizational Change So Difficult?

Wed, 06 Apr 2005 14:33:58 EST

Organizational change is a fact of life in today�s companies, but why is it such a challenge? In a paper titled �Asymmetric Adaptability: Dynamic Team Structures As One-Way Streets,� Henry Moon of Emory University�s Goizueta Business School and coauthors look into the factors at play when moving from one organizational set up to another. The findings, published last year in the Academy of Management Journal, provide insight into why people behave the way they do in organizations.

It's 4:52PM - Do You Know What Your Deadline Is?

Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:08:33 EST

Does the way deadlines are set affect the outcome of a project? Giuseppe "Joe" Labianca and Henry Moon, professors of organization and management at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, set out to explore the concept of time that humans have created and how, when altered, it can affect their perception and performance in the workplace. Their unique research provides team leaders with a better understanding of how starting times and ending times might influence both individual and group processes and outputs. Their paper, "When Is an Hour Not Sixty Minutes? Deadlines, Temporal Schemas, and Individual and Task Group Performance," will appear in a future issue of the Academy of Management Journal.

The Dark Side of Interorganizational Relationships

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 16:38:56 EST

The suspicion of opportunism happens all the time in business relationships, says Sandy D. Jap, a professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Such suspicions led General Motors to eventually buy out Fisher Body, only to discover that the

supplier had never been deceptive. Jap and a co-author explore these relationships and the safeguards put into place to prevent such mistrust in a new paper entitled “Safeguarding Interorganizational Performance and Continuity Under Ex-Post Opportunism.”

Despite Challenges, Delta Determined to Keep Flying

Wed, 19 Nov 2003 16:01:49 EST

Delta Air Lines, like the rest of the U.S. domestic air travel industry, is struggling to stay aloft under the weight of upstart competition, a bad economy, the specter of global terrorism and strangling finances. Delta�s Lee Macenczak, senior vice president of sales and distribution, recently challenged incoming MBA students from Emory University�s Goizueta Business School to develop a strategy for the airline to counter many of these issues. As the students were to learn, making strategic decisions is not always that easy.

How Social Network Analysis Can Resolve Conflict in Multinational Teams

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 00:00:00 EST

Corporate initiatives to build a presence in a variety of countries have resulted in the creation of international teams of people, with varied management styles, work styles and cultural backgrounds. In their paper, �Getting Along Long Distance: Understanding Conflict in a Multinational Team Through Network Analysis,� Joe Labianca, professor of organization and management at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School, and coauthors analyze the dynamic of the multinational team, and how best to resolve the conflicts that can often arise among geographically dispersed teams.

Linux: It�s Growing More Popular, But Can It Do Windows?

Wed, 26 Mar 2003 00:00:00 EST

Linux is unlikely to dethrone Microsoft�s Windows as the ubiquitous operating system on desktop PCs anytime soon. But the open-source system will gradually become more attractive to consumers as more applications are written for it. The real growth of Linux will be in its chief market, as an operating system for servers.

The Outlook for Oil: What Lies Ahead?

Wed, 12 Feb 2003 00:00:00 EST

Surging oil prices are squeezing U.S. corporate profits, contributing to bankruptcies and forcing some companies, especially in the oil-dependent trucking industry, out of business altogether. With the threat of war in Iraq and a drastic cut in supply from strike-bound Venezuela, companies are braced for further increases soon. This article looks at what to expect in the coming months.

Vive la Difference: Using Hyper-Differentiation Strategies to Build Value and Boost Profits

Wed, 29 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

When some small beer makers in the U.S. brought their drinks to market, they deliberately chose to make their taste as different as possible from the leading brands. This approach helped them build small but profitable niches for their products. Companies in other industries could benefit from pursuing similar strategies, say Wharton professor Eric K. Clemons and colleagues in a new research paper.

How Moving Back-Office Services Overseas is Changing Business and Operations Management

Wed, 20 Nov 2002 00:00:00 EST

As the service sector has become more of a vital aspect of the U.S. economy, service firms are taking service operations management more seriously. In particular capitalizing on the benefits of outsourcing back-office functions to other states, and, in a growing trend, other countries. Richard Metters, a professor of decision and information analysis at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School, and colleagues explore this trend in their new book Successful Service Operations Management.

Why ERP Should Complement Not Replace Successful Operating Policies

Wed, 06 Nov 2002 00:00:00 EST

Last week Hershey Foods Corp. announced that for the first time, it was able to track daily sales and shipments of Halloween favorites like Peanut Butter Cups on specialized software running on its newly upgraded ERP infrastructure. Considering the company�s former ERP flop, which caused a 19% drop in quarterly profits, the turnaround is a triumph. So what changed? In a new paper, Elliot Bendoly, a professor of decision and information analysis at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School, and a colleague explore the strategic use of enterprise resource planning or ERP.

The Next Crisis Could Be Around the Corner�Is Your Company Prepared?

Wed, 19 Jun 2002 00:00:00 EST

Risk analysis and crisis management aren�t new terrain for most corporations, but the growing expectations of customers and shareholders leave little room for error. Experts at Emory University�s Goizueta Business School and elsewhere agree, the goal is to keep the business up and running despite any and all crises that may result.