Supply chains that produce and distribute computer servers are globally dispersed and have a high degree of uncertainty. To excel at servicing customers, a supplier must be highly skilled in matching the assets in the system with customer demand. Discrete event simulation has been proven valuable for system state estimation of supply chains. However, irregularities and disruptions occurring at any site along the system and the resulting bullwhip effects can lead to significant departures of simulation-based estimation from the performance of the real system. These departures reduce the ability of the model to assist in making correct decisions. In this paper, we propose an adaptive distributed simulation framework for a server fulfillment supply chain, and a Kalman filter to improve our estimates of job completion times.

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In today's highly dynamic, globalized and competitive environment, companies are under pressure to improve their supply chain strategies in order to be more responsive to customer demands. Indeed the geographically distributed nature as well as the differing objectives across these dispersed entities of a supply chain can often lead to difficulties in making a supply chain responsive. Additionally, irregularities and disruptions occurring at any point in the system make responsive supply chain management even more challenging. These disruptions, often occurring without warning due to the dynamic nature of a supply chain, can lead to poor performance of the supply chain. A key component in responsive supply chain management is the ability to effectively "sense and response" in order to maximize responsiveness and flexibility and avoid system disruptions. Recent advances in communication can facilitate the sensing and data collection. However, the huge amount of data generated can impede effective response, particularly, when some data may be incomplete or have errors. Inaccurate estimate or sensing of the system state can lead to incorrect decisions, with consequent adverse effects on supply chain performance. To address this issue, this research proposes a Kalman filter based approach for exception detection. Some preliminary work, specifically, with a focus on the manufacturing portion of the IBM supply chain for server fulfillment is presented in this paper. The results show system estimation can be improved by using a Kalman filter.

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The industrial establishment is beginning to realize the value of a sustainable enterprise. As resource consumption is most noticeable in the manufacturing sector, this activity is the usual target for reform. Research in the area of sustainability includes industrial ecology and green manufacturing, but arguably all fall under the umbrella of Environmentally Benign Manufacturing (EBM). Generally, EBM is enacted with three areas: Manufacturing, Research and Design (R&D), and Reclaim. The computer industry has done much in the area of recycling, seeking to reuse the valuable copper found in many components, and reclaiming the harmful lead. Yet no system is in place to assess the efficiency of a company's EBM efforts. This research proposes use of multistage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess corporate enactment of EBM as work parts move from place to place in a company. The algorithm measures loss as products move from R&D to manufacturing to any recycle/reuse systems in place. When completed, a numerical value representing a company's environmentally benign efficiency should emerge. This experimentation is directed toward establishing DEA as an internal efficiency measurement of closed-loop manufacturing systems so that EBM may be pursued in a more streamlined and educated fashion.

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International HRM has focused on the MNC and its control and compliance mechanisms, particularly the tension between 'internationalizing' practices and normative host-country practices. This contingency approach does not capture the complexity ofMNC interactions in the local environment, however, particularly with regard to international joint ventures (IJVs). Partners to the IJV may wish to impose their own practices, and use contractual and non-contractual resource power, internationalization expertise and operational consistency requirements to gain relative decisional advantage. Case studies of four Sino-Western IJVs illustrate the dynamics of IHRM development under conditions of weak socio-legal constraint and high cultural distance between partners.

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The concept of a Value Chain has existed for twenty years but we find it still is an unclear concept. It has been suggested that the third generation supply chain is based on customer intimacy and is fully synchronized. In this paper, the authors discuss the need to relate the concepts of the value chain and the supply chain in a more comprehensive and integrative manner. We begin with a discussion of value and the development of the concept of value chain. We then discuss similarities and differences of the value chain and the supply chain, and conclude with suggestions regarding the need for synchronizing value and supply chains to optimize business performance.

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International equity fund investors flee from funds with poor raw returns. In addition, they chase risk-adjusted performance leaders instead of raw return leaders. While international growth fund investors flock into larger funds, regionally focused fund investors invest more in smaller funds presumably due to price impact concerns. Regionally diversified funds tend to receive higher flows if their fund families offer more choices of investment objectives. A stronger U.S. dollar leads investors to increase their investments in European equity funds but to stay away from the riskier developing markets equity funds. International equity fund investors do not appear to be sensitive to expenses or load structures.

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This paper finds that load funds with higher loads tend to receive higher flows, showing evidence that there exists conflict of interests between load fund investors and brokers and financial advisors: brokers and financial advisors apparently serve their own interests by guiding investors into funds with higher loads, which generate higher income to the brokers and financial advisors but increase the expenses of investors. As a result, fund families have been steadily increasing fund loads since the mid 1990s. However, when their interests are not compromised, brokers and financial advisors might exhibit similar behaviors as no-load fund investors in chasing past performance and investing in fund families with more options. Furthermore, they are more likely to direct load fund investors into smaller funds, which might experience better performance, while no-load fund investors flock into larger funds with more visibility.

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