Arms, bending discounting functions:how motor actions affect intertemporal decision-making

We demonstrate that task-irrelevant somatic activity influences intertemporal decision making: Arm movements associated with approach (arm flexion), rather than avoidance (arm extension), instigate present-biased preferences. The effect is moderated by the sensitivity of the general reward system and, owing to learning principles, restricted to arm positions of the dominant hand.

An Investigation into the adoption and implementation of computer aided production management systems:using the Rogers model of adoption and implementation and a social constuctionist account of technology

The research investigates the processes of adoption and implementation, by organisations, of computer aided production management systems (CAPM). It is organised around two different theoretical perspectives. The first part is informed by the Rogers model of the diffusion, adoption and implementation of innovations, and the second part by a social constructionist approach to technology. Rogers' work is critically evaluated and a model of adoption and implementation is distilled from it and applied to a set of empirical case studies. In the light of the case study data, strengths and weaknesses of the model are identified. It is argued that the model is too rational and linear to provide an adequate explanation of adoption processes. It is useful for understanding processes of implementation but requires further development. The model is not able to adequately encompass complex computer based technologies. However, the idea of 'reinvention' is identified as Roger's key concept but it needs to be conceptually extended. Both Roger's model and definition of CAPM found in the literature from production engineering tend to treat CAPM in objectivist terms. The problems with this view are addressed through a review of the literature on the sociology of technology, and it is argued that a social constructionist approach offers a more useful framework for understanding CAPM, its nature, adoption, implementation, and use. CAPM it is argued, must be understood on terms of the ways in which it is constituted in discourse, as part of a 'struggle for meaning' on the part of academics, professional engineers, suppliers, and users.

Setting parameters in MRP for the effective management of bought-out inventory in a JIT assembly environment

In recent years, UK industry has seen an explosive growth in the number of `Computer Aided Production Management' (CAPM) system installations. Of the many CAPM systems, materials requirement planning/manufacturing resource planning (MRP/MRPII) is the most widely implemented. Despite the huge investments in MRP systems, over 80 percent are said to have failed within 3 to 5 years of installation. Many people now assume that Just-In-Time (JIT) is the best manufacturing technique. However, those who have implemented JIT have found that it also has many problems. The author argues that the success of a manufacturing company will not be due to a system which complies with a single technique; but due to the integration of many techniques and the ability to make them complement each other in a specific manufacturing environment. This dissertation examines the potential for integrating MRP with JIT and Two-Bin systems to reduce operational costs involved in managing bought-out inventory. Within this framework it shows that controlling MRP is essential to facilitate the integrating process. The behaviour of MRP systems is dependent on the complex interactions between the numerous control parameters used. Methodologies/models are developed to set these parameters. The models are based on the Pareto principle. The idea is to use business targets to set a coherent set of parameters, which not only enables those business targets to be realised, but also facilitates JIT implementation. It illustrates this approach in the context of an actual manufacturing plant - IBM Havant. (IBM Havant is a high volume electronics assembly plant with the majority of the materials bought-out). The parameter setting models are applicable to control bought-out items in a wide range of industries and are not dependent on specific MRP software. The models have produced successful results in several companies and are now being developed as commercial products.

Computer-assisted production scheduling, planning and control in foundries

The present study describes a pragmatic approach to the implementation of production planning and scheduling techniques in foundries of all types and looks at the use of `state-of-the-art' management control and information systems. Following a review of systems for the classification of manufacturing companies, a definitive statement is made which highlights the important differences between foundries (i.e. `component makers') and other manufacturing companies (i.e. `component buyers'). An investigation of the manual procedures which are used to plan and control the manufacture of components reveals the inherent problems facing foundry production management staff, which suggests the unsuitability of many manufacturing techniques which have been applied to general engineering companies. From the literature it was discovered that computer-assisted systems are required which are primarily `information-based' rather than `decision based', whilst the availability of low-cost computers and `packaged-software' has enabled foundries to `get their feet wet' without the financial penalties which characterized many of the early attempts at computer-assistance (i.e. pre-1980). Moreover, no evidence of a single methodology for foundry scheduling emerged from the review. A philosophy for the development of a CAPM system is presented, which details the essential information requirements and puts forward proposals for the subsequent interactions between types of information and the sub-system of CAPM which they support. The work developed was oriented specifically at the functions of production planning and scheduling and introduces the concept of `manual interaction' for effective scheduling. The techniques developed were designed to use the information which is readily available in foundries and were found to be practically successful following the implementation of the techniques into a wide variety of foundries. The limitations of the techniques developed are subsequently discussed within the wider issues which form a CAPM system, prior to a presentation of the conclusions which can be drawn from the study.

Wealth effects of mergers and acquisitions for US firms: using alternative pricing models

This empirical study employs a different methodology to examine the change in wealth associated with mergers and acquisitions (M&As) for US firms. Specifically, we employ the standard CAPM, the Fama-French three-factor model and the Carhart four-factor models within the OLS and GJR-GARCH estimation methods to test the behaviour of the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs). Whilst the standard CAPM captures the variability of stock returns with the overall market, the Fama-French factors capture the risk factors that are important to investors. Additionally, augmenting the Fama-French three-factor model with the Carhart momentum factor to generate the four-factor captures additional pricing elements that may affect stock returns. Traditionally, estimates of abnormal returns (ARs) in M&As situations rely on the standard OLS estimation method. However, the standard OLS will provide inefficient estimates of the ARs if the data contain ARCH and asymmetric effects. To minimise this problem of estimation efficiency we re-estimated the ARs using GJR-GARCH estimation method. We find that there is variation in the results both as regards the choice models and estimation methods. Besides these variations in the estimated models and the choice of estimation methods, we also tested whether the ARs are affected by the degree of liquidity of the stocks and the size of the firm. We document significant positive post-announcement cumulative ARs (CARs) for target firm shareholders under both the OLS and GJR-GARCH methods across all three methodologies. However, post-event CARs for acquiring firm shareholders were insignificant for both sets of estimation methods under the three methodologies. The GJR-GARCH method seems to generate larger CARs than those of the OLS method. Using both market capitalization and trading volume as a measure of liquidity and the size of the firm, we observed strong return continuations in the medium firms relative to small and large firms for target shareholders. We consistently observed market efficiency in small and large firm. This implies that target firms for small and large firms overreact to new information resulting in a more efficient market. For acquirer firms, our measure of liquidity captures strong return continuations for small firms under the OLS estimates for both CAPM and Fama-French three-factor models, whilst under the GJR-GARCH estimates only for Carhart model. Post-announcement bootstrapping simulated CARs confirmed our earlier results.

Embodied myopia

One field study and five experiments show that seemingly irrelevant bodily actions influence consumer behavior. These studies demonstrate that arm flexion (in which the motor action is directed toward the self) versus arm extension (in which the motor action is directed away from the self) influences purchase behavior, product preferences, and economic decisions. More specifically, arm flexion increases the likelihood of purchasing vice products (Study 1a), leads to a preference for vices over virtues (Studies 1b and 2a), and leads to preference for smaller, sooner over larger, later monetary rewards (Studies 2b, 3, and 4). The authors argue that arm flexion induces present-biased preferences through activation of approach motivation. The effect of bodily actions on present-biased preferences is regulated by the behavioral approach system (Studies 3 and 4) and relies on the learned association between arm flexion and activation of this approach system (Study 4). The authors discuss implications for Intertemporal decision making, embodied cognition, and marketing practice. © 2011, American Marketing Association.