Use of Statistical Methods in Demand Planning

In a very volatile industry of high technology it is of utmost importance to accurately forecast customers’ demand. However, statistical forecasting of sales, especially in heavily competitive electronics product business, has always been a challenging task due to very high variation in demand and very short product life cycles of products. The purpose of this thesis is to validate if statistical methods can be applied to forecasting sales of short life cycle electronics products and provide a feasible framework for implementing statistical forecasting in the environment of the case company. Two different approaches have been developed for forecasting on short and medium term and long term horizons. Both models are based on decomposition models, but differ in interpretation of the model residuals. For long term horizons residuals are assumed to represent white noise, whereas for short and medium term forecasting horizon residuals are modeled using statistical forecasting methods. Implementation of both approaches is performed in Matlab. Modeling results have shown that different markets exhibit different demand patterns and therefore different analytical approaches are appropriate for modeling demand in these markets. Moreover, the outcomes of modeling imply that statistical forecasting can not be handled separately from judgmental forecasting, but should be perceived only as a basis for judgmental forecasting activities. Based on modeling results recommendations for further deployment of statistical methods in sales forecasting of the case company are developed.

Marketing in support of sales in industrial high technology company

The aim of this study is to find out how Metso Paper’s marketing could better support sales and how sales people are executing marketing during the sales processes. This study is done from sales people’s point of view. The study is limited to cover only company’s internal environment. This research was executed through literature review and qualitative theme interviews, where 20 of Metso Paper’s sales people were interviewed. The interviewees were asked to tell their opinions about marketing’s support, marketing materials, information and the relationship between sales and marketing. The results of this study show that the relationship between marketing and sales is rather good, but there is still a great need for improvements. It is hoped that marketing would take more part in the selling processes. In addition, more information about the launches and schedules were also hoped for. Marketing is told to be quite Finland centric and sales people are wishing for more adopted marketing materials and occasions. It came up during the interviews, that sales people are not so willing to give regular feedback to marketing and quite often they think that marketing’s role in Metso Paper is not important at all.

Pediatric advance care planning from the perspective of health care professionals: a qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric advance care planning differs from the adult setting in several aspects, including patients' diagnoses, minor age, and questionable capacity to consent. So far, research has largely neglected the professionals' perspective. AIM: We aimed to investigate the attitudes and needs of health care professionals with regard to pediatric advance care planning. DESIGN: This is a qualitative interview study with experts in pediatric end-of-life care. A qualitative content analysis was performed. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: We conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with health care professionals caring for severely ill children/adolescents, from different professions, care settings, and institutions. RESULTS: Perceived problems with pediatric advance care planning relate to professionals' discomfort and uncertainty regarding end-of-life decisions and advance directives. Conflicts may arise between physicians and non-medical care providers because both avoid taking responsibility for treatment limitations according to a minor's advance directive. Nevertheless, pediatric advance care planning is perceived as helpful by providing an action plan for everyone and ensuring that patient/parent wishes are respected. Important requirements for pediatric advance care planning were identified as follows: repeated discussions and shared decision-making with the family, a qualified facilitator who ensures continuity throughout the whole process, multi-professional conferences, as well as professional education on advance care planning. CONCLUSION: Despite a perceived need for pediatric advance care planning, several barriers to its implementation were identified. The results remain to be verified in a larger cohort of health care professionals. Future research should focus on developing and testing strategies for overcoming the existing barriers.

Nursing discharge planning for older medical inpatients in Switzerland: A cross-sectional study.

Nursing discharge planning for elderly medical inpatients is an essential element of care to ensure optimal transition to home and to reduce post-discharge adverse events. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to investigate the association between nursing discharge planning components in older medical inpatients, patients' readiness for hospital discharge and unplanned health care utilization during the following 30 days. Results indicated that no patients benefited from comprehensive discharge planning but most benefited from less than half of the discharge planning components. The most frequent intervention recorded was coordination, and the least common was patients' participation in decisions regarding discharge. Patients who received more nursing discharge components felt significantly less ready to go home and had significantly more readmissions during the 30-day follow-up period. This study highlights large gaps in the nursing discharge planning process in older medical inpatients and identifies specific areas where improvements are most needed.

Cultural Planning and community sustainability: The case of the Cultural Facilities Plan of Catalonia (PECCAT 2010-20)

The government of Catalonia has developed a planning framework that seeks to establish the provision of cultural facilities throughout the country. The Cultural Facilities Plan of Catalonia (PECCAT) is based on an analysis of historical gaps and establishes a minimum spatial scheme. The plan responds to problems associated with the absence of a former similar instrument, which has led to an inconsistent and inappropriate cultural infrastructure that fails to fulfill its fundamental mission of securing the cultural rights of the population. The paper sets forth the aims of this policy and describes the objectives and basic characteristics of the plan and the expected outcomes. With the plan, the government of Catalonia seeks to rebalance the infrastructure within the territory and to ensure universal access to basic cultural services, while avoiding a logic of standardization and taking local communities into account. With the development of local plans in the municipalities, local governments encourage community participation processes to adapt and decide on priorities for action based on needs assessments and cultural opportunities for local sustainable development. The local plans focus on local cultural strengths, take advantage of opportunities, and aim to realize the cultural dynamics of a place through establishing an infrastructure that can best respond to the needs and cultural demands of the local communities, taking into account economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

Marketing territorial et branding territorial : une revue de littérature systématique

Le présent article offre un aperçu systématique et complet de la littérature scientifique dédiée au domaine d'étude du marketing territorial et du branding territorial. 1172 contributions publiées entre 1976 et 2016 dans 98 revues différentes y sont analysées à l'aide d'un classement méticuleux dans des catégories et sous-catégories en fonction de l'approche disciplinaire, de la méthode utilisée et de la perspective adoptée. Cette revue de la littérature permet ainsi une vue d'ensemble détaillée de l'état de l'art et fait part des diverses tendances et évolutions concernant ce domaine d'étude en émergence. Elle atteste, entre autres, l'existence d'un flou conceptuel, de définitions divergentes et de faibles assises théoriques : ce qui contribue à un spectre très large d'objets d'étude. Un manque de preuves empiriques et de contributions à caractère explicatif est également observé : les nombreux postulats sur les effets des activités de marketing territorial par rapport à l'attractivité restent à démontrer. Elle souligne aussi un certain désintérêt de la littérature pour le contexte politico-institutionnel dans lequel les territoires s'inscrivent, pourtant crucial en termes de management public. Par ailleurs, ce travail souligne la place importante attribuée à la rhétorique des consultants, avec la publication d'une grande quantité de contributions normatives dans une optique de partage de bonnes pratiques. Pour finir, cette étude constate la présence d'un nombre significatif d'articles critiques.