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The purpose of this paper is to outline a mathematical approach which may prove to be helpful to the decision maker in solving make-buy problems, particularly mathematical programming techniques for make-buy problems in a production scheduling context will be discussed using the Holt Modigliani and Simon and Elmaghrabhy models of production scheduling as point of departure. Every make-buy problem may have noneconomic consequences, often strong enough to dictate a decision regardless of results of an economic analysis. These noneconomic factors should be taken into account even before an attempt to formulate a linear programming make-buy model is made. As in every other model, assumptions made are limiting, since usually make-buy problems are unique for a given firm models presented in this paper have to be altered, amended or enlarged to satisfy the characteristics of a specific make-buy problem. It should also be mentioned, that the authors do not claim to have presented the final solution to the problem. The purpose of the paper consisted only in showing one of many possible solutions, which hopefully will be integrated with other approaches of mathematical budgeting.

The central explanation of this paper is that criteria, not only for the choice of planning procedures for use in the individual phases of the innovation process, but also for the design of an innovation-inducing organisation structure, can be derived from long term product-innovation strategy (PIS). In PIS it is first decided to what extent activities devoted to product innovation should be adopted, in what respects the production programme should be supplemented and which function product innovations should take over in the market. Different concepts of PIS are discussed. The majority of propositions in the literature relating to the idea-discovery phase refer somewhat indiscriminatingly to so-called creativity techniques such as brainstorming, synectics, the morphological box method and so on. In the main they take too little account of the fact that the individual methods are based on very different processes and may also be expected to give extremely varied results. It can be shown that discursive methods, including functions analysis, the morphological box method and the relevance tree procedure, are more suitable for search in a narrow search area, that is, for product ideas tending to have a low degree of innovativeness whereas, intuitive procedures, including especially brainstorming and synectics are more appropriate for a wide search area.

This article focuses on a decision model for the multinational firm. The model presented in this paper is a decision making tool which can be used by two kinds of firms, a firm anticipating entry and an established firm. An established firm has the benefit of past experience in the foreign environment and, therefore, can compare present survey results with past experience. Because of the availability of past data, the model's ability to determine the impact of each environmental component with respect to enterprise functions is enhanced. Analysis of effectiveness and improvability determination are also more meaningful since the short, medium, and long run degree of controllability can be more accurately measured. For decision making purposes, the model performs the following functions for either of its applications's, 1. Comparison of different environments. 2. Evaluation of the impacts of the environmental factors on the effectiveness. 3. Detection and analysis of the main elements needing improvement. 4. Projection of new profit figures for the short, medium and long run as a result of the steps to be taken. 5. Determination of whether to enter or remain in the foreign environment. The Decisional Model is designed to be flexible and dynamic. It is particularly responsive to various changes in managerial philosophy and processes, employees' attitudes and their effects, as well as environmental changes which could affect the particular firm's operations. It provides a firm with a useful tool for making appropriate decisions on the basis of a predictive analysis derived from an extensive, detailed, and systematic description of the instant situation.

The research reported in this paper attempts to make a case for the notion that it may be advantageous for Operations Research (OR)/Management Science (MS) units in organizations to focus on the existing infrastructure of the organization and the means to change the infrastructure as an integral part of their strategy to achieve organizational legitimization. In other words, unless the appropriate organizational form exists, or seems amenable to modification, the acceptance and implementation of rational OR/MS decision algorithms, that is their acceptance by top management and client groups such as corporate planning, marketing, production, will be severely inhibited. This makes it particularly important to explore the measurement of organizational form and the construction of indices that later may be refined and on the basis of a relatively broad and diverse data base, allow the design of organizational forms that can accommodate organizational innovation. Overall, the analysis of organizational form indicators used here implies that removal of organizational bottlenecks is imperative for the implementation of OR/MS decision aids, and should lead to immediate improvements in decision making processes in the region.

Job-shop production planning with modern computerized programs can be very profitable, in particular for smaller companies. In this paper a decentralized planning and decision-making process is outlined. It appears to be more suitable for larger companies. One of the most tantalizing planning problems in a manufactory with job-shop production is the scheduling of work. It is a timetable-making problem. The extra cost for a bad work schedule can be surprisingly high. Or, the other way around, the efforts spent for improving job-shop production plans can be very profitable. This strategy of conflict avoidances results in a very smooth production process. This might delude management into belief that the work is well organized. That, however, would be a mistake. The strategy succeeds in minimizing the waiting times of the raw material and the unfinished products. That is, the total processing time per item is shortened. But, the workload of the entire job-shop is kept far below the capacity. Another version of this waiting time minimization strategy, which is most common in businesses that want to please the customers by fast delivery, is the installation of high safety capacity.

The article discusses the potential of accounting as management information system. Much of contemporary literature in management, accounting, data processing and allied disciplines is concerned with the need for timely and relevant information to facilitate the decision-making process at all levels of management. The recommendations in this paper focuses on transactions, as business events which affect the magnitude and nature of the net assets of the business entity, have many dimensions. Accounting for the many dimensions of a transaction facilitates planning, reporting, analysis and control in the business organization. Conventional accounting rules, while important for some purposes, must not constrain the data processed. Non-monetary as well as monetary, predictive as well as historial, data must be generated, reported and evaluated. The double entry network flow mechanism which is characteristic of the accounting model is an excellent mechanism for tracing the flows of recourses, viewed in their many facets, through the various organizational activities and levels. Vector and matrix concepts provide a particularly useful structure for implementing the accounting model.