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A hierarchical production planning (HPP) and scheduling model is developed to solve a real-world problem in fibre manufacturing scheduling. The problem under study requires determining production sequences in the presence of variable setup costs in a multi-machine and multi-product environment. The concept of expected setup cost is developed to reduce the difficulty of addressing sequence-dependent setup costs at the aggregate level. A mixed integer linear programming model (MILP) incorporates the logic of expert systems to minimize the number and costs of machine setups and other associated costs. At the daily operational level, a set of heuristics is developed to manage contingencies, such as machine breakdowns and changes in demand. The heuristics effectively utilize idle capacity and inventories to smooth production and avoid unnecessary extra setups, therefore maintaining system stability. Data provided by the fibre plant is used to validate the model. Compared to the actual schedule, results from the model are more consistent with managerial priorities and substantial cost savings are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production Switching Heuristics (PSH) have been suggested as realistic, practical alternatives to more sophisticated aggregate planning and scheduling models. A modified, two-level heuristic is presented and its properties investigated by use of the classical paint factory data (Linear Decision Rule). Even under relatively extreme circumstances, its cost performance is promising when compared with the LDR, LP and the original PSH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article appraises the observations and trends that have led to the conclusion that production management education is dying, as of 1974. Several observations are used as basis for the predicting the coming death of production management education, including the decline in the number of course offerings in the area of production management, decline in student interest as evidenced by decreasing enrollments in the production which still remain and the lack of management faculty interest in the field as evidenced by the death of production oriented publications in eminent management journals.

The special relationship between the dean and the head of an academic department is influenced by the college administrative organizational structure. The relationship between the academic dean and the department head has three aspects: (1) the social relationship; (2) the professional one-on-one relationship; and (3) the administrative team relationship. (JN)

This paper considers the problem of selecting matched pairs of observations for the reduction of bias in statistical hypothesis testing. A Euclidean distance function is suggested for measuring the similarity between paired observations. The matching process is then formulated initially as an assignment problem. Alternative formulations of the problem that would reduce computational difficulty are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]