Decision Making in Service Industries

Javier Faulin, Angel A. Juan, Scott E. Grasman, Michael J. Fry

• Services and Decision Making: Stochastic Decision Making in Information Technology Services Delivery. Simulation-Based Studies on Dynamic Sourcing of Customers under Random Supply Disruptions. Customer Perceptions of Quality and Service System Design. Data Mining and Quality in Service Industry: Review and Some Applications. Software for Solving Real Service-Management Problems. Decision Making in Health Services: Logistics and Retail Pharmacies: Providing Cost-Effective Home Delivery of Prescriptions. Improving Pharmacy Operations Using Computer Simulation. Patient Prioritization in Emergency Departments: Decision Making under Uncertainty. Using Process Mapping and Capability Analysis to Improve Room Turnaround Time at a Regional Hospital. Decision Making in Logistic Services: Decision Making in Logistics Outsourcing from the Standpoint of Hiring Companies. Revenue Management of Transportation Infrastructure during the Service Life Using Real Options. Evaluating Different Cost-Benefit Analysis Methods for Port Security Operations. Vehicle Routing in Service Industry Using Decision Support Systems. Decision Making in Other Service Areas: Decision Support for Information Technology (IT) Service Investments under Uncertainty. An Inventory Criticality Classification Method for Nuclear Spare Parts: A Case Study. Service Technology, Pricing, and Process Economics in Banking Competition. Index.

"… shows that regardless of the place (company, hospital, etc..) or the decision maker (manager, nurse, etc.), decision making is done in an uncertain environment and therefore requires using rigorous methods to reduce this risk. Those methods are clearly described and applied to make this book a handbook of applications in decision making."—Sabrina Hammiche, Université de Rennes 1, France"An excellent collection of applications and models to improve decision making in a wide array of services. … can help professionals and researchers to broaden their practical knowledge in service scenarios under uncertainty."—Esteban García-Canal, University of Oviedo, Spain"… edited by internationally renowned researchers. … presents interesting contributions from several areas in service industries … an interesting book for practitioners, researchers, and students starting from the senior undergraduate level. The uniqueness of this book lies in the linkage between service industries and quantitative decision support techniques."—Patrick Hirsch, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria