Flexibility and Commitment in Planning


Book Description

This book is about the ways in which two western European countries attempt to cope with the changing demands of urban development. In particular, it is con cerned with the differences in approach of the Dutch and English planning systems and the contrasting ways in which they are used to guide, promote and control development. The book results from a research study in which members of staff at Delft of Technology and Oxford Polytechnic compared local planning and University development in the Netherlands and England. The aim was to investigate ways in which development was promoted and controlled under different planning systems. The research was subsequently developed along two converging lines. One was an examination of over twenty case studies of plan making and the con trol of development in the cities of Leiden and Oxford. The other was a study of the two planning systems and the ways in which the respective approaches to planning were seen to relate closely to the contrasting legal and administrative systems and differences in development practice. The convergence of the two lines of enquiry produced a tension between empirical observations and theoretical supposition which led to a fruitful development of ideas about the nature of the two planning systems and how they promote and control develop ment.







Commitment


Book Description

To create a competitive advantage, a company must commit itself to developing a set of capabilities superior to its competitors; But such commitments tend to be costly and hard to reverse. How then, should a company decide which broad path, or strategy, to commit itself to? And how are competition and uncertainty to be accounted for in that decision? In this brilliant reassessment of how companies gain and sustain competitive advantage, Pankaj Ghemawat consolidates contemporary research in economics and other disciplines into a comprehensive yet practical framework for comparing commitments to strategically distinct options. This framework will help managers address specific strategic choices such as entry, exit, vertical/horizontal integration, capacity expansion, and innovation, as well as choices of generic strategy. Step by systematic step, Ghemawat provides managers with the tools and techniques they need to improve the quality of the choices that they make. Specifically, Ghemawat discusses: * how to identify the choices that are truly strategic -- that involve commitment -- before rather than after the fact * how to analyze the short-run and long-run competitive positions implied by a particular strategic option * how to assess the sustainability of superior competitive positions over time * how to account for the flexibility afforded by a particular option in dealing with future uncertainties * how to deal with both honest mistakes and deliberate distortions in the process of choice This pathbreaking book will help managers invest in the future. Its logic applies to choices involving disinvestment as well as those involving investment -- and to choices that embody elements of both. Its logic can be used for diagnostic purposes, such as the valuation of business, and most broadly, it win force managers to think about important issues that they may have tended to ignore. Ghemawat's discussion of these important ideas is concise, studded with detailed examples, based on rigorous research and, above all, practical. It will become required reading for thoughtful practitioners as well as practitionersto-be in the 1990s.




The Psychology of Planning in Organizations


Book Description

This book examines planning as the critical influence on performance at work and in organizations. Bridging theory and practice, it unites cutting-edge research findings from cognitive science, social psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, strategic management, and entrepreneurship, and describes the practical applications of these research findings for practitioners interested in improving planning performance in organizations.




Unit commitment and investment valuation of flexible biogas plants in German power markets


Book Description

Biogas plants become more flexible, scheduling their power generation with respect to market prices. For this purpose the electrical capacity of power units is extended to convert the continuously produced gas as well as the gas held in storage. This work has shown how gas plants with extended capacity located at a gas production site can be analyzed on the basis of unit commitment. Mixed integer linear programs (MILP) have been developed for the unit commitment of such plants in different use cases. The models developed consider gas plants at a gas production site participating in German power markets, switching between static and variable gas supply, providing secondary and tertiary control reserve, and claiming the German market and flexibility premium. The models can be applied to plan daily schedules for the operation of these gas plants. Furthermore, the models can be applied to analyze the benefits of extending the electrical or storage capacity of gas plants located at a gas production site. The models calculate the optimized gross income that can be applied as cash flow for determining the net present value (NPV) of investments in extended electrical and storage capacity.







Principles of Management


Book Description

Black & white print. Principles of Management is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the introductory course on management. This is a traditional approach to management using the leading, planning, organizing, and controlling approach. Management is a broad business discipline, and the Principles of Management course covers many management areas such as human resource management and strategic management, as well as behavioral areas such as motivation. No one individual can be an expert in all areas of management, so an additional benefit of this text is that specialists in a variety of areas have authored individual chapters.




Agile Estimating and Planning


Book Description

Agile Estimating and Planning is the definitive, practical guide to estimating and planning agile projects. In this book, Agile Alliance cofounder Mike Cohn discusses the philosophy of agile estimating and planning and shows you exactly how to get the job done, with real-world examples and case studies. Concepts are clearly illustrated and readers are guided, step by step, toward how to answer the following questions: What will we build? How big will it be? When must it be done? How much can I really complete by then? You will first learn what makes a good plan-and then what makes it agile. Using the techniques in Agile Estimating and Planning, you can stay agile from start to finish, saving time, conserving resources, and accomplishing more. Highlights include: Why conventional prescriptive planning fails and why agile planning works How to estimate feature size using story points and ideal days–and when to use each How and when to re-estimate How to prioritize features using both financial and nonfinancial approaches How to split large features into smaller, more manageable ones How to plan iterations and predict your team's initial rate of progress How to schedule projects that have unusually high uncertainty or schedule-related risk How to estimate projects that will be worked on by multiple teams Agile Estimating and Planning supports any agile, semiagile, or iterative process, including Scrum, XP, Feature-Driven Development, Crystal, Adaptive Software Development, DSDM, Unified Process, and many more. It will be an indispensable resource for every development manager, team leader, and team member.




Flexible Pavement Design and Management


Book Description




Entrepreneurship & Management


Book Description