Product Life Cycle

The HOBAS aeration system was tested to compare changes in environmental and bacteriological parameters in ponds growing Penaeus monodon during a single production cycle. The stocking density in the aerated pond was doubled to 12 post-larvae (PL) m − 2 in contrast to the non-aerated pond with 6 (PL) m − 2. Microbial abundance in the ponds ranged between 105 − 6 cells ml − 1. Among the physiological groups of bacteria enumerated, the heterotrophs dominated with an abundance of 104 CFU ml − 1. Of the nitrogen and sulfur cycle bacteria, the nitrifiers flourished in the aerated pond and could maintain ammonia-N concentration within permissible levels. Bacterial activity also maintained sulfide concentrations at  − 1. Non-aerated conditions promoted denitrification maintaining nitrate concentration between 0.32 and 0.98 μM NO3  − -N l − 1. However, a marked increase in ammonium content was observed in the non-aerated pond at the end of the culture period. Thus in high-density ponds, the aerators served to stimulate bacterial growth and activity which consequently maintained the quality of the water to match that of low-density ponds. Accordingly, these aerators could be effectively used to sustain higher yields. The effluent from the aerated pond is less likely to alter the redox balance of the receiving waters.

In today's business transactions, there are various reasons, namely, bulk purchase discounts, re-ordering costs, seasonality of products, inflation induced demand, etc., which force the buyer to order more than the warehouse capacity. Such situations call for additional storage space to store the excess units purchased. This additional storage space is typically a rented warehouse. Inflation plays a very interesting and significant role here: It increases the cost of goods. To safeguard from the rising prices, during the inflation regime, the organisation prefers to keep a higher inventory, thereby increasing the aggregate demand. This additional inventory needs additional storage space, which is facilitated by a rented warehouse. Ignoring the effects of the time value of money and inflation might yield misleading results. In this study, a two-warehouse inventory model with linear trend in demand under inflationary conditions having different rates of deterioration has been developed. Shortages at the owned warehouse are also allowed subject to partial backlogging. The solution methodology provided in the model helps to decide on the feasibility of renting a warehouse. Finally, findings have been illustrated with the help of numerical examples. Comprehensive sensitivity analysis has also been provided.

This study proposes and tests an agency-based organizational model of internationalization through franchising in the hotel sector. Using data obtained from a Franchisor Questionnaire 2001–2008, we analyzed a panel of 117 observations of 17 U.S.-based hotels. Our analysis reveals that a hotel franchisor's decision to internationalize through franchising is positively related to the percentage of franchises, the ratio of franchised units to the total number of units. The article contributes to the literature by empirically modeling international franchising of hotels, which present unique characteristics among franchising companies, with a high investment capital requirement, maturity in the product life cycle, and a high level of standardization and globalization of operations. The unique characteristics of individual chains and their segment in the industry are particularly important, as revealed by both data analysis and expert opinion.► This study proposes and tests an agency-based organizational model of internationalization through franchising in the hotel sector. ► Data based on a panel of 117 observations of 17 U.S.-based hotels were analyzed. ► A hotel franchisor's decision to internationalize through franchising is found to be positively related to the percentage of franchises, the ratio of franchised units to the total number of units.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from poultry production are leading source of air quality problems. However, little is known about the speciation and levels of VOCs from poultry production. The objective of this study was the speciation of VOCs from a poultry facility using evacuated canisters and sorbent tubes. Samples were taken during active poultry production cycle and between production cycles. Levels of VOCs were highest in areas with birds and the compounds in those areas had a higher percentage of polar compounds (89%) compared to aliphatic hydrocarbons (2.2%). In areas without birds, levels of VOCs were 1/3 those with birds present and compounds had a higher total percentage of aliphatic hydrocarbons (25%). Of the VOCs quantified in this study, no single sampling method was capable of quantifying more than 55% of compounds and in several sections of the building each sampling method quantified less than 50% of the quantifiable VOCs. Key classes of chemicals quantified using evacuated canisters included both alcohols and ketones, while sorbent tube samples included volatile fatty acids and ketones. The top five compounds made up close to 70% of VOCs and included: 1) acetic acid (830.1 mug m -3); 2) 2,3-butanedione (680.6 mug m -3); 3) methanol (195.8 mug m -3); 4) acetone (104.6 mug m -3); and 5) ethanol (101.9 mug m -3). Location variations for top five compounds averaged 49.5% in each section of the building and averaged 87% for the entire building.

Using recent advances in time-varying spectral methods, this research analyses the growth cycles of productivity for three economies: that of the euro area, the US and the UK. The methodology uses a discrete wavelet transform (MODWT), a continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and also Hilbert wavelet pairs in order to analyze bivariate time series in terms of conventional frequency domain measures from spectral analysis. The …ndings are that there appears to be cycles at various frequencies, apart from the usual longer cycle that the economics literature focuses on, and there is apparently little signi…cant correlation or coherence between productivity cycles between the three, signifying that country-idiosyncratic factors are much more likely to drive productivity than international factors.

Background, aim, and scope Life cycle analyses (LCA) approaches require adaptation to reflect the increasing delocalization of production to emerging countries. This work addresses this challenge by establishing a country-level, spatially explicit life cycle inventory (LCI). This study comprises three separate dimensions. The first dimension is spatial: processes and emissions are allocated to the country in which they take place and modeled to take into account local factors. Emerging economies China and India are the location of production, the consumption occurs in Germany, an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development country. The second dimension is the product level: we consider two distinct textile garments, a cotton T-shirt and a polyester jacket, in order to highlight potential differences in the production and use phases. The third dimension is the inventory composition: we track CO2, SO2, NOx , and particulates, four major atmospheric pollutants, as well as energy use. This third dimension enriches the analysis of the spatial differentiation (first dimension) and distinct products (second dimension). Materials and methods We describe the textile production and use processes and define a functional unit for a garment. We then model important processes using a hierarchy of preferential data sources. We place special emphasis on the modeling of the principal local energy processes: electricity and transport in emerging countries. Results The spatially explicit inventory is disaggregated by country of location of the emissions and analyzed according to the dimensions of the study: location, product, and pollutant. The inventory shows striking differences between the two products considered as well as between the different pollutants considered. For the T-shirt, over 70% of the energy use and CO2 emissions occur in the consuming country, whereas for the jacket, more than 70% occur in the producing country. This reversal of proportions is due to differences in the use phase of the garments. For SO2, in contrast, over two thirds of the emissions occur in the country of production for both T-shirt and jacket. The difference in emission patterns between CO2 and SO2 is due to local electricity processes, justifying our emphasis on local energy infrastructure. Discussion The complexity of considering differences in location, product, and pollutant is rewarded by a much richer understanding of a global production–consumption chain. The inclusion of two different products in the LCI highlights the importance of the definition of a product's functional unit in the analysis and implications of results. Several use-phase scenarios demonstrate the importance of consumer behavior over equipment efficiency. The spatial emission patterns of the different pollutants allow us to understand the role of various energy infrastructure elements. The emission patterns furthermore inform the debate on the Environmental Kuznets Curve, which applies only to pollutants which can be easily filtered and does not take into account the effects of production displacement. We also discuss the appropriateness and limitations of applying the LCA methodology in a global context, especially in developing countries. Conclusions Our spatial LCI method yields important insights in the quantity and pattern of emissions due to different product life cycle stages, dependent on the local technology, emphasizing the importance of consumer behavior. From a life cycle perspective, consumer education promoting air-drying and cool washing is more important than efficient appliances. Recommendations and perspectives Spatial LCI with country-specific data is a promising method, necessary for the challenges of globalized production–consumption chains. We recommend inventory reporting of final energy forms, such as electricity, and modular LCA databases, which would allow the easy modification of underlying energy infrastructure.

Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, this study addresses the dynamic capability-generating capacity of market orientation on firm performance. Whereas prior literature has examined environmental turbulence as a contextual condition shaping the market orientation-firm performance relationship, this study takes an internal approach by focusing on existing stocks of resources within the firm while controlling for environmental conditions. A conceptual model is developed that explains how market orientation can be transformed into dynamic capability when complemented by transformational (reconfig-urational) constructs, such as innovativeness. The empirical results support the authors— theory that the effect of market orientation on firm performance is strengthened when market orientation is bundled together with internal complementary resources, such as innovativeness. The authors discuss the findings in the context of varying stages of the product life cycle and at differen...

Agility is the fundamental characteristic of a supply chain needed for survival in turbulent and volatile markets, which are becoming norms as product life cycles shorten and environmental forces create additional uncertainty resulting in higher risk in the supply chain management. Agility further helps in providing the right product, at the right time to the consumer, which is the main objective of any supply chain. In the present paper, using interpretive structural modeling, interrelationships of the variables, influencing supply chain agility, have been derived. These variables have been categorized according to their driving power and dependence. This methodology provides a means by which order can be imposed on the complexity of such variables. The insight from model would help supply chain managers in strategic planning for improving supply chain agility.

A supply chain includes all facilities, tasks, and activities that are involved in the production and delivery of a product or service from suppliers to customers. The supply chain management (SCM) coordinates all these activities so that the customers can obtain high-quality products and reliable services at minimum costs. Supply chain management can, in turn, provide a competitive advantage for the organization. Effective supply-chain management requires a comprehensive perspective of modules. In this paper, a multi-stage structure for a supply chain network that includes suppliers, distribution centres and related issues is being developed. The main feature of the decision is based on the integration of three basic steps of tactical problems that involve procurement of raw materials from suppliers to finished production and final product distribution at the factories. In addition, two of our main goals are to minimize overall supply-chain costs and also minimize the average time delay to distribution centres. The obtained mathematical model is a single-objective linear programming model. This paper focuses on integrating and minimizing the total cost in supply chain logistics.