In real-life scenarios, service management involves complex decision-making processes usually affected by random or stochastic variables. Under such uncertain conditions, the development and use of robust and flexible strategies, algorithms, and methods can provide the quantitative information necessary to make better business decisions. Decision Making in Service Industries: A Practical Approach explores the challenges that must be faced to provide intelligent strategies for efficient management and decision making that will increase your organization’s competitiveness and profitability. The book provides insight and understanding into practical and methodological issues related to decision-making processes under uncertainty in service industries. It examines current and future trends regarding how these decision-making processes can be efficiently performed for better design of service systems by using probabilistic algorithms as well as hybrid and simulation-based approaches. Traditionally, many quantitative tools have been developed to make decisions in production companies. This book explores how to use these tools for making decisions inside service industries. Thus, the authors tackle strategic, tactical, and operational problems in service companies with the help of suitable quantitative models such as heuristic and metaheuristic algorithms, simulation, or queuing theory. Generally speaking, decision making is a hard task in business fields. Making the issue more complex, most service companies’ problems are related to the uncertainty of the service demand. This book sheds light on these types of decision problems. It provides studies that demonstrate the suitability of quantitative methods to make the right decisions. Consequently, this book presents the business analytics needed to make strategic decisions in service industries.

In real-life scenarios, service management involves complex decision-making processes usually affected by random or stochastic variables. Under such uncertain conditions, the development and use of robust and flexible strategies, algorithms, and methods can provide the quantitative information necessary to make better business decisions. Decision Making in Service Industries: A Practical Approach explores the challenges that must be faced to provide intelligent strategies for efficient management and decision making that will increase your organization�s competitiveness and profitability. The book provides insight and understanding into practical and methodological issues related to decision-making processes under uncertainty in service industries. It examines current and future trends regarding how these decision-making processes can be efficiently performed for better design of service systems by using probabilistic algorithms as well as hybrid and simulation-based approaches. Traditionally, many quantitative tools have been developed to make decisions in production companies. This book explores how to use these tools for making decisions inside service industries. Thus, the authors tackle strategic, tactical, and operational problems in service companies with the help of suitable quantitative models such as heuristic and metaheuristic algorithms, simulation, or queuing theory. Generally speaking, decision making is a hard task in business fields. Making the issue more complex, most service companies� problems are related to the uncertainty of the service demand. This book sheds light on these types of decision problems. It provides studies that demonstrate the suitability of quantitative methods to make the right decisions. Consequently, this book presents the business analytics needed to make strategic decisions in service industries.

Over the last decades maintenance management has evolved from a somewhat neglected function into a full-fledged business function in the industry as well as in the service sector.This book provides a structured approach to maintenance management. It covers maintenance strategy decisions, resource management, assessment system design, etc. Decision support models and tools in these areas are discussed from the theoretical point of view and illustrated by numerous examples and case studies.Due to its concept the book can be interesting for students as well as practitioners.This book is the successor of Maintenance Management (2000), which gave an introduction in the field.

Providing a comprehensive overview of various methods and applications in decision engineering, this book presents chapters written by a range experts in the field. It presents conceptual aspects of decision support applications in various areas including finance, vendor selection, construction, process management, water management and energy, agribusiness , production scheduling and control, and waste management. In addition to this, a special focus is given to methods of multi-criteria decision analysis. Decision making in organizations is a recurrent theme and is essential for business continuity. Managers from various fields including public, private, industrial, trading or service sectors are required to make decisions. Consequently managers need the support of these structured methods in order to engage in effective decision making. This book provides a valuable resource for graduate students, professors and researchers of decision analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis and group decision analysis. It is also intended for production engineers, civil engineers and engineering consultants.

Many corporate managers struggle to see the relevance of accounting in their everyday responsibilities. Weygandt shows them how managerial accounting information fits in the larger context of business so they are better able to understand the important concepts. The new Do It! feature reinforces the basics by providing quick-hitting examples of brief exercises. The chapters also incorporate the All About You (AAY) feature as well as the Accounting Across the Organization (AAO) boxes that highlight the impact of accounting concepts. With these features, readers will have numerous opportunities to think about what they have just read and then apply that knowledge to sample problems.

Ethical Dilemmas in the Creative, Cultural and Service Industries enhances professional ethical awareness and supports students' development of skills for ethical decision-making in these growing sectors. It focusses on the shaping of personal and professional values, and dealing with the moral and ethical issues that (future) professionals may encounter in practice. Including a multitude of varied and interdisciplinary case studies, this textbook adopts an applied ethical approach which enables the student to combine basic ethical theory with relevant and ‘real-life’ cases. Major ethical issues such as CSR, ethical leadership, human rights, fraud, employee rights and duties, new technology and (social) entrepreneurship are addressed. This will be invaluable reading for students studying tourism, hospitality, leisure, events, marketing, healthcare, logistics, retail and game development. It will also be a suitable resource for in-company training of practitioners already working in this wide range of domains.

Handbook of Decision Making includes the wisdom of the long theological and philosophical traditions of human society, as well as a systematic exploration of the implications of contemporary evolutionary theories. Common patterns in decision making styles are identified as well as the common variations that different contexts may generate. The text covers the multiplicity of mainstream decision making styles such as cost-benefit analysis, and linear programming. It also explains alternative and emerging methods such as geographic information systems, Q-methodology, and narrative policy analysis. Practical applications are discussed using decision making practices in budgeting, public administration and governance, drug trafficking, and information systems.