This paper formulates a general longitudinal manpower flow model and poses the problem of scheduling the inflow of manpower for an infinite number of periods subject to constraints on the stocks and inflows of manpower and the size of the manpower system. The objective is to minimize the present value of the costs of system operation. A finite linear program is introduced which can calculate a lower bound on the optimal value of the infinite problem. The optimal solution of the finite linear program can be used to construct a sound and easily implemented policy for the infinite problem.

In this article the author examines the effectiveness of using experiential exercise learning materials in management education. He notes that in this method students actively participate in the performance of a goal-oriented task and learn both from the task itself as well as from a subsequent evaluation of the performance. He adds that the effectiveness of this method is largely attributed to the effectiveness of the instructor. He outlines a generally used role of the instructor of these methods discussing how to maximize the experiential learning effects as well as the importance of this role in the evaluation of the method.

Abstract The notion of a revolution in accounting is taken from Thomas S. Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. His thesis is that science does not progress through accumulation. Rather, a series of tradition shattering revolutions occur in which one time-honored scientific theory is rejected in favor of another incompatible with it. The new theory, or set of ideas, is unique in that it is not derived from the previously accepted dogma. It is seldom or never just an increment to what is already known and in the process of moving from the old set of ideas to the new, the community of scientists Follows a number of identifiable steps namely, recognition of anomalies, a period of insecurity, development of alternative sets of ideas, identification of schools of thought, domination of the new practices or ideas. The first step is a precursor to the whole process, it initiates the period of crisis which follows. During that period, scientists become increasingly dissatisfied with the existing theoretical framework and a search for alternatives begins. Therefore, the second and third steps are mutually interactive. As dissatisfaction grows, the search for alternatives gains impetus, as alternatives are discerned and discussed, the dissatisfaction is heightened. Schools of thought emerge and one set of ideas gradually gains ascendency over alternatives.

Optimality criteria for Markov decision processes have historically been based on a risk neutral formulation of the decision maker's preferences. An explicit utility formulation, incorporating both risk and time preference and based on some results in the axiomatic theory of choice under uncertainty, is developed. This forms an optimality criterion called utility optimality with constant aversion to risk. The objective is to maximize the expected utility using an exponential utility function. Implicit in the formulation is an interpretation of the decision process which is not sequential. It is shown that optimal policies exist which are not necessarily stationary for an infinite horizon stationary Markov decision process with finite state and action spaces. An example is given.

A field experiment is described which compared the innovativeness and quality of solutions from health planning groups made up of health services users??activists? or professional consumers?and experts?physicians, nurses, administrators, and therapists. The experimental findings suggest several guides for planning.

Reactions of organizational participants to authority relations can be understood by examining the total organizational system in which authority relations are embedded. Differences in such relations, and reactions to them, are examined within the framework of a matrix of organizational systems based on different assumptions about both people and organizations.

The article reviews several books pertaining to social issues in management, including “Private Management and Public Policy,” by Lee E. Preston and James E. Post, “The Corporate Dilemma,” by Dow Votaw and S. Prakash Sethi, and “The Value Issue of Business,” by Alvar O. Elbing and Carol J. Elbing.

This paper investigates the effect of organized futures trading on information in spot markets. First, a model is developed that relates spot-price behavior and market information. The model can be viewed as a particular efficient markets model; this connection provides additional implications about price behavior and information. Next, price series for six different commodities are investigated for an information effect of futures trading. For each commodity, the empirical evidence indicates that futures trading increases traders' information about forces affecting supply and demand.

Abstract The article presents comments of the author on the article "Theory Versus Practice in Risk Analysis: An Empirical Study," by Willis R. Greer. In his Greer, claimed to show a conflict between utility theory and actual decisions made by representatives of twenty-seven Fortune 500 firms. Although the article provided an interesting analysis of firms' decisions, it seems misleading in two important respects. First, the hypothesis tested by Greer is quite different than the hypothesis that he suggested he was testing. Second in contrast to his claim of a substantial conflict between the decision processes used by actual decision makers and existing utility theory, the data give fairly good support to the counterclaim that the decision makers in his study tend to be expected utility maximizers. The latter point already has been discussed by scholar C.G. Hoskins and Greer and scholar Ted D. Skekel. More is said about this later in this comment. The interpretative problems with Greer's original article appear to arise from the author's conception of "existing utility theory." This conception is tied to a mean-standard deviation trade off model.