Designing Risk-Adjusted Therapy for Patients with Hypertension

Authors: Manaf Zargoush, Mehmet Gumus, Vedat Verter, Stella Daskalopoulou

Journal Name: Production and Operations Management, Forthcoming

Abstract:

Hypertension has not been well studied by operations researchers from a clinical decision support perspective. Moreover, little personalized (i.e. patient-centric) guidance is available regarding the number and combination of antihypertensive medications. To fill this gap, we develop a Markov Decision Process (MDP) to characterize the optimal sequence (and combination) of antihypertensive medications under the standard medication dose. Our model is patient-centric as it takes into account a set of relevant patient characteristics such as age, gender, blood pressure level, smoking habits, diabetes status, and cholesterol level. Based on a set of intuitive assumptions, we prove that our model yields a series of structured optimal policies. Having calibrated our model based on real data and medical literature, we analyze these optimal policies and discuss their insights to the real practice. We also compare the benefits, in terms of quality adjusted life expectancy, QALE, obtained from our results with those obtained from British Hypertension Society (BHS) guideline.

Did Europe Move in the Right Direction on E-Waste Legislation?

Authors: Shumail Mazahir, Vedat Verter, Tamer Boyaci and Luk van Wassenhove

Publication: Production and Operations Management, Forthcoming

Abstract:

This paper presents an analytical framework of the product take back legislation in the context of product reuse. We characterize existing and proposed forms of E-waste legislation and compare their environmental and economic performance. Using stylized models, we analyze an OEM’s decision about new and remanufactured product quantity in response to the legislative mechanism. We focus on the 2012 waste electrical and electronic equipment directive in Europe, where the policy-makers intended to create additional incentives for the product reuse. Through a comparison to the original 2002 version of the directive, we find that these incentives translate into improved environmental outcomes only for a limited set of products. We also study a proposed policy that advocates a separate target for the product reuse. Our analysis reveals that from an environmental standpoint, the recast version is always dominated either by the original policy or by the one that advocates a separate target for the product reuse. We show that the benefits of a separate reuse target scheme can be fully replicated with the aid of fiscal levers. Our main message is that there cannot be a single best environmental policy that is suitable for all products. Therefore, the consideration of product attributes is essential in identification of the most appropriate policy tool. This can be done either by the implementation of different policies on each product category or by implementation of product based target levels.

Recognizing members of the Desautels community

The Desautels Faculty of Management is delighted to recognize members of its community who have recently received awards of excellence.

Please join me in congratulating them for their continued and inspiring commitment to Desautels and McGill.

Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou Dean & Professor of Finance Desautels Faculty of Management

McGill Food Analytics Club presents Lecture & Hackathon

The McGill Food Analytics Club (McGill FAC) is a student-driven data analytics club that focuses on food. As the world is heading towards a massive food crisis the next decade, there is an urgent need to come up with solutions. Inspired and supported by Desautels Professor Juan Camilo Serpa, the club members want to contribute to solving this food crisis with data analytics.

Hospital capacity management based on the queueing theory

Authors: Otavio Bittencourt, Vedat Verter, Morty Yalovsky

Publication: International Journal of Productivity and Performance

Abstract:

Juan Serpa's article featured in Management Science

Professor Juan Serpa's paper "The Impact of Supply Chains on Firm-Level Productivity," together with Harish Krishnan was selected by the Editor-in-Chief of Management Science one of the three Featured Articles for the February 2018 issue.

Management Science is a scholarly journal that publishes scientific research on the practice of management. Within our scope are all aspects of management related to strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation, information technology, and organizations as well as all functional areas of business, such as accounting, finance, marketing, and operations. We include studies on organizational, managerial, and individual decision making, from both normative and descriptive perspectives.

Optimal markdown pricing for holiday basket with customer valuation

Authors: Hijun Wang, Shanling Li and Jianwen Luo 

Publication: International Journal of Production Research, Forthcoming

Abstract: 

Brand Positioning and Consumer Taste Information

Authors: Arcan Nalca, Tamer Boyaci and Saibal Ray

Publication: European Journal of Operational Research, Forthcoming

Abstract:

An integrated framework for inventory management and transportation of refined petroleum products: Pipeline or marine?

Authors: Atiq W. Siddiqui, Manish R. Verma and Vedat Verter

Publication: Applied Mathematical Modelling, Vol. 55, 2018

Abstract: 

The Power of Diversity: Data-Driven Robust Predictive Control for Energy-Efficient Buildings and Districts

Authors: Georgios Darivianakis, Angelos Georghiou, Roy S. Smith, John Lygeros 

Publication: IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology (Volume: PP, Issue: 99)

Abstract: 

Bensadoun School of Retail Management highlighted among Quebec’s most innovative business programming

As business schools adapt their programs to address the grand challenges of our time, McGill’s Bensadoun School of Retail Management stands out as an initiative that will respond to the needs of a rapidly changing retail industry.

Designing distribution systems with reverse flows

Authors: Ayse Cilaci Tombus¸ Necati Aras, Vedat Verter

Publication: Journal of Remanufacturing, Vol. 7, No. 2-3, December 2017

Abstract:

The Strategic Role of Business Insurance

Authors: Juan Serpa and Harish S. Krishnan

Publication: Management Science, Vol. 63, No. 2, February 2017

Abstract:

The use of business insurance has been traditionally studied in a single-firm setting, but in reality preventing operational accidents involves the (unobservable) efforts of multiple firms. We show that, in a multifirm setting, insurance can be used strategically as a commitment mechanism to prevent excessive free riding by other firms. In the presence of wealth imbalances, contracts alone leave wealth-constrained firms with inefficiently low incentives to exert effort (because of limited liability) and firms with sufficient wealth with excessive incentives. Insurance allows the latter to credibly commit to lower effort, thereby mitigating the incentives of the wealth-constrained firms to free ride. This finding shows that insurance can improve the efficiency of risk management efforts by decreasing free-riding problems.

Read full article: Management Science

The Impact of Supply Chains on Firm-Level Productivity

Authors: Juan Serpa and Harish S. Krishnan

Publication: Management Science, Vol. 64, No. 2, February 2018

Abstract:

Firms in a vertical relationship are likely to affect each other’s productivity. Exactly how does productivity spill over across this type of relationship (i.e., through which mechanisms)? Additionally, how does the relative importance of these mechanisms depend on the structure of the supply chain?

To answer these questions, we decompose the channels of upstream productivity spillovers—from customers to suppliers—by developing a structural econometric model on a sample of approximately 22,500 supply chain dyads.

We find that the “endogenous channel” (i.e., the effect of the customer’s own productivity on the supplier’s productivity) is by far the most important source of spillovers. This is especially true if (i) the supplier has a concentrated customer base, (ii) the supplier and the customer have similar operational characteristics, and (iii) the relationship has medium maturity.

In the converse scenarios, we find, it is more important to have a partner with a portfolio of favorable “contextual” characteristics (high inventory turnover, financial liquidity, and asset turnover) than to have a productive partner.

Read full article: Management Science

Saibal Ray on the potential benefits and costs if Amazon chooses Montreal

As Amazon hunts for a location for its second North American headquarters, Canada’s major cities are building their cases.

In a short interview with the McGill Media team, Desautels Professor Saibal Ray talks about the benefits that a Montreal Amazon office would bring in terms of jobs and indirect benefits to the city’s academic and research sectors.