This paper considers a "single bottleneck system": a multistage production system where all setups except one are zero. The stage with nonzero setup is defined to be the bottleneck; it may be thought of as the critical resource whose throughput largely determines the throughput of the entire...

Focused Management Technology (FMT) is a managerial approach to solving an organization's problems, designed to improve processes and increase profits. It is based on the integration of the well-established Just In Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM), Theory of Constraints (TOC), Global...

When should a manager invest in new technology? This paperprovides guidelines for deciding when to invest inmicrocomputers. The authors argue that the technology andmarketplace of micros today fits the conditions of thedeclining cost paradox observed by Eden and Ronen (1988).Under these...

The declining prices of new technology products often results ina tendency for many decision makers to wait for lower prices, andto postpone a capital investment.This paper makes a distinction between the prices of technologyelements and the prices of components and systems. There aremany cases...