With the healthcare sector accounting for a sizeable proportion of national expenditures, the pursuit of efficiency has become a central objective of policymakers within most health systems. However, the analysis and measurement of efficiency is a complex undertaking, not least due to the multiple objectives of health care organizations and the many gaps in information systems. In response to this complexity, research in organizational efficiency analysis has flourished. This 2006 book exa...

This introductory textbook provides an inexpensive, brief overview of statistics to help readers gain a better understanding of how statistics work and how to interpret them correctly. Each chapter describes a different statistical technique, ranging from basic concepts like central tendency and describing distributions to more advanced concepts such as t tests, regression, repeated measures ANOVA, and factor analysis. Each chapter begins with a short description of the statistic ...

This book addresses the challenging task of demand forecasting and inventory management in retailing. It analyzes how information from point-of-sale scanner systems can be used to improve inventory decisions, and develops a data-driven approach that integrates demand forecasting and inventory management for perishable products, while taking unobservable lost sales and substitution into account in out-of-stock situations. Using linear programming, a new inventory function that reflects the ...

As real estate investment trusts continue to grow exponentially in Asia and Europe - being already well established in the USA and Australasia - a comprehensive guide to the issues involved in REIT property investment decision making is badly needed.This book draws together the most recent developments in REIT management from academic research and professional practice. It is based on current, original academic research, including structured interviews with the managers of a wide r...

Credit Risk Management: Basic Concepts is the first book of a series of three with the objective of providing an overview of all aspects, steps, and issues that should be considered when undertaking credit risk management, including the Basel II Capital Accord, which all major banks must comply with in 2008. The introduction of the recently suggested Basel II Capital Accord has raised many issues and concerns about how to appropriately manage credit risk. Managing credit risk is o...

The practices of revenue management and pricing analytics have transformed the transportation and hospitality industries, and are increasingly important in industries as diverse as retail, telecommunications, banking, health care and manufacturing. Segmentation, Revenue Management and Pricing Analytics guides students and professionals on how to identify and exploit revenue management and pricing opportunities in different business contexts.Bodea and Ferguson introduce con...

Computational intelligence, a sub-branch of artificial intelligence, is a field which draws on the natural world and adaptive mechanisms in order to study behaviour in changing complex environments. This book provides an interdisciplinary view of current technological advances and challenges concerning the application of computational intelligence techniques to financial time-series forecasting, trading and investment.The book is divided into five parts. The first part introduces t...

The International Brand Valuation Manual is a detailed and extensive review of the main brand valuation models. The book reveals the state of the art in the field of brand valuation and coherently relates major trends in the theory and practice of brand valuation. This “one-stop” source is for valuation professionals as well as financial and marketing specialists who need to have an understanding of the principal valuation methods. Salinas also analyses the respective efficacy, ad...

Master powerful statistical techniques for uncovering fraud or misrepresentation in complex financial data. The discipline of statistics has developed sophisticated, well-accepted approaches for identifying financial fraud and demonstrating that it is deliberate. Statistical Techniques for Forensic Accounting is the first comprehensive guide to these tools and techniques. Leading expert Dr. Saurav Dutta explains their mathematical underpinnings, shows how to use them prop...

The Global Financial Crisis and the Eurozone crisis that has followed have drawn attention to weaknesses in financial records, information and data. These weaknesses have led to operational risks in financial institutions, flawed bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings following the Crisis, and inadequacies in financial supervisors’ access to records and information for the purposes of a prudential response. Research is needed to identify the practices that will provide the records, informa...

This book provides a comprehensive and up to date treatment of theory and practical implementation in Register-based statistics. It begins by defining the area, before explaining how to structure such systems, as well as detailing alternative approaches. It explains how to create statistical registers, how to implement quality assurance, and the use of IT systems for register-based statistics. Further to this, clear details are given about the practicalities of implementing such statistica...

This in-depth guide provides managers with a solid understanding of data and data trends, the opportunities that it can offer to businesses, and the dangers of these technologies. Written in an accessible style, Steven Finlay provides a contextual roadmap for developing solutions that deliver benefits to organizations.