Matching Items (10)
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- All Subjects: healthcare
- All Subjects: Supply Chain Management
- Creators: Department of Economics
Description
P.F. Chang's China Bistro is a privately-held purveyor of Asian fare in the United States and internationally, known largely for its vibrant atmosphere and lettuce wraps. With hundreds of locations and dozens of menu items, procurement, logistics, and coordination of ingredient delivery to P.F. Chang's restaurants is no small task. Despite their difficulty, supply chain operations from suppliers to customers' plates must run efficiently if P.F. Chang's is to maintain customer loyalty, a trusted brand, and profitability. As such, supply chain initiatives that allow for faster, better, or lower-cost operation are valuable investments for P.F. Chang's. In this project, two initiatives focused on increasing visibility along the value chain (with the hope of creating immediate value and easier implementation for future strategies). The first initiative involved stakeholder interviews and academic research to determine evaluation methods for P.F. Chang's suppliers in the form of a scorecard. The second project required extensive data collection from suppliers to isolate and remove excess cost in the inbound logistics of P.F. Chang's inventory. Both initiatives led to incremental improvement at P.F. Changs and the latter provided substantial cost savings. Further investigation and work is likely to yield continued benefits for the company. The increased use of data in all supply chains to guide decision-making will be easier for P.F. Chang's as it manages ongoing visibility efforts. Although process explanation and general outcomes will be reported here, the proprietary nature of P.F. Chang's data precludes full disclosure of the project results in public documentation.
ContributorsBarger, Michael Richard (Author) / Taylor, Todd (Thesis director) / Miller, Steve (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
DescriptionA look at current 3D printing capabilities, and exploring the potential for additive manufacturing to transform the economy in the future.
ContributorsBennewitz, Chase (Co-author) / Paul, John (Co-author) / Parker, Kerry (Co-author) / Maltz, Arnold (Thesis director) / McDowell, John (Committee member) / Fujinami, Chris (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
This thesis focuses on the supply chain of the wine industry from a smaller scale operational perspective. A standard process from converting grapes to wine has been identified and confirmed. The sequential order of harvest, destemmer/crusher, fermentation, press, barrels, bottling, and distribution constitute the main tasks in the red wine conversion process. Variations in production between red and white wines are observed; but, the overall process is roughly the same with white wines switching the fermentation and press steps and eliminating the barrels task. In addition, it is established that supply chain considerations do effect overall quality such as taste, aroma, and smell. The ability to utilize a combination of diverse techniques, such as wooden barrels or stainless steel tanks for aging, is what contributes to the differentiation of each wine and makes it unique. While the production methodology and use of specific materials/inputs will alter the quality of wine, it must be recognized that the majority of wine quality is influenced directly by the grape itself. The use of technology and machinery in the wine making process is investigated and determined to be pivotal to the creation of wine and the survival of any size winery. Technology has facilitated the wine making process and the current creation path could not occur without it. Wine operations will adapt and incorporate new procedures to take advantage of growth in technology as it occurs, especially in automation. The information used to assess the wine supply chain was obtained from an extensive literature review, interviews with industry professionals, and onsite tours of production facilities. Given all the results and data, it is evident that the production of wine can greatly benefit from the use of supply chain practices and concepts. The ability to reduce variation in the process and determine which aspects contribute most to wine quality are vital for small scale winery operations to remain competitive and become successful.
ContributorsClarke, Tanya N (Author) / Oke, Adegoke (Thesis director) / Gopalakrishnan, Mohan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Are there measurable differences between the human capital of the refugee children born inside and outside of the United States? If so, does the amount of time spent abroad before immigrating matter, and can we get an idea of what happens to this gap over time? Looking at the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) 1991-2006, I examine standardized test scores and other indicators of performance of young Indochinese refugees and immigrants. This study finds evidence for a negative correlation between being born abroad and performance in selected metrics at the time of early adolescence. This is extended into a negative relationship between the lengths of time abroad before coming to the United States (age of arrival) and those same metrics. However, this study finds signs that this gap in human capital is at least partly bridged by the time of early adulthood. It remains unclear though, whether this possible catch up is reflected in other early adult outcomes such as household income.
ContributorsWatterson, Christen Brock (Author) / Schoellman, Todd (Thesis director) / Leiva Bertran, Fernando (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Thesis Abstract: Cygnal The healthcare market plays a vital role in how our team worked with innovation space to design a product that fit user needs and could be a sustainable business. Whatever product we design is going to be dictated based off of how the insurance market will pay for it and how much we can charge for our product and services. In fact, the healthcare market is so incredibly unclear with outdated regulations that all of these fraud schemes and inflammatory prices are bound to happen. Stronger government involvement in this instance, I believe would help the issue. In reality, there are so many people taking advantage of the system that you cannot put the blame on anyone exploiting the system. What is clear though, is that they are taking advantage of a system that looks like it was set up to allow them to do so, and in that sense, Medicare is responsible for allowing this market to become warped. The healthcare industry played a vital role in our team for Innovation Space is completing our project. If we do not have a firm understanding on how the insurance market works, how much wheelchair companies are pricing chair components for, and how easily customers can see a financial benefit in switching to our product, it will not survive in the market place. That is why I as the business student am dedicating a lot of time in the final months of our project to make sure that our pricing is accurate, and feasible. The health insurance market, even if it is dysfunctional, will be ultimately paying for our product, and in business if you do not truly know your customer, you are bound to lose him. This paper uncovers why this market is warped and how to do business within it.
ContributorsMefford, Michael James (Author) / Peck, Sidnee (Thesis director) / Boradkar, Prasad (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The purpose of this research was to identify various problems within value analysis teams as well as provide solutions that will help to better align the agents involved in the value analysis process. As healthcare costs continue to rise, and hospital reimbursements fall, value analysis teams will play an even more pivotal role in the success of healthcare organizations. Also, the industry trend toward value-based care is highlighting the importance of these teams. However, interdisciplinary value analysis teams bring to light the underlying agency issue that exists between physicians and hospital administrators, and the general misalignment of values between the participants. In order for these teams to function properly, it is inherent that all of the professionals involved align their incentives. For this study, I studied relevant literature pertaining to value analysis, attended relevant speakers, and then performed interviews with several different professionals involved in healthcare value analysis. I organized and coded this data using the Grounded Theory approach, and was able to identify the underlying issues within these teams. I then created a typology of value analysis teams, based on my respondents, where I segment them into four tiers based on their utilization of data, and their level of physician involvement. Finally, I identified three distinct strategies for developing value analysis teams to implement in order to increase their efficiency and overall success.
ContributorsLindgren, Thomas John (Author) / Schneller, Eugene (Thesis director) / Choi, Thomas (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The primary purpose of this paper is to analyze urgent care centers and explain their role within the U.S. healthcare system. The introduction of urgent care into the market for health care services has brought with it a new way for consumers to receive non-emergent healthcare outside of traditional hours. Urgent care is often cited as a plausible alternative to care received at an emergency department or primary care physician's office. One of the key questions the author attempts to answer is: "To what degree are urgent care centers an economic substitute to emergency departments or physician's offices?" This paper looks at both projected demand from currently operating urgent care centers and consumer preference surveys to estimate the willingness of consumers to use urgent care. The method used to accomplish this task has been compiling scholarly research and data on urgent care centers. After a thorough examination of relevant studies and datasets, urgent care centers have been found to be just as preferred as emergency departments when considering non-emergent cases, specifically among individuals aged 18-44. The clear majority of consumers still prefer visiting a primary care physician over an urgent care center when it comes to episodic care, however. When taking into account wait times, differences in cost, and ease of access, urgent care becomes much more preferred than an emergency department and weakly preferred to a physician's office. There are still some concerns with urgent care, however. Questions of capacity to meet demand, access for underserved communities, and susceptibility to adverse selection have yet to be fully explored.
ContributorsBullington, Robert Heyburn (Author) / Foster, William (Thesis director) / Hill, John (Committee member) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis was to estimate the potential health care cost savings from legalizing a physician assisted suicide (PAS) policy on both a national and individual scale. Given the evolving legal context of PAS paired with the rapidly rising health care costs and aging population in the United States, we hypothesized that implementing a PAS policy on a federal scale would significantly lower healthcare costs. We conducted our analysis using 2 methods: one based on data from the Netherlands and one based on data from Oregon. Overall, we found that while cost savings on a national level are not significant enough to solely justify legalization of PAS, there is a compelling case that legalization of PAS would be a compassionate policy that significantly relieves the financial burden on individuals and their families.
ContributorsJenkins, Kylie (Co-author) / Cunningham, Chloe (Co-author) / Mendez, Jose (Thesis director) / Oberlin, Stephen (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
In this paper, I discuss my findings from The Toyota Way, 2 Second Lean, and Lean Thinking, I present an analysis of my implementation of lean processes for Page Petal, and I recommend a set of lean<br/>philosophies that I found to be successful for e-commerce product-based small businesses. I also focus on how the economy plays an important role in the demand for goods, a major factor in<br/>which lean processes will ultimately be successful. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the value of mindful risk-taking in entrepreneurship and to reveal what was effective with Page Petal in hopes of giving other small businesses insight into how to be successful.
ContributorsWeidemann, Courtney Michelle (Author) / Van Orden, Joseph (Thesis director) / Reffett, Kevin (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
The purpose of this analysis is to determine the economic impact that the distribution of the SolarSPELL digital library system to Peace Corps volunteers in Vanuatu will have on the citizens of Vanuatu by quantifying the potential for SolarSPELL and its health education content to reduce rates of certain illnesses and thereby reduce the demands on the Vanuatu healthcare system. The research was carried out by researching the most prominent non-communicable diseases in Vanuatu that could be affected by lifestyle changes as a result of exposure to the health education content on the SolarSPELL and determining the expected changes in rates of each non-communicable disease as well as the expected changes in the individual and hospital costs, the loss of income due to missed work, transport costs within Vanuatu, and international medical evacuation costs. Ultimately, these costs were collectively reduced by approximately 2.046% due to SolarSPELL intervention, a reduction of approximately $7,000. However, given the limited scope of available information within the healthcare system of Vanuatu, it can be inferred that the impact of the distribution of the SolarSPELL is likely significantly larger. Consequently, it is recommended that the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, the SolarSPELL team, and the Peace Corps implement policies to increase the volume of healthcare data collected in Vanuatu in order to assist in future analyses of the healthcare system.
ContributorsErspamer, Brett Thomas (Author) / Ross, Heather (Thesis director) / Silverman, Daniel (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05