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Performance Assessment
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Research Overview |
| There
has been an increasing emphasis on measuring and comparing the
efficiency of organizational units due to the growing competition
and globalization. Performance assessment is the key to progress
in any organization. In order to be competitive, improving productivity
is a vital issue. One of the major industries in Canada which
has a significant impact in our economy and especially that of
British Columbia is the wood industry. Therefore, measuring efficiency
and competitiveness of firms in the wood products and other related
sectors and improving it, is essential and will have a great influence
in British Columbia’s and Canada’s economy.
The
focus of our research is to measure and improve efficiency in
the primary and secondary wood products industry. This will allow
firms to benchmark themselves in the global economy, help them
to allocate their resources -capital and labor- in the most efficient
manner, and show them how to improve their efficiency by indicating
practical targets for them.
Different
techniques, parametric and non-parametric, have been used to evaluate
and manage productivity. Our focus is on Data Envelopment Analysis
(DEA), which is a powerful and relatively new technique in productivity
management. The intention of this research group is to enhance
the DEA method and apply it in the wood industry.
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DEA - Data Envelopment Analysis |
| DEA
is a linear programming based technique for measuring the relative
efficiency of organizational units which has received significant
attention in recent years due to its advantages over traditional
methods. DEA produces a single score for each unit, which makes
the comparison easy. It is based on peer group comparison in which
efficient units will form the efficient frontier and inefficient
units will be enveloped by this frontier. Unlike ratios, DEA can
accommodate multiple inputs and multiple outputs. These inputs
and outputs can be expressed in different units of measurement.
In
contrast to regression methods, DEA focuses on individual observations
and optimizes the performance measure of each unit. A priori knowledge
of weights or prices for inputs and outputs is not required in
DEA; however, managerial judgment can be accommodated when desired.
Another
advantage of DEA that attracts analysts and management is its
ability to identify the potential improvement for inefficient
units. For units enveloped by the frontier, the inefficient units,
DEA compares the unit with a convex combination of units located
on the frontier and enables the analyst to indicate the sources
and the level of inefficiency for each of its inputs and outputs.
The indicated targets, which are shown to the inefficient units
as models, are their actual peer units, therefore the results
are more likely to be accepted by the managers of these units.
DEA advantages resulted in the widespread application of this
technique in over 50 industries.
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Current Projects |
- EFFICIENCY
CHANGES IN THE CANADIAN WOOD INDUSTRY OVER TIME
- Research
team: Taraneh Sowlati, Neda Salehirad
- Status:
completed
DEA DYNAMIC ANALYSIS
EFFICIENCY STUDIES OF BC SAWMILLS USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS
MUTUAL FUND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS
A NEW METHOD FOR RANKING EFFICIENT UNITS IN DATA ENVELOPMENT
ANALYSIS
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Selected Publications |
| Marinescu, M.V., T. Sowlati, and T.C. Maness. 2005. The development of a timber allocation model using data envelopment analysis. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. Vol 35, Nbr. 10, pp. 2304-2315
Sowlati,
T., Paradi, J.C. Establishing the Practical Frontier in Data
Envelopment Analysis. Omega – International
Journal of Management Science. In press
Sowlati, T. Efficiency Studies in Forestry using Data Envelopment
Analysis. Forest Products Journal. Accepted in December 2003
Sowlati, T. 2003. Compress data to compete: Is Data Envelopment
Analysis the answer? Woodworking Magazine. 17(2):31 Sowlati, T. 2002. Efficiency Improvement in the Canadian Wood
Industry. Branch Lines. 13(1):2
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Selected Presentations |
Salehirad,
N. 2003. Efficiency Measurement in Wood Industry. Presented
at the 45th annual conference of the Canadian Operational
Research Society, Vancouver, Canada.
Click
here for .pdf file
Sowlati,
T., Maness, T.C., Marinescu, M.V. 2002. Allocation of Forest Tracks
amongst Different Sawmills using DEA. Canadian Operational Research
Society Conference, Toronto, Canada, June 3-5, 2002
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