Media Coverage

Media articles featuring INFORMS members in the news.

Most Recent Media Coverage

Topic

High Debt Load Tough for Union Negotiators

January 4, 2016

Why are unions having a tough time in this country? One reason is that companies are getting leverage. A recent study found that companies with a higher debt load were less likely to experience a strike during contract negotiations, particularly at companies with large unions, worse financial prospects, or underfunded pension plans. Some companies seem to anticipate this and load up on debt before contract negotiations, whereas companies that didn’t do this and experienced a strike subsequently add a ton of debt, particularly if the union won the strike. The debt gives the company a bargaining advantage by limiting how much earnings can be shared with workers vis-à-vis lenders, and often takes the form of stock buybacks, to avoid bringing money into the company.

Myers, B. & Saretto, A., Does Capital Structure Affect the Behavior of Nonfinancial Stakeholders? An Empirical Investigation into Leverage and Union Strikes,” Management Science

Temptation Bundling at the Gym

January 4, 2016

Lack of motivation may also play a large role in the reason why 68.8 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. 

So are we all screwed? Or is there a way to keep motivation consistently flowing?

The key may be a process called “temptation bundling,” according to a study in Management Science

The process pairs two activities—one you should do, but avoid; and one you enjoy, but isn’t necessarily productive, explains lead study author Katherine Milkman, associate professor of Operations, Information, and Decisions at The Wharton School.

2016 Analytics Trends to Watch For

December 28, 2015

My view of the world is shaped by where I stand, but from this spot the future of analytics for 2016 looks pretty exciting! Analytics has never been more needed or interesting.

Healthcare Analytics Trends for the New Year

Analytics continues to bring dramatic change to the healthcare industry in the United States and other countries, offering advances and challenges for the year ahead. Following are 10 trends to chart in 2016.

How to Improve Decision Making in Supply Chains

December 23, 2015

David Simchi-Levi, MIT Professor, INFORMS Fellow and Former Editor-in-Chief of Operations Research (INFORMS Journal) 

The ability to understand a combination of historical behavior, market conditions and future needs drives decision making. New analytic capabilities that combine machine learning and optimization can take into account historical characteristics and competitor behavior to determine future demand that will allow optimization for the best results - such as profit, market share or revenue.

Examples of decisions where this approach can be used is assortment, pricing, sourcing strategies for new products, predictive maintenance using process sensors.

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Artificial Intelligence

Healthcare

Sheldon H. Jacobson and Dr. Janet A. Jokela: Should you be concerned about mpox?

Sheldon H. Jacobson and Dr. Janet A. Jokela: Should you be concerned about mpox?

Chicago Tribune, October 7, 2024

Mpox is spreading across several African countries. The World Health Organization declared mpox a “public health emergency of international concern.” The Democratic Republic of Congo has been hardest hit, though Burundi has also seen a recent surge of cases. To date this year, 36,000 suspected cases have been reported, with more than one-half among children younger than 15 years old. In Burundi alone, two-thirds of the recent cases have been in those younger than 19.

Supply Chain

De-risking global supply chains: Looking beyond material flows

De-risking global supply chains: Looking beyond material flows

Hinrich Foundation, October 29, 2024

Global supply chains are undergoing an irrevocable shift. While material flows remain critical, they are only the most visible aspect of this transition. Beneath the surface, changes in information exchanges, financial reconfigurations, and human capital movements are posing far greater risks to the benefits of global trade. The US, China, and the rest the world must handle these changes with care and perspective.

The Impact of Weather on the Supply Chain

The Impact of Weather on the Supply Chain

Parcel, October 2, 2024

The supply chain for many small parcel shipping companies is typically long. Products are often made in distant lands, travel on oceans and waterways, arrive at ports, are then transported to warehouses, from where a third-party logistics provider delivers the product to its intended destination. In a stable world, shippers and customers alike can expect a product to be delivered within the promised time window. However, in a world facing high levels of uncertainty caused by war, pandemic, political instability, raw material shortages, freak accidents (recall the regional and national impact of the bridge collapse in the Port of Baltimore caused by a container ship), and weather, the shipper must work overtime to ensure customer expectations are met at no additional cost, despite these uncertainties.

Climate