This paper develops a method based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) for efficiency assessments taking into account the effect of non-discretionary factors. A typology that classifies the non-discretionary factors into two groups is proposed: the factors that characterize the external conditions where the decision making units (DMUs) operate (external factors), and the factors that are interna...

Discretionary models for evaluating the efficiency of suppliers assume that all criteria are discretionary, i.e., controlled by the management of each supplier and varied at its discretion. These models do not assume supplier selection in the conditions that some factors are nondiscretionary. The objective of this paper is to propose a new pair of Nondiscretionary Factors-Imprecise Data Envelop...

BACKGROUND The Health Star Rating (HSR) is an interpretive front-of-pack labelling system that rates the overall nutritional profile of packaged foods. The algorithm underpinning the HSR includes total sugar content as one of the components. This has been criticised because intrinsic sugars naturally present in dairy, fruits, and vegetables are treated the same as sugars added during food proce...

This paper proposes a new resource allocation model which is based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and concerns systems with several homogeneous units operating under supervision of a central unit. The previous studies in DEA literature deal with reallocating/allocating organizational resource to improve performance or maximize the total amount of outputs produced by individual units. In tho...

OBJECTIVE To rank 39 surgical procedures in order of variation of inpatient surgical rates, according to a new index of variation and to test the hypothesis that there is greater variation for primarily discretionary operations than for primarily non-discretionary operations. DESIGN A population-based retrospective cohort study. SETTING Nine provinces (99.19% of Canada's population). PART...

This study examined the role of positive and negative discretionary accrual management in the stock price impact. A sample of 66 firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange was selected for a ten-year period (2008-2017). Accrual management was found to lead to significant changes in stock prices, and uninformed investors incur trading costs caused by the stock price impact. The results showed two key...

The purpose of this paper is to study the suitability of loan loss provision (LLP) of Iranian banks when the industry is dealing with earning management behaviors. This goal has been reached using a two-step approach to analyze the discretionary component of LLP and then examine the relevant factors. This empirical study uses an unbalanced panel data of 15 listed banks during the 2006-2017 peri...

This paper examines how server marketing claims of high reliability (e.g., 99.999%) stack up against real world data measurements. Our goals were to: measure discretionary NFS data availability, compare data availability between standalone and clustered systems, and draw some conclusions about best practices for customers. We explain our methodology for measuring, filtering, and categorizing av...