used to apply the organizational perspective to practical inventory control problems。

3。An integrated framework

The employment of the organizational perspective on inventory control in practice can be facilitated by means of the framework presented in Fig。 2。 The framework displays a way of approaching practical inventory control problems。It is based on a basic control loop to represent the underlying problem-solving process。 In general,the starting point for a problem-solving process is an inventory system that  performs below pre-set standards。 In many cases, these pre-set standards are defined in terms of costs。 Some examples of costs associated with the ‘ performance ’ of inventory systems are storing costs, stock-out costs,ordering costs and costs due to obsolescence。 The performance of an inventory system refers, however,not only to well-defined cost criteria。Actually, the main purpose of inventory management is to facilitate the smoothing between supply and demand。 So any symptom indicating a  lack  of harmony between supply and demand may refer to a poor performance of  the inventory system。 Examples of some of these symptoms are instabilities in the (production) planning process,the existence of numerous rush orders and inefficient operation of production facilities。 In many cases a deviating performance of the inventory system will activate a diagnosis of the inventory situation in which several aspects regarding inventory control are investigated (cf。Fig。 2)。 The outcome of this diagnosis then serves as input for the construction of a redesign of the inventory system。

Within this framework, there are a few guidelines for the diagnosis and redesign phase following from the application of the organizational perspective on inventory control。 To begin with, applying the organizational perspective on inventory control in a problem-solving process partly determines the structuring of the diagnosis phase of the process。 The objective of this phase is to achieve a clear insight in the inventory situation under consideration and a thorough understanding of the cause(s) of the inventory control problem。 To that end, the inventory system needs to be  described and analyzed。 With regard to describing an inventory system it is important to obtain a论文网

comprehensive description of the inventory system。 The end result should contain detailed descriptions of both traditional aspects of inventory control and aspects from the organizational context of the inventory system。 This is to ensure a large amount of factors that might play a part in the inventory control problem are included in the description。Therefore, the first guideline of applying the organizational perspective on inventory control in practice regards describing an inventory system by paying attention to each of the five dimensions that have been identified to play a part in inventory control。 The table in Fig。 3 can be a useful tool to do so。 The table presents an elaboration of traditional aspects, the allocation of tasks, decision-making processes, communication processes and behavior regarding inventory control。 Each dimension is pided into relevant aspects and their characteristics。 Although the list of characteristics is by no means meant to be exhaustive, it is composed in such a way that it will lead to a fairly complete insight in an inventory situation。

The second guideline of applying the organizational perspective on inventory control in practice regards analyzing an inventory system。 When trying to determine causes for an inventory control problem, all five dimensions should be taken into account。 It is important to begin with analyzing each of the five dimensions separately and subsequently focus on analyzing the coherence between the dimensions。 This implies that firstly for each of the dimensions it is investigated in what ways it contributes to the inventory control problem。 The table in Fig。 3 can provide starting points for identifying possible causes。 This part of the analysis might reveal for instance that an inappropriate replenishment strategy is applied or that communication systems are not functioning properly。 Secondly, the findings from every dimension are integrated to determine how the dimensions relate to each other。 For example, malfunctioning communication systems might cause the inappropriate replenishment strategy。In addition, the malfunctioning communication systems might be the result of an inappropriate allocation of tasks。 Doing so, it will become clear what causes the inventory control problem from an organizational perspective。