Research On Mechanism And Application Of The Law Of Trade-offs In A Duality Time Perspective

The duality of time is a fire-new perspective. On this primitive perspective, we ex-plore and research three levels of issues in operations strategy. This dissertation makes the contributions in the following aspects.Firstly, by analyzing the theories of Thomas Kuhn as tools and considering arisen behavioral operations for break-through point, we intrduced the holographic paradigm on the duality of time perspective, which is a metaparadigm of unity of oppositeness such as, reductionism and holism, mechanism and organicism, objective positivist-empiricism and subjective humanism, and determinacy and nondeterminacy.Secondly, based on the holographic paradigm, we analyzed the mechanism of the law of trade-offs. Our research made clarifications on some important issues pertaining to the trade-offs controversy. We proposed that (1) competitive priorities and cumulative capabilities are of two distinct types in operations strategy model, so, they need different kind of trade-offs models, respectively. (2)A new theory of performance frontiers is in-troduced to interpret and predict the first order trade-offs in connection with static com-petitive capabilities, which embody competitive advantages in a strategic groups.(3) The theory of time performance frontiers is introduced to interpret and predict the second order trade-offs in connection with dynamic competitive priorities, which reflect im-provement capability or rare evolutionary capability and embody sustained competitive advantages in a industry.(4)The mechanism of the law of trade-offs is constituted by the interactions of the theory of performance frontiers and the theory of time performance frontiers that unite while keeping the differences.(5)In judgement of the relative impor-tance of time performence and cost performance, we try to determine the direction of improving competitive priorities in a heuristic way.Finally, considering a firm where demand is sensitive to delivery lead time and price and whose product competes with the alternative products in the market, we de-velop a model that integrates pricing and delivery lead time decisions constrained by capacity expansion cost. Under the law of trade-offs, we propose the optimal solutions with delivery lead time as the leader and price as the leader, respectively. It is shown that the optimal price represent a bigger increase with the reduction of delivery lead time, while the optimal delivery lead time is inversely proportional to the square root of price. Our analysis highlights the validity of the law of trade-offs, as well as the helpful results for decision-makers.In this dissertation, the holographic paradigm, on the duality of time perspective, reestablished the positioning of management philosophy and made management sciences with new characteristics of epistemology, methodology and axiology.