PurposeThis paper seeks to develop a model for the assignment of employees to workplaces. Assignment methods are of high relevance in practice because employees should be assigned to workplaces according to their competences and preferences to ensure that motivated employees carry out tasks effectively and efficiently.Design/methodology/approachTwo goal programming models are introduced with inputs and valuations using the analytic hierarchy process.FindingsThe two goal programming models for the assignment of employees to workplaces, which take into account both employee competences and preferences as well as workplace competence requirements and attributes, seem to be effective in helping to arrive at an optimal assignment decision.Research limitations/implicationsIn practice, one major problem is that the input data for the goal programming models are not updated regularly. Thus, the documentation of the competence profiles and the preferences of the employees might be out of date or incomplete.Originality/valueThe development of the two goal programming models which could be applied immediately in practical competence management is what makes the work valuable and addresses a gap in the modelling of personnel assignment methodologies.

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Purpose -The paper seeks to show pitfalls in the application of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to efficiency analysis and performance measurement as well as ways to steer clear of these pitfalls. Design/methodology/approach -The paper outlines guidelines for avoiding pitfalls in the application of the AHP to efficiency analysis and performance measurement. Findings -The pitfalls discussed in the paper can be understood as a type of critical reflection of best practice, since they stem from the experiences of the application of the AHP in the area of efficiency analysis and performance measurement.Research limitations/implications -The pitfalls discussed are based on a limited number of projects covering only a few industries. Further work may be required to test the general validity of these findings. Practical implications -The ways to steer clear of these pitfalls can guide a decision maker to a proper application of the AHP in the area of efficiency analysis and performance measurement. Originality/value -The paper goes beyond the multi criteria decision-making literature where only general criticism of the AHP is found and the area of efficiency analysis and performance measurement is neglected.

In efficiency analyses it is being regularly insinuated that it is desirable to realize a maximum ratio between the produced outputs and the used inputs. According to the concept of satisficing, however, activities can be assumed to be satisfactory if they meet a specific aspiration level. The concept of satisficing has been incorporated into efficiency analysis techniques through satisficing levels. In this paper, benefits and risks are being discussed that result from considering satisficing levels in efficiency analyses from the perspective of Corporate Social Responsibility.

To date, there are only few works in the strategic management literature considering sustainable development as
well as competitive strategies. The contribution extends existing work by a systematic analysis on the
compatibility of activities for sustainable development and competitive strategies in the food industry. Activities
for sustainable development are categorized according to the two dimensions of “effects on costs in the long
term” and “effects on food product quality”. The purpose of this contribution is to theoretically examine the
compatibility of activities for sustainable development and competitive strategies in order to derive practical
guidance for strategy executives in the food industry. Michael E. Porter’s concept of generic competitive
strategies as well as the idea of hybrid strategies are applied to systematically analyze the compatibility.
Furthermore, it is revealed that there is presently a lack of empirical findings regarding the potential success of
hybrid strategies in the food industry within the context of sustainable development. The contribution provides
guidance on choosing generic competitive strategies and appropriate supporting activities within the context of
sustainable development. It is shown that companies in the food industry who follow the idea of sustainable
development uncompromisingly will often have problems to successfully establish the competitive strategy of
cost leadership

The concept of sufficiency is rarely acknowledged in mainstream business economics and has not been addressed so far in the literature on efficiency analysis. In this paper, satisficing levels as known from the Efficiency Analysis Technique With Output Satisficing (EATWOS) and from its extension Efficiency Analysis Technique With Input and Output Satisficing (EATWIOS) are suggested to operationalize sufficiency in efficiency analysis. Moreover, a simple data transformation approach is proposed in order to use satisficing levels in other efficiency analysis techniques, particularly in the widely used Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Contribution/Originality:This paper contributes to the literature on efficiency analysis and to the literature on sustainable development. Its primary contribution is to operationalize sufficiency in efficiency analysis by utilizing the concept of satisficing levels. INTRODUCTIONThe concept of sufficiency introduced by Frankfurt (1987) into the field of practical philosophy has been discussed by several philosophers (e.g.

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