Professor, Operations
Ph.D., University of Florida, 1994
M.S., University of Florida, 1992
M.A., University of South Carolina, 1990
B.S., University of Patras, 1988
When manufacturers outsource operations to another company, coordination of the chain of production is crucial. George Vairaktarakis’s research studies the behavior of these organizations and how an environment of competition or cooperation affects results. George investigates setting “fair” payments as incentives for cooperation, smart competitive rules that satisfy the companies and promote common interests, the value of information exchange, and the magnitude of production savings due to coordination. George's findings often reduce production costs by 30% while improving service.
Interests
Teaching
Operations Management, Project Management, Lean Operations, International Operations Management, Operations Strategy, Management of Technology, Graph Theory and Combinatiorial Optimization, Production Planning and Control, Quality Management, Business Statistics
Research
Production Chain Coordination, Project Management, Distribution Logistics, Machine Scheduling/Flexible Manufacturing, Workforce Planning, Integer Programming, Network Optimization, Graph Theory, Complexity Theory, Game Theory
Selected Publications
- Vairaktarakis, G. (2013). Non-Cooperative Games in Outsourcing Operations (vol. 15, issue 1, pp. 148-158). Manufacturing & Services Operations Management.
- Cai, X., Vairaktarakis, G. (2012). Coordination of Outsourced Operations at a Third-Party Facility Subject to Booking, Overtime, and Tardiness Costs (vol. 60, issue 6, pp. 1436-1450). Operations Research.
- Emmons, H., Vairaktarakis, G. (2012). In Frederick S. Hillier, Stanford University, A, USA (Ed.), Flowshop Scheduling: Theory, Algorithms, and Managerial Insights (vol. ISOR 182, pp. 334). New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London: International Series in Operations Research & Management Science ISOR 182.
- Aydinliyim, T., Vairaktarakis, G. (2010). Coordination of Outsourced Operations to Minimize Weighted Flow Time and Capacity Booking Costs (vol. 12, issue 2, pp. 236-255). Manufacturing and Service Operations Management.
- Vairaktarakis, G., Hosseini, J. (2008). Forming Partnerships in a Virtual Factory (vol. 161, issue 1, pp. 87-102). Annals of Operations Research.
Presentations
- Vairaktarakis, G. INFORMS 2008, "Teaching Modern Project Management: Strategic Issues", Institute for OR and OM, Washinghton DC. (2008).
Awards
- Teaching Excellence award, Weatherhead School of Management. (2012).


