Operations Research: An Introduction

This eighth edition streamlines the presentation of text material, providing a balanced coverage of the theory, applications, and computations of operations research. Complex mathematical concepts are explained by means of carefully designed examples. Practical applications are presented using multitudes of examples, targeted problems, fully developed case analyses, and case studies, all borrowed from situations published in the literature. Computations are supported throughout the text both at the commercial level (using AMPL, Solver, and Excel) and at the tutorial level (using the popular and user-friendly TORA TM ).

New Text Material:

· Chapter 2 is dedicated entirely to formulating linear programming models, with new applications in urban renewal, currency arbitrage, investments, production planning, and blending. New end-of-section problems deal with topics ranging from water quality management and traffic control to warfare.
· Chapter 3 presents the general LP sensitivity analysis, including dual prices and reduced costs, as a direct extension of the simplex tableau computations.
· Chapter 4 is now dedicated to LP post-optimal analysis based on duality.
· A combined nearest neighbor-reversal heuristic (with generic Excel implementation) is presented for the traveling salesperson problem in Chapter 9.
· Markov chains treatment has been expanded into a new Chapter 17.
· The totally new Chapter 24 on the CD presents 15 fully developed real-life applications with summaries given in pertinent chapters. The analysis, which often cuts across more than one OR technique (e.g., heuristics and LP, or ILP and queuing), deals with the modeling, data collection, and computational aspects of solving the problem (CD-ROM only).
· The new Appendix E on the CD includes approximately 50 mini cases of real-life situations.
· More than 1000 end-of-section problem are included in the book.
· Each chapter starts with a guide that facilitates the understanding of the material and the effective use of the accompanying software.
· All computer-related material has been deliberately compartmentalized in subsections to minimize disruptions in the main presentation of the book.


New Software Implementations:

· AMPL, the widely-used commercial modeling language, is integrated throughout the book with examples from linear/nonlinear/integer programming and networks. The examples also demonstrate AMPL's superior interactive capabilities for model experimentation.
· To facilitate learning the language, AMPL's full syntax is given in Appendix A and cross-referenced in the book examples.
· Excel spreadsheet implementations include dynamic programming, traveling salesperson, inventory, AHP, Bayes' probabilities, "electronic" statistical tables, queuing, simulation, Markov chains, and nonlinear programming. Interactive user input in some spreadsheets is designed to promote better understanding of the underlying techniques.
· The use of Excel Solver has been expanded, particularly in the areas of linear, network, integer, and nonlinear programming.
· TORA continues to play the key role of tutorial software.

On the CD-ROM

· AMPL language (student version) with numerous fully developed models.
· TORA, the updated and easy-to-use tutorial optimization system.
· Numerous fully-developed AMPL models.
· General ready-to-use Excel spreadsheet templates.
· Numerous fully-developed Excel Solver models.
· Four supplemental chapters and two appendixes.

Major revision is designed to meet the needs of beginning through advanced students with an emphasis placed on the formulation and applications aspects. Provides balanced coverage of theory, applications and computations of operations research techniques. Numerical examples are main vehicle for explaining new ideas with each numeric example followed by a set of problems. TORA and SIMNET software included in text. More than 1,000 problems.