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Origin:-
The ambiguous (unclear) term operations research (O.R.) was
coined during World War II, when the British military management
called upon a group of scientists together to apply a scientific
approach in the study of military operations to win the battle. The
main objective was to allocate limited resources in an effective
manner to various military operations and to the activities within
each operation. The effectiveness of operations research in
military, increases interest in it to other government departments
and industry.
OR Model:-
An OR model is image of an actual project or solution. It shows
the relationships and the interrelationship of action and reaction
in terms of cause and effect.
APPLICATIONS OF OPERATIONS
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES IN
INDUSTRY
Operations research plays an increasingly important role in both
the public and private sectors. Operations research addresses a
wide variety of issues in transportation, inventory planning,
production planning, crew planning, communication network
design and operation, computer operations, financial assets and
risk management, revenue management, market clearing and
many other topics that aim to improve business productivity.
3. Construct a Model
• A mathematical model is a collection of functional
relationships by which allowable actions are delimited and
evaluated. Although the analyst would hope to study the broad
implications of the problem using a systems Approach, a
model cannot include every aspect of a situation.
• A model is always an abstraction that is, by necessity,
simpler than the Reality.
4. Find a Solution
• The next step in the process is to solve the model to obtain
a solution to the problem. It is generally true that the most
powerful solution methods can be applied to the simplest, or
most abstract, model.
• Some methods can prescribe optimal solutions while other only
evaluate candidates, thus requiring a trial and error approach to
finding an acceptable course of action.
• Of course, the solution provided by the computer is only a
proposal. An analysis does not promise a solution but only
guidance to the Decision maker.
• Choosing a solution to implement is the Responsibility of the
decision maker and not the Analyst. The decision maker may
modify the solution to incorporate practical or intangible
considerations not reflected in the model.
The OR Process
• Combining the steps we obtain the complete OR process.
• In practice, the process may not be well defined and the steps
may not be executed in a strict order. Rather there are many
loops in the process, with experimentation and observation at
each step suggesting modifications to decisions made earlier.
• The process rarely terminates with all the loose ends tied up.
Work continues after a solution is proposed and implemented.
For Example:
Linear Programming:-
{Linear and programming} The word linear refers to linear
relationship among variables in model. Thus a given change in
one variable will always cause a resulting proportional change in
resulting variable.
Example: (If we double the investment on a project than we will
surely get double the rate of return.)
The word programming refers to modeling and solving a problem
mathematically that involves the economic allocation of limited
resources by choosing a particular course of action or strategy
among various alternative strategies to achieve the desired
objective.
General structure of LP model:-
General structure of LP model consist three elements
⋅ Decision activities
⋅ Objective function
⋅ Constraints
Advantages of linear programming:-
The linear programming technique helps to make the best
possible use of available productive resources (such as time,
labor, machines etc.)
In a production process, bottle necks may occur. For example, in
a factory some machines may be in great demand while others
may lie idle for some time. A significant advantage of linear
programming is highlighting of such bottle necks.
Limitations of Linear Programming:-
Linear programming is applicable only to problems where the
constraints and objective function are linear. When constraints or
objective functions are not linear, this technique cannot be used
Factors such as uncertainty, weather conditions etc. are not taken
into consideration.
Linear programming requires that all the mathematical functions
in the model be linear functions.
Mathematical programming is used to find the optimal (best)
solution to a problem that requires a decision or set of decisions
about how best to use a set of limited resources to achieve a
state goal of objectives.
Application of Linear Programming Problem:-
Linear Programming Problem (L.P.P) is widely used in
Portfolio selection
Financial mix strategy
Profit planning
Manpower planning
Media selection problem
Job Allocation
Traveling salesman problem
Make or buy problem