Operations Research Theory and Application

Operations Research (OR), which began as an interdisciplinary activity to solve complex problems in the military during World War II, has grown in the last 50 years to a full-fledged academic discipline. Now OR is viewed as a body of established mathematical models and methods to solve complex management problems. OR provides a quantitative analysis of the problem from which management can make an objective decision. OR has drawn upon skills from mathematics, engineering, business, computer science, economics, and statistics to contribute to a wide variety of applications in business, industry, government, and military. Operations Research and Management Science (OR/MS) methodologies and their applications continue to grow and flourish in a number of decision-making fields.The objective of this handbook is to provide a comprehensive overview of OR/MS models, methods, and applications in a single volume. The handbook is not an OR textbook or a research monograph. The intent is that the handbook becomes the first resource a practitioner would reach for when faced with an OR/MS problem or question.