Schaum's Outline of Theory and Problems of Operations Research

Good short review of the subject. A bit too terse and lacking in a clear thread of examples in places.

Very good classical book for operational research. I would like to find informations about value of information using markov chains and linear programing.

Some of the primary tools used by operations researchers are statistics, optimization, stochastics, queueing theory, game theory, graph theory, and simulation. Because of the computational nature of these fields operations research also has ties to computer science, and thus this outline is useful to people from both fields. OR is concerned with optimization problems in which one seeks to maximize or minimize a specific quantity. The first part of this book is on optimization via linear, integer, and nonlinear programming. Next, network analysis is covered. Network analysis is the general name given to certain specific techniques which can be used for the planning, management and control of projects. Two different techniques for network analysis were developed independently in the late 1950's - PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) and CPM (Critical Path Management). These techniques are also covered in the outline. The next subject tackled is that of inventory models - allowing shortages, allowing price discounts, risk conditions, etc., and their mathematical modeling. Game theory, decision theory, and dynamic programming are all explained in the context of inventory models and forecasting. Finally, there is coverage of Markov chains and queueing theory. Queuing Theory arises from the use of mathematical analysis to theoretically describe production processes along with statistical/probabilistic techniques to account for varying dynamic patterns within the stages of a productive process. The problem to be met is simply entitled "congestion", what happens when a system does not operate smoothly or efficiently. I really liked this Schaum's outline, and I used it to teach myself most of the mathematical processes covered without the need for any additional resources. The theory is given in small doses along with very illustrative examples. The mathematics starts with simple algebra and works up to nothing more complex than probability and statistics. I highly recommend it for anybody enrolled in an operations research class as well as computer scientists and mathematics students that are studying any subset of the topics covered in this book.

i found this book to be a very helpfull tool a long with my text book.it excels in its simplicity and a wide varity of examples and solved problems written in plain english.hope you like it too.thank you.M. Madain.