Written for a wide-range of mathematical abilities, this comprehensive, accessible overview emphasizes the conceptual aspects of decision-making rather than mathematical techniques or computer methods. Structured around a clear framework, the text first builds up the basic ideas of systems and shows how hard "OR" incorporates these concepts into its modeling process. It also incorporates important real-world aspects such as time, decision-making over time, constraints, uncertainty and multiple objectives into this framework, and shows how conflicts and ambiguities of world views lead to fundamental changes in the aims and models of decision-making approaches.
Hans Daellenbach worked for several years as an operations researcher for Standard Oil of California after gaining his PhD. He taught at the Universities of California and Washington before joining the University of Canterbury where he introduced Operations Research as a separate discipline. He launched the Canterbury MBA Program more than twenty-five years ago, and served as its first director.
Donald McNickle is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand