Operations Research: An Introduction

For junior/senior undergraduate and first-year graduate courses in Operations Research in departments of Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, Statistics, Computer Science, and Mathematics.

 

Operations Research provides a broad focus on algorithmic and practical implementation of Operations Research (OR) techniques, using theory, applications, and computations to teach students OR basics. The book can be used conveniently in a survey course that encompasses all the major tools of operations research, or in two separate courses on deterministic and probabilistic decision-making.

 

With the Tenth Edition, the author preserves classical algorithms by providing essential hand computational algorithms as an important part of OR history. Based on input and submissions from OR students, professors, and practitioners, the author also includes scenarios that show how classical algorithms can be beneficial in practice. These entries are included asAha! Moments with each dealing with stories, anecdotes, and issues in OR theory, applications, computations, and teaching methodology that can advance the understanding of fundamental OR concepts.

 

The Companion Website for Operations Research,  10/e (www.pearsonhighered.com/taha) provides valuable resources for both students and instructors. Resources include case studies that require students to employ OR tools from multiple chapters, Excel, TORA, and AMPL files as well as additional chapters and appendixes. A note about accessing the Companion Website:

• Instructors should click the “Register” link and follow the on-screen directions to access the site. Instructors need a Pearson Education account to register, but do not require an additional Access Code.
• Students can access the Companion Website by redeeming the Access Code included in the front of their new copy ofOperations Research,  10/e. Students can also purchase Companion Website access online.

 

The Instructor Resource Center contains the Solutions Manual and PowerPoints of the art from the book. Instructors can download these resources from www.pearsonhighered.com/irc

Operations Research: An Introduction

 

Eighth Edition

 

Hamdy A. Taha

 

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™).

 

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.

 

Pearson Prentice Hall

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

 

www.prenhall.com

 

ISBN: 0-13-188923-0