Operations research (also referred to as decision science, or management science) is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations. In contrast, many other science & engineering disciplines focus on technology giving secondary considerations to its use.
Employing techniques from other mathematical sciences – such as mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and mathematical optimization – operations research arrives at optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems. Because of its emphasis on human-technology interaction and because of its focus on practical applications, operations research has overlap with other disciplines, notably industrial engineering and operations management, and draws on psychology and organization science. Operations Research is often concerned with determining the maximum (of profit, performance, or yield) or minimum (of loss, risk, or cost) of some real-world objective. Originating in military efforts before World War II, its techniques have grown to concern problems in a variety of industries.
Problems of operational research
- critical path analysis or project planning: identifying those processes in a complex project which affect the overall duration of the project
- floorplanning: designing the layout of equipment in a factory or components on a computer chip to reduce manufacturing time (therefore reducing cost)
- network optimization: for instance, setup of telecommunications networks to maintain quality of service during outages
- Allocation problems
- Facility location
- Assignment Problems:
- Assignment problem
- Generalized assignment problem
- Quadratic assignment problem
- Weapon target assignment problem
- Bayesian search theory : looking for a target
- optimal search
- routing, such as determining the routes of buses so that as few buses are needed as possible
- supply chain management: managing the flow of raw materials and products based on uncertain demand for the finished products
- efficient messaging and customer response tactics
- automation: automating or integrating robotic systems in human-driven operations processes
- globalization: globalizing operations processes in order to take advantage of cheaper materials, labor, land or other productivity inputs
- transportation: managing freight transportation and delivery systems (Examples: LTL Shipping, intermodal freight transport)
- scheduling:
- personnel staffing
- manufacturing steps
- project tasks
- network data traffic: these are known as queueing models or queueing systems.
- sports events and their television coverage
- blending of raw materials in oil refineries
- determining optimal prices, in many retail and B2B settings, within the disciplines of pricing science
Operational research is also used extensively in government where evidence-based policy is used.
Techniques
- Data mining
- Decision analysis
- Engineering
- Forecasting
- Game theory
- Industrial engineering
- Logistics
- Mathematical modeling
- Mathematical optimization
- Probability and statistics
- Project management
- Simulation
- Social network/Transportation forecasting models
- Supply chain management
- Financial engineering
Applications of management science
Applications of management science are abundant in industry as airlines, manufacturing companies, service organizations, military branches, and in government. The range of problems and issues to which management science has contributed insights and solutions is vast. It includes:
- scheduling airlines, including both planes and crew,
- deciding the appropriate place to site new facilities such as a warehouse, factory or fire station,
- managing the flow of water from reservoirs,
- identifying possible future development paths for parts of the telecommunications industry,
- establishing the information needs and appropriate systems to supply them within the health service, and
- identifying and understanding the strategies adopted by companies for their information systems
Management science is also concerned with so-called ”soft-operational analysis”, which concerns methods for strategic planning, strategic decision support, and Problem Structuring Methods (PSM). In dealing with these sorts of challenges mathematical modeling and simulation are not appropriate or will not suffice. Therefore, during the past 30 years, a number of non-quantified modeling methods have been developed. These include:
- stakeholder based approaches including metagame analysis and drama theory
- morphological analysis and various forms of influence diagrams.
- approaches using cognitive mapping
- the Strategic Choice Approach
- robustness analysis
- Journals
- Decision Analysis
- Information Systems Research
- INFORMS Journal on Computing
- INFORMS Transactions on Education (an open access journal)
- Interfaces: An International Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
- Management Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
- Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
- Marketing Science
- Mathematics of Operations Research
- Operations Research: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
- Organization Science
- Transportation Science.
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