Operations Research aims to publish high-quality papers that represent the true breadth of the

methodologies and applications that define our field. It serves the entire Operations Research
community including practitioners, researchers, educators, and students. In that respect, the
papers that appear in the journal must satisfy three essential requirements: operations-focused,
scientific, and broad.

What Operations Research Is

In a nutshell, operations research (O.R.) is the discipline of applying advanced analytical
methods to help make better decisions.

By using techniques such as mathematical modeling to analyze complex situations,

operations research gives executives the power to make more effective decisions and build
more productive systems based on:
More complete data

Consideration of all available options

Careful predictions of outcomes and estimates of risk

The latest decision tools and techniques

A uniquely powerful approach to decision making
Youve probably seen dozens of articles and ads about solutions that claim to enhance your
decision-making capabilities.

O.R. is unique. It's best of breed, employing highly developed methods practiced by
specially trained professionals. Its powerful, using advanced tools and technologies to
provide analytical power that no ordinary software or spreadsheet can deliver out of the
box. And its tailored to you, because an O.R. professional offers you the ability to define
your specific challenge in ways that make the most of your data and uncover your most
beneficial options.

To achieve these results, O.R. professionals draw upon the latest analytical technologies,
including:
Simulation Giving you the ability to try out approaches and test ideas for
improvement
Optimization Narrowing your choices to the very best when there are virtually
innumerable feasible options and comparing them is difficult
Probability and Statistics Helping you measure risk, mine data to find valuable
connections and insights, test conclusions, and make reliable forecasts
Already at work around you
O.R. has enhanced organizations and experiences all around us. From better scheduling of
airline crews to the design of waiting lines at Disney theme parks. From two-person start-
ups to Fortune 500leaders. From global resource planning decisions to optimizing hundreds
of local delivery routes. All benefit directly from O.R. Shouldn't you?

What is Operations Research?

Operations Research (OR) applies scientific method to the management of organized systems in
business, industry, government and other enterprises. OR is regularly applied in areas such as:

supply chain management

marketing and revenue management systems
manufacturing plants
financial engineering
telecommunication networks
healthcare management
transportation networks
energy and the environment
service systems
web commerce
military defense
Typically, applications of OR in these and other areas deal with decisions involved in planning the
efficient allocation of scarce resources - such as material, skilled workers, machines, money and
time - to achieve stated goals and objectives under conditions of uncertainty and over a span of
time. Efficient allocation of resources may entail establishing policies, designing processes, or
relocating assets. OR analysts solve such management decision problems with an array of
mathematical methodologies.

To do this, OR professionals first represent the system in mathematical form. Rather than using trial
and error on the system itself, they build an algebraic or computational model of the system and then
manipulate or solve the model, using computers, to come up with the best decisions. Often
motivated by new decision problems, OR researchers work to improve and expand the applicable
methodologies.

As OR professionals strive to construct models that accurately represent and forecast relationships,
they may use statistical analysis. The system may be characterized by uncertainty and risk and so
require use of probability analysis. Finding an efficient allocation of resources may employ
optimization techniques that can deal with huge numbers of interrelated variables and constraints.
For many complex systems, the implications of a particular resource allocation strategy may only be
understood by building a computer simulation of the system and testing an array of strategies
against it. Evaluating allocation strategies often requires an understanding of accounting and
managerial finance.

Operations Research is known by different names in different organizations: Analytics, Systems

Analysis and Management Science among them. Related fields include Operations Management,
Industrial Engineering, and Systems Engineering (OR tends to have a broader and more
mathematical scope than these fields). Information lies at the core of what OR analysts do: they
collect, synthesize, and work with information, and use information systems as a source of data and
a means of implementing solutions. For this reason, Cornells School of OR&IE has changed the I
in their name, from Industrial to Information, to become the School of Operations Research and
Information Engineering.

Application of mathematical (quantitative) techniques to decision making. In OR, a problem is first

clearly defined and represented (modeled) as a set of mathematical equations. It is then subjected to
rigorous computer analysis to yield a solution (or a better solution) which is tested and re-tested
against real-life situations until an optimum solution is found. OR applies different approaches to
different types of problems: dynamic programming, linear programming, and critical path method are
used in handling complex information in allocation of resources, inventory control, and in determining
economic reorder quantity; forecasting and simulation techniques such as Monte Carlo method are
used in situations of high uncertainty such as market trends, next period's sales revenue, and traffic
patterns.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/operations-research-OR.html

operations research (OR)

Operations research (OR) is an analytical method of problem-solving and
decision-making that is useful in the management of organizations. In
operations research, problems are broken down into basic components and
then solved in defined steps by mathematical analysis.

Operational research (OR) encompasses a wide range of problem-solving techniques and methods
applied in the pursuit of improved decision-making and efficiency, such as simulation, mathematical
optimization, queueing theory and other stochastic-process models, Markov decision
processes, econometric methods, data envelopment analysis, neural networks, expert
systems, decision analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process.[5] Nearly all of these techniques
involve the construction of mathematical models that attempt to describe the system. Because of the
computational and statistical nature of most of these fields, OR also has strong ties to computer
science and analytics. Operational researchers faced with a new problem must determine which of
these techniques are most appropriate given the nature of the system, the goals for improvement,
and constraints on time and computing power.

The major subdisciplines in modern operational research, as identified by the journal Operations
Research,[6] are:

Computing and information technologies

Financial engineering

Manufacturing, service sciences, and supply chain management

Policy modeling and public sector work

Revenue management

Simulation

Stochastic models

Transportation

What is Operations Research?

Operations Research (O.R.), or operational research in the U.K, is a discipline that deals with the
application of advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions. The terms management
science and analytics are sometimes used as synonyms for operations research.

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.

Operations research overlaps with other disciplines, notably industrial engineering and operations
management. It is often concerned with determining a maximum (such as profit, performance, or
yield) or minimum (such as loss, risk, or cost.)

Operations research encompasses a wide range of problem-solving techniques and methods applied in
the pursuit of improved decision-making and efficiency, such as simulation, mathematical
optimization, queuing theory, Markov decision processes, economic methods, data analysis, statistics,
 neural networks, expert systems, and decision analysis. Nearly all of these techniques involve the
construction of mathematical models that attempt to describe the system.

Because of the computational and statistical nature of most of these fields, O.R. also has strong ties to
computer science. Operations researchers faced with a new problem must determine which of these
techniques are most appropriate given the nature of the system, the goals for improvement, and
constraints on time and computing power.

Applications of management science are abundant in industry such 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, both planes and crew,

deciding the appropriate place to place new facilities such as a warehouse or factory,
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.

What is Operational Research?

Operational Research (OR) is the use of advanced
analytical techniques to improve decision making.
It is sometimes known as operations research,
management science or industrial engineering.
People with skills in OR hold jobs in decision
support, business analytics, marketing analysis
and logistics planning as well as jobs with OR in
the title.

Why is OR needed?
Because it makes sense to make the best use of available resources. Todays global markets and instant
communications mean that customers expect high-quality products and services when they need them,
where they need them. Organisations, whether public or private, need to provide these products and
services as effectively and efficiently as possible. This requires careful planning and analysis the
 hallmarks of good OR. This is usually based on process modelling, analysis of options or business
analytics.

Examples of OR in action
Scheduling: of aircrews and the fleet for airlines, of vehicles in supply chains, of
orders in a factory and of operating theatres in a hospital.

Facility planning: computer simulations of airports for the rapid and safe processing
of travellers, improving appointments systems for medical practice.

Planning and forecasting: identifying possible future developments in

telecommunications, deciding how much capacity is needed in a holiday business.

Yield management: setting the prices of airline seats and hotel rooms to reflect
changing demand and the risk of no shows.

Credit scoring: deciding which customers offer the best prospects for credit
companies.

Marketing: evaluating the value of sale promotions, developing customer profiles and
computing the life-time value of a customer.

Defence and peace keeping: finding ways to deploy troops rapidly.

Some OR methods and techniques

Computer simulation: allowing you to try out approaches and test ideas for
improvement.

Optimisation: narrowing your choices to the very best when there are so many
feasible options that comparing them one by one is difficult.

Probability and statistics: helping you measure risk, mine data to find valuable
connections and insights in business analytics, test conclusions, and make reliable forecasts.

Problem structuring: helpful when complex decisions are needed in situations with
many stakeholders and competing interests.

Operational research at Lancaster

The Department of Management Science has one of the largest groups of operational research and
systems teaching staff in Europe. Most of our faculty have previous industrial or public sector experience.
We have a strong commitment to produce research of practical importance, capitalising on a tradition of
collaborative research with industrial partners. Our taught courses reflect this orientation with a high
proportion of lecture material based on studies carried out by the staff.

Our Department, as part of Lancaster University Management School, has received the highest rankings
for its research and a rating of Excellent (the highest possible) for our teaching in the most recent
assessments.

The MSc in Operational Research and Management Science is an intensive one-year postgraduate
degree for people with first degrees that include some mathematics and statistics. The BSc degrees in
Management Science and Operations Management, provide a good basic education in the fundamentals
of operational research. The MSc and BSc degrees have excellent employment records and an active
alumni network.

ABSTRACT

This chapter will provide an overview of Operations Research (O.R.) from the
perspective of an industrial engineer. The focus of the chapter is on the basic
philosophy behind O.R. and the so-called "O.R. approach" to solving design and
operational problems that industrial engineers commonly encounter. In its most basic
form, O.R. may be viewed as a scientific approach to solving problems; it abstracts
the essential elements of the problem into a model, which is then analyzed to yield an
optimal solution for implementation. The mathematical details and the specific
techniques used to build and analyze these models can be quite sophisticated and are
addressed elsewhere in this handbook; the emphasis of this chapter is on
the approach. A brief review of the historical origins of O.R. is followed by a detailed
description of its methodology. The chapter concludes with some examples of
successful real-world applications of O.R.

WHAT IS OPERATIONS RESEARCH?

A common misconception held by many is that O.R. is a collection of mathematical

tools. While it is true that it uses a variety of mathematical techniques, operations
research has a much broader scope. It is in fact a systematic approach to solving
problems, which uses one or more analytical tools in the process of analysis. Perhaps
the single biggest problem with O.R. is its name; to a layperson, the term "operations
research" does not conjure up any sort of meaningful image! This is an unfortunate
consequence of the fact that the name that A. P. Rowe is credited with first assigning
to the field was somehow never altered to something that is more indicative of the
things that O.R. actually does. Sometimes O.R. is referred to as Management Science
(M.S.) in order to better reflect its role as a scientific approach to solving management
problems, but it appears that this terminology is more popular with business
professionals and people still quibble about the differences between O.R. and M.S.
Compounding this issue is the fact that there is no clear consensus on a formal
definition for O.R. For instance, C. W. Churchman who is considered one of the
pioneers of O.R. defined it as the application of scientific methods, techniques and
tools to problems involving the operations of a system so as to provide those in
control of the system with optimum solutions to problems. This is indeed a rather
comprehensive definition, but there are many others who tend to go over to the other
extreme and define operations research to be that which operations researchers do (a
definition that seems to be most often attributed to E. Naddor)! Regardless of the
exact words used, it is probably safe to say that the moniker "operations research" is
here to stay and it is therefore important to understand that in essence, O.R. may
simply be viewed as a systematic and analytical approach to decision-making and
problem-solving. The key here is that O.R. uses a methodology that is objective and
clearly articulated, and is built around the philosophy that such an approach is
superior to one that is based purely on subjectivity and the opinion of "experts," in
that it will lead to better and more consistent decisions. However, O.R.
does not preclude the use of human judgement or non-quantifiable reasoning; rather,
the latter are viewed as being complementary to the analytical approach. One should
thus view O.R. not as an absolute decision making process, but as an aidto making
good decisions. O.R. plays an advisory role by presenting a manager or a decision-
maker with a set of sound, scientifically derived alternatives. However, the final
decision is always left to the human being who has knowledge that cannot be exactly
quantified, and who can temper the results of the analysis to arrive at a sensible
decision.

Given that O.R. represents an integrated framework to help make decisions, it is

important to have a clear understanding of this framework so that it can be applied to
a generic problem. To achieve this, the so-called O.R. approach is now detailed. This
approach comprises the following seven sequential steps: (1) Orientation, (2) Problem
Definition, (3) Data Collection, (4) Model Formulation, (5) Solution, (6) Model
Validation and Output Analysis, and (7) Implementation and Monitoring. Tying each
of these steps together is a mechanism for continuous feedback; Figure 1 shows this
schematically.
1.5 O.R. IN THE REAL WORLD

In this section some examples of successful real-world applications of operations

research are provided. These should give the reader an appreciation for the diverse
kinds of problems that O.R. can address, as well as for the magnitude of the savings
that are possible. Without any doubt, the best source for case studies and details of
successful applications is the journal Interfaces, which is a publication of the Institute
for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). This journal is
oriented toward the practitioner and much of the exposition is in laypersons' terms; at
some point, every practicing industrial engineer should refer to this journal to
appreciate the contributions that O.R. can make. All of the applications that follow
have been extracted from recent issues of Interfaces.

Before describing these applications, a few words are in order about the standing of
operations research in the real world. An unfortunate reality is that O.R. has received
more than its fair share of negative publicity. It has sometimes been looked upon as an
esoteric science with little relevance to the real-world, and some critics have even
referred to it as a collection of techniques in search of a problem to solve! Clearly, this
criticism is untrue and there is plenty of documented evidence that when applied
properly and with a problem-driven focus, O.R. can result in benefits that can be quite
spectacular; the examples that follow in this section clearly attest to this fact.

On the other hand, there is also evidence to suggest that (unfortunately) the criticisms
leveled against O.R. are not completely unfounded. This is because O.R. is often not
applied as it should be - people have often taken the myopic view that O.R. is a
specific method as opposed to a complete and systematic process. In particular, there
has been an inordinate amount of emphasis on the modeling and solution steps,
possibly because these clearly offer the most intellectual challenge. However, it is
critical to maintain a problem-driven focus - the ultimate aim of an O.R. study is
to implement a solution to the problem being analyzed. Building complex models that
are ultimately intractable, or developing highly efficient solution procedures to models
that have little relevance to the real world may be fine as intellectual exercises, but run
contrary to the practical nature of operations research! Unfortunately, this fact has
sometimes been forgotten. Another valid criticism is the fact that many analysts are
notoriously poor at communicating the results of an O.R. project in terms that can be
understood and appreciated by practitioners who may not necessarily have a great deal
of mathematical sophistication or formal training in O.R. The bottom line is that an
O.R. project can be successful only if sufficient attention is paid to each of the seven
steps of the process and the results are communicated to the end-users in an
understandable form.

Some examples of successful O.R. projects are now presented.

Summary

This chapter provides an overview of operations research, its origins, its approach to
solving problems, and some examples of successful applications. From the standpoint
of an industrial engineer, O.R. is a tool that can do a great deal to improve
productivity. It should be emphasized that O.R. is neither esoteric nor impractical, and
the interested I.E. is urged to study this topic further for its techniques as well as its
applications; the potential rewards can be enormous.

Operations Research
Operations research is a vast branch of mathematics which encompasses many diverse areas of minimization and
optimization. Thousands of books have been written worldwide on the subject of operations research.

The central objective of operations research is optimization, i.e., "to do things best under the given circumstances."
This general concept has great many applications, for instance, in agricultural planning, biotechnology, data analysis,
distribution of goods and resources, emergency and rescue operations, engineering systems design, environmental
management, financial planning, health care management, inventory control, manpower and resource allocation,
manufacturing of goods, military operations, production process control, risk management, sequencing and
scheduling of tasks, telecommunications, and traffic control.

Closely related disciplines (with significant overlaps among these) include decision analysis, systems analysis,
management science, control theory, game theory, optimization theory, constraint logic programming, artificial
intelligence, fuzzy decision-making, multi-criteria analysis, and so on. All these disciplines share the objective of
improving a quantitative decision making procedure. The same comment applies to operations research-related
business applications such as supply-chain management, enterprise resource planning, total quality management,
just-in-time production and inventory management, and materials requirements planning.
Following the general optimization paradigm, when applying operations research, a decision-maker selects the key
decision variables that will influence the overall quality of decisions. This quality is expressed by the objective
function that is maximized (profit, product quality, speed of service or job completion, and so on), or minimized (cost,
loss, risk of some undesirable event, etc.). In addition to the objective function, a set of (physical, technical,
economic, environmental, legal, societal, etc.) constraints is also considered. Then, by systematically adjusting the
values of all decision variables, a "good" (feasible) or "very best" (optimal) solution is selected. Of course, feasibility
and optimality can only be defined in the context of the given problem (model) formulation.