Marketing Management

Unit 1

Introduction to Operational Research

Lesson 1: Introduction to Operational Research
This teaching module is designed to be an entertaining and representative introduction to the subject of Operational Research. It is divided into a number of sections each covering different aspects of OR. What is Operational Research? This looks at the characteristics of Operational Research, how you define what OR is and why organisations might use it. It considers the scientific nature of OR and how it helps in dealing with problems involving uncertainty, complexity and conflict.

Introduction to Operational Research

OR is the representation of real-world systems by mathematical models together with the use of quantitative methods (algorithms) for solving such models, with a view to optimising.
Battle of the Atlantic Considers the origins of OR in the British military and looks at how OR helped to ensure the safety of merchant ships during the "Battle of the Atlantic" in World War II.

Introduction to OR Terminology The British/Europeans refer to "operational research", the Americans to "operations research" - but both are often shortened to just "OR" (which is the term we will use). Another term which is used for this field is "management science" ("MS"). The Americans sometimes combine the terms OR and MS together and say "OR/MS" or "ORMS". Yet other terms sometimes used are "industrial engineering" ("IE") and "decision science" ("DS"). In recent years there has been a move towards a standardisation upon a single term for the field, namely the term "OR".

Books There are many books on OR available in the college library and you should not need to buy any books. If you do find you need a book then I recommend: J.K.Sharma: Operations Research (Theory and Application) N.D.Vohra: Quantitative Techniques in Management

Journals OR is a new field which started in the late 1930's and has grown and expanded tremendously in the last 30 years (and is still... [continues]

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