Operations research, is a discipline that deals with the application of advanced analytical methods

to help make better decisions. It is often considered to be a sub-field of mathematics. The

terms management science and decision science are sometimes used as synonyms.

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.
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, analysis, neural, expert
systems, decision analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process. 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.

CHARACTERISTICS OF OPERATION RESEARCH

Three essential characteristics of operations research are a systems orientation, the use of
interdisciplinary teams, and the application of scientific method to the conditions under which
the research is conducted.

System orientation
The systems approach to problems recognizes that the behaviour of any part of a system has
some effect on the behaviour of the system as a whole. Even if the individual components are
performing well, however, the system as a whole is not necessarily performing equally well. For
example, assembling the best of each type of automobile part, regardless of make, does not
necessarily result in a good automobile or even one that will run, because the parts may not fit
together. It is the interaction between parts, and not the actions of any single part, that determines
how well a system performs.

Thus, operations research attempts to evaluate the effect of changes in any part of a system on
the performance of the system as a whole and to search for causes of a problem that arises in one
part of a system in other parts or in the interrelationships between parts. In industry, a production
problem may be approached by a change in marketing policy. For example, if a factory
fabricates a few profitable products in large quantities and many less profitable items in small
quantities, long efficient production runs of high-volume, high-profit items may have to be
interrupted for short runs of low-volume, low-profit items. An operations researcher might
propose reducing the sales of the less profitable items and increasing those of the profitable items
by placing salesmen on an incentive system that especially compensates them for selling
particular items.

The interdisciplinary team

Scientific and technological disciplines have proliferated rapidly in the last 100 years. The
proliferation, resulting from the enormous increase in scientific knowledge, has
provided science with a filing system that permits a systematic classification of knowledge. This
classification system is helpful in solving many problems by identifying the proper discipline to
appeal to for a solution. Difficulties arise when more complex problems, such as those arising in
large organized systems, are encountered. It is then necessary to find a means of bringing
together diverse disciplinary points of view. Furthermore, since methods differ among
disciplines, the use of interdisciplinary teams makes available a much larger arsenal of research
techniques and tools than would otherwise be available. Hence, operations research may be
characterized by rather unusual combinations of disciplines on research teams and by the use of
varied research procedures.

Methodology
Until the 20th century, laboratory experiments were the principal and almost the only method of
conducting scientific research. But large systems such as are studied in operations research
cannot be brought into laboratories. Furthermore, even if systems could be brought into the
laboratory, what would be learned would not necessarily apply to their behaviour in their
natural environment, as shown by early experience with radar. Experiments on systems and
subsystems conducted in their natural environment (“operational experiments”) are possible as a
result of the experimental methods developed by the British statistician R.A. Fisher in 1923–24.
For practical or even ethical reasons, however, it is seldom possible to experiment on large
organized systems as a whole in their natural environments. This results in an apparent dilemma:
to gain understanding of complex systems experimentation seems to be necessary, but it cannot
usually be carried out. This difficulty is solved by the use of models, representations of the
system under study. Provided the model is good, experiments (called “simulations”) can be
conducted on it, or other methods can be used to obtain useful results.

Application of Scientific Methodology

Operations Research extensively uses scientific means and methods to solve
problems. Most operations research studies cannot be conducted in laboratories, and the
findings cannot be applied to natural environments. Therefore, scientific and mathematical
models are used for studies. Simulation of these models is carried out, and the findings are then
studied with respect to the real environment.
New Problems Revealed
Finding a solution to a problem in OR uncovers additional problems. To obtain
maximum benefits from the study, ongoing and continuous research is necessary. New problems
must be pursued immediately to be resolved. A company looking to reduce costs in
manufacturing might discover in the process that it needs to buy one more component to
manufacture the end product. Such a scenario would result in unexpected costs and budget
overruns. Ensuring flexibility for such contingencies is a key characteristic of OR.
Provides Quantitative Answers
The solutions found by using operations research are always quantitative.
OR considers two or more options and emphasizes the best one. The company must decide
which option is the best alternative for it.
Human Factors
In other forms of quantitative research, human factors are not considered, butin OR,
human factors are a prime consideration. People involved in the process may become sick, which
would affect the company's output.

Quantifying the Model: All variables in the OR model are quantified. That is, they are
converted into numbers. This is because only quantified data can be put into the model to get
results.

conv

STAGES/CONVENTIONS OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH

Convention refers to the way something is done
Operation research represents an integrated framework to help make decision so as to solve
generic problem and these are as follows
1.0 Orientation
This is the first step of the operation research approach known as problem orientation whose
main objective is to constitute the team that will address the problem at hand and to ensure that
all its members have a clear picture of the relevant issue. The team approach of operation
research is thus very natural and a desired phenomenon
Typically, the team has a leader and other members from various functional areas or departments
and these meet at several times to all issues involved in order to arrive at the critical ones and
this may involve study of different documents and study of relevant literature so as to determine
if others have encountered similar problem in the past and if so to determine and evaluate what
was done to address them
The main aim of orientation phase is to obtain a clear understanding of the problem and its
operational aspects of the system to arrive at a consensus on what should be the primary focus of
the project
1.2 Problem definition
This is the second, and in a significant number of cases, the most difficult step of the O.R. process.
The objective here is to further refine the deliberations from the orientation phase to the point
where there is a clear definition of the problem in terms of its scope and the results desired. This
phase should not be confused with the previous one since it is much more focused and goal
oriented; however, a clear orientation aids immeasurably in obtaining this focus. Most practicing
industrial engineers can relate to this distinction and the difficulty in moving from general goals
such "increasing productivity" or "reducing quality problems" to more specific, well-defined
objectives that will aid in meeting these goals.
It is important to note that the definition of a problem has three main broad components i.e.
statement of an unambiguous objective, specification of the objective and defining the scope.
1.3 Data Collection:
This is the third phase of the operation research process where data is collected with the
objective of translating the problem defined in the second phase into a model that can then be
objectively analyzed. Data typically comes from observation (this corresponds to the case where
data is actually collected by observing the system in operation and derives data for a suitable
time interval and data on demands may come from different databases) and standards (where
data is obtained using standards.
1.4 Model Formulation:
This is the fourth stage of operation research process that deserves a lot of attention since
modeling is a defining characteristics of operation research projects. A model is formally defined
as a selective abstraction of reality and it involves capturing selected characteristics of a system
or process and then combining them into an abstract representation of the original.it is thus easier
to analyze a model than an original system and since the model is reasonably accurate,
conclusions drawn from such analysis may be validly extrapolated back to the original system.
It is important to note that there is no single correct way to build a model since model-building is
more of an art than a science though there is a natural trade-off between the accuracy and its
tractability.
Models may be broadly classified into four categories viz:
1. Physical model: They are actual scaled down versions of the original e.g a globe, a scale
car or a model of a flow line made with elements from a toy construction set. Such
models are rare in operations research mainly because getting accurate representations of
complex systems through physical model is often impossible
2. Analogic models: these are also physical models but use physical analog to describe the
system.
3. Computer Simulation Models: With the growth in computational power these models
have become extremely popular over the last ten to fifteen years. A simulation model is
one where the system is abstracted into a computer program. While the specific computer
language used is not a defining characteristic, a number of languages and software
systems have been developed solely for the purpose of building computer simulation
models; a survey of the most popular systems may be found in OR/MS Today (October
1997, pp. 38-46). Typically, such software has syntax as well as built-in constructs that
allow for easy model development. Very often they also have provisions for graphics and
animation that can help one visualize the system being simulated. Simulation models are
analyzed by running the software over some length of time that represents a suitable
period when the original system is operating under steady state. The inputs to such
 models are the decision variables that are under the control of the decision-maker. These
are treated as parameters and the simulation is run for various combinations of values for
these parameters. At the end of a run statistics are gathered on various measures of
performance and these are then analyzed using standard techniques. The decision-maker
then selects the combination of values for the decision variables that yields the most
desirable performance.
Simulation models are extremely powerful and have one highly desirable feature: they
can be used to model very complex systems without the need to make too many
simplifying assumptions and without the need to sacrifice detail. On the other hand, one
has to be very careful with simulation models because it is also easy to misuse
simulation. First, before using the model it must be properly validated. While validation
is necessary with any model, it is especially important with simulation. Second, the
analyst must be familiar with how to use a simulation model correctly, including things
such as replication, run length, warmup etc.; a detailed explanation of these concepts is
beyond the scope of this chapter but the interested reader should refer to a good text on
simulation. Third, the analyst must be familiar with various statistical techniques in order
to analyze simulation output in a meaningful fashion. Fourth, constructing a complex
simulation model on a computer can often be a challenging and relatively time-
consuming task, although simulation software has developed to the point where this is
becoming easier by the day. The reason these issues are emphasized here is that a modern
simulation model can be very flashy and attractive, but its real value lies in its ability to
yield insights into very complex problems. However, in order to obtain such insights a
considerable level of technical skill is required.
A final point to keep in mind with simulation is that it does not provide one with an
indication of the optimal strategy. In some sense it is a trial and error process since one
experiment with various strategies that seem to make sense and looks at the objective
results that the simulation model provides in order to evaluate the merits of each strategy.
If the number of decision variables is very large, then one must necessarily limit oneself
to some subset of these to analyze, and it is possible that the final strategy selected may
not be the optimal one. However, from a practitioner’s perspective, the objective often is
to find a good strategy and not necessarily the best one, and simulation models are very
useful in providing a decision-maker with good solutions.
4. Mathematical Models: This is the final category of models, and the one that traditionally
has been most commonly identified with operation research. In this type of model, one
captures the characteristics of a system or process through a set of mathematical
relationships. Mathematical models can be deterministic or probabilistic. In the former
type, all parameters used to describe the model are assumed to be known (or estimated
with a high degree of certainty). With probabilistic models, the exact values for some of
the parameters may be unknown but it is assumed that they are capable of being
characterized in some systematic fashion (e.g., through the use of a probability
distribution). As an illustration, the Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Program
Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) are two very similar operation research.
techniques used in the area of project planning. However, CPM is based on a
deterministic mathematical model that assumes that the duration of each project activity
is a known constant, while PERT is based on a probabilistic model that assumes that each
activity duration is random but follows some specific probability distribution (typically,
the Beta distribution). Very broadly speaking, deterministic models tend to be somewhat
easier to analyze than probabilistic ones; however, this is not universally true.
Most mathematical models tend to be characterized by three main elements: decision
variables, constraints and objective function(s). Decision variables are used to model
specific actions that are under the control of the decision-maker. An analysis of the model
will seek specific values for these variables that are desirable from one or more
perspectives. Very often – especially in large models – it is also common to define
additional "convenience" variables for the purpose of simplifying the model or for
making it clearer. Strictly speaking, such variables are not under the control of the
decision-maker, but they are also referred to as decision variables. Constraints are used to
set limits on the range of values that each decision variable can take on, and each
constraint is typically a translation of some specific restriction (e.g., the availability of
some resource) or requirement (e.g., the need to meet contracted demand). Clearly,
constraints dictate the values that can be feasibly assigned to the decision variables, i.e.,
the specific decisions on the system or process that can be taken. The third and final
component of a mathematical model is the objective function. This is a mathematical
statement of some measure of performance (such as cost, profit, time, revenue,
utilization, etc.) and is expressed as a function of the decision variables for the model. It
is usually desired either to maximize or to minimize the value of the objective function,
depending on what it represents. Very often, one may simultaneously have more than one
objective function to optimize (e.g., maximize profits and minimize changes in workforce
levels, say). In such cases there are two options. First, one could focus on a single
objective and relegate the others to a secondary status by moving them to the set of
constraints and specifying some minimum or maximum desirable value for them. This
tends to be the simpler option and the one most commonly adopted. The other option is to
use a technique designed specifically for multiple objectives (such as goal programming).
In using a mathematical model the idea is to first capture all the crucial aspects of the
system using the three elements just described, and to then optimize the objective
function by choosing (from among all values for the decision variables that do not violate
any of the constraints specified) the specific values that also yield the most desirable
(maximum or minimum) value for the objective function. This process is often called
mathematical programming. Although many mathematical models tend to follow this
form, it is certainly not a requirement; for example, a model may be constructed to
simply define relationships between several variables and the decision-maker may use
these to study how one or more variables are affected by changes in the values of others.
Decision trees, Markov chains and many queuing models could fall into this category.
Before concluding this section on model formulation, we return to our hypothetical
example and translate the statements made in the problem definition stage into a
mathematical model by using the information collected in the data collection phase. To
do this we define two decision variables G and W to represent respectively the number of
 gizmos and widgets to be made and sold next month. Then the objective is to maximize
total profits given by 10G+9W. There is a constraint corresponding to each of the three
limited resources, which should ensure that the production of G gizmos and W widgets
does not use up more of the corresponding resource than is available for use. Thus, for
resource 1, this would be translated into the following mathematical
statement 0.7G+1.0W ≤ 630, where the left-hand-side of the inequality represents the
resource usage and the right-hand-side the resource availability. Additionally, we must
also ensure that each G and W value considered is a nonnegative integer, since any other
value is meaningless in terms of our definition of G and W. The completely mathematical
model is:
1.5 Model Solution:
The fifth phase of the operation research. process is the solution of the problem represented by
the model. This is the area on which a huge amount of research and development in operation
research. has been focused, and there is a plethora of methods for analyzing a wide range of
models. It is impossible to get into details of these various techniques in a single introductory
chapter such as this; however, an overview of some of the more important methods can be found
elsewhere in this handbook. Generally speaking, some formal training in operations research is
necessary in order to appreciate how many of these methods work and the interested reader is
urged to peruse an introductory text on operation research.; the section on "Further Reading" at
the end of the chapter lists some good books. It is also worth mentioning that in recent years a
number of software systems have emerged which (at least in theory) are "black boxes" for
solving various models. However, some formal education in operation research. methods is still
required (or at least strongly recommended) before using such systems. From the perspective of
the practitioner, the most important thing is to be able to recognize which of the many available
techniques is appropriate for the model constructed. Usually, this is not a hard task for someone
with some rudimentary training in operations research. The techniques themselves fall into
several categories.

At the lowest level one might be able to use simple graphical techniques or even trial and error.
However, despite the fact that the development of spreadsheets has made this much easier to do,
it is usually an infeasible approach for most nontrivial problems. Most operation researches.
techniques are analytical in nature, and fall into one of four broad categories. First, there are
simulation techniques, which obviously are used to analyze simulation models. A significant part
of these are the actual computer programs that run the model and the methods used to do so
correctly. However, the more interesting and challenging part involves the techniques used to
analyze the large volumes of output from the programs; typically, these encompass a number of
statistical techniques. The interested reader should refer to a good book on simulation to see how
these two parts fit together. The second category comprises techniques of mathematical analysis
used to address a model that does not necessarily have a clear objective function or constraints
but is nevertheless a mathematical representation of the system in question. Examples include
common statistical techniques such as regression analysis, statistical inference and analysis of
variance, as well as others such as queuing, Markov chains and decision analysis. The third
category consists of optimum-seeking techniques, which are typically used to solve the
mathematical programs described in the previous section in order to find the optimum (i.e., best)
values for the decision variables. Specific techniques include linear, nonlinear, dynamic, integer,
goal and stochastic programming, as well as various network-based methods. A detailed
exposition of these is beyond the scope of this chapter, but there are a number of excellent texts
in mathematical programming that describe many of these methods and the interested reader
should refer to one of these. The final category of techniques is often referred to as heuristics.
The distinguishing feature of a heuristic technique is that it is one that does not guarantee that the
best solution will be found, but at the same time is not as complex as an optimum-seeking
technique. Although heuristics could be simple, common-sense, rule-of-thumb type techniques,
they are typically methods that exploit specific problem features to obtain good results. A
relatively recent development in this area are so-called meta-heuristics (such as genetic
algorithms, tabu search, evolutionary programming and simulated annealing) which are general
purpose methods that can be applied to a number of different problems. These methods in
particular are increasing in popularity because of their relative simplicity and the fact that
increases in computing power have greatly increased their effectiveness.

In applying a specific technique something that is important to keep in mind from a practitioner's
perspective is that it is often sufficient to obtain a good solution even if it is not guaranteed to be
the best solution. If neither resource-availability nor time were an issue, one would of course
look for the optimum solution. However, this is rarely the case in practice, and timeliness is of
the essence in many instances. In this context, it is often more important to quickly obtain a
solution that is satisfactory as opposed to expending a lot of effort to determine the optimum one,
especially when the marginal gain from doing so is small. The economist Herbert Simon uses the
term "satisficing" to describe this concept - one searches for the optimum but stops along the
way when an acceptably good solution has been found.

At this point, some words about computational aspects are in order. When applied to a nontrivial,
real-world problem almost all of the techniques discussed in this section require the use of a
computer. Indeed, the single biggest impetus for the increased use of operation research. methods
has been the rapid increase in computational power. Although there are still large-scale problems
whose solution requires the use of mainframe computers or powerful workstations, many big
problems today are capable of being solved on desktop microcomputer systems. There are many
computer packages (and their number is growing by the day) that have become popular because
of their ease of use and that are typically available in various versions or sizes and interface
seamlessly with other software systems; depending on their specific needs end-users can select
an appropriate configuration. Many of the software vendors also offer training and consulting
services to help users with getting the most out of the systems. Some specific techniques for
which commercial software implementations are available today include optimization/
mathematical programming (including linear, nonlinear, integer, dynamic and goal
programming), network flows, simulation, statistical analysis, queuing, forecasting, neural
networks, decision analysis, and PERT/CPM. Also available today are commercial software
systems that incorporate various O.R. techniques to address specific application areas including
transportation and logistics, production planning, inventory control, scheduling, location
analysis, forecasting, and supply chain management. Some examples of popular O.R. software
systems include CPLEX, LINDO, OSL, MPL, SAS, and SIMAN, to name just a few. While it
would clearly be impossible to describe herein the features of all available software, magazine
such as OR/MS Today and IE Solutions regularly publish separate surveys of various categories
of software systems and packages. These publications also provide pointers to different types of
software available; as an example, the December 1997 issue of OR/MS Today (pages 61-75)
provides a complete resource directory for software and consultants. Updates to such directories
are provided periodically. The main point here is that the ability to solve complex
models/problems is far less of an issue today than it was a decade or two ago, and there are
plenty of readily available resources to address this issue.

We conclude this section by examining the solution to the model constructed earlier for our
hypothetical production problem. Using linear programming to solve this model yields the
optimal solution of G=540 and W=252, i.e., the production plan that maximizes profits for the
given data calls for the production of 540 gizmos and 252 widgets. The reader may easily verify
that this results in a profit of $7668 and fully uses up all of the first two resources while leaving
18 units of the last resource unused. Note that this solution is certainly not obvious by just
looking at the mathematical model - in fact, if one were "greedy" and tried to make as many
gizmos as possible (since they yield higher profits per unit than the widgets), this would
yield G=708 and W=0 (at which point all of the second resource is used up). However, the
resulting profit of $7080 is about 8% less than the one obtained via the optimal plan. The reason
of course, is that this plan does not make the most effective use of the available resources and
fails to take into account the interaction between profits and resource utilization. While the actual
difference is small for this hypothetical example, the benefits of using a good O.R. technique can
result in very significant improvements for large real-world problems
1.6 Validation and Analysis:
Once a solution has been obtained two things need to be done before one even considers
developing a final policy or course of action for implementation. The first is to verify that the
solution itself makes sense. Oftentimes, this is not the case and the most common reason is that
the model used was not accurate or did not capture some major issue. The process of ensuring
that the model is an accurate representation of the system is called validation and this is
something that (whenever possible) should be done before actual solution. However, it is
sometimes necessary to solve the model to discover inaccuracies in it. A typical error that might
be discovered at this stage is that some important constraint was ignored in the model
formulation - this will lead to a solution that is clearly recognized as being infeasible and the
analyst must then go back and modify the model and re-solve it. This cycle continues until one is
sure that the results are sensible and come from a valid system representation.

The second part of this step in the operation research. process is referred to as post optimality
analysis, or in layperson's terms, a "what-if" analysis. Recall that the model that forms the basis
for the solution obtained is (a) a selective abstraction of the original system, and (b) constructed
using data that in many cases is not 100% accurate. Since the validity of the solution obtained is
bounded by the model's accuracy, a natural question that is of interest to an analyst is: "How
robust is the solution with respect to deviations in the assumptions inherent in the model and in
the values of the parameters used to construct it?" To illustrate this with our hypothetical
production problem, examples of some questions that an analyst might wish to ask are, (a) "Will
the optimum production plan change if the profits associated with widgets were overestimated by
5%, and if so how?" or (b) "If some additional amount of Resource 2 could be purchased at a
premium, would it be worth buying and if so, how much?" or (c) "If machine unreliability were
to reduce the availability of Resource 3 by 8%, what effect would this have on the optimal
policy?" Such questions are especially of interest to managers and decision-makers who live in
an uncertain world, and one of the most important aspects of a good operation research. project is
the ability to provide not just a recommended course of action, but also details on its range of
applicability and its sensitivity to model parameters.

Before ending this section, it is worth emphasizing that similar to a traditional Industrial
Engineering project, the end result of an operation research. project is not a definitive solution to
a problem. Rather, it is an objective answer to the questions posed by the problem and one that
puts the decision-maker in the correct "ball-park." As such it is critical to temper the analytical
solution obtained with common sense and subjective reasoning before finalizing a plan for
implementation. From a practitioner's standpoint a sound, sensible and workable plan is far more
desirable than incremental improvements in the quality of the solution obtained. This is the
emphasis of this penultimate phase of the operation research. process.

1.7 Implementation and Monitoring:

The last step in the operation research. process is to implement the final recommendation and
establish control over it. Implementation entails the constitution of a team whose leadership will
consist of some of the members on the original operation research. team. This team is typically
responsible for the development of operating procedures or manuals and a time-table for putting
the plan into effect. Once implementation is complete, responsibility for monitoring the system is
usually turned over to an operating team. From an operation research. perspective, the primary
responsibility of the latter is to recognize that the implemented results are valid only as long as
the operating environment is unchanged and the assumptions made by the study remain valid.
Thus, when there are radical departures from the bases used to develop the plan, one must
reconsider one's strategy. As a simple example with our production problem, if a sudden strike
by the workforce causes a drastic reduction in the availability of labor (Resource 1, say), one
must reconsider the plan completely to derive an alternative course of action. As a final word on
implementation, it should be emphasized that a major responsibility of the operations research
analyst is to convey the results of the project to management in an effective fashion. This is
something that is unfortunately not emphasized sufficiently, and there are many instances of a
successful study not being implemented because the details and the benefits are not conveyed
effectively to management. While this is of course true of any project in general, it is especially
significant with operation research. because of its mathematical content and its potential to not
be fully understood by a manager without a strong quantitative background.
CONCEPTS OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH
Defn: A concept is and abstract idea
There are basic concepts on which operation research operates so as to attain basic and ideal
solutions to the world problems and these are explained as follows
1.A SOLUTION CAN BE A PROBLEM
Operation research focuses on finding solution to the problem (existing operation research
improvement on the existing solution) and this is an intuitive task of determining what the
problem might actually be.
It is thus good to understand that the hardest part of finding solution is the art of stating and
clearly understanding the problem to address because the actual solution intends to satisfy the
actual problem and so clearly defining the problem leads to deriving the best solution to the
problem. Thus, the problem is the solution under this case.
Defining a problem has four steps described as follows

The four-step process for better problem solving

If you strip any project down to its essence, you’ll find there are two fundamental tasks. The first
is defining the problem that you're trying to solve, and the second is actually setting out to solve
it.

It sounds pretty intuitive, but I think that first step usually receives short shrift. In my experience,
people are so geared up to get in there, roll up their sleeves, and come up with ideas, that they
forget to really set the stage and understand why a client even needs their help in the first place.
What is their marketplace situation like? How is their business performing? What are they setting
out to achieve, and what’s getting in their way?

Asking yourself “What solution should I recommend?” is the worst first step. Before you can
answer that question, you need to do four things.

a. Defining the problem

All effective problem solving starts with effective problem defining. Too often, people jump
right to solving without knowing exactly what they are solving. The big challenge here is
figuring out how to separate the symptom from the disease. Many of us address the symptom
only to find the solution to be a temporary fix.
A great way to uncover the root cause of any problem is to go through the "Five Whys" exercise.
"Five Whys" is a technique that was developed by Toyota to identify manufacturing issues and
solve them in the most effective and efficient way possible. The way you start is to articulate the
problem you’re facing. In terms of corporate strategy, that’s typically a surface level issue like
losing market share or declining sales. With the "Five Whys" technique, the goal is to ask “why"
five times to help you dig deeper and deeper to uncover the root cause of the problem.

For instance, say you’re working with a local, downtown restaurant that has seen revenue
decline. Ask yourself, “Why is revenue declining?” The answer might be that the average ticket
is lower than it used to be. Why is that? Maybe because fewer tickets include an
alcoholic beverage? Ask yourself why that is. Maybe it’s because traffic on Friday and Saturday
nights is down, which is bringing overall alcohol sales down. Why is traffic down on Fridays and
Saturdays? Perhaps it’s because the performing arts center around the corner recently closed
down.

By going through the "Five Whys" exercise, you’re able to better define the problem. Rather than
a food problem or a bar problem, what you might really need to fix is the entertainment problem.

b. Reframing the problem

The next step is to create a few different reframes of the problem. Each reframe of the problem
statement could lead to a number of potential solutions. The way we do this is by creating “How
might we…” statements.
Going back to the restaurant example, a few reframes of the problem statement might be:
How might we get more people to add alcohol to weekday tickets (to counterbalance the dip in
weekend sales)?
How might we get more people to spend a Saturday night downtown?
How might we get more happy hour visits from downtown professionals before they leave
downtown for the weekend?
Sharp and varied reframe statements can help unlock some new, surprising solutions.
c. Coming up with solutions

These reframed problem statements are great fodder for a brainstorming process. Actually, in
many situations we prefer brainwriting as opposed to brainstorming. Brainwriting is where a
group of individuals is tasked with a problem to solve and each individual is required to think
and ideate on their own.

You can do these brainwriting sessions in person with a group of people, or do them remotely
and over the course of a few days. Simply asking team members to come up with three ideas for
each “How might we…” statement can give you dozens of potential solutions to consider.
Remember, when it comes to new ideas, quantity is quality. The more ideas you generate, the
more likely you are to have a few gems in the bunch.

d. Evaluating options

You can't solve every problem or implement every solution. Resources and time are limited. To
narrow in on the best opportunities, evaluate and score each potential solution for

1.) ease of implementation

2.) its potential size of impact if implemented. This scoring can be done as a group or be the
responsibility of a few key decision makers.

Sometimes it’s helpful to even map these out on a two-by-two matrix, with the ideas that are
easiest and most impactful populating the top right quadrant.

Getting Bruno Mars to play a few sets at a restaurant every other Saturday might be impactful,
but not all that easy to pull off. And a standing karaoke night might be easy to implement but
perhaps not all that impactful. The goal is to identify the ideas that check both boxes, and then
assign the appropriate resources to them.

Keep in mind, there isn’t a framework or methodology in the world that will get you the results
you’re looking for if you’re solving for the wrong problem. Spend as much time (if not more)
diagnosing the problem as solving it, and you’re well on your way to generating truly valuable
solutions for your clients.

2. HISTORY MUST NOT REPEAT ITSELF

Operations research aims at addressing the problem at hand which might be new problem or
finding a better solution to an addressed problem.
During the phase of researching about the problem to be addressed the researchers must vividly
find out if a similar problem has ever been encountered before and if so adopt a solution that
their predecessors used to avoid repetition and wastage of time
It’s important to put in mind that deriving a similar solution to a solved problem is merely a
wastage of time and other resources and this must be considered and this leads us to the point
where we adopt a slogan “history must not repeat itself”
Operations research deems at using resources to address solution to a problem in existence and
thus when history repeats itself this implies resources and time were wasted to find solution for
something whose solution exists and this sounds un economical
3.THERE IS NOT A SINGLE PROCEDURE TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
Multiple approaches can be adopted to reach out to a given solution depending on the
researcher’s perspective. The ultimate goal lies at the solution and never the procedure that one
person must have used depending on their methodologies used.
A single problem may have one solution but derived using different approaches by different
researchers or groups of researchers. Each group or research will always find an approach but
what has to be considered most is the approach that might be efficient while using less resources
and seeming easiest to adopt so as to solve a problem

Conclusion
Operation research is a day today activity that is intended to find optimal solution to our
problems but its important to note that following the right procedure is the only way to attain the
true results of operations research. Thus, individuals must follow the concepts to yield best
results to the problems
REFERENCES
The solution is the problem- (The Paragraph Project) on April/3/2018 by by Dan Carlton,
founding partner
Aaker, D.A. (1975). ADMOD: An Advertising Decision Model. Journal of Marketing, 12
(1), 37-45
Barnhart, C., E.L. Johnson, G.L. Nemhauser, M.P.W. Savelsbergh, and P.H. Vance (1998).
Branchand Price: Column generation for solving huge integer programs, Operations
Research, 46, 316-329
Buzzel, R.D. (1964). Mathematical Models and Marketing Management. Harvard University,
Division of Research, Boston, MA
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http://www.orbitsystems.co.nz/net/operations-research.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_simulation

.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_simulation

http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/jason.frand/teacher/technologies/palace/datamining.htm

http://www.me.utexas.edu/~jensen/ORMM/models/unit/network/index.html

http://www.lionhrtpub.com/orms/orms-6-02/network.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_recognition