CH01ProblemsCasespg453 455
Additional Problems and Cases
Chapter 1 Extra Problems/Cases
41. What is the difference between a parameter and a decision variable in a mathematical model?
42. Discuss how a spreadsheet can facilitate the development of a model shell and the model itself.
43. United Airlines faces not only the situations described in the opening vignette to this chapter, but many other problems as well. Give five examples of optimization models and five examples of prediction models that you feel would be relevant to United Airlines.
44. Management information systems (MIS) are used in most industries to evaluate and transform raw data into useful, relevant, and organized information. Such systems make use of large computerized databases.
Information provided by an MIS can be used in management science models to help determine optimal strategies and perform what-if analyses.
Valley Foods is a wholesale food distributor that purchases over 5000 different products from 200 different suppliers. Approximately 100 local retail stores buy their products from Valley Foods. Demand for every item in Valley’s inventory varies from month to month, depending on the needs of the customer and the prices
Valley is charging for the items.
Valley’s costs include purchase costs from the manufacturer (on large orders it receives a discount), the cost of keeping goods in inventory, and “goodwill” costs should Valley be out of stock when a retail customer demands a product. At times, Valley itself encounters delays in filling its orders due to manufacturer’s stockouts. a. What are some factors that Valley Foods might wish to consider in achieving its goal of company profit maximization? b. What databases and other information systems might be useful in building a profit maximization model for
Valley Foods?
45. Turnercize, Inc. is considering introducing a new line of exercise equipment that you feel may be marketed successfully in a 30-minute infomercial. List some problems that could be evaluated using a
Chapter 1 Extra Problems/Cases
41. What is the difference between a parameter and a decision variable in a mathematical model?
42. Discuss how a spreadsheet can facilitate the development of a model shell and the model itself.
43. United Airlines faces not only the situations described in the opening vignette to this chapter, but many other problems as well. Give five examples of optimization models and five examples of prediction models that you feel would be relevant to United Airlines.
44. Management information systems (MIS) are used in most industries to evaluate and transform raw data into useful, relevant, and organized information. Such systems make use of large computerized databases.
Information provided by an MIS can be used in management science models to help determine optimal strategies and perform what-if analyses.
Valley Foods is a wholesale food distributor that purchases over 5000 different products from 200 different suppliers. Approximately 100 local retail stores buy their products from Valley Foods. Demand for every item in Valley’s inventory varies from month to month, depending on the needs of the customer and the prices
Valley is charging for the items.
Valley’s costs include purchase costs from the manufacturer (on large orders it receives a discount), the cost of keeping goods in inventory, and “goodwill” costs should Valley be out of stock when a retail customer demands a product. At times, Valley itself encounters delays in filling its orders due to manufacturer’s stockouts. a. What are some factors that Valley Foods might wish to consider in achieving its goal of company profit maximization? b. What databases and other information systems might be useful in building a profit maximization model for
Valley Foods?
45. Turnercize, Inc. is considering introducing a new line of exercise equipment that you feel may be marketed successfully in a 30-minute infomercial. List some problems that could be evaluated using a