bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Fairer Scoring System for Jai-alai
Authors: Skiena Steven S.
Published: October 2008

Several states permit paramutual wagering on jai-alai, a sport whose scoring system is based on a queue and can therefore be subject to analysis. Monte Carlo analysis of the “spectacular seven” scoring system shows that the post or starting position of the player strongly influences the results of the game. Alternative scoring systems can minimize the effect of post position.
The New Management Science
Authors: Schwartz Leon
Published: October 2008

A new management science professional is needed, with additional technical skills to complement the traditional quantitative set, and a more engineering oriented approach. Using the enhanced skill set, the new management scientist would be responsible for engineering highly informed decisions by building consensus among decision makers and expediting quality solutions in a systematic way.
An Application of Simulation and Network Analysis to Capacity Planning and Material Handling Systems at Tinker Air Force Base
Authors: Ravindran A. , Foote B. L. , Badiru A. B. , Leemis L. M. , Williams Larry
Published: October 2008

We developed a large simulation model to aid reconstruction efforts after a disastrous fire at Tinker Air Force Base (TAFB). The model, developed in SLAM, facilitated the analysis and efficient design of the modular repair center (cellular type) layout that replaced the previous machine-based layout in the engine overhaul facility. It has been used extensively to determine the appropriate number of machines to place within the repair center, the stacker capacity for in-process inventory, the location of elevators for sending parts to the conveyor, and the optimal design and routing scheme for the overhead conveyor system. The new layout, as predicted by the simulation model, has proven to be quite effective. The new design has decreased material handling by 50 to 80 percent, decreased flow times, allowed better management control of part transfers, saved $4.3 million from the elimination of excess machine capacity, and saved $1.8 million from higher direct labor efficiency.
20/30 Hindsight: Turkish Housing—A “Fixer-Upper”?
Authors: Kavrakoğlu İbrahim
Published: October 2008

Dr. Kavrakoğlu and his colleagues presented one of the finalist papers in the Edelman Prize competition for their part in repairing the foundation of the Turkish housing industry (see Interfaces, Vol. 17, No. 5, September–October 1987, pp. 1–10). How do you go about fixing an entire industry about which you know very little? … It is now five years later. Have the owners been maintaining it? Or is it a “fixer-upper” again?—Robert G. Chamberlain
OMEGA: An Improved Gasoline Blending System for Texaco
Authors: DeWitt Calvin W. , Lasdon Leon S. , Waren Allan D. , Brenner Donald A. , Melhem Simon A.
Published: October 2008

Gasoline blending is a critical refinery operation. In 1980, Texaco began developing an improved, optimization based, decision support system for planning and scheduling its blending operations. The system, OMEGA, is implemented on personal computers and on larger computer systems. It relies on refinery data bases and on-line data acquisition and exploits detailed nonlinear models of gasoline attributes. Texaco uses OMEGA in all seven US refineries and its Canadian and Welsh refineries. Its benefits include an estimated $30 million annually, better quality control, improved planning and marketing information, and the ability to conduct a variety of what-if studies.
Flanking in a Price War
Authors: Calantone Roger J. , Droge Cornelia , Litvack David S. , di Benedetto C. Anthony
Published: October 2008

This study tested the notion that stock-up grocery goods would have a different pattern of price sensitivity than nonstock-up goods. We used covariance design within a Bayesian decision framework to select the optimum price treatment strategy as well as the dollar risk associated with this strategy. The Bayesian decision framework also provided an optimal stopping rule for the experiment. The test results were successfully employed in a real-life retail grocery setting when an anticipated price war occurred. A small grocery chain, rather than responding in kind to competitive price cuts, implemented a precise, profit-preserving counterattack. As a result, the chain increased market share substantially, at the cost of only 1.2 percent of its gross margin, during the price war.
The Fifth Column: Sales Psychology of MS/MIS Systems: Why Some Work, Why Some Win
Authors: Woolsey Robert E. D.
Published: October 2008

Getting management science/management information systems implemented in large, multi-national firms may be seen to have cultural dependence and cultural independence. My experience shows that cultural dependence is always secondary to respect for the bottom-level customer and uncovering the hidden agenda. Two pungent examples from Mexico and the US will be discussed with my expected wit.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Transport: Analyzing R&D Options for Improved Safety
Authors: Swoveland Cary , Cawdery Jack
Published: October 2008

We developed a simple model to help Transport Canada identify promising avenues for R&D projects to make rail or truck transport of liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs) safer and to determine the economic merits of proposals submitted to the department for funding under its Energy Transport R&D Program. The model computes expected net benefits for proposed R&D projects from estimates of R&D costs, potential effects on LPG release rates and consequences, and unit costs of incorporating the R&D results in new and existing rail tank cars and tank trucks. The model accounts for the possibility that the R&D effort may be unsuccessful, and that if successful, the results may not be adopted. The methodology demonstrated that funding for two suggested R&D areas was not economically justified and narrowed attention to two categories of R&D projects.
Misapplications Reviews: The Mystery of the Two-Faced Regression
Authors: Barnett Arnold , Brownell Peter
Published: October 2008

Experienced regression analysts develop an awareness of the frailty of their results. They know that stunning reversals can result from a change in functional form, the addition or deletion of variables, or even modest alterations in the data set. Yet even jaded users can become unnerved when the same regression model seems to yield two contradictory outcomes.
Insights from Simulating JIT Manufacturing
Authors: Cadley John A. , Heintz Helen E. , Allocco Lisa Vogrich
Published: October 2008

Computer simulation, used in the planning stage of a new AT&T electronic assembly shop, allowed us to uncover and resolve equipment and operating policy problems. Concurrent planning and simulation modeling was not simple. Planning involved most of the factory's engineers, whose responsibilities were segmented and specialized; the simulation project team had to draw together information from many sources. The team gained insight into the nature of product flow throughout the shop. It could show how an operating policy in a seemingly isolated area would affect product flow elsewhere. Without this cohesive view, fractionated planning would have allowed design errors that cause gridlock in product flow.
Model World: A Model Is a Model Is a Model Is a Model
Authors: Gass Saul I.
Published: October 2008

This occasional column will address issues — both real and imaginary — that impinge on what I think is the main activity of management science/operations research: building models that attempt to describe the world as it was, as it is, and as it will be. I will write on those modeling matters that I believe are important to the advancement of our profession, that are important to me (and I trust to the readers of Interfaces), and that are important to the general public who support us in our research and applications. I hope that we can better understand how what we do can influence the course of human events. And that the general public can better appreciate our successes and failures and aid us in advancing our science of decision making.

Modeling is both fun and a serious business. In this first column, I would like to share with you some of the thoughts and quotes on models that have influenced me.
Book Reviews
Authors: Lev Benjamin
Published: October 2008

Ciampa, Dan 1988, Manufacturing's New Mandate: The Tools for Leadership, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 233 pp., $22.95—reviewed by F C. “Ted” Weston, Jr.

Pierce, N., editor 1987, Management Information Systems: The Technology Challenge, Nichols Publishing Co., New York, 333 pp., $39.50—reviewed by Marius A. Janson

Kruze, R. and Meyer, K. D. 1987, Statistics with Vague Data, D. Reidel Publishing, Dordrecht, Holland, vii + 279 pp., $59.00—reviewed by Alan Julian Izenman

Mahajan, Vijay and Wind, Yoram, editors 1986, Innovation Diffusion Models of New Product Acceptance, Ballinger Publishing, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 336 pp., $34.95—reviewed by Michael J. C. Martin

Oliff, Michael D., editor 1988, Expert Systems and Intelligent Manufacturing, North-Holland, New York, 479 pp., $80.00—reviewed by Fatemeh Zahedi

Taylor, Stephen 1986, Modelling Financial Time Series, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 268 + xvi pp., $47.95—reviewed by Kamran M. Dadkhah

Gribik, Paul R. and Kortanek, Kenneth O. 1985, Extremal Methods of Operations Research, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 328 pp. $37.50—reviewed by Soheila Jorjani

Jünger, Michael 1985, Polyhedral Combinatorics and the Acyclic Subdigraph Problem, Heldermann Verlag Berlin, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany, 128 pp., $36.00—reviewed by S. Thomas McCormick

Adair, James 1988, Computer Organization and Architecture with Business Applications, Scott, Foresman and Company, Glenview, Illinois, 381 pp., $23.96—reviewed by Leonard J. Garrett

Cohen, S. S. 1985, Operational Research, Edward Arnold, 3 East Read Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, 245 pp., $16.95—reviewed by Robert L. Nydick, Jr.

Wright, George and Ayton, Peter, editors, 1987, Judgmental Forecasting, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 293 pp., $59.95—reviewed by Essam Mahmoud
Optimizing Flight Crew Schedules
Authors: Gershkoff Ira
Published: October 2008

Because of restrictive work rules and interacting cost components, building flight crew schedules is a complex process. However, operations research techniques have been successful in reducing crew costs. The optimization is modeled as a set-partitioning problem, where the rows represent flights to be covered and the columns represent candidate crew trips. The work rules dictate whether or not a particular crew trip is valid, while the major cost components affect its desirability. Solving many sets of small subproblems has been more successful than attempting to find a global solution to a single large problem because of combinatorial problems and non-integer solutions. At American Airlines, the savings of the integer linear programming (ILP) approach relative to the enumeration methods previously used is estimated at $18 million per year. Intuitive evidence suggests that a global optimum is being achieved for small fleets (200 flights per day or less), but that additional savings are possible in the larger fleets.
Thirty Years of Airline Operations Research
Authors: Richter Helmut
Published: October 2008

Operations research has been with the airlines for some 30 years. Since 1961, the Airline Group of the International Federation of OR Societies (AGIFORS) has worked for the advancement of OR in the field of air transportation by arranging meetings and exchanging information. A survey of the papers presented at the AGIFORS Annual Conferences between 1961 and 1985 reveals certain systematic shifts over the years in the relative frequencies among the principal OR subjects such as fleet and schedule planning, personnel management, maintenance and inventory, space and yield control, and operations planning. In most cases, these trends are open to rational explanations.
Repairable Part Management
Authors: Tedone Mark J.
Published: October 2008

To support the operation of its fleet of over 400 aircraft, American Airlines maintains an inventory of spare repairable (rotable) aircraft parts. A PC-based decision support system, the Rotables Allocation and Planning System (RAPS), provides forecasts of rotable part demand, recommends least-cost allocations of parts to airport locations, and calculates the availability level associated with the optimal allocation of each part. RAPS is controlled through a series of menus which offer options for part allocation, data manipulation, report generation, and sensitivity analysis. By identifying under- and over-allocations of parts, as well as by recommending part redistribution, RAPS has provided a multi-million dollar benefit to American Airlines.
MBA Training in Operations Management and Quantitative Methods
Authors: Carraway Robert L. , Freeland James R.
Published: October 2008

A survey of 20 top-ranked graduate business schools' course offerings reveals the current state of the art in operations management (OM) and quantitative methods (QM) education. In both cases, the pedagogy appears to be less mathematical and more managerial than it was 10 to 15 years ago. In OM, the proportion of required courses devoted to pure manufacturing is decreasing, and the proportion devoted to service operations increasing. Popular OM electives in service management, quality, technology, and strategy have apparently supplanted more traditional production and inventory systems courses. In QM, less emphasis on mathematical detail translates into more emphasis on formulation, interpretation and application, including the use of cases. The availability of personal computer-based statistics and optimization software packages may be accelerating this trend.
SUCCCES92: A DSS for Scheduling the Olympic Games
Authors: Andreu Rafael , Corominas Albert
Published: October 2008

To organize the 1992 Olympic Games, the city of Barcelona needs to prepare a schedule of the games. Selecting “the best” possible schedule is not a well-defined problem, mainly because it is not clear what is meant by “best.” The problem is one of multiple criteria subject to several constraints. To help the person preparing the schedule, we built a DSS to allow him or her to develop alternative schedules and to evaluate them in the light of various criteria.
Reducing Waiting Time at Security Checkpoints
Authors: Landauer Edwin G. , Becker Linda C.
Published: October 2008

We were asked to improve the time it took a queue of cars to go through a security gate every morning and afternoon. Each individual passing through the gate was required to show a security badge to a guard. The goal was to improve processing time and to eliminate a safety problem at the gate without increasing the required resources. This problem required quick resolution. The project was initiated using queuing theory. After collecting data, we determined that a simulation model would be more appropriate. The study demonstrated that a significant improvement could be seen when the same number of guards worked two parallel traffic lines leading to the single gate, instead of working in a serial process from a single line of traffic.
Visual Interactive Modeling in Industry: Results from a Survey of Visual Interactive Model Builders
Authors: Kirkpatrick Paul , Bell Peter C.
Published: October 2008

A survey of builders of visual interactive models may reveal some of the reasons for the rapid growth in the use of computer-generated graphics in management science and operations research modeling.
L. L. Bean Chooses a Telephone Agent Scheduling System
Authors: Andrews Bruce H. , Parsons Henry L.
Published: October 2008

We recently participated with L. L. Bean in developing a computerized procedure for selecting complex, large-scale telephone-operator scheduling systems. To assess capability in forecasting work load, setting requisite capacity levels, and generating satisfactory work-shift schedules, we used cost/benefit analysis and considered the expected penalty costs of lost orders due to understaffing and loaded-wage costs of overstaffing. We used queuing theory to model customer-call behavior for every hour over 24-hour days, seven days per week, and implemented the results of linear regression, which correlated customer-service level with expected customer abandonment rate, to estimate the impact on order revenues of telephone-service level.
The Case Analysis Section: National Cranberry Cooperative
Authors: Porteus Evan L.
Published: October 2008

We are trying out a new feature for Interfaces, which we call the Case Analysis Section. If all goes well, two or three times a year we will publish a case that describes a management situation and invite you to analyze the case, make recommendations, and justify them. We will then publish the best parts of your best submissions, giving credit to the contributors. Submissions need not be complete analyses.

We initiate the section in this issue with a well-known Harvard Business School case, the National Cranberry Cooperative.
A Survey of High-Technology Transfer Practices in Japan and in the United States
Authors: Cutler Robert S.
Published: October 2008

The high-technology transfer practices of researchers in Japan and the United States differ. The results of a survey show the principal ways in which industrial researchers in Japan and in the United States use certain new technologies resulting from university research. The survey was conducted in Japan and the United States between October 1986 and December 1987. Personal communication and technical collaboration are key factors in the rapid diffusion of research results in both countries. In Japan, government agencies and professional societies take a much more active role in organizing and energizing the civilian technology transfer process than do counterpart organizations in the United States.
OR Education Today for Tomorrow's West Point Graduates
Authors: Arbogast Gordon W.
Published: October 2008

The US Military Academy has recently extended its curriculum offerings to include a major in systems engineering. Graduates in systems engineering or operations research (OR) receive an education that prepares them extremely well for a full army career. West Point cadets have responded so enthusiastically to the new program that a new department of systems engineering has now been formed.
Problems in the Utilization of Management Science/Operations Research: A State of the Art Survey
Authors: Gruber William H. , Niles John S.
Published: October 2008

In management, a severe strain exists between the promises of scientific methods and the realities of practice. At a time when management is becoming more scientific, friction should be expected in the relationship between the practitioners of the art and the advocates of the new scientific knowledge. The practicing manager in the field is told that his ways are outdated and inadequate, that knowledge unfamiliar to him now points to a better way. The process by which progress in MS/OR is transferred into management operating practices is the cause of widespread uneasiness in the MS/OR profession. Over the last ten years a large body of proverbial lore has been built up about the “practicality gap” or “interface between MS/OR and management.” Yet no overall structuring of the relationship between the practice of management and MS/OR has been accepted, although many intuitively sound suggestions have been forwarded.
Training O.R. Practitioners
Authors: Tomlinson R. C. , Mitchell G. H.
Published: October 2008

We read with interest the statements on the teaching of management science/operational research in the October 1970 issue of Management Science (Application Series). No doubt these will elicit contributions from those who employ the products of the various university courses. We would like to make some comments from the unusual standpoint of a team concerned with both education and employment.
Management Science Roundup
Authors: Bucatinsky Julio
Published: October 2008

In this issue:

—“Specials: (1) A capital spending model—Parker, (2) Development of social indicators in Washington, D.C.—JB, (3) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force talks about the communications gap between management scientists and managers—Schedler, (4) Optimum sampling in a textile company—Terry, (5) Research on the use of computers in economics and management science”;

—“Bulletin Board: (1) TIMS meetings, (2) Other meetings/symposia, (3) Personal notes, (4) Notices”;

—“Deadlines for future issues of INTERFACES”.
Information Systems in Management Science—Personal Liberty and the Computer
Authors: Stern Harry
Published: October 2008

My first thought on the relationship between computers and personal liberty was that most writers on the subject were overzealous, and that there was no danger from computers being used to handle large amounts of personal data. I felt that, for one thing, having accurate records concerning an individual was as much of a protection to him as a threat, and that if better information were available, then better decisions could be made. Furthermore, if too much data were accumulated it would become unmanageable, and the individual would be protected by its sheer size. However, having read Arthur R. Miller's The Assault on Privacy (University of Michigan Press, 1971); Justice Douglas's remarks in Points of Rebellion (Vintage Books, 1970); the notes from the Senate Judicial Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights hearings on computers, data banks, and the Bill of Rights; and a number of newspaper articles on this subject, I am forced to change that view somewhat. The two dangers that I feel are most real are that an individual may be thwarted because of mistakes, and that large amounts of possibly embarrassing personal data could be made available to those who might misuse it.
Council Happenings
Authors: Hess Sidney W.
Published: October 2008

On March 23, 1971, at the TIMS XVIII International Meeting in Washington, an open Council meeting was held primarily for the benefit of TIMS chapter and college officers. Approximately forty people attended, including the presidents of AIIE and ORSA. Some highlights of this meeting are discussed.
A Subjective Taxonomy for Evaluating the Stages of Management Science Research
Authors: Markland Robert E. , Newett Robert J.
Published: October 2008

The purpose of this article is to provide additional commentary and suggestions concerning the implementation question. We seek to do so from a micro-analytical viewpoint, rather than the macro-analytical viewpoint adopted in many of the previous, broadly based studies. Thus, while we recognize the importance, value and research credibility of large sample surveys, we feel that there is much to be gained from an introspective analysis involving a single corporation. Thus, we will attempt to analyze the implementation question in terms of a subjective taxonomy applied to two case studies within a single corporation. It is hoped that the interested reader may be able to associate with these case studies in a more intimate fashion than might be possible in a more general broad-based survey.
So Your Mother Wanted You to be a Doctor But a Ph.D in OR?
Authors: Halbrecht Herbert
Published: October 2008

An essay in the form of letters between the author and an alleged student, pursuing an advanced-degree career in operations research and asking a practitioner for advice.
Welcome
Authors: Thrall Robert M.
Published: October 2008

Welcome to Houston and to TIMS XIX—the first of our international meetings held in the Southwest, U.S.A. The theme of the meetings: Management Science, Ecology and the Quality of life.
Education the Critical Link in Getting Managers to Use Management Systems
Authors: Heany Donald F.
Published: October 2008

A revised version of a talk given at the Management Science Conference in Mexico City, January 1970, sponsored by TIMS and the Department of Commerce.
World-Wide On-Line Central Banking in the Late 70's … Can a Babylonian Confusion of Tongues Be Forestalled?
Authors: Thore Sten
Published: October 2008

The difficult problem of interface is typically not one of inward interface but one of outward interface. The data processing system for a given industrial corporation may be beautifully designed, but there may arise large problems of extending it to incorporate the activities of a newly acquired subsidiary already having a data solution of its own. A national on-line real-time hotel booking system may work well, but it just may not easily merge with a similar system in another country to form an international network.

The present note describes the grave interface problems that seem to loom ahead in the field of on-line real-time central banking. The suggestion is put forward that the International Monetary Fund has a unique responsibility in preparing for interface between international payment networks of tomorrow.
A Challenge to the Profession
Authors: Echols Michael E.
Published: October 2008

The value of management science is derived from the ability of its professionals to develop scientific knowledge that may be useful to management. This development does not occur in a vacuum. The continued health of the profession requires a viable information system involving the members of both the academic and business communities. The publications of this institute are important elements in this communication process.

In an attempt to establish a dialogue involving the membership of this institute, I am presenting several observations on the factors that define the contents of our journals. In addition, I am including a specific proposal for modifying those factors.
A Manager's Survey of Inventory and Production Control Systems
Authors: Wagner Harvey M.
Published: October 2008

The commonly felt profit squeeze during the past few years has created a renaissance of corporate interest in tighter inventory control and production scheduling. Without getting into the technical design questions relating to modern replenishment systems, this article reviews for managers the important components of an inventory control project aimed at improving cost and service performance. The discussion specifies for such a project both the steps to be taken as well as the pitfalls to be avoided, and reflects a 1970's state-of-the-art.

In particular, the survey examines four kinds of applications, ranging from systems that operate on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis to systems that provide information on a much less frequent basis to support major strategic investment decisions. In all four applications, the systems require holding inventory; the article will not treat situations in which ordering or manufacturing occurs in response to specific customer orders.
Council Happenings
Authors: Hess Sidney W.
Published: October 2008

—Council Meeting at the Houston International Meeting, held on April 7, 1972;

—Organizational Research Workshop, Cazenovia, New York, July 1971 (by William W. Abendroth).
Management Science Roundup
Authors: Bucatinsky Julio
Published: October 2008

In this issue:

—“Time-shared models in a bank”;

—“A model for portfolio selection”;

—“Implementation of a forecasting system”;

—“Systems design in the public sector”;

—“Solving a waste collection problem”;

—“Information system for public health planning”;

—“Bulletin Board: (1) TIMS meetings, (2) Other meetings/symposia, (3) Personal notes, and (4) Notices”;

—“Deadline for future issues of INTERFACES”.
Franz Edelman Award for Management Science Achievement
Authors: Thomas Elden D. , Graves Stephen C. , Murphy Frederic H.
Published: October 2008

Editorial about the 18th annual Edelman competition.
Managing Hidroeléctrica Española's Hydroelectric Power System
Authors: Dembo Ron S. , Chiarri Angel , Martin Jesus Gomez , Paradinas Luis
Published: October 2008

Beginning in 1984, Algorithmics Inc. together with Hidroeléctrica Española, developed and implemented a hierarchy of models, to assist Hidroeléctrica Española in managing its system of reservoirs used for generating hydroelectric power. These models incorporate major technological advances in modeling and solution methods. Moreover, for the first time, the technology upon which they are based is transferable to other hydroelectric utilities. We developed new generic algorithms for large-scale nonlinear programming and for specializations to network flow optimization to permit extremely rapid solution and thorough optimal analysis. The models have profoundly affected long-term planning and the operation of Hidroeléctrica's reservoirs. Apart from the intangible benefits of completely transforming the level of modeling expertise in the company, increasing operational security, and providing better and more consistent management of the reservoir system, the direct savings as a result of their use amounts to approximately two million dollars annually.
Book Reviews
Authors: Lev Benjamin
Published: October 2008

Denker, John S., ed. 1986, Neural Networks for Computing, AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 151, American Institute of Physics, New York, 445 pp., $60.50—reviewed by Daniel S. Levine

De Keyser, Veronique; Qvale, Thoralf; Wilpert, Bernhard; and Ruiz Quintanilla, S. Antonio, eds. 1988, The Meaning of Work and Technological Options, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 228 pp., $69.95—reviewed by Nanette Fondas

Hage, Jerald, ed. 1988, Futures of Organizations: Innovating to Adapt Strategy and Human Resources to Rapid Technological Change, Lexington Books, Lexington, Massachusetts, 302 pp., $45.00—reviewed by T. K. Das

Hayes, Robert H.; Wheelwright, Steven C.; and Clark, Kim B. 1988, Dynamic Manufacturing, The Free Press, New York, 429 pp., $24.95—reviewed by Howard W. Oden

Rand, Graham K. ed. 1988, Operational Research '87, North Holland, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 972 pp., $184.25—reviewed by Paul Gray
The HASTUS Vehicle and Manpower Scheduling System at the Société de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal
Authors: Blais Jean-Yves , Lamont Jacques , Rousseau Marc
Published: October 2008

Varying service levels during the day and complex work rules make transit scheduling a difficult task. Over the last 10 years, a joint university-S.T.C.U.M.-private enterprise effort has produced HASTUS, a comprehensive set of computer tools that assists in building cost-effective schedules. The HASTUS-Macro decision support system uses linear programming methods to estimate the costs of changes in union contracts and service levels. HASTUS-Bus employs network-flow methods to generate optimal vehicle schedules. HASTUS-Micro generates operator assignments through a combination of specially-formulated heuristics and optimal matching algorithms. Annual savings in excess of $3,000,000 (three percent of operating costs) have been reported in manpower scheduling and $1,000,000 in vehicle scheduling. This success at the S.T.C.U.M. has led to installations in nearly 40 major cities worldwide.
Predictors of MS/OR Application in Small Businesses
Authors: Alpar Paul , Reeves Sharon
Published: October 2008

Today, applying MS/OR methods usually requires the use of computers. A company may not be ready to implement MS/OR techniques unless it has allocated adequate resources to information systems and has basic transaction-oriented systems in place. We considered nine characteristics of firms and their information systems use as indicators of organizational readiness for MS/OR use. We analyzed survey data collected from 495 technology-oriented small businesses and found that the adoption of MS/OR techniques is more likely to occur if a firm uses information technology to support many of its basic transaction-oriented operations and has a large number of employees.
Locks at the Racetrack
Authors: Hausch Donald B. , Ziemba William T.
Published: October 2008

The folklore of investment is replete with stories of arbitrage opportunities where profits can be made without risk. Such a “lock” exists at the racetrack. A simple model provides a criterion for existence of a set of bets to create the arbitrage plus the size of the various investments.
A Survey of Decision Support System Applications (1971–April 1988)
Authors: Eom Hyun B. , Lee Sang M.
Published: October 2008

A survey of specific DSS applications published between 1971 and April 1988 indicates the development of a wide variety of DSS applications in many different fields. Despite two decades of cooperative efforts by practitioners and theoreticians to develop specific DSSs, many goals in the DSS field remain unfulfilled. The critical issue is to implement a system that integrates organizational decision making vertically (among strategic, tactical, and operational levels) and horizontally (among many functional fields at the same level) to coordinate and manage conflicts among the various subunits of the organization.
Deciding Whether to Test Student Athletes for Drug Use
Authors: Feinstein Charles D.
Published: October 2008

The athletic governing board of Santa Clara University had to decide whether to recommend implementing a drug-testing program for our intercollegiate athletes. I presented a decision-analytic model of the question to the board, which served as the focus of the board's deliberations. The deliberations were concerned with evaluating the parameters of the model: the prior probability that an athlete uses drugs, the reliability of the tests for drug usage, and the relative costs of testing errors. These deliberations and the model were the basis of the board's decision not to recommend implementing the testing program.
Book Reviews
Authors: Lev Benjamin
Published: October 2008

Young, Lawrence F. 1989, Decision Support and Idea Processing Systems, William C. Brown Publishers, Dubuque, Iowa, 407 pp., $43.50—reviewed by Jeanne W. Ross

Teodorović, Dušan 1988, Airline Operations Research, Gordon and Breach, New York, xi + 466 pp., $95.00—reviewed by Helmut Richter

Mole, R. H. 1989, BASIC Graph and Network Algorithms, Butterworths, Borough Green, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 8PH, England, 169 pp., paperback $19.95—reviewed by Edward Minieka

Shogan, Andrew W. 1988, Management Science, Prentice Hall, Inc., New York, 823 pp., $45.00—reviewed by Narendra K. Rustagi

Carrie, Allan, 1988, Simulation of Manufacturing Systems, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 418 pp., $69.95—reviewed by Enio E. Velazco
Interior Point Methods for Linear Programming: Just Call Newton, Lagrange, and Fiacco and McCormick!
Authors: Marsten Roy , Subramanian Radhika , Saltzman Matthew , Lustig Irvin , Shanno David
Published: October 2008

Interior point methods are the right way to solve large linear programs. They are also much easier to derive, motivate, and understand than they at first appeared. Lagrange told us how to convert a minimization with equality constraints into an unconstrained minimization. Fiacco and McCormick told us how to convert a minimization with inequality constraints into a sequence of unconstrained minimizations. Newton told us how to solve unconstrained minimizations. Linear programs are minimizations with equations and inequalities. Voila!
Book Reviews
Authors: Lev Benjamin
Published: October 2008

Laudon, Kenneth C. and Laudon, Jane P. 1988, Management Information Systems, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 749 pp., $32.00—reviewed by Mohammad Dadashzadeh

Chacko, George 1986, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Productivity: US Japan Concomitant Coalitions, Petrocilli Books, Princeton, New Jersey, 335 pp., $45.00—reviewed by Wilbet E. Wilhelm

Turban, Efraim 1988, Decision Support and Expert Systems, Managerial Perspectives, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 697 pages, $36.75—reviewed by Mark G. Simkin and Fritz H. Grupe

Minoux, Michel 1986, Mathematical Programming: Theory and Algorithms, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 489 pp., $66.95—reviewed by Eric S. Theise

Merkhofer, Miley 1986, Decision Science and Social Risk Management, D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, 330 pp., $39.50—reviewed by Dennis J. Hanseman

Estabrooks, Maurice F. 1989, Programmed Capitalism, M. E. Sharpe Inc., New York, 207 pp., $24.95—reviewed by Holger Hinz

Allio, Robert J. 1988, The Practical Strategist, Business and Corporate Strategies in the 1990s, Ballinger Publishing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 212 pp., $29.95—reviewed by B. R. Baliga

Nahmias, Steven 1988, Production and Operations Analysis, Richard D. Irwin, Homewood, Illinois, 693 pp., $42.95—reviewed by David Simchi-Levi

Hayes, Mike and Tomes, Anne 1988, Practical Operations Management, Philip Allan Publishers Limited, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, 249 + xi pp., $19.95 paperback, $49.95 cloth—reviewed by Ruth A. Maurer

Niwa, Kiyoshi 1989, Knowledge-Based Risk Management in Engineering: A Case Study in Human-Computer Cooperative Systems, John Wiley and Sons, New York, xi + 132 pp., $29.95—reviewed by Ayodele O. Mobolurin
Netform Modeling and Applications
Authors: Glover Fred , Klingman Darwin , Phillips Nancy
Published: October 2008

Many real-world applications have profited from netform innovations in both modeling and solution strategies. Practical experience shows that advances in netform modeling and solution strategies overcome many of the difficulties in conceptual design and problem solving of previous approaches to system optimization. Moreover, they provide the type of technologies required of truly useful decision-planning tools, technologies that facilitate modeling, solution, and implementation. The ultimate test and worth of computer-based planning models, however, depends on their use by practitioners. In this tutorial, we show how certain algebraic models can be viewed graphically using netform modeling and describe several large practical problems we have solved. Some of our insights can make it easier for practitioners to take advantage of these technologies.
A Logistics Analysis at Heinz
Authors: Kekre Sunder , Nandakumar Purushottaman , Powell Thomas A. , Rajagopalan Sampath
Published: October 2008

Heinz USA and Carnegie Mellon University examined various options for shipping tomato paste from Heinz's processing facilities on the West Coast to its Midwest factories. Seasonal variations in demand and supply for tomato paste, coupled with varying freight costs, caused the selection of appropriate means of transportation to be complex. We developed a decision support system (DSS) to assess the costs of using three options: specialized tank cars, Scholle bags, and a combination of both. The model demonstrated that tank cars were more economical than bags when the utilization of cars was above a critical level. The analysis gave management a powerful tool to assess alternative investment strategies and the sensitivity of operating costs and performance under various business conditions.
The EXXON Valdez: An Assessment of Crisis Prevention and Management Systems
Authors: Harrald John R. , Marcus Henry S. , Wallace William A.
Published: October 2008

The EXXON Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef just after midnight on March 24, 1989, and approximately 10 million gallons of crude oil gushed into the pure waters of Prince William Sound from eight ruptured cargo tanks. Clean-up costs have exceeded $2 billion, and lawsuits seeking billions more in damages have been filed. The EXXON Valdez disaster has provided ample economic motivation to prompt the investigation of the linkages and trade-offs between risk reduction, contingency planning, and pollution response and to force the investment of significant resources in each of these areas. Management scientists can find better ways to assess risks in complex systems and to communicate these risks to policy makers and the public. We must use our knowledge and technology to minimize risks and to assist those who will manage the response organizations and will make decisions in a hostile and turbulent environment when low-probability, high-impact events occur.
Improving and Measuring the Performance of a Securities Industry Surveillance System
Authors: Davis Samuel G. , Ord J. Keith
Published: October 2008

Recent disclosures of illegal trading practices in the securities industry have prompted the development of improved computer detection models. We designed for the NASD a surveillance system that employs statistical analysis to uncover unusual patterns of activity to better identify exceptions that should prompt investigation. Inferences concerning the likelihood that trading violations have occurred are made by examining deviations from historical trading patterns on a security-specific basis. Expectations are adjusted to reflect general market movement influences and to recognize the relationship between the timing of changes in security trading patterns and the dissemination of news related to the specific security. The initial design employs a set of indicators that were found to best identify exception conditions during preliminary testing. In addition, the system will accept suggested candidate indicators.
Intelligent Decision Support Systems: A Visual Interactive Approach
Authors: Angehrn Albert A. , Lüthi Hans-Jakob
Published: October 2008

Visual interactive modeling principles and modeling by example offer concrete guidelines for developing user-centered DSS generators that exploit the advantages of visual modeling while supplying active decision support through proper integration of AI techniques. Human-computer interaction remains a central issue, suggesting further research to realize a high level of human-machine cooperation in problem solving and decision making.
CoverStory—Automated News Finding in Marketing
Authors: Schmitz John D. , Armstrong Gordon D. , Little John D. C.
Published: October 2008

Ocean Spray Cranberries, a $1 billion fruit-processing cooperative, tracks sales and assesses the effectiveness of its marketing programs with large data bases collected through bar-code scanners in supermarkets. Their level of detail is so great that it can obscure important facts and trends. Ocean Spray needed to automate as much of the analysis as possible. Working with Ocean Spray, Information Resources developed an expert system, CoverStory, to uncover the important facts and trends in the data base. Using a series of subanalyses, CoverStory reveals brands and markets that are newsworthy and identifies marketing factors that may be causing changes in these brands and markets. CoverStory is part of an overall DSS at Ocean Spray that permits a single marketing professional to manage the process of alerting all the marketing and sales managers to key problems and opportunities and to provide them with daily problem-solving information.
IBM's Experiences with GroupSystems
Authors: McGoff Chris , Hunt Ann , Vogel Doug , Nunamaker Jay
Published: October 2008

IBM has used GroupSystems, a collection of software tools that support group work developed at the University of Arizona, to conduct both intra- and inter-organizational sessions within IBM and among IBM associates and customers. Research conducted by the University of Arizona and IBM indicates that this information technology that supports parallel, anonymous, and collaborative group communication can aid tactical and strategic planning, human resource management, negotiation, and general meeting activities. Use of GroupSystems tools in these sessions enabled participants with widely varying backgrounds, motivations, and personal agendas to effectively and efficiently address complex problems. Problems addressed included quality improvement, customer account planning, opinion survey feedback, resource allocation, application implementation, contract performance reviews, and the establishment of standards.
The Research Institute for Application-Oriented Knowledge Processing (FAW): Planning and Realizing a High-Technology Institute
Authors: von Benda Heike , Radermacher F. J.
Published: October 2008

The FAW was founded at the end of 1987 in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, as part of an evolving scientific center. The institute is cosponsored by the State of Baden-Württemberg and a number of large industrial enterprises. Its research focuses on application-oriented knowledge processing, which ranges from basic research to precompetitive research and projects in industrial applications. The institute was formulated and implemented to do high-quality research and to achieve an intimate relationship between basic research and applications, and it depends on the right integration of state, industry, and science; solid funding with emphasis on deficit funding mechanisms; interchange of staff with the state and industry; close ties with the university; and the right kind of legal arrangements, for example, contracts for fixed periods of time.
Factors in the Success or Failure of Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers
Authors: Geisler Eliezer , Furino Antonio , Kiresuk Thomas J.
Published: October 2008

We studied 23 federally supported industry-university cooperative research centers and identified 22 organizational, managerial, and psychological factors that seem to contribute to the success or failure of the founders and managers of these centers, hence to the success or failure of the centers themselves. We grouped the factors into five categories: (1) relations with the focal university; (2) relations with industry; (3) internal management; (4) research and technology strategies; and (5) individual attributes of the founders and managers. Examples from actual chronologies of a successful and a nonsuccessful center seem to indicate that the attributes of the individual founders and managers and their relations with the focal university are the best predictors of success in the early stages of the life of a center, whereas relations with industry and internal management are the best predictors of success of a center in the later stages. Managers of centers and center constituents may be able to assess and predict the success or failure of a center, at any stage of its life, with a very small set of factors, thus allowing center managers to take corrective actions to improve their chances of success.
Franz Edelman Award for Management Science Achievement
Authors: Schneymann Arthur , Graves Stephen C. , Murphy Frederic H.
Published: October 2008

Introductory text about the 1990 Franz Edelman Award for management science achievement.
People Skills: Self-Awareness—A Critical Skill for MS/OR Professionals
Authors: Levasseur Robert E.
Published: October 2008

To be successful as MS/OR professional we need the skill to enable us to work effectively with people individually and in groups. Many who were technically trained find it difficult to acquire these skills. Why? First, such skills are less concrete than our technical skills. Second, we typically do not know where to go to learn them. Third, learning them will take us out of the comfort zone. A perspective on the skills that are critical for success of MS/OR practitioners in dealing with people is offered.
An Efficient Heuristic for Planning Mother Plate Requirements at Bethlehem Steel
Authors: Vasko Francis J. , Wolf Floyd E. , Pflugrad John A.
Published: October 2008

So that Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point plant can produce narrow-width (NW) customer-plate orders (typically 10′′ to 24′′) efficiently when its 60′′ plate mill is not operating, we developed a heuristic procedure to map these orders into mother plates for production on its 160′′ plate mill. Mother plates processed on the 60′′ plate mill are cut, using fairly simple, two-stage guillotine cutting patterns, into a few NW customer plates. Considerably more NW plates can be cut from the much larger mother plates processed on the 160′′ mill, and the number of possible mappings of NW customer plates into mother plates is much larger. Our heuristic procedure was implemented as a module in the plant's production planning and control system, and it is used daily to generate mother-plate dimensions and cutting patterns.
People Skills: Effective Communication—A Critical Skill for MS/OR Professionals
Authors: Levasseur Robert E.
Published: October 2008

Author examines those interpersonal communication skills that are necessary for effective interaction with others. They consist of having the proper attitude, learning to ask the right questions, listening actively, communicating directly, and giving feedback appropriately.