Today’s students in introductory operations research courses tend to be very interested in
learning more about the relevance of the material being covered, including how it is actually
being used in practice. Therefore, without diluting any of the features of the 6th
edition, the focus of the revision for this edition has been on increasing the motivation
and excitement of the students by making the book considerably more “real world” oriented
and accessible. The new emphasis on the kinds of software that practitioners use is
one thrust in this direction. Other major new features are outlined below.
Twenty-five elaborate new cases, embedded in a realistic setting and employing a
stimulating storytelling approach, have been added at the end of the problem sections. All
but one of these cases were developed jointly by two talented case writers, Karl Schmedders
(a faculty member at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern
University) and Molly Stephens (recently an operations research consultant with Andersen
Consulting). We also have further fleshed out six cases that were in the 6th edition.
The cases generally require relatively challenging and comprehensive analyses with substantial
use of the computer. Therefore, they are suitable for student projects, working either
individually or in teams, and can then lead to class discussion of the analysis.
A complementary new feature is that many new problems embedded in a realistic setting
have been added to the problem section of many chapters. Some of the current problems
also have been fleshed out in a more interesting way.
This edition also places much more emphasis on providing perspective in terms of
what is actually happening in the practice of operations research. What kinds of applications
are occurring? What sizes of problems are being solved? Which models and techniques
are being used most widely? What are their shortcomings and what new developments
are beginning to address these shortcomings? These kinds of questions are being
addressed to convey the relevance of the techniques under discussion.