Optimisation Methods

The management in many cases requires the optimization of parameters related to the operation, production and performance of businesses (maximize or minimize) such as revenue, profit, cost, resource utilisation etc. The Operational Research provides methodological tools which can support business managers in decisions making covering all the aspects (internal and external). The course aims to teach specialized methods of Operations Research and applications for optimisation problems. Students are required to have successfully completed the course "Operations Research " where the basic methods and techniques of Operations Research are taught in order to be able to understand the methods of the course "Optimization Methods".

Objectives

After completing the course, students will be able to: • Describe administrative decision problems and identify those parameters that affect the case study of optimisation. • Select the methodology or combination of methodologies to be used to solve the optimisation problems. • Identify previous cases that constitute good practice and are related to the examined case. • Analyze decision problems and designing analytical models describing them. • Apply fluently and effectively the appropriate to the case examined methodological frames and techniques. • Develop applications using the familiar software tools (EXCEL / SOLVER, ENVI, MATLAB) to solve problems. • Analyze and describe arguments taking advantages form the results and propose the better solution • Evaluate the results and use the appropriate feedbacks of the methodology used for refining of the results. • Argue for the choice of the proposed decision.

Prerequisites

Operational Research

Syllabus

The course consists of the following sections: - Linear Programming - Operational Research - The Transportation problem - The Assignment Problem - MultiOpbjective Linear Programming - Analytical Hierarchy Process - Inventory Control - Basic Principles of Multicriteria Decision Analysis