Knowledge that Transforms

Errata to Freeman, Raoul J. 1957. Ss inventory policy with variable delivery time. Management Sci. 3 (4) 431–434.

This paper will be concerned with formulating the optimum allocation of search effort as a problem in convex programming so that their solutions may be made amenable to treatment by the adjacent extreme point methods of linear programming. Attention will be concentrated on discrete (statistical) distributions because this class of cases admits of the easiest and most straight-forward treatment. A sketch will then be given of how extensions may also be effected to continuous distributions.

A forward algorithm for a solution to the following dynamic version of the economic lot size model is given: allowing the possibility of demands for a single item, inventory holding charges, and setup costs to vary over N periods, we desire a minimum total cost inventory management scheme which satisfies known demand in every period. Disjoint planning horizons are shown to be possible which eliminate the necessity of having data for the full N periods.

The problem of maintaining quality of inventory in the presence of deterioration is studied. Repeated application of sampling inspections together with replacement policies are used to maintain quality. The effect of such repeated applications can be measured in terms of the proportion of poor product existing at any time. In this paper, the sampling plans studied are those commonly used in acceptance sampling, and the replacement policy consists in replacing lots judged defective by the sampling procedure. The theory of Markov processes is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the sampling plans and replacement policy. As illustrations, special cases are considered. Graphs are provided for these cases.

The well known chemical equilibrium problem is expressed in the form of minimizing the free energy of a mixture in order to compute the chemical composition at equilibrium. By piece-wise linear approximations to the free energy function, the problem becomes a linear program which can be solved by a standard code on a computing machine. Successive approximations give any degree of accuracy.

Business school training needs to consider the managerial needs of a quarter century hence. This implies greater emphasis in designing business school curricula and teaching methods on the development of fundamental analytical tools and on the use of these tools in identifying, solving, and implementing decisions on managerial problems. Fundamental analytical tools will come especially from the behavioral sciences, economics, and quantitative methods (including the use of mathematics). The “applied” fields of business (marketing, production, finance, and so on) should, at least now, be viewed primarily as important problem areas where best solutions depend on the effective application of such fundamental tools. This approach implies elimination of much of the current subject matter of business school curricula.

Considerations which led to the selection of scientific Computers in preference to a business machine Data Processor for the preparation of Shop Orders, Scheduling and Control of Stock Status. Problems faced relative to the use of scientific Computers to handle large volumes of input and output data. Practical operating difficulties faced in the joint use of a Computer by Engineering and Accounting personnel. Problems encountered in attempting to capitalize to the maximum on the computer's potential capabilities. Advantage of having the programming and coding of a problem vested in one group of personnel. Management benefits accruing from the use of the Computer.

Integrated steel mills usually have a choice over the use of various materials and production processes. Different ores may be used in the production of iron; steel scrap and iron can be used in different proportions in the production of steel. The economical usage rate of all materials is a function of numerous variables, among which the market price of some materials, notably of various grades of steel scrap, fluctuates and therefore requires a periodic determination of the economical usage rate. This is a typical problem for programming. The paper presents a mathematical formulation of the stages of iron and steel production to determine the optimal (least cost) rate of input of materials. The models of the various stages of production are connected to form a “master model” of an integrated steel mill.

The evaluation of alternative locations for an automatic classification yard has become an important problem for railroad managements. Because of the lower classification costs in these yards and the importance of such costs, many railroads have installed these newer facilities. An automatic yard represents an investment of $5,000,000 or more. Hence, the decision to install such a yard and the question regarding its location merit considerable thought and attention. In this paper, a simple model is constructed to aid a railroad management in choosing among alternative locations. This model is being used by one firm, and it should prove useful to many operations researchers interested in the industry. Although it was constructed primarily to deal with the problem of yard location, the model seems sufficiently flexible to deal with other railroad problems. A few of these other problems are also discussed briefly. The plan of the paper is as follows. Sections I and II contain some introductory material concerning freight yards and some definitions of terms. Section III contains a full description of the location problem we consider. Sections IV–VI deal with the model and procedure we propose. Section VII contains a numerical example, and Section VIII contains some concluding remarks.

A systematically organized method of writing can improve an organization's communications. Such a systematic method of writing can be expressed in the technical notation of modern symbolic logic or in a modified form of ordinary English prose that can be easily understood by readers who have not had any training in modern logic. This method can provide both a means of detecting ambiguities and a means of simplifying complicated statements without changing their meaning. Once an ambiguity is detected a writer can cut that ambiguity out, or he can allow it to remain. He is not forced to delete ambiguity in the systematically organized method of writing suggested in this article. This method of writing is likely to be used by organizations if, and only if, its merits are fully understood.