MB004 8 MBA SEMESTER II MB0048 Operation Research- 4 Credits (Book ID: B1301) Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Naser Shoukat Firfire

Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions 1. a .Define O.R and discuss its characteristics. [ 5 marks] Operations research (also referred to as decision science, or management science) is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations. In contrast, many other science & engineering disciplines focus on technology giving secondary considerations to its use. Employing techniques from other mathematical sciences such as mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and mathematical optimization operations research arrives at optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems. Because of its emphasis on human-technology interaction and because of its focus on practical applications, operations research has overlap with other disciplines, notably industrial engineering and operations management,and draws on psychology and organization science. Operations Research is often concerned with determining the maximum (of profit, performance, or yield) or minimum (of loss, risk, or cost) of some real-world objective. Originating in military efforts before World War II, its techniques have grown to concern problems in a variety of industries The various definitions of Operation Research in previous slides bring out the essential characteristics of Operation Research. They are. The various definitions of Operation Research in previous slides bring out the essential characteristics of Operation Research. They are........ (1) its system (or executive) orientation, (2) the use of inter-disciplinary teams, (3) application of scientific method, (4) uncovering of new problems, (5) improvement in quality of decisions, (6) use of computer, (7) quantitative solutions, and (8) human factors. System (or executive) Orientation of OR : System (or executive) Orientation of OR One of the most important characteristics of OR study is its concern with problems as a whole or its system orientation. This means that an activity by any part of an organisation has some effect on the activity of every other part. The optimum operation of one of a system may not be the optimum operation for some other part. Therefore, to evaluate any decision, one must identify all possible intetactions and determine their empact on the organization as a whole. The Use of Inter-disciplinary Teams : The Use of Inter-disciplinary Teams The second characteristics of OR study is that it

Naser Shoukat Firfire MB004 is 8 performed by a team of scientists whose individual members have been drawn from different scientifc and engineering disciplines. For example, one a find a mathematician, statistician, physicist, psychologist, economist and an engineer working together on an OR problem.

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Application of Scientific Method : Application of Scientific Method The third distinguish feature of OR is the use of scientific method to solve the problem under study. Most scientific research, such as chemistry and physics can be carried out well in the laboratories, under controlled conditions, without much interference from the outside world. However, the same is not true in the system under study by OR teams. For example, no company can risk its failure in order to conduct a successful experiment. Uncovering of New Problems : Uncovering of New Problems The fourth characteristic of operation research, which is often overlooked, is that solution of an OR problem may uncover a number of new problems. Of course, all these uncovered problems need not be solved at the same time. However, in order to derive maximum benefit, each one of them must be solved. It must be remembered that OR is not effectively used if it is restricted to one-shot problems only. In order to derive full benefits, continuity of research must be maintained. Of course, the result of OR study pertaining to a particular problem need not wait untill all the connected problems solved. Improvement in quality of decisions : Improvement in quality of decisions OR gives bad answers to problems, to which, otherwise , worse answers are given. It implies that by applying its scientific approach, it can only improve the quality of solution but it may not be able to give perfect solution.

b. Explain the nature of Operations Research and its limitations.[ 5 marks] Operations research has been used to solve only a fairly limited number of managerial problems. Its limitations should not be overlooked. In the first place, there is the sheer magnitude of the mathematical and computing aspects. The number of variables and interrelationships in many managerial problems, plus the complexities of human relationships and reactions, calls for a higher order of mathematics than nuclear physics does. The late mathematical genius John von Neumann found, in his development of the theory of games, that his mathematical abilities soon reached their limit in a relatively simple strategic problem. Managers are, however, a long way from fully using the mathematics now available. In the second place, although probabilities and approximations are being substituted for unknown quantities and although scientific method can assign values to factors that could never be measured before, a major portion of important managerial decisions still involves qualitative factors. Until these can be measured, operations research will have limited usefulness in these areas, and decisions will continue to be based on non-quantitative judgments. Related to the fact that many management decisions involve un-measurable factors is the lack of information needed to make operations research useful in practice. In conceptualizing a problem area and constructing a mathematical model to represent it, people discover variables about which they need information that is not now available. To improve this situation, persons interested in the practical applications of operations research should place far more emphasis on developing this required information.

Naser Shoukat Firfire MB004 8 Still another limitation is the gap between practicing managers and trained operation researchers. Managers in general lack a knowledge and appreciation of mathematics, just as mathematicians lack an understanding of managerial problems. This gap is being dealt with, to an increasing extent,

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by the business schools and, more often, by business firms that team up managers with operations research. But it is still the major reasons why firms are slow to use operations research. A final drawback of operations research at least in its application to complex problems is that analyses and programming are expensive and many problems are not important enough to justify this cost. However, in practice this has not really been a major limitation.

2. a. What are the essential characteristics of a linear programming model? [ 5 marks] Linear programming (LP, or linear optimization) is a mathematical method for determining a way to achieve the best outcome (such as maximum profit or lowest cost) in a given mathematical model for some list of requirements represented as linear relationships. Linear programming is a specific case of mathematical programming (mathematical optimization). More formally, linear programming is a technique for the optimization of a linear objective function, subject to linear equality and linear inequality constraints. Its feasible region is a convex polyhedron, which is a set defined as the intersection of finitely many half spaces, each of which is defined by a linear inequality. Its objective function is a real-valued affine function defined on this polyhedron. A linear programming algorithm finds a point in the polyhedron where this function has the smallest (or largest) value if such point exists. Linear programs are problems that can be expressed in canonical form:

where x represents the vector of variables (to be determined), c and b are vectors of (known) coefficients and A is a (known) matrix of coefficients. The expression to be maximized or minimized is called the objective function (cTx in this case). The equations Ax b are the constraints which specify a convex polytope over which the objective function is to be optimized. (In this context, two vectors are comparable when every entry in one is less-than or equal-to the corresponding entry in the other. Otherwise, they are incomparable.) Linear programming can be applied to various fields of study. It is used most extensively in business and economics, but can also be utilized for some engineering problems. Industries that use linear programming models include transportation, energy, telecommunications, and manufacturing. It has proved useful in modeling diverse types of problems in planning, routing, scheduling, assignment, and design. The problem of solving a system of linear inequalities dates back at least as far as Fourier, after whom the method of Fourier-Motzkin elimination is named. The three founders of the subject are considered to be Leonid Kantorovich, the Russian mathematician who developed the earliest linear programming problems in 1939, George Dantzig, who published the simplex method in 1947, andJohn von Neumann,

Naser Shoukat Firfire MB004 who developed the theory of the duality in the same year. The earliest linear 8 programming was first developed by Leonid Kantorovich, a Russian mathematician, in 1939.[1] It was used during World War II to plan expenditures and returns in order to reduce costs to the army and increase losses to the enemy. The method was kept secret until 1947 when George B. Dantzigpublished the simplex method and John von Neumann developed the theory of duality as

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a linear optimization solution, and applied it in the field of game theory. Postwar, many industries found its use in their daily planning. The linear-programming problem was first shown to be solvable in polynomial time by Leonid Khachiyan in 1979, but a larger theoretical and practical breakthrough in the field came in 1984 whenNarendra Karmarkar introduced a new interior-point method for solving linear-programming problems. Dantzig's original example of finding the best assignment of 70 people to 70 jobs exemplifies the usefulness of linear programming. The computing power required to test all the permutations to select the best assignment is vast; the number of possible configurations exceeds the number of particles in the universe. However, it takes only a moment to find the optimum solution by posing the problem as a linear program and applying the Simplex algorithm. The theory behind linear programming drastically reduces the number of possible optimal solutions that must be checked. b. Explain the graphical method of solving a LPP involving two variables.[ 5 marks] Learn about linear programming by graphical method. If the objective function Z is a function of two variables only, then the Linear Programming Problem can be solved effectively by the graphical method. If Z is a function of three variables, then also it can be solved by this method. But in this case the graphical solution becomes complicated enough. The linear programming problems are solved in applied mathematics models. Graphical Method of Solving Linear Programming Draw the graph of the constraints. Determine the region which satisfies all the constraints and non-negative constraints (x > 0, y > 0). This region is called the feasible region. Determine the co-ordinates of the corners of the feasible region. Calculate the values of the objective function at each corner. Select the corner point which gives the optimum (maximum or minimum) value of the objective function. The co-ordinates of that point determine the optimal solution.

3. a. Explain the simplex procedure to solve a linear programming problem. [ 5 marks] Most real-world linear programming problems have more than two variables and thus are too complexfor graphical solution. A procedure called the simplex method may be used to find the optimalsolution to multivariable problems. The simplex method is actually an algorithm (or a set of instructions)with which we examine corner points in a methodical fashion until we arrive at the best solution highest profit or lowest cost. Computer programs and spreadsheets are available to handle thesimplex calculations for you.

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But you need to know what is involved behind the scenes in order tobest understand their valuable outputs. The first step of the simplex method requires that we convert each inequality constraint in an LP formulationinto an equation. Less-than-or-equal-to constraints () can be converted to equations byadding slack variables, which represent the amount of an unused resource. We formulate the Shader Electronics Companys product mix problem as follows, using linear Programming b. Explain the use of artificial variables in L.P[ 5 marks] Another frequently asked question by students is related to use of artificial variables while preparing the initial basic feasible solution table. The common flow of discussion forces the student to think in a logical way as he has been thinking about slack and surplus variables but the artificial variables can not be considered in the same logical category as the previous two. Just to recall, slack and surplus variables are used in LP to convert inequality constraints to that of equality. If the constraint is of <= type, we add a slack variable to the left hand side expression to make it equal to the right hand side value. It has some meaning. If we write a constraint related to a raw material in a product mix problem, the left hand side expression gives the raw material consumption while the r.h.s. value is the availabilty of that raw material. The consumption has to be less than or equal to the availability, it can not be more. And so the constraint is of <= type. The value of the slack variable is the difference between the availability and the consumption. So at any stage it gives the quantity of raw material unused. Similarly, when the constraint is of >= type, we subtarct a surplus variable from the l.h.s. expression to make it equal to the r.h.s. value. Why should such type of constraint arise in real life situation? May be that the production of a product has to be more than a given quantity because this much is needed by a very important customer. Or may be that intake of a combination of items by human body has to be more than a prescribed quantity to keep the body healthy. You can understand that here again the surplus variable has some meaning and it's value gives an idea as to how much surplus one has produced or how much surplus one has eaten. Coming to the artificial variables, they don't have such meaning. Here, suddenly you have to reduce your understanding capability. Don't try to find much meaning. Artificial variables are not there to make out much meaning. They are used to get an initial basic variable from the constraints while preparing the initial basic feasible solution table. Constraints of >= type and =

Naser Shoukat Firfire MB004 type don't provide any basic variable. So, artificial variable is added 8 arbitrarily to get the basic variable. And also a heavy penalty is associated for this

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misdeed so that these variables are pushed out of the basis. Values of these variables don't make much sense because they should go out of the basis and never come back. But if they remain in the optimal basis then you have to say that there is no feasible solution to the given LP. This conclusion depends just on the presence of the articial variable in the basis of the optimal table, it doesn't change with it's value.

4. a. Explain the economic interpretation of dual variables. [ 5 marks] Economic interpretation of dual Consider the following primal problem: Maximize c1x1 + : : : + cnxn subject to all xi 0 a11x1 + : : : a1nxn b1 ::: am1x1 + : : : amnxn bm: Economic interpretation: n economic activities, m resources cj is revenue per unit of activity jbi is maximum availability of resource I aij is consumption of resource i per unit of activity j 1The dual Minimize b1y1 + : : : + bmym subject to all yi 0 a11y1 + : : : a1mym c1 ::: an1x1 + : : : anmym cn: 2 Interpreting the dual variables

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If (x1; : : : ; xn) is optimal for the primal, and (y1; : : : ; ym) is optimal for the dual, then we know: c1x1 + : : : + cnxn = b1y1 + : : : + bmym Left-hand side: Maximal revenue Right-hand side: P resources I (availibility of resource i) (revenue per unit of resource i) In other words: Value of yi at optimal is dual price of resource I Away from optimality, we have c1x1 + : : : + cnxn < b1y1 + : : : + bmym Left-hand side: current (suboptimal) revenue Right-hand side: P resources i (worth of resource i) Solution is not optimal because resources are not being fully utilized 3Interpreting the dual constraints If (x1; : : : ; xn) is feasible (not necessarily optimal) for the primal, and (y1; : : : ; ym) is the corresponding collection of dual values, then we know: Current objective coefcient of xj = (Left-hand side of dual constraint j) (Right-hand side) = (a1jy1 + : : : + amjyj ) cj cj is a measure of revenue per unit (of activity j) So a1jy1 + : : : + amjyj is an imputed (implicit) cost per unit (of act. j) Also, yi is imputed cost per unit of resource i in a unit of activity j If objective coefcient of xj (= cost revenue, = reduced cost) is strictly negative, then revenue > cost, so it makes since to increase activity j this is the pivoting process of the simplex method b. Define: Primal Problem and Dual Problem.[ 5 marks]

Naser Shoukat Firfire MB004 8 In constrained optimization, it is often possible to convert the primal problem (i.e. the original form of the optimization problem) to a dual form, which is termed a dual problem. Usually dual

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problemrefers to the Lagrangian dual problem but other dual problems are used, for example, the Wolfe dual problem and the Fenchel dual problem. The Lagrangian dual problem is obtained by forming theLagrangian, using nonnegative Lagrangian multipliers to add the constraints to the objective function, and then solving for some primal variable values that minimize the Lagrangian. This solution gives the primal variables as functions of the Lagrange multipliers, which are called dual variables, so that the new problem is to maximize the objective function with respect to the dual variables under the derived constraints on the dual variables (including at least the nonnegativity). The solution of the dual problem provides an upper bound to the solution of the primal problem.[1] However in general the optimal values of the primal and dual problems need not be equal. Their difference is called the duality gap. For convex optimization problems, the duality gap is zero under a constraint qualification condition. Thus, a solution to the dual problem provides a bound on the value of the solution to the primal problem; when the problem is convex and satisfies a constraint qualification, then the value of an optimal solution of the primal problem is given by the dual problem. In optimization theory, the duality principle states that optimization problems may be viewed from either of two perspectives, the primal problem or the dual problem. In general given two dual pairs separated locally convex spaces . Then given the function primal problem by and

, we can define the

If there are constraint conditions, these can be built in to the function f by letting f = f + Iconstraints where I is the indicator function. Then let
[2]

be a perturbation function such that F(x,0) = f(x).

The duality gap is the difference of the right and left hand side of the inequality

where F

is the convex conjugate in both variables

5. Describe the North-West Corner rule for finding the initial basic feasible solution in the transportation problem?[ 10 marks] The Initial basic Feasible solution using North-West corner rule Let us consider a T.P involving m-origins and n-destinations. Since the sum of origin capacities equals the sum of destination requirements, a feasible solution always exists. Any feasible solution satisfying m + n 1 of the m + n constraints is a redundant one and hence can be deleted. This also means that a feasible solution to a T.P can have at the most only m + n 1 strictly positive component, otherwise the solution will

Naser Shoukat Firfire MB004 degenerate.It is always possible to assign an initial feasible solution to a 8 T.P. in such a manner that the rim requirements are satisfied. This can be achieved either by inspection or by following some simple rules. We begin by imagining that the transportation table is blank i.e. initially all xij = 0. The simplest procedures for initial allocation discussed in the following section. North West Corner Rule Step1:

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The first assignment is made in the cell occupying the upper left hand (north west) corner of the transportation table. The maximum feasible amount is allocated there, that is x11 = min (a1,b1)So that either the capacity of origin O1 is used up or the requirement at destination D1 is satisfied or both. This value of x11 is entered in the upper left hand corner (small square) of cell (1, 1) in the transportation table. Step 2: If b1 > a1 the capacity of origin O, is exhausted but the requirement at destination D1 is still not satisfied , so that at least one more other variable in the first column will have to take on a positive value. Move down vertically to the second row and make the second allocation of magnitude x21 = min (a2, b1 x21) in the cell (2,1). This either exhausts the capacity of origin O2 or satisfies the remaining demand at destination D1.If a1 > b1 the requirement at destination D1 is satisfied but the capacity of origin O1 is not completely exhausted. Move to the right horizontally to the second column and make the second allocation of magnitude x12 = min (a1 x11, b2) in the cell (1, 2) . This either exhausts the remaining capacity of origin O1 or satisfies the demand at destination D2 .If b1 = a1, the origin capacity of O1 is completely exhausted as well as the requirement at destination is completely satisfied. There is a tie for second allocation, An arbitrary tie breaking choice is made. Make the second allocation of magnitude x12 = min (a1 a1, b2) = 0 in the cell (1, 2) or x21 = min (a2, b1 b2) = 0 in the cell (2, 1). Step 3: Start from the new north west corner of the transportation table satisfying destination requirements and exhausting the origin capacities one at a time, move down towards the lower right corner of the transportation table until all the rim requirements are satisfied. 6. Use the simplex method to Maximise z = 3x1 x2 Subject to the constraints 2x1 + x2 2 x1+ 3x2 3 x2 4, x1, x2 0. Answe r: Rewriting in the standard form, Maximise z = 3x1 x2 + 0S1 MA1 + 0.S2 + 0.S3 Subject to 2x1 + x2 S1 + A1 = 2 x1 + 3x2 + S2 = 2 x2 + S3

MB004 = 8 4, x1, x2, S1, S2, S3, A1 0 Phase 1: Consider the new objective, Maximise Z* = A1 Subject to 2x1 + x2 S1 + A1 = 2 x1 + 3x2 + S2 = 2 x2 + S3 = 4,

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The optimal solution of the new objective is Z* = 0.

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Optimal. The maximum value of the objective function Z = 6 which is attained for x1 = 2, x2 = 0.

MB004 8 MBA SEMESTER II MB0048 Operation Research- 4 Credits (Book ID: B1301) Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Naser Shoukat Firfire

Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions 1. a. Explain the terms: Pure strategy, Mixed Strategy, Saddle point, Competitive games, Payoffmatrix, Rectangular games. [ 5 marks] Pure strategy During the game, if a players strategy is to adopt a specific course of action, irrespective of the opponents strategy, the players strategy is called pure strategy. 12.3.6 Mixed strategy If a player chooses his course of action according to pre-assigned probabilities, then the players strategy is called mixed strategy. Thus, if player A decides to adopt courses of action 2 1 A and A with perspective probabilities 0.4 and 0.6, it is mixed strategy. Caselet: (2-finger morra game) Two persons A and B play a game. They simultaneously raise their hand and exhibit either one finger or two fingers. If both A and B, show one finger or if both show two fingers, A should pay Rs. 10 to B. On the other hand, if one player shows one finger and the other player shows two fingers, B should pay Rs. 5 to A. The pay-off matrix of A is: Player B B1 (one finger) B2 (two fingers) Player A A1 (one finger) -10 5 A2 (two fingers) 5 -10

If the player A decides to show one finger ( A1 ) , his strategy is pure strategy. On the other hand, if A decides to play A1 with probability 0.5 and A2 with probability 0.5, his strategy is mixed strategy. This means, if he is repeatedly playing, he

MB004 should play both A1 and A2 randomly almost equal number of 8 times. Competitive games A competitive game has the following characteristics: 1. The number of players or competitors is finite. 2. Each player has finite number of courses of action or moves.

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3. A game is played when each player adopts any one course of action. 4. Every time a game is played, the corresponding combination of courses of action leads to a transaction or payment to each player. The payment is called pay-off or gain. The pay-off may be monetary (money) or some benefit, such as increased sales. 5. The players do not communicate with each other. 6. The players are aware of the rules before starting the game. Payoffmatrix a) Arrive at a column opportunity cost matrix by subtracting the lowest entry of each column of the given payoff matrix from all the entries in the column. b) Then subtract the lowest entry of each row of the matrix obtained in (a) from all the entries in its row. Rectangular game If the sum of the gains (pay-off) of the players in a game is zero, the game is called zero-sum game. A zero-sum game with two players is called two-person zero-sum game. It is also called rectangular game. b. Explain the Maximin and Minimax principle used in Game Theory.[ 5 marks] Player A and player B are to play a game without knowing the other players strategy. However, player A would like to maximise his profit and player B would like to minimise his loss. Also each player would expect his opponent to be calculative. Suppose player A plays A1 . Then, his gain would be a11 ,a12 ,...a1n accordingly Bs choice would beB1 ,B2 ,...Bn .Let1 min{ a11 ,a12 ,...a1n } . Then, 1 is the minimum gain of A when he plays A1 ( 1 is the minimum pay-off in the first row.) Similarly, if A plays A2 , his minimum gain is 2 , the least pay-off in the second row. You will find corresponding to As play A1 ,A2 ,......Am , the minimum gains are the row minimums1 , 2 ,.. m . Suppose A chooses the course of action where i is maximum. Then the maximum of the row minimum in the pay-off matrix is called maximin. The maximin is

Similarly, when B plays, he would minimise his maximum loss. The maximum loss to B is when B j is ( aij )

MB004 8 max ji. This is the maximum pay-off in the th j column. The minimum of the column maximums in the pay-off matrix is called minimax.

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2. a. Explain the steps involved in Monte-Carlo simulation. [ 5 marks] Simulation is also called experimentation in the management laboratory. While dealing with business problems, simulation is often referred to as Monte Carlo Analysis. Two American mathematicians, Von Neumann and Ulan, in the late 1940s found a problem in the field of nuclear physics too complex for analytical solution and too dangerous for actual experimentation. They arrived at an approximate solution by sampling. The method they used had resemblance to the gamblers betting systems on the roulette table, hence the name Monte Carlo has stuck. Imagine a betting game where the stakes are based on correct prediction of the number of heads, which occur when five coins are tossed. If it were only a question of one coin; most people know that there is an equal likelihood of a head or a tail occurring, that is the probability of a head is . However, without the application of probability theory, it would be difficult to predict the chances of getting various numbers of heads, when five coins are tossed. Why dont you take five coins and toss them repeatedly. Note down the outcomes of each toss after every ten tosses, approximate the probabilities of various outcomes. As you know, the values of these probabilities will initially fluctuate, but they would tend to stabilise as the number of tosses are increased. This approach in effect is a method of sampling, but is not very convenient. Instead of actually tossing the coins, you can conduct the experiment using random numbers. Random numbers have the property that any number is equally likely to occur, irrespective of the digit that has already occurred.

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b. What are the advantages and limitations of using simulation?[ 5 marks] The simulation approach is recognised as a powerful tool for management decisionmaking. One should not ignore the cost associated with a simulation study for data collection, formation of the model and the computer time as it is fairly significan A simulation application is based on the premise that the behaviour pattern of relevant variables is known, and this very premise sometimes becomes questionable. Not always can the probabilities be estimated with ease or desired reliability. The results of simulation should always be compared with solutions obtained by other methods wherever possible, and tempered with managerial judgment.

3. a. Distinguish between PERT and CPM. What is a critical path?[ 5 marks] Though there are no essential differences between PERT and CPM as both of them share in common the determination of a critical path. Both are based on the network representation of activities and their scheduling that determines the most critical activities to be controlled so as to meet the completion date of the project. 11.2.1 PERT Some key points about PERT are as follows: 1. PERT was developed in connection with an R&D work. Therefore, it had to cope with the uncertainties that are associated with R&D activities. In PERT, the total project duration is regarded as a random variable. Therefore, associated probabilities are calculated so as to characterise it. 2. It is an event-oriented network because in the analysis of a network, emphasis is given on the important stages of completion of a task rather than the activities required to be performed to reach a particular event or task. 3. PERT is normally used for projects involving activities of non-repetitive nature in which time estimates are uncertain. 4. It helps in pinpointing critical areas in a project so that necessary adjustment can be made to meet the scheduled completion date of the project. 11.2.3 Project scheduling by PERT-CPM CPM 1. CPM was developed in connection with a construction project, which consisted of routine tasks whose resource requirements and duration were known with certainty. Therefore, it is basically deterministic. 2. CPM is suitable for establishing a trade-off for optimum balancing between schedule time and cost of the project. 3. CPM is used for projects involving activities of repetitive nature. It consists of three basic phases: planning, scheduling and controlling.

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b. Write a short note on PERT/CPM networks in Operations Research.[ 5 marks] PERT/CPM networks consist of two major components as discussed below: a) Events: An event represents a point in time that signifies the completion of some activities and the beginning of new ones. The beginning and end points of an activity are thus described by 2 events usually known as the tail and head events. Events are commonly represented by circles (nodes) in the network diagram. They do not consume time and resource. Activities: Activities of the network represent project operations or tasks to be conducted. An arrow is commonly used to represent an activity, with its head indicating the direction of progress in the project. Activities originating from a certain event cannot start until the activities terminating at the same event have been completed. They consume time and resource.

Events in the network diagram are identified by numbers. Numbers are given to events such that the arrow head number is greater than the arrow tail number. Activities are identified by the numbers of their starting (tail) event and ending (head) event.

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In figure 11.3 the arrow (P.Q) extended between two events represents the activity. The tail event P represents the start of the activity and the head event Q represents the completion of the activity.

4. a. State the general form of an integer programming problem. [ 5 marks] The Integer Programming Problem (IPP) is a special case of Linear Programming Problem (LPP), where all or some variables are constrained to assume non-negative integer values. You can apply this problem to various situations in business and industry where discrete nature of the variables is involved in many decision-making situations. For instance, in manufacturing, the production is frequently scheduled in terms of batches, lots or runs; in distribution, a shipment must involve a discrete number of trucks or aircrafts or freight cars Learning objectives By the end of this unit, you should be able to: Write an integer programming problem (IPP) Solve an integer programming problem (IPP) using Gomorys method Apply the branch and land technique An integer programming problem can be described as follows: Determine the value of unknowns x1, x2, , xn So as to optimise z = c1x1 +c2x2 + . . .+ cnxn Subject to the constraints ai1 x1 + ai2 x2 + . . . + ain xn =bi , i = 1,2,,m and xj

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0 j = 1, 2, ,n Where xj being an integral value for j = 1, 2, , k n. If all the variables are forced to take only integral value that is k = n, it is called an all (or pure) integer programming problem. If some of the variables are restricted to take integral value and the remaining (n k) variables take any non-negative value, then the problem is known as a mixed integer programming problem. b. Describe the branch and bound method for the solution of integer programming problem?[ 5marks]

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Note: At the termination of the algorithm, if a feasible integer valued solution yielding z(t) has been recorded, it is optimum, or else no integer valued feasible solution exists. 5. How can you use the Matrix Minimum method to find the initial basic feasible solution in the transportation problem? [ 10 marks]

MB004 8 Q6. Solve the following transportation problem.

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Answer: The minimum transportation cost is Rs. 112 as 0