Introduction to Linear Programming.

by Chaiho Kim
Review by: Michael H. Wagner
The Journal of Business, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul., 1973), pp. 480-481
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2351405 .
Accessed: 22/06/2014 01:18

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The
Journal of Business.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.145 on Sun, 22 Jun 2014 01:18:11 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
480 The Journal of Business

scribed,but are short on time or computingfunds to try out such programs.

To such an audience, this book will serve as a useful reference on the
mechanics of how to apply several of the most well-known and up-to-date
programsin MDS.
ROBERT F. LING
University of Chicago

Introduction to Linear Programming. By CHAIHO KIM.

New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971. Pp. xviii+556.

This textbook is intended to provide an in-depth treatment of the subject of

linear programming for students with a limited mathematical background.
The student is first presented with a short course in linear algebra and
geometric concepts and then led through a semirigorous development of the
subject. This is not the easiest way to learn linear programming, for the
simplex method and its variants may be understood as simply being se-
quences of row operations on systems of linear equations. Nevertheless, the
author does succeed in rendering his presentation comprehensible to the
mathematically unsophisticated through the liberal use of numerical examples
and detailed explanations of each step of the development.
The book is divided into two parts, with part 1 introducing the basic
mathematical concepts and part 2 covering topics in linear programming.
The first two chapters in part 1 introduce notions and methods of linear
algebra which are of direct relevance to linear programming, culminating
in a discussion of the use of the matrix inverse. The treatment is strictly
algebraic with geometric interpretations deferred until chapter 3, which deals
with convex sets. Part 1 is well written and tightly organized, with informal
proofs or plausibility arguments accompanying the nontrivial results. One
serious flaw in the development is that the relation between extreme points
and bases for requirement space is not established, even though the result is
heavily relied upon later.
Part 2 begins with chapter 4, which treats formulation and graphic
analysis. The example problems and formulation exercises are excellent, with
all of the most frequently encountered types of constraints illustrated. The
author provides a list of steps for formulating linear programming models
which is of value but somewhat misleading in that formulation in practice
is a trial-and-error process with the variables of the problem becoming
evident as attempts are made to express the objective function and con-
straints. The chapter is suitable for use as an introduction to the course.
The simplex method is introduced in chapter 5. Criteria for evaluating
optimality and selection of incoming and outgoing vectors are given. The
author wisely postpones discussion of the full pivoting procedure to the
following chapter, simply indicating that computation of a new basis inverse
will be one of the main steps of the procedure. Thus the student learns the
major outlines of the method before being submerged in the details. Here,

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.145 on Sun, 22 Jun 2014 01:18:11 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
481 Books Reviewed

and with nearly all of the algorithmsin the book, the steps are summarized
in both a list format and a flowchart. The algorithm is illustratedwith an
exampleproblem accompaniedby economic interpretationat each step.
The simplex tableau and the rules for its transformationare presented
in chapter 6. It is at this point that the advantage of viewing the method
as a sequence of row operations would be clear, for the author is forced
to present separate rules for transforming each of the separate types of
elements in the simplex tableau. The Big M and Two-Phase Methods for
artificialvariablesare also discussed in the chapter.
Duality, complementaryslackness, and the dual simplex method are
treated in chapter 7. The discussion of the economic interpretationsof
duality is lucid and quite extensive. The chapter as a whole is one of the
outstanding features of the book. Sensitivity analysis and parametricpro-
grammingare the subjectsof chapters8 and 9, respectively.In both cases the
treatment is complete and detailed. Some original work by the author on
parametrizationof an activity vector is included.
The decompositionprincipleis the subjectof chapter 10. As in chapter
7, economic interpretationis effectively stressed.The developmentis slightly
hamperedby the fact that the student has not yet been presentedwith the
revised simplex method. On the other hand, as intended by the author, the
chapter is accessible to students who will not study the revised simplex
method. In chapter 11, the revised simplex method is discussed.The method
is not well motivated,for the central role of basis inverse is not emphasized
in a preview of the method. Thus, in my opinion, the chapter is somewhat
needlessly difficult.
Other variants of the simplex method, including the perturbation
method for avoiding degeneracy,proceduresfor bounded variables,and the
composite simplex method, are presentedin chapter 12. Transportationand
transshipmentproblems and solution techniquesare discussed in chapter 13.
The Steppingstone,Modi, and Vogel's approximationmethods are treated
and the procedurefor transformingtransshipmentproblems into transporta-
tion problemspointed out. The book concludes with a fairly extensive bibli-
ography of books and articles dealing with theory and applications.
This book is strongly recommendedfor students whose mathematical
backgroundis currentlylimited but who can reasonablybe expected to have
future use for a backgroundin linear algebra. The extent of coverage and
degree of rigor are such that the student will be well placed for further
study in mathematicalprogramming.On occasion, the instructor must be
preparedto supply overviews of the material about to be pursued, but the
book on the whole is very good in supplyingmotivation for and explanation
of the particulars. Students who wish to understand linear programming
only to the extent that they can use it effectively can find easier treatments
of the subject.

MICHAEL H. WAGNER
New York University

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.145 on Sun, 22 Jun 2014 01:18:11 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions