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CERTIFICATE

Certified that this is a bonafide report of the project


entitled 'Linear Programming Problems' done by Mr.
Yash Goyal under my supervision and guidance in the
partial fulfillment for the internal assessment introduced
in the degree semester course.

Place : Palwal Signature


Date : 1/01/2020 ( Mr. Nirdosh Kumar)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am deeply grateful to class teacher Mr. NIRDOSH KUMAR


and other teachers in our Maths Department from whom I
received comments and suggestions which have helped me to
improve the collection of this project. I would like to express my
appreciation to the group members who took my project and
helped me in improving the earlier versions of the manuscript. I
would like to place on record my sincere appreciation to Nirdosh
Kumar for his painstaking efforts in typing the manuscript in a
record time. Last but not least, I acknowledge with thanks the
sacrifices made by my dear friends and family on account of my
involvement with the task of completing this project work.
INTRODUCTION
Mathematics is the queen of science. In our daily life, planning is
required on various occasions, especially when the resources are limited.
Any planning is meant for attaining certain objectives. The best strategy is
one that gives a maximum output from a minimum input. The objective
which is in the form of output may be to get the maximum profit, minimum
cost of production or minimum inventory cost with a limited input of raw
material, manpower and machine capacity. Such problems are referred to
as the problems of constrained optimization. Linear programming is a
technique for determining an optimum schedule of interdependent
activities in view of the available resources. Programming is just another
word for 'planning' and refers to the process of determining a particular
plan of action from amongst several alternatives.

Linear programming applies to optimization models in which


objective and constraint functions are strictly linear. The technique is used
in a wide range of applications, including agriculture, industry,
transportation, economics, health systems, behavioral and social sciences
and the military. It also boasts efficient computational algorithms for
problems with thousands of constraints and variables. Indeed, because of
its tremendous computational efficiency, linear programming forms the
backbone of the solution algorithms for other operative research models,
including integer, stochastic and non-linear programming. The graphical
solution provides insight into the development of the general algebraic
simplex method. It also gives concrete ideas for the development and
interpretation of sensitivity analysis in linear programming.

Linear programming is a major innovation since World War II in


the field of business decision making, particularly under conditions of
certainty. The word 'linear' means the relationships handled are those
represented by straight lines, i.e. the relationships are of the form y = a +
bx and the word 'programming' means taking decisions systematically.
Thus, linear programming is a decision making technique under given
constraints on the assumption that the relationships amongst the variables
representing different phenomena happen to be linear.
DATA COLLECTION
Linear programming is a versatile mathematical technique in operations
research and a plan of action to solve a given problem involving linearly
related variables in order to achieve the laid down objective in the form of
minimizing or maximizing the objective function under a given set of
constraints

CHARACTERISTICS
 Objectives can be expressed in a standard form viz.
maximize/minimize z = f(x) where z is called the objective function.
 Constraints are capable of being expressed in the form of equality or
inequality viz. f(x) = or ≤ or ≥ k, where k = constant and x ≥ 0.
 Resources to be optimized are capable of being quantified in
numerical terms.
 The variables are linearly related to each other.
 More than one solution exist, the objectives being to select the
optimum solution.
 The linear programming technique is based on simultaneous
solutions of linear equations.

USES
There are many uses of L.P. It is not possible to list them all here.
However L.P is very useful to find out the following:

 Optimum product mix to maximize the profit.


 Optimum schedule of orders to minimize the total cost.
 Optimum media-mix to get maximum advertisement effect.
 Optimum schedule of supplies from warehouses to minimize
transportation costs.
 Optimum line balancing to have minimum idling time.
 Optimum allocation of capital to obtain maximum R.O.I
 Optimum allocation of jobs between machines for maximum utilization
of machines.
ADVANTAGES
 Provide the best allocation of available resources.
 meet overall objectives of the management.
 Assist management to take proper decisions.
 Provide clarity of thought and better appreciation of problem.
 Improve objectivity of assessment of the situation.
 Put across our view points more successfully by logical argument
supported by scientific methods.

PRINCIPLES
Following principles are assumed in L.P.P

Proportionality: There exist proportional relationships between


objectives and constraints.

Additivity: Total resources are equal to the sum of the resources used in
individual activities.

Divisibility: Solution need not be a whole number viz decision variable


can be in fractional form.

Certainty: Coefficients of objective function and constraints are known


constants and do not change viz parameters remain unaltered.

Finiteness: Activities and constraints are finite in number.

Optimality: The ultimate objective is to obtain an optimum solution viz


'maximization' or 'minimization'.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
 Basic solution: There are instances where number of unknowns (p)
are more than the number of linear equations (q) available. In such
cases we assign zero values to all surplus unknowns. There will be
(p-q) such unknowns. With these values we solve 'q' equations and
get values of 'q' unknowns. Such solutions are called Basic Solutions.
 Basic variables: The variables whose value is obtained from the
basic solution is called basic variables
 Non-basic variables: The variables whose value are assumed as zero
in basic solutions are called non-basic variables.
 Solution: A solution to a L.P.P is the set of values of the variables
which satisfies the set of constraints for the problem.
 Feasible solution: A feasible solution to a L.P.P the set of values of
variables which satisfies the set of constraints as well as the non-
negative constraints of the problem.
 Basic feasible solution: A feasible solution to a L.P.P in which the
vectors associated with the non-zero variables are linearly
independent is called basic feasible solution

The proper definition of the decision variables is an essential first


step in the development of the model. Once done, the task of constructing
the objective function and the constraints is more straight forward.

FORMATION OF MATHEMATICAL MODEL


OF L.P.P
There are three forms :

 General form of L.P.P


 Canonical form of L.P.P
 Standard form of L.P.P
BREIF HISTORICAL SKETCH
Programming problems first rise in economics, where the optimal
allocation of resources has long been of interest to economists. More
specifically, however, programming problems seem to be a direct
outgrowth of the work done by a number of individuals in the 1930's. One
outstanding theoretical model developed then was Von Newmann's linear
model of an expanding economy, which was part of the efforts of a number
of Austrian and German economists and mathematicians who were
studying the generalization of wairasian equilibrium models of an
economy. A more practical approach was made by Leontief, who
developed input-output models of the economy. His work was concerned
with determining how much various industries would have to produce to
meet a specified bill of consumer demands. Input-output models did not
actually involve any optimization; instead they required the solution of a
system of simultaneous linear equations.

During World War II, a group under the direction of Marshall K.


Wood worked on allocating problems for the United States Air Force.
Generalization of Leontief type models were developed to allocate
resources in such a way as to maximize or minimize some linear objective
function. George B. Dantzig was a member of the Air Force group ; he
formulated the general linear programming problem and devised the
simplex method of solution in 1947. His work was not generally available
until 1951, when the Cowles-commission Monograph was published.

After 1951, progress in the theoretical development and in


practical applications of linear programming was rapid. Important
theoretical contributions were made by David Gale, H. W. Kuhn and A. W.
Tucker, who had a major share in developing the theory of duality in
linear programming. A. Charnce, who also did some important theoretical
work, and W.W. Cooper took the lead in encouraging industrial
application of linear programming.
APPLICATION OF LINEAR
PROGRAMMING
The primary reason for using linear programming methodology is to
ensure that limited resources are utilized to the fullest extent without any
waste and that utilization is made in such a way that the outcomes are
expected to be the best possible.

Some of the examples of linear programming are:

 A production manager planning to produce various products with the


given resources of raw materials, man-hours, and machine-time for
each product must determine how many products and quantities of
each product to produce so as to maximize the total profit.
 An investor has a limited capital to invest in a number of securities
such as stocks and bonds. He can use linear programming approach
to establish a portfolio of stocks and bonds so as to maximize return
at a given level of risk.
 A marketing manager has at his disposal a budget for advertisement
in such media as newspapers, magazines, radio and television. The
manager would like to determine the extent of media mix which
would maximize the advertising effectiveness.
 A Farm has inventories of a number of items stored in warehouses
located in different parts of the country that are intended to serve
various markets. Within the constraints of the demand for the
products and location of markets, the company would like to
determine which warehouse should ship which product and how
much of it to each market so that the total cost of shipment is
minimized.
 Linear programming is also used in production smoothing. A
manufacturer has to determine the best production plan and
inventory policy for future demands which are subject to seasonal
and cyclical fluctuations. The objective here is to minimize the total
production and inventory cost.
 A marketing manager wants to assign territories to be covered by
salespersons. The objective is to determine the shortest route for
each salesperson starting from his base, visiting clients in various
places

BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF A LINEAR


PROGRAMMING MODEL
 The system under consideration can be described in terms of a series
of activities and outcomes. These activities (variables) must be
competing with other variables for limited resources and the
relationships among these variables must be linear and the variables
must be quantifiable.
 The outcomes of all activities are known with certainty.
 A well defined objective function exists which can be used to evaluate
different outcomes. The objective function should be expressed as a
linear function of the decision variables. The purpose is to optimize the
objective function which may be maximization of profits or
minimization of costs, and so on.
 The resources which are to be allocated among various activities must
be finite and limited. These resources may be capital, production
capacity, manpower, time etc.
 There must not be just a single course of action but a number of
feasible courses of action open to the decision maker, one of which
would give the best result.
 All variables must assume non-negative values and be continuous so
that fractional value of the variables are permissible for the purpose of
obtaining an optimal solution.

Geometrical (or Graphical) method for solving


a L.P.P
If the L.P.P is two variable problem, it can be solved graphically. The
steps required for solving a L.P.P by graphic method are :

1. Formulate the problem into a L.P.P


2. Each inequality in the constraint may be written as equality.
3. Draw straight lines corresponding to the equations obtained in step 2.
So there will be as many straight lines as there are equations.
4. Identify the feasible region. Feasible region is the area which satisfies
all constraints simultaneously.
5. The permissible region or feasible region is a many sided figure (a
polygon). The corner points of the figure are to be located and their
co-ordinates (ie. x1 and x2 values) are to be measured.
6. Calculate the value of the objective function Z at each corner point.
7. The solution is given by the co-ordinates of that corner point which
optimizes the objective function.

Fields where Linear ProgramminG


can be used
The problem for which linear programming provides a solution may
be stated as : Maximize (or Minimize) some dependent variable which is a
function of several independent variables, when the independent variables
are subjected to various restrictions. The dependent variable is usually
some economic objective such as profits, production, costs, workweeks,
tonnage to be shipped etc. More profits are generally preferred to less
profits and lower costs are preferred to higher costs. Hence, it is
appropriate to represent either maximization or minimization of the
dependent variables as one of the firm's objective. Linear programming is
usually concerned with such objectives under given constraints with
linearity assumptions. In fact, linear programming is powerful enough to
take in its strides a wide range of business applications. The applications
of L.P.P are numerous and are increasing every day. L.P is extensively
used in solving resource allocation problems. Production planning and
scheduling, transportation, sales and advertising, financial planning,
portfolio analysis, corporate planning etc. are some of its most fertile
application areas. More specifically, linear programming has been
successfully applied in the following fields:

a) Agricultural applications: Linear programming can be applied in


farm management problems so far as it relates to the allocation of
resources such as acreage, labor, water supply or working capital in
such a way as to maximize net revenue.
b) Contract awards: Evaluation of enders by recourse to linear
programming guarantees that the awards are made in the cheapest
way.

c) Industrial applications: Applications of linear programming in


business and industry are of the most diverse kind. Transportation
problems concerning cost minimization can be solved using this
technique. Te technique can be adopted in solving problems of
production (product-mix) and inventory control as well.
Thus, Linear Programming is the most widely used technique of
decision making in business and industry in modern times in various
fields as stated above.

Limitations
 There is no guarantee that linear programming will give integer
valued equations. For instance, solution may result in producing 8.291
cars. In such a situation, the manager will examine the possibility of
producing 8 as well as 9 cars and will take a decision which ensures
higher profits subject to given constraints. Thus, rounding can give
reasonably good solutions in many cases but in some situations we will
get only a poor answer even by rounding. Then, integer programming
techniques alone can handle such cases.
 Under linear programming approach, uncertainty is not allowed. The
linear programming model operates only when values for costs,
constraints etc. are known but in real life such factors may be
unknown.
 The assumption of linearity is another formidable limitation of linear
programming. The objective functions and the constraint functions in
the L.P model are all linear. We are thus dealing with a system that
has constant returns to scale. In many situations, the input-output rate
for an activity varies with the activity level. The constraints in real life
concerning business and industrial problems are not linearly related
to the variables, in most economic situations, sooner or later, the law
of diminishing marginal returns begins to operate. In this context, it
can, however be stated that non-linear programming techniques are
available for dealing with such situations.
 Linear programming will fail to give a solution if management have
conflicting multiple goals. In L.P model, there is only one goal which
is expressed in the objective function.

ANALYSIS
Linear programming is a resources allocation model that seeks the best
allocation of limited resources to a number of competing activities. L.P has
been applied with considerable success to a multitude of practical problems.

The suitability of the graphical L.P solution is limited to variable


problems. However, the graphical method reveals the important result that
for solving L.P problems it is only necessary to consider the corner (or
extreme) points of the solution space. This result is the key point in the
development of the simplex method, which is an algebraic procedure
designed to solve the general L.P problem.

Sensitivity analysis should be regarded as an integral part of solving


any optimization problem. It gives the L.P solutions dynamic
characteristics that are absolutely necessary for making sound decisions
in a constantly changing decision-making environment.

According to Ferguson and Sargent :


"Linear programming is a technique for specifying how to use limited
resources or capacities of a business to obtain a particular objective such
as the least cost, the highest margin or the least time, when these
resources have alternative uses. It is a technique that systemizes certain
conditions, the process of selecting the most desirable course of action
from a number of available courses of action, thereby giving the
management the information for making a more effective decision about
the resources under control."

Since the objective of any organization is to make the best utilization


of the given resources, linear programming provides powerful technique
for effective utilization of these given resources under certain well-defined
circumstances. For instance, an industrial process consists of a number of
activities relating to the capital invested and the capital required for
operational activities, products to be produced and marketed, raw
materials to be used, machines to be utilized, products to be stored and
consumed or a combination of the above activities.

CONCLUSION
From this project we came to a conclusion that 'Linear
programming' is like a vast ocean where many methods, advantages,
uses, requirements etc. can be seen. Linear programming can be
done in any sectors where there is less waste and more profit. By this,
the production of anything is possible through the new methods of
L.P. As we had collected many datas about L.P, we came to know
more about this, their uses, advantages and requirements. Also, there
are many different ways to find out the most suitable L.P.
Also, we formulate an example for linear programming problem
and done using the two methods simplex method and dual problem.
And came to a conclusion that L.P is not just a technique but a
planning the process of determining a particular plan of action from
amongst several alternatives.

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