Introduction to Modeling and Linear Programming

Week 1 Content

Asynchronous content:

The asynchronous content for week 1 serves two purposes:

  1. an introduction to Management Science, Systems Theory, and some historical development, and
  2. The basics of the linear programming process using Excel and the graphical solution method. Asynchronous content for Week 2 provides five additional examples using Excel Solver.
Important

While the introductory lecture positions the course content in the realm of Business Analytics, the examples covered focus on the process we will use throughout the course:

  1. document input data
  2. identify the objective to be optimized
  3. identify the applicable constraints
  4. construct the model
    1. highlight the variables
    2. structure the constraints in standard form
    3. formulate the objective function
    4. analyze the model
    5. conduct sensitivity analysis
    6. describe and interpret results

While viewing the asynchronous content (and for the rest of the class), make sure you understand the concepts in item 4 above. You will get better at this after Week 2.

Things to do

The goal to be prepared for class is to view the asynchronous content before the live session for that week and complete/upload the practice problems (if provided).

Things to do
  1. View the asynchronous content for Week 1.
  2. If you purchased the Ragsdale book, review the examples in chapters 1 and 2. Focus on step 4 in the “construct the model” list above.
  3. Peruse the following sections at Perkins Intro to LP 3.1 What is a Linear Programming Problem 3.4 A Diet Problem 3.5 A Work Scheduling Problem 3.8 Blending Problems
  4. Try to setup the example problems for Item 3 in each of these sections using Excel. The examples are in algebraic formulation (which will help when we get to Week 3 and 4)
  5. Be prepared at the beginning of the live session with any questions, clarifications, or observations you have.

Deliverables for next week

Deliverables for next week

Download Homework 1 file.
Place your Pepperdine User ID at the beginning of the filename.
Upload the completed (or as much as you did) work to the Assessments link at 2pep.

Complete and upload the practice problems available in the Week 2 asynchronous content.

  • All due by midnight PST on Monday, January 9:

Solutions to homework 1 will be available after the deadline. No late work is accepted.