Book excerpt: This text, now in the Third Edition, aims to provide students with a clear, well-structured and comprehensive treatment of the theory and applications of operations research. The methodology used is to first introduce the students to the fundamental concepts through numerical illustrations and then explain the underlying theory, wherever required. Inclusion of case studies in the existing chapters makes learning easier and more effective. The book introduces the readers to various models of Operations Research (OR), such as transportation model, assignment model, inventory models, queueing theory and integer programming models. Various techniques to solve OR problems’ faced by managers are also discussed. Separate chapters are devoted to Linear Programming, Dynamic Programming and Quadratic Programming which greatly help in the decision-making process. The text facilitates easy comprehension of topics by the students due to inclusion of: • Examples and situations from the Indian context. • Numerous exercise problems arranged in a graded manner. • A large number of illustrative examples. The text is primarily intended for the postgraduate students of management, computer applications, commerce, mathematics and statistics. Besides, the undergraduate students of mechanical engineering and industrial engineering will find this book extremely useful. In addition, this text can also be used as a reference by OR analysts and operations managers. NEW TO THE THIRD EDITION • Includes two new chapters: – Chapter 14: Project Management—PERT and CPM – Chapter 15: Miscellaneous Topics (Game Theory, Sequencing and Scheduling, Simulation, and Replacement Models) • Incorporates more examples in the existing chapters to illustrate new models, algorithms and concepts • Provides short questions and additional numerical problems for practice in each chapter