The material covered in this book is intended as an introduction to the field of m anagement science. The subject matter covers the mainstream management science topics, along with the many practical applications of management science concepts. We include discussion and explanation of the concepts, formulation of problems, and their associated manual and Excel solutions.

The book describes both manual and computer solutions for a variety of management science tools. The purpose of manual solutions is to foster a conceptual understanding of each technique while presenting computer solutions to provide a practical approach to solving real-world problems.

The key areas of application for each topic are are described, and appropriate techniques are explained in simple terms, with step-by-step procedures for both manual and computer solutions. There are ample discussions of how to interpret solutions.

Every effort has been made to develop a textbook that is readable and interesting. The writing style is light and informal and assumes that readers have no prior knowledge of the subject matter. The concepts are developed in a logical format, usually beginning with an overview that allows readers to immediately see the topics of discussion. Explanations are clear and simple, often intuitive, and examples are sprinkled liberally throughout the text.

Solved problems are provided at the end of all chapters . Students use them as a guide for solving the end-of-chapter problems. Answers are given to most odd-numbered problem in the solution appendix.

Prerequisites for being able to understand the material in this book are basic algebra and introductory statistics.

Acknowledgments

We want to thank many contributors to this first edition. The reviewers for this edition made many important ideas and suggestions. Though the number of suggestions exceeded the space available, many of the suggestions were incorporated directly, while some could not be incorporated. We recognize all reviewers' suggestions as valuable and important and are sincerely appreciated. The list includes the following reviewers:

Kunter Gunasti, St. Francis College

Ahmad Syamil, Arkansas State University

Cem Saydam, University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Peter Shenkin, John Jay College

Abdel-Aziz M.Mohamed, California State-Northridge

Barry A.Wray, University of North Carolina-Wilmington

James C. Ford, SAS

Prakash Mirchandani, University of Pittsburgh

Cyrus K.Motlagh University of Detroit-Mercy

Alan Chesen, Wright State University

Enrique Zapatero, Norfolk State University

Scott Morris, Southern Nazarene University

Scott Seipel, Middle Tennessee State University

Vinod Lall , Minnesota State University

Brian O'Neil, Clarkson University

Alan Fask, Farleigh Dickinson University

Hassan Hosseini, Thunderbird: Gavin School of International Management

Also thanks to the other contributors: Accuracy checkers: Jacquelynne McLellan, Frostburg State University , and Lawrence Moore, Alleghany College of Maryland ; Test Bank and chapter quizzes: P. Sundararaghavan, University of Toledo; Instructor's Manual: Alan Abrahams, University of Pennsylvania, with contributions from Craig Cohen, Russell Woo, Alex Jenner, Ashwin Thapar, Afsheen Ali, and Tiffany Yeh; PowerPoint: Charlie Cook, University of West Alabama; and Excel Templates and Excel Screencam Tutorials: Lee Tangedahl,University of Montana. The following people helped us in proof reading: Michelle Robinson, State-Farm Insurance Company, Jennifer Worth, Valparaiso University . Dr. David Schroeder, Valparaiso University provided invaluable assistance with the Excel solutions. Finally, we would like to thank all the people at McGraw-Hill/Irwin for their efforts and support. It is a pleasure to work with such a competent group of people. Special thanks go to Dick Hercher, Executive Editor;Wanda Zeman, Senior Development Editor; Mary Conzachi, Lead Project Manager; Victor Chiu, Senior Media Technology Producer; Matthew Perry, Media Project Manager; and many others who contributed indirectly.

William J. Stevenson

Ceyhun Ozgur