MAN206 - OPERATIONS RESEARCH I

2022-2023, Spring

Instructor: Dr. Mustafa Çimen Time: Friday 13:40 – 16:25

Email: [email protected]

Contact:
Course Coordinator: Nizameddin Alyaprak ([email protected])

Course Pages:

1. Course Material: http://hadi.hacettepe.edu.tr

2. Announcements: http://www.isletme.hacettepe.edu.tr

Main References:

• Textbook: Winston, W. L., & Goldberg, J. B. (2004). “Operations Research: Applications and
Algorithms”. Belmont, CA: Duxbury press.

• Sidebook: Taha, H., (2011). “Operations Research: An Introduction”. NY: Pearson.

You can also benefit from any other textbook, article, note or lecture note, in English or Turkish, which
covers the course material.

Objectives:
This is the first course of the two-step “Operations Research” series, primarily designed for constructing
a background on the quantitative decision making techniques, including mathematically modelling and
optimizing basic decision models. This first step mostly focuses on developing a technical background
and understanding of mathematical modelling techniques, Linear Programming, Integer Programming and
Mıxed Integer Programming in particular.

Prerequisites:
A basic level knowledge on Excel software is assumed. If you have not, please learn particularly the
SUMPRODUCT, VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP functions, cell references and the use of the $ sign for fixing
references.

Grading Policy:

• Your final grade will be the result of a group assignment (15%), a group project (30%), participation
in class (15%) and a final exam (40%).

• Regarding the group assignment:

– The group assignment is a homework on preparing a handnote on a lecture’s coursework (between

lectures 1-6).
– Students will form 3-member groups. The names of the members should be emailed to the course
coordinator. Those who do not form groups themselves will be randomly assigned. Then, each
group is randomly assigned to a specific lecture’s course material to prepare a report on it. Every
report will be sent to the coordinator via the moodle page.
– The report should begin with a short introduction to the topic (what do you cover in the report,
what should the reader expect).

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– This introduction should be followed by the main body of the report, which should involve the
transcript of the video posted by the lecturer, that covers that lecture’s subject. Your report
should present everything said in the video (every explanation and example) related to the topic.
The transcript part should also show the material presented on the board in the video (examples,
graphs, etc.). You may correct the grammar/vocabulary.
– You may also enrich the explanation with your own sentences, examples or descriptions (encour-
aged for a higher result on voting), but you should mention these parts with a different font color
(e.g., black for lecturer’s sentences, blue for student sentences).
– You may also take short texts that you cannot produce yourselves, such as definitions of terms,
from your course textbook (or any other source). If you do so, you may cite the source properly
(should be within quotation marks, should present which page of the book that definition is
presented in, at the end of quotation). For instance:
∗ the term XXX refers to “some formal definition here taken from the course textbook directly”
(Textbook, Page 1234)
∗ the term XXX refers to “some formal definition here taken from some other book directly”
(Writers of the book, Book title, page 123)
∗ the term XXX refers to “some formal definition here taken from a website directly”
(www.linkToTheWebsite.com/directly/the/page/you/used/ )
Copy-paste homeworks may be accepted in high school, but not in academy. You have to explain
your material in your own words. You can read from different sources, or even directly take small
bits (all by giving direct appropriate references as shown above) but certainly cannot copy-paste
large bits of a source! If you take anything that is not cited properly, or if you take large parts
of a material (in other words, if you prepare a copy-paste homework), that is plagiarism, and is
subject to official penalties.
The directly-taken text should also be in a third color (e.g., black for my sentences, blue for your
sentences, red for book sentences.)
– Make sure that the style of the report is formal. The instructor will prefer serious reports
rather than fancy reports as the better reports.
– Pay attention to the document type. A *.docx document (can be prepared by MS Word or an
open-source equivalent) and a *.pdf document are required. Page layout, proper coloring, titling,
numbering, etc. are also important.

• Regarding the group project:

– The same groups with the group assignment homework will take part.
– The project is on defining and solving a realistic decision problem. You will find a real-life based
decision problem, define it and work on it. The decision problem should be realistic and worth to
work on. The decision problem may be found from any source, including newspapers, TV news,
a movie or your imagination, and not obliged to be industrial.
– Once you spot a problem, the course coordinator will assist you for officially defining and formu-
lating the problem. If the problem is too large to solve, simplifications/assumptions can be made
within the knowledge of the instructor.
– The problems should be selected based on the topic taught in the lecture (i.e., blending, produc-
tion process, inventory or multi-period financial planning). A short problem definition will be
sent to the course coordinator as soon as the problem is defined. If two of the groups intend to
solve a similar problem, the first one that sends the definition will be granted the problem. The
latter sender will have to redefine a new problem.
– You should model the problem as a Linear Programming model. Then, you are expected to
solve the problem using Excel Solver, and make sensitivity analyses (including 100% Rule) on
the results.

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Operations Research I

– You are then required to write a report. The report should be around 1,000 - 1,500 words and
should consist of the definition of and solution to the decision problem:
∗ Introduction: Context of the problem. Where did you find it?
∗ Problem definition: What do you need to decide, what is your aim, what limits you within
the problem context.
∗ Mathematical model: Model of the problem, with explanations (i.e., explain each member of
objective function and each constraint.)
∗ Solution: Screen shots of the Excel-Solver windows you used, and presentation of results in
detail.
∗ Conclusion: A summary of what you did and how your results fit in the real-life problem.
– Citation policy is the same with the previous assignment.
– Once the report is ready, you will upload three files to the appropriate link on the Moodle system:
an anonymous *.pdf file of your project report, a *.txt includes the names of who prepared the
report and an *.xlsx file that involves your Excel solution.
– The instructor and coordinator will evaluate the projects based on:
∗ whether the model is correct,
∗ whether the Excel framework corresponds to the model presented in the report,
∗ whether the problem is clearly stated, authentic, nontrivial and worth-to work on,
∗ whether appropriate insights on the results found are provided,
∗ whether the report is clear, explanatory and easy-to-understand,
∗ whether the style is a formal, serious, easy-to-follow and nice-looking,
– Important deadlines for your group works are:
∗ Forming groups: 09.03.2023 (Students who is not assigned to a group will be randomly
assigned to any group. Groups will not change after this date.)
∗ Sending group assignment (transcript) reports: 27.03.2023.
∗ Defining a project problem: 05.05.2023 (Groups which did not define a problem will be
penalized by 10 points for each week they are late.)
∗ Submission of the project report: 02.06.2023 (Late submissions will be penalized by 10 points
for each week they are late.)
• There will be a final exam at the end of the term:
– The final examination will be an open-book written exam with essay questions/problems. In
addition to classical problems, you will also be asked to fill in forms representing Excel spread-
sheets. Please bring your calculators and necessary stationary equipment with you for the exam.
Sharing calculators or any stationary equipment will not be allowed.
– The exam may require complex calculations, so please prepare your calculators and necessary
stationary equipment for all of the exams.
– Students need to get at least 30 (raw/uncurved/unbonused) points from the final exam to pass
the course.
• Attendance will be used for grading purposes according to the related university regulations.

Class Policy:
• Students are obliged to maintain the learning environment.
• When asked, students are expected to participate in in-class activities.
• Lack of knowledge of the rules is not a reasonable explanation for a violation. Any violation of the
rules or causing a disturbance in the course-progress will be observed and necessary actions will be
taken.

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Tentative Course Outline For Operations Research I1 :

Week -1- Introduction to the Course and Operations Research: What is a Linear
Programming (3.1)
Week -2- Graphical Solution of Two-Variable LP Models, the Simplex Algorithm and
Special Cases in LPs (3.2, 3.3)
Week -3- Sensitivity Analyses and the 100% Rule (6.1, 6.3, 6.4))
Week -4- Sensitivity Analyses - Duality (6.5, 6.6)
Week -5- LP Examples: Diet Problems (3.4)
LP Examples: Work-Scheduling Problems (3.5)
Week -6- LP Examples: Capital Budgeting Problems (3.6)
Week -7- LP Examples: Financial Planning Problems (3.7)
Week -8- Ramadan Feast Eve
Week -9- Mock Exam
Week -10- LP Examples: Blending Problems (3.8)
Week -11- LP Examples: Production Process Problems (3.9)
Week -12- 19 May - Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day
Week -13- Modelling Multi-Period Problems: Inventory Problems (3.10)
Week -14- Modelling Multi-Period Problems: Financial Planning Problems (3.11)

1
In paranthesis, corresponding sections from Winston (2004) is presented.

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