Management Science is the applied version of Operations Research (OR), which has its roots in Military Science. Over the last few decades, OR tools have been used extensively in a number of disciplines including Business, Economics, Engineering, Social Sciences, and Public Administration. The area where OR tools applications in Business are discussed is known as Management Science. This scientific branch of Management deals with solving an organization’s quantitative decision-making problems. Making decisions (or, more accurately, good decisions) is an important task for managers. Many of the management decisions involve numerical figures, such as where to locate a new facility which will bring maximum revenue for the company, how to allocate scarce resources among competing departments in an equitable manner, which stock to be used for investment, how to make better forecast for the company’s sales, and how to manage the company’s inventory. In most of these problems managers need to use mathematical models that require numerical inputs. The applications of these models have enabled spectacular success for many organizations – public or private, large or small, all over the world.

This book discusses the commonly used tools in Management Science, e.g., decision tree, linear programming, inventory models, forecasting, transportation, project scheduling, simulation, etc. The techniques described in the book are expected to help managers to make good decisions where numerical quantities are involved. The content of the book is presented in a lucid and straightforward manner so that even an average student can grasp the topics easily. In fact, the primary objective behind writing this text is to enhance readability in Management Science literature!