Fuzzy Logic and NeuroFuzzy Applications in Business and Finance [Paperback]

Constantin von Altrock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 1996

59151-1 Make sharper business decisions with fuzzy logic! What's it worth to your business to make better decisions about: *Credit? *R&D? *Investments? *Direct marketing? *Suppliers? *Quality control? You can do all that, and a whole lot more, with fuzzy logic, the first technology that allows computers to make decisions with human-like judgment. Long proven in engineering and scientific applications, fuzzy logic takes into account all the uncertainties of the real world-where "maybe" and "probably" are a whole lot more common than "yes" and "no" Now, internationally-renowned fuzzy logic expert Constantin Von Altrock, author of Fuzzy Logic and NeuroFuzzy Applications Explained, shows you exactly how fuzzy logic works-and gives you tools to use it in your business. In this hands-on, practical guide, you'll walk through powerful fuzzy logic business applications for business, including supplier evaluation, customer targeting, scheduling, choosing R&D projects, and forecasting. You'll watch fuzzy logic at work analyzing credit, evaluating leases, making stock market decisions, and uncovering fraud.Then model your own fuzzy logic applications with fuzzyTECHaA A for Business simulation software for WindowsaA A . It's included on the CD-ROM-along with working applications you can adapt for your own needs. You'll even learn how to integrate fuzzy logic decision-making with your existing data, using Microsoft's Visual Basic, Access, Excel, OLE, and DDE. If you need to make the best possible decisions, make them fast, and make plenty of them, you've come to the right book: Fuzzy Logic and NeuroFuzzy Applications in Business and Finance.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Make sharper business decisions with fuzzy logic! Fuzzy logic, long proven in engineering and scientific applications, can help businesses dramatically improve the way they make decisions. This book shows exactly how fuzzy logic works, and gives managers the software tools and skills they need to use it. Understand the technology of fuzzy logic, and how it can be used to support business decisions. The book presents real-world fuzzy logic applications for supplier evaluation, customer targeting, scheduling, choosing R&D projects, and forecasting. It also shows fuzzy logic at work analyzing credit, evaluating leases, making stock market decisions, and uncovering financial fraud. fuzzyTECH for Business fuzzy logic modeling software for Windows and a variety of sample applications are also included. For all corporate managers and planners.

From the Inside Flap

A crucial factor in competing in business in the 21st century will be clever use of information technology. Today's information technology systems are mostly data and communication tools for human workers. Tomorrow's information technology systems will be able to do more: automate decisions, intelligently analyze large amounts of data, and learn from their mistakes. Such systems need to have a better way of representing the logic and rationale behind human thinking. Central to this revolution will be finding a way to program a computer to express human-like decisions and evaluations in human language. For this you need fuzzy logic.

In this book, I take the practitioner's approach to fuzzy logic and NeuroFuzzy techniques. I will explain all elements of fuzzy logic system design using case studies of real-world applications-no formulas, no complex math, just everything you need for a hands-on start. Roll up your sleeves, and I will guide you step-by-step through fuzzy logic and NeuroFuzzy design on your PC. On the attached CD-ROM you will find a simulation-only version of a professional fuzzy logic design software and the source code of many real-world case studies I discuss. In just hours, these tools will get you design solutions without any programming.

I would like to thank the “fathers” of fuzzy set theory, Lotfi Zadeh, Hans Zimmermann, and Enrique Ruspini, who introduced me to fuzzy logic in 1983 and for their continuous support and encouragement of my work. I would also like to thank everyone at the Fuzzy Technology division of INFORM Software Corp. for their innovative and productive work on the fuzzyTECH software tools and customer application projects. In particular I would like to thank Adrian Weiler, who gave me the chance to build up the Fuzzy Technology division in 1990 when the broad success of fuzzy logic was not as clear as it is today, and Bernhard Krause, who built up the business with me.
Constantin von Altrock M.Sc.E.E., M.O.R.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (November 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0135915120
• ISBN-13: 978-0135915127
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,598,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fuzzy logic and neurofuzzy applications in business and fina, May 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fuzzy Logic and NeuroFuzzy Applications in Business and Finance (Paperback)

This book has a promising blurb which lead to me buy it. I was greatly disappointed. The blurbs suggested that the book would have plenty of detailed examples for the use of fuzzy logic in business and finance. The examples were there, but few and far in between, without the detail that would have made them useful case studies. Instead the author spends almost the entire book on one *single* fuzzy logic software called fuzzytech. The book is more like a manual for fuzzytech applications than it is an exposition on the use of fuzzy logic for business and finance.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book to explore Fuzzy Logic solutions, September 18, 2001

By 

W. De Ru (Pretoria, Gauteng South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fuzzy Logic and NeuroFuzzy Applications in Business and Finance (Paperback)

I found this book to be a worthwhile read. I agree with the other reviewers that it covers Fuzzytech quite extensively, but a completely working version of fuzzytech ships with the book, so it is possible to follow all the examples in the book. The book triggered some good ideas for me as to how to implement fuzzy logic in the business environment. It does not try to be a very academical book, although various discussions are given to explain Fuzzy Logic. If you are prepared to use Fuzzytech as tool to play around with examples, then this is a good book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you plan on learning the Fuzzytech program, you need this, March 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Fuzzy Logic and NeuroFuzzy Applications in Business and Finance (Paperback)

As a user of the fuzzy logic program that von Altrock's company makes, I have found that this book is absolutely necessary. The truly weird thing is that Inform, the software publisher, doesn't tell you about this book, when it should be included with every Fuzzy program that they sell. The manual that is included with the program is wretchedly bad; dull, confusing, and pointless. Only worse. Once you discover this book, much of the operational confusion surrounding Fuzzytech will be cleared up. However, von Altrock cannot resist a certain measure of obscurity. NeuroFuzzy applications is direct and clear, but leaves plenty of understanding gaps between one implementation and another. Von Altrock needs to expand this text and provide a wider range of specifics and details. For instance, until very recently, Fuzzytech suffered from a limited ability to read data files. This placed the program far behind the curve of contemporary usage. This is badly needed information; how does the progam really work ? Since this is the ONLY readable volume on the subject, von Altrock and Inform would be well advised to do a more thorough job of linking theory to practice.