Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets (with CD-ROM) (Duxbury Applied) [Hardcover]

Kenneth Baker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0534494749 | ISBN-13: 978-0534494742 | Publication Date: July 15, 2005 | Edition: 1

Ideal for students in managment and engineering, OPTIMIZATION MODELING WITH SPREADSHEETS (WITH CD-ROM) covers model building and include tutorials on the use of Excel's Solver, and, at a more advanced level, Frontline Systems' Premium Solver.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Reflects the latest applied research and features state-of-the-art software for building and solving spreadsheet optimization models

Thoroughly updated to reflect the latest topical and technical advances in the field, Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets, Second Edition continues to focus on solving real-world optimization problems through the creation of mathematical models and the use of spreadsheets to represent and analyze those models. Developed and extensively classroom-tested by the author, the book features a systematic approach that equips readers with the skills to apply optimization tools effectively without the need to rely on specialized algorithms.

This new edition uses the powerful software package Risk Solver Platform (RSP) for optimization, including its Evolutionary Solver, which employs many recently developed ideas for heuristic programming. The author provides expanded coverage of integer programming and discusses linear and nonlinear programming using a systematic approach that emphasizes the use of spreadsheet-based optimization tools. The Second Edition also features:

• Classifications for the various problem types, providing the reader with a broad framework for building and recognizing optimization models

• Network models that allow for a more general form of mass balance

• A systematic introduction to Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

• The identification of qualitative patterns in order to meaningfully interpret linear programming solutions

• An introduction to stochastic programming and the use of RSP to solve problems of this type

Additional examples, exercises, and cases have been included throughout, allowing readers to test their comprehension of the material. In addition, a related website features Microsoft Office® Excel files to accompany the figures and data sets in the book.

With its accessible and comprehensive presentation, Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets, Second Edition is an excellent book for courses on deterministic models, optimization, and spreadsheet modeling at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. The book can also serve as a reference for researchers, practitioners, and consultants working in business, engineering, operations research, and management science.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Kenneth R. Baker, PhD, is Nathaniel Leverone Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business and Adjunct Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College. A Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), Dr. Baker has published extensively in his area of research interest, which include mathematical modeling, spreadsheet engineering, and scheduling. He is coauthor of Principles of Sequencing and Scheduling and Management Science: The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets, Third Edition, both published by Wiley. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: South-Western College Pub; 1 edition (July 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534494749
• ISBN-13: 978-0534494742
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly Clear, August 5, 2011

By 

Travis Neale (CANOGA PARK, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets (Hardcover)

Great book! It gives you exactly what you need to know to actually put together a working model on your own. It has enough theory so you understand what you're doing, and a lot of practical application material on how to actually do it. It was my third "modeling" book, but the first one to bridge the gap between theory and application. I attribute this primarily on the author's choice of focusing on showing the models in Excel. The other books I've picked up have tried to maintain a neutrality on what you use to build your model, and they focus on the abstract methods, which are important, but leave you lacking the actual details on how to get it done! And let's face it: Chances are you're going to build your model in Excel and use the Frontline solvers anyway. That being said, I now feel confident enough to take my models out of Excel and plant them in other solvers. Once you build a few, the concepts stick.