SNS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND

ENGINEERING
RESOURSE MANAGEMNET TECHNIQUES
UNIT-I
1. What is meant LPP?
Linear programming problem deals with the optimization
(maximization or minimization) of a function of decision variables subject to a
set of constraints.

2. Explain slack variables of LP problem.

Non-negative variables that are added to the left hand side of <=
constraints to convert them to equalities are called as slack variables.

3. Define surplus variables.

Non-negative variables that are subtracted from the left hand side of
>= constraints to convert them to equalities are called surplus variables.

4. Define Basic feasible solution.

It is a Basic feasible solution that also satisfies the Non-negativity
restrictions. All variables in a Basic solution are > = 0.

5. Define OR.
Operations Research is the application of scientific methods,
techniques and tools to operations of systems to obtain optimal solution to the
problems, it provides a quantitative technique to the managers for making
better decisions for operations under control.

6. What is an Iconic or physical model in O.R.?

This is a physical or a pictorial representation of various aspects of a
system. Properties of the real system are represented by the properties
themselves with a change of scale. (eg). Model of solar system, Scaled up
model of a cell in biology.
7. List any four application areas of Operational Research.
 Production, blending, product mix.
 Inventory control, demand forecast, sale and purchase.
 Transportation, repair and maintenance, scheduling and sequencing.
Planning, scheduling and controlling of projects.
 Optimal allocation of men, machines, materials, time and money.
 Location and size of warehouses, distributions centres, retail depots,
etc.
 Cash management so that all sections are departments receive adequate
supply of funds.

8. Define objective function and constraints in LPP.

It is a function of decision variables whose value must be optimized
(maximized or minimized). It is a set of simultaneous linear equations (or in
equalities).

9. Define optimum basic feasible solution?

 It is the basic feasible solution that also optimizes the objective
function.

10. Define artificial variable?

 Non-negative variables that are added to the constraints of (>=) or (=)
type. The purpose of introducing artificial variables is just to obtain an
initial basic feasible solution.

11. Give any four limitations of linear programming.

 The major limitation of linear programming is that it treats all
relationships as linear. But it is not true in many real life application
 The decision variables in some LPP would be meaningful only if they
have integer values. But sometimes e get fractional values to the
optimal solution, where only integer values are meaningful
 The problem are complex if the number of variables and constraints
are quite large
  Linear Programming deals with only single objective problems,
whereas in real life situations, there may be more than one objective.
12. Define feasible solution and optimal solution to the linear programming
problem.

13. What do you mean by shadow pricing?

14. What is sensitivity analysis?

In LP, the parameters (input data) of the model can change within certain
limits without causing the optimum solution to change.
This is referred to as sensitivity analysis.
 UNIT-II DUALITY AND NETWORKS

1. Define a transportation problem.

It is a special kind of linear programming problem in which goods are
transported from a set of sources to a set of destinations subject to the supply and
demand of the source and destination, respectively, such that the total cost of
transportation is minimized.

2. Write down the mathematical model for transportation problem.

Let m be the number of sources, n be the number of destinations, ai be the
supply a the source i, bj be the demand at the destination j. cij be the cost of
transportation per unit from source i to destination j. Let Xij be the number of units to
be transported from the source i to the destination j.
Refer notes by me for the mathematical model .

3.Differentiate between balanced transportation problem and unbalanced

transportation problem.
Balanced transportation problem: If the sum of the supplies of all the sources is
equal to the sum of the demands of all the destinations, then the problem is termed as
balanced transportation problem.
i.e., Σai = Σbj for all for all i = 1 to m and j = 1 to n..
Unbalanced Transportation Problem: If the sum of the supplies of all the sources is
not equal to the sum of the demands of all the destinations, then the problem is termed
as unbalanced transportation problem.
i.e., Σai ≠ Σbj for all for all i = 1 to m and j = 1 to n..
4. Mention the various methods of finding initial basic feasible solution to a
transportation problem.
 Northwest Corner method
 Least cost cell method
 Vogel’s approximation method[Penalty method]
5.How can you resolve an unbalanced transportation problem?
 An unbalanced transportation problem can be resolved by adding a dummy row
with zeroes is added as an additional source, if the total demand is greater than the
total source.
A dummy column with zeroes is added as an additional destination , if the total source
is greater than the total demand.
6. What do you mean by degeneracy in a transportaition problem? How can you
resolve it?
Degeneracy occurs when the number of basic cells are less than (m+n-1),
where m is the number of sources and n is the number of destinations.
Degeneracy can occur either during initial solution or during iterative process. For
both the cases, allocate an infinitesimally small quantity ε , to any independent
unoccupied cell and proceed as if it is a basic cell.

7. Write the method of forming a loop in transportation problem.

Identify the non-basic cell, which has the maximum positive penalty and term
that as the new basic cell. Starting from the new cell, draw a closed loop consisting of
only horizontal and vertical lines passing through some basic cells.[The change of
direction of the loop should be with 90o only at some basic cell].Starting from the
new basic cell, alternatively assign positive and negative signs at the corners of the
closed loop.

8. Mention some of the special cases of transportation problem.

 Unbalanced TP
 Alternative optimal solution
 Prohibited transportation routes
 Maximization transportation problem.

9. What do you mean by Prohibited transportation problem.

Situation may arise such as road hazards such as snow, flood etc traffic
regulations, when it is not possible to transport goods from certain sources to certain
destinations. Such problems can be handled by assigning a very large cost say M to
that route/cell.
10.How do you solve a maximization transportation problem?
The maximization problem, can be solved by converting it into minimization
problem by subtracting all the cell values from the largest cost/profit in the matrix.

11.What is a transshipment problem?

The transshipment problem is an extension of the transportation problem.
Instead of direct shipments to destinations, the commodity can be transported to a
particular destination through one or more intermediate or trans-shipment point. Each
of these points, in turn, supply to other points.Thus, when the shipments pass from
source to source, we have a transshipment problem

Assignment Models

1. What is an assignment problem?

It is a special kind of transportation problem in which each source should have
the capacity to fulfill the demand of any of the desitnations. Let m be number of jobs
as well as the number of operators and cij be the processing time of the job i if it is
assigned to the operator j. Here, the objective is to assign the jobs to the operators
such that the total processing time is minimized.

2. Differentiate between transportation problem and an assignment problem.

TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM
1. It is a special kind of linear
programming problem in which goods are
transported from a set of sources to a set
of destinations subject to the supply and
demand of the source and destination,
respectively, such that the total cost of
transportation is minimized
2. The cost matrix is not necessarily a
ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM
1. It is a special kind of transportation
problem in which each source should
have the capacity to fulfill the demand of
any of the desitnations
2. The cost matrix must be a square
square matrix
3. Xi j , the quantity is transported from ith
origin to jth destination.Hence it can take
only positive values and satisfied the rim
requirements.
4. The capacity and the requirement value
is equal to ai and bj for ith source and jth
destination
5. The TP is unbalanced if the total
supplyexceeds or is lesser than total
demand
matrix.[rows = columns]
3. Xi j ,the jth job is assigned to the ith
person and can take either the value of
one or zero.
4.The capacity and the requirements
value is exactly one
5. The AP is unbalanced if the cost
matrix is not a square matrix.

3. What is a traveling salesman problem?

Usually, a salesman markets his product in different cities. He starts his journey from
head quarters and travels to each city and again comes back to his Head Quarters.

4. Mention the two types of traveling salesman problem.

 Symmetric traveling salesman problem
 Assymetric traveling salesman problem.

5. Differentiate between symmetric traveling salesman problem and

asymmetric traveling salesman problem.
A traveling salesman problem is symmetric if the distance or cost of passing from any
point i to any other point j is the same as the distance from j to i. Otherwise the
problem is asymmetric.

6. Write down the basic conditions or route conditions for solving a

traveling salesman problem.
 The salesman should go through every city exactly once, except the head
quarters[starting city]
 The salesman starts from one city[HQ] and comes back to that city[HQ]
  Obviously moving from any city to the same city directly is not allowed.[i.e.,
no assignments should be made going on the diagonal line].

7.What is the objective of traveling salesman problem?

Salesman has to visit various cities no visiting twice to the same place and
return to the starting place by spending minimum transportation cost.

8. What are the basic assumptions of the Assignment problem?

 The number of assignees and the number of tasks are the same.
 Each assignee is to be assigned to exactly one task.
 Each task is to be performed by exactly one assignee
 There is a cost cij associated with assignee [i = 1,2,3….n] performing task j [j
=12……n]
 The objective is to determine how all n assignments should be made to
minimize the total cost.

9. Differentiate between balanced and unbalanced assignment problem.

The assignment problem is said to be balanced if the number of rows[jobs] is
equal to the number of columns[operators].
If the number of rows[jobs] is not equal to the number of columns[operators],
then it is an unbalanced assignment problem. It can be resolved by adding dummy
rows or columns as needed depending upon the given cost matrix, to make it a square
matrix.

10.How can you solve a maximization assignment problem?

The maximization problem, can be solved by converting it into minimization
problem by subtracting all the cell values from the largest cost/profit in the matrix.

UNIT-III INTEGER PROGRAMMING

1. Define integer programming.

It is an LPP problem in which some or all of the variables in the optimal
solution are restricted to assume non-negative integer values.
2. What are the two types of integer programming?
Pure integer programming and mixed integer programming are the two types
of integer programming.
The maximization problem, can be solved by converting it into minimization
problem by subtracting all the cell values from the largest cost/profit in the matrix.
3. Differentiate between pure and mixed integer programming.
Pure Integer Programing: In a LPP, if all the variables in the optimal solution
are restricted to asuume non-negative integer values, then it is called Pure integer
programming problem
Mixed integer Programming: If only some of the variables in the optimal
solution are restrict ted to assume non-negative integer values, while the remaining
are free to take any non-negative values, then it is mixed IPP.
4. What is a 0-1 integer programming?
If all the variables in the optimum solution are allowed to take values either 0
or 1 as ‘do or do not’ type decisions, then the problem is called the 0-1 programming
or standard discrete programming problem.
5. What are the applications of Integer Programming?
 IPP occur quite frequently in business and industry.
 All transportation problem, assignment and traveling salesman problems are
IPP, since the decision variables are either 0 or 1.
 All sequencing and routing decisions are IPP as it requires the integer values
of the decision variables.
 Capital budgeting and production scheduling problems are IPP.
 All allocation problems involving the allocation of goods, men, machines,
give rise to IPP
6. Mention the methods of solving an IPP.
 Cutting method
 Search method
7. Briefly explain what is cutting plane method in IPP.
It is a systematic procedure for solving pure and mixed IPP. It consists in first
solving the IPP as ordinary LPP by ignoring the integrality restriction and then
introducing additional constraints one after the other to cut certain part of the solution
until an integral solution is obtained.
8. What is branching in branch and bound technique?
If the solution to the LPP contains non-integer values for some or all decision
variables, then the solution the solution space is reduced by introducing constraints
with respect to any one of those decision variables.
9. When is a problem said to be fathomed in integer programming ?
A problem is said to be fathomed if any one of the following three conditions is true.
 The values of the decision variables of the problem are integer
 The upper bound of the problem which has non-integer values for its decision
variables is not greater than the current best lower bound
 The problem has infeasible solution.

Dynamic Programming

1. What do you mean by dynamic programming?

It is a special kind of optimization technique which subdivides an original problem
into as many number of subproblems as the variables, solves each subproblem
individually and then obtains the solution of the original problem by integrating the
solutions of the subproblems. It is a systematic, complete enumeration technique.

2. What is a stage in dynamic programming?

Each subproblem of the original problem is known as a stage i.

3. What do you mean by an alternative in dynamic programming?

In a given stage I, there may be more than one choice of carrying out a task. Each
choice is known as an alternative.

4. What is a state variable in a dynamic programming?

A possible value of a resource within its permitted range at a given stage i is known
as state variable.

5. What is the use of recursive function in dynamic programming?

It is a function which links the measure of performance of interest of the current state
with the cumulative measure of performance of the previous stages/succeeding stages
as a function of the state variable of the current stage is known as the recursive
function of the current stage.

6. What are the two types of recursive function in dynamic programming?

Backward recursive function: Here , the computation begins from the last
stage/subproblem, and this stage is numbered as stage 1, while the first subproblem as
the last stage. Since the recursion proceeds in a backward direction, this type of
recursive function is known as backward recursive function.
Forward recursive function: While defining the stages of the original problem, the
first subproblem will be numbered as stage 1 and last subproblem will be numbered as
the last stage. Then, the recursive function will be defined as per this assumption. This
type of recursive function is known as forward recursive function.
7. List the applications of dynamic programming.
 Capital budgeting problem
 Reliability Improvement problem
 Stage-coach problem
 Cargo-loading problem
 Linear programming problem
8. What is a capital budegeting problem?
It is a problem in which a given amount of capital is allocated to a set of plants by
selecting the most promising alternative for each selected plant such that the total
revenue of the organization is maximized.
9. What is reliability improvement problem?
Generally electronic equipments are made up of several components in series of
parallel. Assuming that the components are connected in series, if there is a failure of
a component in the series, it will make the equipment inoperative. The reliability of
the equipment can be increased by providing optimal number of standby units toeach
of the components in the series such that the total reliability of the equipment is
maximized subject to a cost constraint.
10. What is a stage-coach problem?
It is a shortest-path problem in which the objective is to find the shortest distance and
the corresponding path from a given source node to a given destination node in a
given distance network.
11. What is cargo loading problem?
It is an optimization problem in which a logistic company is left with the option of
loading a desirable combination of items in a cargo subject to its weight or volume or
both constraints. In this process, the return to the company is to be maximized.

UNIT-IV CLASSICAL OPTIMISATION THEORY

1. Define Basic feasible solution.

It is a Basic feasible solution that also satisfies the Non-negativity
restrictions. All variables in a Basic solution are > = 0.

2. Define O.R.
Operations Research is the application of scientific methods, techniques and tools to
operations of systems to obtain optimal solution to the problems, it provides a
quantitative technique to the managers for making better decisions for operations
under control.

3. What is an Iconic or physical model in O.R.?

This is a physical or a pictorial representation of various aspects of a system.
Properties of the real system are represented by the properties themselves with a
change of scale. (e.g). Model of solar system, Scaled up model of a cell in biology.

4. Write applications of O.R.

*Prodution,blending,productmix.
*Inventory control, demand forecast,sale and purchase.
*Transportation,repair and maintanance,scheduling and sequencing.
*Planning,scheduling and controlling of projects.
*Optimal allocation of men,machines,materials,time and money.
*Location and size of warehouses,distributions centres,retail depots,etc.
*Cash management so that all sections are departments receive adequate supply of
funds.
 4. Define objective function and constraints in LPP?
It is a function of decision variables whose value must be optimized
(maximized or minimized)
It is a set of simultaneous linear equations(or in equalities).

5. Define optimum basic feasible solution?

It is the basic feasible solution that also optimizes the objective function.

6. Define artificial variable?

Non-negative variables that are added to the constraints of(>=) or (=)type.The
purpose of introducing artificial variables is just to obtain an initial basic feasible
solution.

7. Define the term "ACTIVITY"in a network?

It is a physically identifible part of a project which requries time and
resources for execution. An activity is represented by an arrow,the tail of which
represents that start and the head,the finish of the activity.

8. Write down any four rules of network construction?

*Each activity is represented by one and only one arrow.
*Time flows from left to right.
*Arrows should be straight and not curved.
*Arrows should not cross each other where crossing cannot be avoided, bridging
should be done.

9. What are the three phases in the scientific method of OR?

*Judgment phase,
*Research phase,
*Action phase.

10. Write the expansion of PERT and CPM?

PERT:
Project evaluation and research technique.
CPM:
Critical path method.

11. Define a slack variable? how many slack variables would you using a
LPP?
Non-negative variables that are added to the left hand side of >= constraints to
convert
them to equalities are called as slack variables.

12. Write the canonical form of LPP?

The general form of LPP can be expressed in the canonical form as follows,
n maximize Z=S cj xj
j=1
subject to Saij xj<=bi (i=1,2,3,......m)
xj>=0.

13. How do you convert an unbalanced assignment problem into a balanced

assingment problem?
If no.of rows>no.of columns,then add extra one column and set cost as (0),
If no.of columns>no.of rows,then add extra one row and set cost as (0),
then the unbalanced assignment problem is converted into balanced assingnment
problem.

14. State any two methods for finding initial basic feasible solution in a
transportation problem?
*Total demand=Total supply,
*No.of allocations=m+n-1,
these are the two methods for finding the initial basic solution in a transportation
problem.

14. Define standard form of LPP?

The standard form of LPP can be expressed as follows max or min ,
n
Z=S cj xj
j=1
subject to S aij xj=bi (i=1,2,........m)
j=1
xi >=0, bi>=0.
UNIT-V OBJECT SCHEDULING

1.when does degenaracy happen in transportation problem?

In transportation problem with m orgins and n destinations, if a IBFS has less
than m+n-1 allocations, the problem is said to be a degenerate problem.

2.what is an unbalanced transportation problem?

*If the total availability from all origins is not equal to the total demand of all
destinations,then it is called unbalanced transportation problem.
*The transportation problem is balanced if the total availability is equal to total
demand. *An IBFS can be obtained only for balanced transportation problem.

3.What is an assignment problem?

Given n facilities and n jobs and given the effectiveness of each facility for
each job, the problem is to assign each facility to one and only job so as to optimize
the given measure of effectiveness.

4.What is an unbalanced assignment problem?

An assignment problem is an unbalanced problem if the number of jobs is not
equal to no.of facilities.The Hungarian method of solution requires a square
matrix.Hence fictitious facilities or jobs are added and assigned 0 costs to the
corresponding cells of the matrix.These cells are treated the same way as the real cost
cells during the solution procedure.

5. What is a travelling salesman problem?

There are a no.of cities a salesman must visit.The distance(or time or
cost)between every pair of cities is known. He starts from his homecity, passes
through each city once and only ones and returns to his homecity. The problem is to
find the routes shortest in distance (or time or cost).
6. Define sequencing problem.
Sequencing problem involves the determination of an optimal order or
sequence of performing a series of jobs by a no.of facilities/machines so as to
optimize the total time or cost.

7. What is 'No passing rule' in sequencing?

If each of the n jopbs are to be proceesed through 2 machines A and B in the
order A and B, then this rule means that each job will go to machine A 1st and then to
machine B.

8.What is total elapsed time?

It is the time between starting the 1st job and completing the last one.

9. Define Idle time on a machine in a sequencing problem.

It is the time the machine remains idle i.e. (without work) during the elapsed
time is the idle time.

10.What is network?
A Network is a symbolic representation of the essential characteristics of a
project.Network technique is a tool of project management. PERT and CPM are the
widely applied techniques.

11.Define event float in CPM.

The beginning and end points of an activity are called events or nodes.Event is a point
in time and does not consume any resources.It is represented by a circle.

12.What is meant by network constrution?

The project is split into activities. Start project and finish events of the project are then
decided.After deciding the precedence order, the activities are put in a logical
sequence by using the graphical notations.

13.What is meant by critical path?

The critical path of a network gives the shortest time in which the whole project can
be completed. It is the chain of activities with the longest time duration. Any delay in
any of the activities results in the delay of the completion of the project.

14.What is meant LPP?

Linear programming problem deals with the optimization (maximization or
minimization) of a function of decision variables subject to a set of constraints.

15,Define a slack variables.

Non-negative variables that are added to the left hand side of < = constraints to
convert them to equalities are called as slack variables.

16.Define a surplus variables.

Non-negative variables that are subtracted from the left hand side of > = constraints to
convert them to equalities are called surplus variables.