Introduction to Probability Models: Operations Research, Volume II (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac)

This text, the second volume of Wayne Winston's successful OPERATIONS RESEARCH: APPLICATIONS AND ALGORITHMS, FOURTH EDITION, covers probability models with recent contributions from financial engineering, computational simulation and manufacturing. The specific attention to probability models with the addition of recent practical breakthroughs makes this the first text to introduce these ideas together at an accessible level. Excellent problem sets abound. The text provides a balanced approach by developing the underlying theory while illustrating them with interesting examples. All of the necessary mathematical requirements are reviewed in Chapter 1.

Intended for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students, this textbook begins with a review of calculus and probability and then progresses through the field's standard topics—uncertainty, inventory models, markov chains, deterministic and probabilistic dynamic programming, queuing, simulation, optimization, option pricing and real options, forecasting models, and stochastic control. The concepts are illustrated through applications from manufacturing, finance, and operations. A companion CD-ROM contains ProcessModel, Palisades Decision Tools Suite, RiskOptimizer, and Premium Solver for Education. Winston teaches at Indiana University. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Wayne L. Winston is Professor of Operations and Decision Technologies in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, where he has taught since 1975. Wayne received his B.S. degree in Mathematics from MIT and his Ph.D. degree in Operations Research from Yale. He has written the successful textbooks OPERATIONS RESEARCH: APPLICATIONS AND ALGORITHMS, MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING: APPLICATIONS AND ALGORITHMS, SIMULATION MODELING WITH @RISK, DATA ANALYSIS AND DECISION MAKING, DATA ANALYSIS FOR MANAGERS, SPREADSHEET MODELING AND APPLICATIONS, AND FINANCIAL MODELS USING SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION. Wayne has published over 20 articles in leading journals and has won many teaching awards, including the school-wide MBA award four times. His current interest is in showing how spreadsheet models can be used to solve business problems in all disciplines, particularly in finance and marketing.