Mat540

Mat 540 Final Paper

Quantitative Methods

Abstract

The objective of management science is to solve the decision making problems that confront and confound managers in both the public and private sector by developing mathematical models of those problems. These models have traditionally been solved with various mathematical techniques, all of which lend themselves to specific types of problems. This paper focuses on four techniques, Simulation modeling, Forecasting, Linear programming, and Integer programming.

Simulation modeling history

Computer simulation was developed hand-in-hand with the rapid growth of the computer, following its first large-scale deployment during the Manhattan Project in World War II to model the process of nuclear detonation. It was a simulation of 12 hard spheres using a Monte Carlo algorithm. Computer simulation is often used as an adjunct to, or substitution for, modeling systems for which simple closed form analytic solutions are not possible. There are many different types of computer simulation; the common feature they all share is the attempt to generate a sample of representative scenarios for a model in which a complete enumeration of all possible states of the model would be prohibitive or impossible. Computer models were initially used as a supplement for other arguments, but their use later became rather widespread.

Computer mathematical simulation is an alternative form of simulation where systems are replicated with mathematical models analyzed by computers. It is a popular form of simulation because it allows the modeling of very complex systems (Taylor, 2007). This type of probabilistic modeling was used in this study.

Traffic Analysis

This paper is summarizing results from a project that developed and tested emergency response scenarios for the Birmingham, Alabama region. The testers utilized CORSIM traffic simulation software to...