Scope of Operations Research
Any problem,
simple or complicated, can use OR techniques to find the best possible
solution. This section will explain the scope of OR by seeing its application
in various fields of everyday life.
In Defense Operations:
In modern warfare, the defense operations are carried out
by three major independent components namely Air Force, Army and Navy. The
activities in each of these components can be further divided in four
sub-components namely: administration, intelligence, operations and training
and supply. The applications of modern warfare techniques in each of the
components of military organisations requireexpertise knowledge in respective
fields.
Furthermore, each
component works to drive maximum gains from its operations and there is always
a possibility that the strategy beneficial to one component may be
unfeasible for another component. Thus in defense operations, there is a
requirement to co-ordinate the activities of various components, which gives
maximum benefit to the organization as a whole, having maximum use of the individual
components. A team of scientists from various disciplines come together to
study the strategies of different components. After appropriate analysis
of the various courses of actions, the team selects the best course of action,
known as the µoptimum strategy.
In Industry:
The system of modern industries is so complex that the optimum
point of operation in its various components cannot be intuitively judged by an
individual. The business environment is always changing and any decision useful
at one time may not be so good some time later. There is always a
need to check the validity of decisions continuously against the
situations. The industrial revolution with increased division of labor and introduction
of management responsibilities has made each component an independent unit
having their own goals. For example: production department minimizes the cost
of production but maximizes output. Marketing department maximizes the output,
but minimizes cost of unit sales. Finance department tries to optimize the
capital investment and personnel department appoints good people at minimum
cost. Thus each department plans its own objectives and all these objectives of
various department or components come to conflict with one another and may not
agree to the overall objectives of the organization. The application of OR
techniques helps in overcoming this difficulty by integrating the diversified
activities of various components to serve the interest of the organization as a
whole efficiently. OR methods in industry can be applied in the fields of
production, inventory controls and marketing, purchasing, transportation and
competitive strategies.
Planning:
In modern times, it has become necessary for every government to
have careful planning, for economic development of the country. OR techniques
can be fruitfully applied to maximize the per capita income, with minimum
sacrifice and time. A government can thus use OR for framing future economic
and social policies.
Agriculture:
With increase in population, there is a need to increase
agriculture output. But this cannot be done arbitrarily. There are several
restrictions. Hence the need to determine a course of action serving the best under
the given restrictions. You can solve this problem by applying OR techniques.
In Hospitals:
OR methods can solve waiting problems in out-patient department of
big hospitals and administrative problems of the hospital organisations.vi)
In Transport:
You can apply different OR methods to regulate the arrival of
trains and processing times minimize the passengers waiting time and reduce congestion,
formulate suitable transportation policy, thereby reducing the costs and time
of trans-shipment.
Research and Development:
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