Professional's Guide to Decision Science and Problem Solving, A: An Integrated Approach for Assessing Issues, Finding Solutions, and Reaching Corporate Objectives

Product Author Bios

Dr. Frank A. Tillman (Gravois Mills, MO) is President of the management consultancies HTX International and IBES, Inc. He served as Department Head at Kansas State University, where he published more than 50 professional articles and two books, and advised several Masters and Ph.D. theses.

Dr. Deandra T. Cassone (Overland Park, KS) is Logistics Manager at Sprint and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Systems Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She has spent over 25 years in industry consulting and management roles. Her interests include building structured decision-making models; she has submitted numerous business process patents.

A Professional's Guide to Decision Science and Problem Solving provides an integrated, start-to-finish framework for more effective problem solving and decision making in corporations. Drawing on vast experience in the field, the authors show how to apply state-of-the-art decision science, statistical modeling, benchmarking, and processing modeling techniques together to create a robust analytical framework for better decision making in any field, especially those that rely on advanced operations management. They integrate both newly-developed and time-tested techniques into a logical, structured approach for assessing corporate issues, developing solutions, and making decisions that drive the successful achievement of corporate objectives. Coverage includes: defining objectives, exploring the environment; scoping problems and evaluating their importance; bringing data mining and statistical analysis to bear; solving problems and measuring the results; evaluating the results and performing sensitivity analysis, and more. The book concludes with three case study chapters that walk through the effective use of its methods, step-by-step. Representing a wide variety of corporate environments, these case studies underscore and demonstrate the method's exceptional adaptability. This book will be valuable in a wide range of industries, notably finance, pharmaceutical, healthcare, economics, and manufacturing.

Table of Contents

Preface     xiv
Part I: The Method     1
Chapter 1: Define the Objectives and Identify Metrics     3
Chapter 2: Explore the Environment     31
Chapter 3: Explore the Scope of the Problem and Its Importance     47
Chapter 4: Data Mining and Statistical Analysis     59
Chapter 5: Solve the Problem and Measure the Results     71
Chapter 6: Evaluate the Results and Do Sensitivity Analysis     81
Chapter 7: Summary of Part I     91
Part II: Case Studies     95
Chapter 8: Logistics Service Provider     97
Chapter 9: New Product Development     131
Chapter 10: Airline Merger     159
Appendix A: Overview of Methodologies     205
Appendix B: Detailed Methodologies     221
References     239
Index     241