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management science

the application of mathematical techniques and scientific principles to management problems to help managers make better decisions

marginal probability

the probability of a single event occurring

maximal flow problem

a network problem in which the objective is to maximize the total amount of flow from a source to a destination

maximax criterion

a method for making a decision in a decision analysis problem; the decision will result in the maximum of the maximum payoffs

maximin criterion

a method for making a decision in a decision analysis problem; the decision will result in the maximum of the minimum payoffs

maximization problem

a linear programming problem in which an objective, such as profit, is maximized

mean absolute deviation ( MAD )

a measure of the difference between a forecast and what actually occurs

mean absolute percent deviation ( MAPD )

the absolute forecast error, measured as a percentage of demand

mean squared error ( MSE )

the average of the squared forecast errors

medium-range forecast

a forecast that encompasses anywhere from 1 month to 1 year

minimal spanning tree problem

a network problem in which the objective is to connect all the nodes in a network so that the total branch lengths are minimized

minimax regret criterion

a method for making a decision in a decision analysis problem; the decision will minimize the maximum regret

minimization problem

a linear programming problem in which an objective, such as cost, is minimized

minimum cell cost method

a method for determining the initial solution to a transportation model

mixed constraint problem

a linear programming problem with a mixture of , =, and constraints

mixed integer model

an integer linear programming model that can generate a solution with both integer and noninteger values

model

an abstract (mathematical) representation of a problem

Monte Carlo process

a technique used in simulation for selecting numbers randomly from a probability distribution

most likely time

one of three time estimates used in a beta distribution to determine an activity time; it is the time that would occur most frequently if the activity were repeated many times

moving average

a time series forecasting method that involves dividing values of a forecast variable by a sequence of time periods

multiple optimum solutions

alternative solutions to a linear programming problem, all of which achieve the same objective function value

multiple regression

a form of regression that reflects the relationship among more than two variables

multiple-server queuing system

a system in which a single waiting line feeds into two or more servers in parallel

mutually exclusive events

in a probability experiment, events that can occur only one at a time