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
, =, and 
constraints 