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There are many methods of decision-making, from the easiest to the most difficult in terms of
effort, time and cost. As it comes to the fore of less effort, speed in time and low costThe method
of intuition guesswork and personal opinion to solve a specific problem. A group of methods falls in
terms of difficulty to reach the use of scientific and mathematical methods. The use of these
methods without the other depends on the nature of the problem, and decision-making methods can
be divided into two parts:

1) Traditional methods: based on intuition and personal judgment, as well as experience.

2) Quantitative methods: depend on scientific thinking and mathematical models, whose

importance increases with the complexity of the organizational environment and the nature of
problems that may be faced by the decision maker, and among the quantitative methods we find
operations research.

Operations research science is considered one of the applied sciences that has gained wide
spread, especially after the Second World War, in the field of administrative sciences, as this science is
considered one of the scientific means to assist in making decisions in a more accurate manner and far
from randomness resulting from the application of the trial and error method, because it relies on
appropriate information in choosing the best alternative to solve the problems that may face the
decision maker, and in order for the decision to be good, this information must have a number of
characteristics, namely:

1. Comprehensiveness: the information must be complete that benefits the decision maker.

2.Accuracy: Provides information according to the user's request and the subject in question.

3. Timing: information is received at the appropriate time for use in making decisions.

4. Clarity: the degree to which the information is free from ambiguity and is highly understandable
to its user.

5.Flexibility: the extent to which information is adaptable so that it can be used more than once.

6. Objectivity: that is, it is free from intent to distort or change for the purpose of affecting the
user of the information.

Concept of Operations Research:

Operations research is considered one of the scientific methods to assist in making decisions in a
more accurate manner and far from randomness resulting from the application of trial and error
method.
-Its name is due to its first used in the military fields, as it was the first use of operations research
in the military fields during World War Il in Britain, and due to the positive results achieved by
applying operations research methods in the military fields .It became popular after the end of
World War II, in civil fields in various countries of the world, to include all the work required to be
performed in order to rationalize decision-making that achieves the maximum return at the lowest
possible cost.
Due to the uses of operations research in various fields, the definitions provided about it are
numerous, which are as follows:

1 )The American Operations Research Association defines it as "the science concerned with
making scientific decisions about how to design and operate systems of work equipment and
manpower under limited resources."

2) It is also defined by the British Operations Research Society as "the process of using scientific
methods to solve complex problems involving the employment of large numbers of manpower,
equipment, and raw materials in factories, government institutions, and in the armed forces."

3) There are those who know it as: "one of the quantitative tools that help the management in the
decision-making process."

4) There are those who see it as: 'It is the use of scientific methods, and tools to solve problems
related to the operations of any system with the aim of providing an optimal solution to these
problems for those in charge of managing this system."

5)It was also defined as: "A set of standard tools that enable the administration to reach

more accurate and objective decisions ,by providing the quantitative basis for data and information
analysis."

6) There are those who define operations research as: "a quantitative or mathematical approach to
decision-making that depends on some mathematical treatments to solve multiple problems facing
the administration."

Through these definitions, it can be said that operations research plays an important role in
studying the types of problems, including those related to decision-making by looking at the
problem from a quantitative angle, and then formulating it according to the available jobs.

The importance of operations research and quantitative methods is evident to study

·Formulating specific mathematical models that reflect the components of the problem.

Presenting the model in a group of mathematical relationships and giving different opportunities
(alternatives) to the decision-making process. Which contributes to explain the elements of the
problem and the factors affecting it.

·Apply these mathematical models in the future when we are faced with a similar problem.

Why this science provides great benefits for decision makers. Among these benefits we find:

1) Putting alternatives to solve a specific +problem in order to take the appropriate decision,
depending on the available factorsand circumstances.

2) Giving an image of the influence of the outside world on the strategies taken by the
administration. For example the change in supply and demand from external conditions that affect
the production of the commodity and achieve profits through its production.

3) Formulating goals and results and the extent to which these goals are affected by all factors and
variables mathematically to reach numerical quantities that are easy to analyze.

Fields of Application of Operations Research:

1- Industry, trade and agriculture: Production planning, production distribution, optimal use of
resources, and inventory control.

2- Transportation: regulating land transportation, flights, traffic, and the use of the phone.

3- Planning: organizing the use of manpower, project planning, economic planning, business scheduling,
town planning.

4- Marketing and sales: drawing pricing and marketing policies, marketing research,advertising,
market study, and defining distribution policies.

5- The military field: drawing up military policies, finding plans to plant mines, finding plans for
offensive,defense and withdrawal operations, using military equipment and ammunition, creating
plans for weapons programs, organizing war operations, organizing cooperation between the
different branches of the armed forces.

6-Banks, hospitals, libraries, hotels, recruitment and employment.

7-Administrative fields: This science provides the necessary information to take appropriate
decisions at the right time.
8- The field of production, manufacturing and selling with the lowest possible cost, the least possible
waste and the most profitable.

9- Areas of appointment by selecting the right person for the appropriate job.

Steps and stages of decision-making to solve problems using operations research methods:
I. Defining the problem:

The definition of the problem is the cornerstone of the success or failure of the decision, as the
circumstances surrounding the problem must be known, due to the different circumstances that may
lead to the difference in the decision, as the problems can be divided according to the following
classification:

1)Routine problems: These are recurring problems.

2) Vital problems: These are related to the plans and policies followed in the project.

3) Urgent problems: which occur without indications of their occurrence, and their treatment
depends on the manager's ability to take his decision quickly and firmly.

And until there is a problem, the following conditions must be met:

a) That there be a person or group of people, who have a need a waiting gratification or satisfaction,
and this person or group is what is known as the decision maker.

b) There should be a set of alternatives to behavior that can be chosen.

c) There must be an environment for the problem under study. In operations research, the
environment may be part of the studied system. For example "agency, market, production
department in a factory ..."

d) That the decision-maker is unable to determine which of these alternatives is the best solution to
that problem. That is, the decision-maker has a problem if he has an actual goal that he wants to
achieve, and that there are alternative ways to achieve it, and that he is unable to determine which of
these alternatives is best.

Therefore, it was necessary to define the problem clearly, in order to prevent any ambiguity, and as a
first step in defining the problem, the goal of the research must be determined, and the factors
related to the solution that could be subjected to management control.

II.Build a model:

A model is nothing but a representation or simulation of a real system that works in real life to be
studied. There are two basic purposes behind building models, namely:
A. Analyzing the system's behavior in order to improve its performance.

B.Determining the optimal form of the system, and in the future, "what should the system be like".

The model clarifies - in a mathematical form-the goal to be achieved, as well as the determinants or
constraints within which it is intended to achieve that goal.

III. Model Test:

At this stage, the validity of the model is revealed in terms of its representation of the real studied
system, by comparing the performance of the model with the performance of the real system in the
past. The correct model gives the same previous performance of the real system if it is under similar
conditions of input.

IV. Solve the Model:

At this stage, an appropriate method or technique is used to solve this model, and at this

stage the operations researcher must be ready to answer the related questions that will obtain the
solution if some of the components of the studied problem change and this is known as sensitivity
analysis, such as: the effect of change in the production capacity of machines or workers.

V.Test the Suitability of the Solution:

At this stage, the analyst needs to define the conditions under which the solution that he reached in
the previous stage can be used, and the extent to which such conditions can be provided. It also
needs to clarify the limits within which the results obtained from solving the model remain valid.

VI. Application of the Solution:

At this stage, the results obtained from solving the model are put into practice, in the form
of a work program or a specific plan that is determined by each of the operations research team and
those who will implement these solutions.

The task of the decision-maker does not end upon the implementation of a specific decision, but goes
beyond that to follow up the results of implementation, in order to identify the extent of the success
of the chosen or optimal alternative in addressing the problem and achieving the desired goal. Limit
them as much as possible.

It is clear through these six stages that the decision-making process goes through that they are
interconnected and coherent stages, one of which cannot be dispensed with, as each affects the
other and is affected by it, all of which ultimately aim to reach rational and effective decisions.
Some Types of Operations Research Models:

1.Linear programming

2.Transportation

3. Assignment

4. Network analysis

5.Queuing theory

6.Games Theory