19MA301T – RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

TWO MARKS
UNIT – 1 – LINEAR PROGRAMMING

1.​ What is linear programming?

Linear programming is a technique used for determining optimum utilization of limited resources to
meet out the given objectives. The objective is to maximize the profit or minimize the resources (men,
machine, materials and money)
2.​ What are the characteristics of LPP?
●​ There must be a well-defined objective function
●​ There must be alternative course of action to choose
●​ Both the objective functions and the contraints must be linear equation or inequalities
3.​ What are the characteristics of standard LPP?
●​ The objective function is of maximization type
●​ All the constraints must be of equal type by adding slack or surplus variables
●​ RHS of the constraints must be positive
●​ All the decision variables are of positive type
4.​ What are the characteristics of canonical form of LPP?
In canonical form, if the objective function is of maximization type, then all constraints are of ≤ type.
Similarly if the objective function is of minimization type, then all constraints are of ≥ type. But
non-negative constraints are ≥type for both cases.
5.​ Write the mathematical formulation of LPP

Subject to

And
6.​ A firm manufactures two types of products A and B and sells them at profit of Rs 2 on type A and Rs 3
on type B. Each product is processed on two machines M1 and M2.Type A requires 1 minute of
processing time on M1 and 2 minutes on M2 Type B requires 1 minute of processing time on M1 and 1
minute on M2. Machine M1 is available for not more than 6 hours 40 minutes while machine M2 is
available for 10 hours during any working day. Formulate the problem as a LPP so as to maximize the
profit. (MAY ’07)
Max subject to the constraints
7.​ A company sells two different products A and B making a profit of Rs. 40 and Rs. 30 per unit
respectively. They are produced in a common production process and sold in two different markets; the
production process has a total capacity of 30,000 man-hours. It takes 3 hours to produce unit A and 1
 hour for Unit B. The market surveyed and company official feel that the maximum number of units of A
that can be sold is 8000 units and 12,000 units of B. Formulate and LPP so as to maximize the profit.
Max subject to the constraints
8.​ What are the factors of decision problem?
●​ Past experience
●​ Individual difference
●​ Cognitive bias
●​ Escalation
9.​ What are the components of a decision problem?
●​ Information
●​ Alternate course of action
●​ Criteria
●​ Preferences
●​ Acceptance
10.​What is feasibility region in LPP?
A region in which all the constraints of LPP are satisfied is called feasibility region and the region is
always convex
11.​Define feasible solution (May 2007)
Any solution of LPP which satisfied the non-negativity restrictions of LPP is called feasible solution
12.​Define Optimal solution
Any feasible solution which optimizes the objective function of the LPP’s called the optimal solution
13.​State the applications of LPP
●​ Work scheduling
●​ Production planning and production process
●​ Capital budgeting
●​ Financial planning
●​ Blending
●​ Distribution
●​ Farm planning
●​ Inventory model
14.​State the limitation of LPP
●​ LPP treats all functional relations are linear equations or inequalities
●​ LPP do not take into account of time and accuracy
●​ No guarantee for integer solution
●​ Deals with single objective function
15.​Define unbounded solution
If the feasible solution region does not have a bounded area the maximum value of Z occurs at infinity,
the LPP is said to have unbounded solution
16.​What is slack variable?
If the constraint as general LPP be <= type then a non-negative variable is introduced to convert the
inequalities into equalities are called slack variables. The values of these variables are interpreted as the
amount of unused resources
17.​What is surplus variable?
If the constraint as general LPP be >= type then a non-negative variable is introduced to convert the
inequalities into equalities are called surplus variables
18.​Define Basic solution
Given a system of m linear equations with n variables(m<n).The solution obtained by setting (n-m)
variables equal to zero and solving for the remaining m variables is called a basic solution
19.​Define non-degenerate basic feasible solution
The basic solution is said to be non-degenerate if none of the basic variables are zero
20.​How to identify that LPP has no solution in two phase method?
If all Zj – Cj ≤ 0 & then at-least one artificial variable appears in the optimum basis at non-zero level of
LPP does not possess any solution
21.​What is resource allocation?
Resource allocation is a process and strategy involving a company deciding where scare resources
should be used in the production of goods or services.
22.​What is sensitivity analysis?
Sensitivity analysis is a study of how the uncertainty in the output of mathematical model or system.
23.​How would you recognize optimality in the simplex methods?
The feasible solution which optimizes the objective function is called the optimal solution and in the
simplex table if all the values of , then the optimal solution exits
24.​What are the variants of simplex method?
●​ Degeneracy and cycling
●​ Unbounded solution
●​ Multiple solution
●​ Non-existing feasible solution
●​ Unrestricted variables
25.​How to solve LPP involving unrestricted variables?
In LPP if any variable is unconstrained then it is called unrestricted variables, such variables are
expressed as difference of two non-negative variables to be solved using LPP

UNIT – II – DUALITY AND NETWORKS

1.​ Define dual of a problem
For every LPP there exists another equivalent LPP which result in the same solution. The original LPP
is called the primal and the equivalent LPP is called the dual of the primal
2.​ Illustrate the rules for converting primal to dual
●​ Transpose the rows and columns of the constraint coefficients
●​ Transpose the cost values of the objective function and the RHS values
●​ Change the inequality signs from to (also vice verse)
●​ Change the objective function (Max to Min and Min to Max)
3.​ What are the characteristics of duality?
●​ The primal and dual has same optimal solution
●​ The value of objective function for any feasible solution in primal is less than the value of
objective function for any feasible solution in dual
4.​ What are the advantages of Duality?
The dual problem solution may be easier than the primal solution, particularly when the number of
decision variables are less than the slack/surplus variables.
When a solution does not exist for primal it can be verified using its dual
5.​ What are the applications of duality?
●​ In Physics, it is used in parallel and series circuit connections
●​ Economic interpretation can be made and shadow prices can be determined which enables to
take further decisions
6.​ Define post optimality analysis
The investigations that deals with the changes in the optimal solution due to discrete variations in the
parameters are called post optimality analysis

7.​ Write the dual of the given problem subject to

subject to

8.​ Find the dual of the given problem subject to

subject to
9.​ Define transportation problem
It is a special type of LP model in which the goods are shipped from various origins to different
destinations. The objective is to find the best possible allocations of goods from various origins to
different destinations such that the transportation cost is minimized
10.​Write the mathematical formulation of TP

subject to

and

11.​Define basic feasible solution in TP

A feasible solution is said to be basic feasible solution if the number of positive allocations are m + n -1
(m- origin n- destinations)
12.​What are the methods used in TP to find initial BFS
●​ North west corner rule
●​ Least cost method
●​ Vogel’s approximation method
13.​What do you understand by degeneracy in a transportation problem? (Nov 2007)
If the number of allocations in the TP is less than m+n-1 then the problem is said to be degenerate.
14.​How to overcome degeneracy in TP
If the number of non-negative allocations is less than the constraint m +n-1, there exists a degeneracy
for which we introduce a very small positive value ( - epsilon ) in the suitable independent position so
that the number of occupied cells is exactly equal to m+n-1.
15.​What is a balanced TP?
 When the sum of supply is equal to the sum of demands, then the problem is said to be balanced.
16.​How to convert an unbalanced TP to a balanced one
The unbalanced TP is converted to a balanced one by adding a dummy row (source) or column
(destination) with zero cost
17.​Explain how a maximization TP is converted to an equivalent minimization TP (May 2008)
If the objective is to maximize the expected sales, then we need to multiply by – 1 to all the cells in the
TP to convert the given maximized TP to minimized one.
18.​What is assignment Problem?
An assignment problem is a particular case of TP in which the number of operations are assigned to
equal number of operators where each operator performs only one operation.
19.​Explain the difference between TP and Assignment Problem
Transportation Problem Assignment Problem
Supply at any source may be any positive quantity Supply at any source will be 1
Demand at any destination may be positive Demand at any destination will be1
One or more source s to any number of One source to only one destination
destinations

20.​What is an unbalanced assignment problem?

If the number of rows is not equal to the number of columns in the cost matrix, then the given
assignment problem is said to be unbalanced
21.​What are the methods to find optimal solution in solving TP
●​ Stepping stone method
●​ MODI method
22.​Write the mathematical formula for assignment problem

Subject to

And
23.​Find the starting solution of the following transportation mode
A B C Supply
X 1 2 6 7
Y 0 4 2 12
Z 3 1 5 11
 Demand 10 10 10
Solution: Transportation cost: Rs 94
24.​Find the initial basic feasible solution by Least Cost method
A B C D Supply
X 1 2 1 4 30
Y 3 3 2 1 50
Z 4 2 5 9 20
Demand 20 40 30 10
Transportation Cost: Rs 180
25.​How to solve maximization case in assignment problem?
The maximization problem of Assignment problem is converted to minimization problem by adding
Negative sign to all the values of the square matrix and is solved by Hungarian method under the usual
procedure.
UNIT – III - INTEGER PROGRAMMING
1.​ Define Integer Programming Problem.
A linear programming in which some or all variables in the optimal solution are restricted to assume
non-negative integer values is called IPP
2.​ Explain briefly the importance of IPP
In LPP the values of variables are real in optimal solution. In certain cases this assumption is unrealistic,
since some problems needs only integers values for decision variables. Therefore IPP is necessary to
round off the fractional values
3.​ List out some applications of IPP
●​ TP, Assignment Problems
●​ Sequencing and routing decision problems
●​ Capital Budgeting and Production scheduling
●​ Allocation problems
●​ Business and industry
4.​ Define zero-one programming problem
If all the variables in the optimal solution are allowed to take values either 0 or 1, then the problem is
said to be zero-one Programming problem.
5.​ List the various types of IPP
●​ Pure IPP
●​ Mixed IPP
6.​ What is Pure IPP
In LPP, if all the variables in optimal solutions are restricted to assumed non-negative integer values,
then it is called pure IPP
7.​ What is Mixed IPP
In LPP, if only some of the variables in the optimal solution are restricted to assume non-negative
integer values, while the remaining variables are free to take any non-negative values, then it is called
mixed IPP
8.​ What are the methods used for solving IPP?
 ●​ Cutting Plane method
●​ Branch and Bound method
9.​ State the general form of IPP

Subject to
and are integers
10.​What is the purpose of fractional cut constraints?
In cutting plane method, the fractional cut constraints cut the useful area of the feasible region in the
graphical solution which eliminates all the non-integral solutions without loosing any integer valued
solution.
11.​Define the Gomorian slack for the Pure IPP

Consider the source row of a pure IPP given by . Now we have

in the form of

, G1 is called the Gomorian Slack

12.​Define Gomorian Slack for mixed IPP

Consider the source row of a mixed IPP given by . Now we have

in the form of

, Gk is called the Gomorian Slack

13.​What do you mean by Fathomed?
In Branch and bound method, whenever a continuous optimum solution of a sub-problem yields a value
of the objective function, lower than that of the best available integer solution it is useless to explore
further, under such case we say the sub-problem is fathomed
14.​Define DPP
DPP is a mathematical technique of optimization using multistage decision process. i.e., the process in
which the sequence of inter-related activity decisions has to be made
15.​Explain the concept of DPP
The dynamic programming technique decomposes the original problem in n-variables into n-sub
problems (stage) each in one variable. The solution is obtained in an orderly manner by starting from
one stage to the next and is completed after the final stage is reached.
16.​What are the applications of DPP?
●​ Allocation of scare resources to different alternatives
●​ Replacement theory
●​ Markovian decision models
●​ Inventory level
17.​What is the need of DPP?
The decision-making process consists of selecting of combination of plans from large number of
alternatives.
●​ All the decision are specified
●​ Optimal policy can be selected only after all combinations are evaluated
18.​What are the drawbacks of DPP?
●​ Lot of computational work and too much time involved
●​ All the combinations may not satisfy the limitations and thus may be infeasible
●​ Number of combinations is very large
19.​What are the important characteristics of DPP
●​ The problem can be divided into stage, with policy decision required at each stage
●​ Each stage has a number of states associated with it
●​ The effect of the policy decision of each state is to transform the current state into the state
associated with the next stage
●​ Current situation of the system of a stage is described by the set of variables called state
variables
20.​Define Bellman’s Optimality principle
An optimal policy (set of decisions) has the property that whatever be the initial state and initial
decisions, the remaining decisions must constitute an optimal policy for the state resulting from the first
decision.

UNIT – IV – CLASSICAL OPTIMIIZATION THEORY

1.​ Define local minimum and local maximum
A function is said to have a relative or local minimum at if

A function is said to have a relative or local maxima at if

2.​ Define global maximum and global minimum
A point is said to be global maximum of the function f(x) and the constraint g(x)=0 if satisfies

the objective function and the constraints i.e., and global minimum if .
3.​ State the necessary conditions for existence of local maximum and local minimum
The first order and second order partial derivatives of the relevant function should exist
4.​ Define the stationary points of a function
The point at which the slope of the function is zero is called stationary points. Ie.,
5.​ Give the formula of Newton Raphson method to find the next approximation

6.​ Give the order of convergence of NR method

Order of convergence is 2
7.​ State the condition for existence of a function under NR method
Condition of existence
8.​ Write the mathematical formula for a NLPP
subject to
9.​ Write down the Lagrange function for a non-LPP f(x) under the constraint g(x).
The Lagrangian function for two variables is defined as

10.​State the necessary conditions of a NLPP under Kuhn-Tucker

Consider the NLPP subject to and the

non-negativity constraint .
Necessary conditions are

i)​

ii)​

iii)​

iv)​
11.​Discuss the types of NLPP
●​ Lagrangian
●​ Jacobina
●​ Kuhn-Tucker

UNIT – V – OBJECT SCHEDULING

1.​ Define project
A project is defined as a combination of inter-related activities all of which must be executed in a
certain order to achieve a goal
2.​ Define project network
A project network is a graphical representation of a project operation and is composed of all the events
and activities in the sequence along with inter relationship and inter dependencies
3.​ State the methods for applying network scheduling
●​ CPM (Critical Path Method)
●​ PERT (Programme Evaluation Review Technique)
4.​ What are the important aspects of a project?
●​ Planning
●​ Scheduling
●​ control
5.​ Define activity
An activity is a task or an item of work to be done in a project
6.​ Define critical path
The path connecting the first initial node to the very last terminal note, of longest duration in any project
network is called critical path
7.​ What are critical activities?
 The activities present in the critical path are called critical activities
8.​ Define slack of an event
The difference between the latest and earliest time of an activity is called the slack
9.​ Define total float
Total float (TF) of an activity is the difference between the latest finish and the earliest finish of an
activity. TF = LST – LFT or EST – EFT
10.​Define slack of the event
The difference of the latest and earlies of an activity I – j is called the slack of the event j,
11.​Define Free float
Free float (FF) is the portion of total float which can be used for rescheduling that activity without
affecting the succeeding activity FF = TF – slack of head event j
12.​Define Independent Float
Independent float of an activity is the amount of time by which the activity can be rescheduled without
affecting the preceding or succeeding activities of that activity
13.​Define optimistic time estimate
Optimistic time estimate is the duration of any activity when everything goes well during the project
14.​Define pessimistic time estimate
Pessimistic time estimate is the duration of any activity when almost everything goes against our will
and lot of difficulties is faced while doing the project
15.​Define most likely time
Most likely time is the duration of any activity when sometimes things go on very well, sometimes
things go on very bad while doing the project
16.​Differentiate between PERT and CPM
PERT
●​ PERT is usually used for projects in which time estimates are uncertain
●​ PERT helps in identifying critical areas in the project so that suitable and necessary adjustments
may be made
CPM
●​ CPM is suitable for optimum balancing between scheduled time and event
●​ CPM is used for projects involving well known activities of repetitive in manner
17.​Define resource smoothing
Resource smoothing is a technique that adjusts the activities of a schedule model such that the
requirements for resources on the project do not exceed certain predefined resource limits
18.​Define Resource levelling
Resource levelling is a technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource
constraints with the goal of balancing demand for resources with the available supply
19.​Differentiate between resource levelling and resource smoothing
Resource levelling
●​ It applies the resource constraints to the project and may result in change in project duration
●​ It is primarily drive by resource constraints
●​ The allocation limits identified in resource levelling must be applied
Resource smoothing
●​ We apply resource smoothing after dong resource levelling
●​ Resource smoothing is more to do with desired limits
●​ The desired limits identified in resource smoothing may not be applied in some areas