The main objective of the course is to provide students with the basic concepts and tools of Operations Research to analyse and solve some decision-making problems of companies and operators in the agri-food sector. The proposed tools will be used and implemented on a spreadsheet (Excel).
The main objective of the course is to provide students with the basic concepts of Operations Research and some relevant tools to solve typical problems in the sector (diet, blending, location, distribution, inventory). The course aims to equip students with the skills to analyze and solve problems, evaluate adopted solutions, and propose improvements.
At the end of the course, the student will:
• Know the typical terminology of Operations Research;
• Have the ability to critically analyze a problem;
• Be able to formulate a decision problem and implement a mathematical model of linear (integer-binary) programming;
• Be able to use the spreadsheet and the solver to solve problems;
• Be able to critically analyze the solutions obtained, evaluating their correctness, feasibility, and robustness.
Lectures will alternate with sessions using PCs for the development of group work on assigned problems/case studies.
Introduction to Operations Research, decision problems, and optimization models
Linear Programming (LP) problems; graphical method for solving LP problems. Sensitivity analysis.
Integer Programming (IP) and Binary Integer Programming (0/1 IP) problems.
Graphs: basic definitions.
Use of Excel for the formulation and solution of optimization problems.
Applications:
Diet and blending problem
Transportation/distribution problem
Location problem
Inventory management
Adopted Textbook: F.S. Hillier, G.J. Lieberman, "Introduction to Operations Research," 9th Edition, McGraw-Hill, Milan, 2010
Materials made available on Aulaweb during the course
Ricevimento: To request a meeting with the professor, you can send an email expressing your preference for an in-person meeting or a meeting via Teams.
Ricevimento: Please, write an email to have an appointment (ambrosin@economia.unige.it)
Ricevimento: Wednesday h.13.00 - Department of Economics - I floor (contact the teacher some days before via email). Remote reception on Team on request: contact the teacher via email (etanfani@economia.unige.it)
DANIELA AMBROSINO (President)
CORRADO LAGAZIO (President)
Second semester
For the Decision Analysis for the Agri-food Sector module, the exam consists of a written test with open-ended and multiple-choice questions, and exercises for the use of tools analyzed during the lessons.
For the Decision Analysis for the Agri-food Sector module, multiple-choice questions will evaluate the degree of knowledge, and open-ended questions and exercises will assess the understanding of the topics covered in class and the ability to apply the tools.
The correctness in the use of specialized vocabulary and the reasoning ability will be evaluated.
Additional Information for Students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) (both attending and non-attending)
At the beginning of the lessons, contact the teacher to agree on the compensatory and dispensatory tools that will be used.
