Alternative Options for Business Decisions Using Nearly Optimal Programming

Linear Programming is a quantitative method for finding the optimal solution when there are limitations on resources. This technique is used extensively in a variety of areas, including the field of business decision making. One shortcoming of mathematical modeling in general and linear programming in particular, is that these models can only represent approximations of the actual constraints in the system. Therefore, the optimal solution might not be the best course of action for a company, since there might be unquantifiable restrictions that could not be represented in the model. This paper illustrates a technique called Nearly Optimal Programming that generates multiple solutions, very close to the optimal objective value. This allows the decision maker to choose from a variety of solutions, or even to combine different solutions to produce another solution with desired characteristics. The example is for a multinational company taken from the literature