Mathematical optimization models are mathematical means to find the best possible solutions to real-life optimization problems. They consist of three parts: decision variables that describe possible solutions, constraints that define conditions that these solutions need to satisfy, and an objective function that assigns a value to each solution, expressing how “good” it is.

In all the optimization problems discussed so far, we treated the quantities in the problem description as exact, but, in reality, they cannot always be trusted or assumed to be what we think. Uncertainty might negatively affect solutions to an optimization problem in the following forms:

• Estimation/forecast errors (increasingly important in an ML-driven world):

  • – in a production planning problem, future customer demand is a forecast;

  • – in a vehicle routing problem, travel times along various roads are real-time updated forecasts;

  • – in a wind farm layout problem, power production levels are based on wind forecasts.

• Measurement errors:

  • – a warehouse manager might have errors in the data records regarding current stock levels;

  • – the concentration level of a given chemical substance is different from expected.

• Implementation errors:

  • – a given quantity of an ingredient is sent to production in a chemical company, but due to device errors, a slightly smaller amount is actually received;

  • – electrical power sent to an antenna is subject to the generator’s errors.

Strategy and Organizational Forms argues for the importance of closely considering the environment in which globally operating firms are embedded, along with the pressures that shape organizational orientations, strategies, and forms. It recognizes the primacy of context and explains how the forces of global integration and local responsiveness shape organizational orientations, strategies, and forms. Major organizational forms in multinational enterprises are described. The ways in which organizations grow includes a particular focus on acquisitions and strategic alliances including joint ventures. Approaches to global business by small- and medium-size enterprises are explored. Trends in organizing related to digital transformations and lateral collaboration are identified.

Engagement theory recognises that a student’s engagement with education is impacted by factors external to schooling. It is argued that this relationship starts at birth and is continually influenced by family, community, media and individual characteristics in both positive and negative ways.

This chapter investigates the various external factors that influence student engagement. It explores an ecological approach to engagement focusing on personal, family, community and social factors. It reviews the impact of key indicators of health, wellbeing and development on student engagement and highlights what teachers can do to recognise these influences and accommodate them where possible.

In 2014, Fabrice Brégier, then chief operating officer of Airbus, called for the European Central Bank to intervene as the strength of the euro was “crazy.” He wanted them to push it down against the dollar by 10% from an “excessive” $1.35 to between $1.20 and $1.25. We learned in Chapter 14 how a strong currency makes it harder for domestic manufacturers to export goods, so we can understand why a European executive trying to sell commercial airplanes might worry that a strong euro was making his job harder. And it is a fact that in 2014, Airbus was registering disappointing sales compared to its rival across the Atlantic, Boeing. But why would it be “crazy” for the euro to be worth $1.35, and yet normal and acceptable for the euro to be worth 10% less than that? And how did Fabrice Brégier expect the European Central Bank to adjust the euro’s value, when the euro is under a floating, rather than a fixed, exchange rate regime?

This chapter first describes the generic situations of risk, subjective uncertainty, ambiguity, and true uncertainty. It then outlines the main decision theory under risk in neoclassical economics, expected utility theory (EU). We outline EU’s axiomatic structure and highlight the independence axiom that has often been rejected by the evidence, as exemplified by the Allais paradox. The two main drawbacks of EU are that it does not allow for individuals who (i) derive utility from changes in outcomes relative to a reference point (although this is consistent with it's underlying axioms) and (i) weight probabilities in a nonlinear manner. Other violations of EU are also considered; these include description invariance and preference reversals.

In January 2017, just three days after taking office, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. This trade agreement involving about a dozen Pacific Rim countries would have reduced trade barriers and established rules governing trade in the region. “We’re going to stop the ridiculous trade deals that have taken … companies out of our country,” he stated. Trump had consistently argued that trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico were “a bad deal” for US workers and unfair to American business, allowing other countries “to take advantage of us.”

In times of turmoil, one would think that a stable, or relatively stable, exchange rate would be a boon to policymakers, soothing the anxieties of international investors. However, keeping the value of the currency stable against a foreign currency such as the US dollar, when buffeted by shocks, entails sometimes painful tradeoffs.