Artificial intelligence (AI) and operations research (OR) have long been intertwined because of their synergistic relationship. Given the increasing popularity of AI and machine learning in particular, we face growing demand for educational offerings in this area from our students. This paper describes two courses that introduce machine learning…

We present an exercise for teaching the transportation problem using a mix of spatial and randomly generated data. It illustrates the potential of using qualitative and quantitative data and is suitable for undergraduate or introductory business school courses on operations research (OR), logistics, and supply chain management. It poses two…

This case study focuses on modeling and analyzing the practices concerning the staffing of the immigration agency at the Island of Tropical Paradise International Airport (ITPIA), which is responsible for processing arriving passengers into the country. Immigration at ITPIA has engaged you to understand the trade-offs between the number of…

The simple vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a common topic of discussion in introductory operations research/management science courses. The VRP can be framed in a variety of ways, and it can be difficult to solve to optimality. For solution purposes, introductory textbooks demonstrate how Excel's Evolutionary Solver (ES) add-in produces a…

The Tangibles in Operations Strategy (TANGOS) exercise provides students with the direct experience of designing a firm's operations function. Specifically, students must engage in decision making with respect to the structural decision areas in a firm's operations strategy, by considering the firm's product strategy and span of control, process…

Accrediting organizations in higher education have shifted emphasis from indirect measures such as student course evaluations, focus-group interviews, and employer surveys to direct measurement of student performance using appropriate assessment instruments. In response, we developed a spreadsheet tool for reports and analysis of test assessments…

This case study focuses on modeling and analyzing the practices concerning the staffing of the immigration agency at the Island of Tropical Paradise International Airport, which is responsible for processing arriving passengers into the country. Students are challenged to model the status quo of immigration employee scheduling and analyze various…