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The underlying theme of management science, also called operations research (OR), is finding the best method for solving some problem—what mathematicians call the optimal solution. In some cases, the goal may be to finish a job or get somewhere as quickly as possible. In other situations, the objective might be to maximize profit or minimize cost. In this chapter, our goal is to save time (and usually taxpayer money) in traversing a street network while providing services such as checking parking meters, collecting garbage or bottles for recycling, de-icing roads, inspecting for potholes or gas leaks, or delivering packages or mail.

Let’s begin by assisting the parking department of a city government. Most cities and many small towns have parking meters that must be regularly checked for parking violations or emptied of coins. We will use an imaginary town to show how management science techniques can help to make parking control more efficient.