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The article describes two linear programming solutions to the assembly-line balancing problem. The balancing problem arises from a number of operations that must be performed sequentially with partial ordering constraints. The linear constraints are in variables that can be evaluated in linear objective functions. The linear programs developed to solve the balancing problem involve large numbers of constraint equations, variables, special integer variables. This makes complex the computations to develop an algorithm needed to solve the problem.

This paper reports some research, ideas, and theory about managerial decision making. The first research projects dealt with are aggregate production and employment scheduling. From this is developed the idea that management's own (past) decisions can be incorporated into a system of improving their present decisions. Decision rules are developed, with the coefficients in the rules derived from management's past decisions (rather than from a cost or value model). Half a dozen test cases are used to illustrate and test these ideas (theory). Some rationale about decision making in organizations and criteria surfaces is supplied to help interpret the major ideas presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]