In a time of competitiveness and scarcity of raw materials, an industrial (indeed, any) system must work in a state not far from its optimum, "small" improvements being sometimes crucial for success or even survival. Operational Research (OR*) supplies specific techniques to optimize and manage, and promotes habits of analysis arising from the inspection of the system model. The central objective of OR is optimization, i.e., "to do things best under the given circumstances", to the greatest profit or smallest cost.

The general concept mentioned has many applications (alphabetically): agricultural planning, biotechnology, distribution of goods and resources, engineering systems design, environmental management, health care management, inventory control, manpower and resource allocation, manufacturing of goods, military operations, production process control, sequencing and scheduling of tasks, telecommunications, traffic control.

Only some of the applications mentioned will be addressed in the course. The computer and the Internet will be indispensable tools.

(*"Operations Research" in American English)