ABSTRACT

The allocation of limited resources and competing demands is the most prevalent problem in organisation. Mathematical programming is the general term for a host of mathematical techniques developed to solve problems involving resource allocation. Linear programming is the most popular and most widely applied technique. Although linear programming has been applied to a wide variety of business problems, it has been developed most fully and used frequently in production problems. Accordingly, two different approaches are used to explain the basic elements of the theory of linear programming. First the theory was solved using graphical method but then the same solution can be reached by an algebraic technique called simplex method. The graphic method is used to explain the theory but the simplex method is the one used in actual practice as it can be adopted for solution by computers and used to solve large complex problems.