Operations Research (OR) is distinguished by its use of quantitative methods (mathematics, statistics, and computing) to aid in rational decision making. Operations Research has been successfully applied to a wide range of problems arising in business and government, such as locating industrial plants, allocating emergency facilities, planning capital investments, designing communication systems, and scheduling production in factories. A common element of these decision problems is the need to allocate scarce resources (such as money, time, or space) while attempting to meet conflicting objectives (such as minimizing cost or maximizing production).