11 References

1 CURIE, P., and CURIE, J.: 'Developpement, par pression, del'electricite polaire dans les cristaux hemiedres a faces inclinees',Comptes Rendus, 1880, 91, pp. 284-285

2 IITAKA, Y.: 'A technique for testing the piezoelectric propertiesof crystals', Acta Crystallogr., 1953, 6, pp. 663-664

3 WARNER, A.W., ONOE, M., and COQUIN, G.A.: 'Determination of

elastic and piezoelectric constants for crystals in class (3m)', /.Acoust.Soc.Am., 1967, 44, pp. 1223-1231

4 YAMADA, T., NIIZEKI, N., and TOYODA, H.: 'Piezoelectric andelastic properties of lithium niobate single crystals', Jpn. J. Appl.Phys., 1967, 6, pp. 151-155

5 SMITH, R.T., and WELSH, F.S.: 'Temperature dependence of theelastic piezoelectric and dielectric constants of lithium tantalate andlithium niobate', / . Appl. Phys., 1971, 42, pp. 2219-2230

Book reviewAnalysis for optimal decisionsDerek BunnJohn Wiley & Sons, 1982, 275 pp.ISBN: 471101338

This concisely written 275 page text book is designed forquantitative undergraduates concerned with the mathematicalanalysis of managerial decision problems.

It covers a wide selection of the techniques commonlyused in the quantified solution of managerial problems.Particularly valuable is the way in which it relates mathemat-ical problem solving to real-life business processes. The intro-duction describes the factors interacting in the production,marketing and financial processes of a productive business;and the operational research methods follow logical sequenceswhich involve the responsible business managers in feedingin their own judgments of probabilities, their predilectionson risk taking and their value judgments in numerical forms.The methods also aim to give managers quantitative picturesof business mechanisms and choices of solutions in an educat-ive way. The exercises (mostly from the author's own OxfordUniversity past papers) contain numerous, widely drawn

problems which, as well as providing ample practice, illustratethe wide fields of application. There are many recommen-dations for further reading.

The main subjects covered are: decision analysis in manage-ment (capital budgeting including discounted cash flow,and inventory systems), principles of decision analysis(decision making under uncertainty, and decisions withmultiple objectives), mathematical programming (optimisationtheory, linear programming and applied mathematical pro-gramming), stochastic decision models (Markov chains, queu-ing systems, simulation techniques, and risks, goals and optimaldecisions). The treatment throughout assumes the readerto be familiar with the mathematical notations and methodsinvolved.

Although aimed primarily at undergraduates, it couldprove valuable to older graduates in engineering, scienceand mathematics, now in management positions, who wishto see how mathematical analysis could help with decisionmaking in their own businesses.

F.A. HORNE

IEEPROC, Vol. 130, Pt. A, No. 3, MAY 1983 133