Book review for Management Science Applications to Leisure-Time Operations by Shaul P. Ladany, ed. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company; 1975

Brown, Perry J.

English

University of Montana

University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Forest Management Faculty Publications Forest Management 10-1976 Review: Management Science Applications to Leisure-Time Operations Perry J. Brown University of Montana - Missoula, perry.brown@umontana.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/forest_pubs  Part of the Forest Management Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Brown, Perry J., "Review: Management Science Applications to Leisure-Time Operations" (1976). Forest Management Faculty Publications. 41. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/forest_pubs/41 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Forest Management at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Forest Management Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact scholarworks@mso.umt.edu. Book Reviews 319role o f  rec rea tio n  a n d  le isure  services as an  aspect o f  th e  overall system o f h u m a n  services. M u rp h y ’s effo rts  p e rh a p s  will serve as th e  focal p o in t an d  in sp ira tio n  fo r these  new  directions.P E T E R  A. W IT T , Department of Recreology, University of Ottawa.M A N A G E M E N T  SC IE N C E  A P P L IC A T IO N S  T O  L E IS U R E -T IM E  O P E R A T IO N S . Shaul P. L adany , ed. A m sterdam : N o rth -H o llan d  Publish ing  C om pany,1975, 373 pp . $31.25.T h is  book is n o t fo r the  m athem atically  tim id. I f  n u m b ers  or equations a re  b o th erso m e, this is no t y o u r book. I f  you a re  in te res ted  in th e  en tran ce  o f  o p era tio n s re search  an d  m an ag em en t science in to  le isure  an d  rec rea tio n a l analysis, how ever, ttiis book has som eth ing  to  o ffer. M anagem en t science m ethods o ffe r  those engaged  in  le isu re  serv­ices ways to  organize and  analyze large am ounts o f  data useful fo r decision m aking, to  schedule  activities an d  events, an d  to  test ideas a n d  in tu i­tions. Increasing ly , those engaged  in  p ro v id in g  le isure  services are  recognizing  th e  value o f  these m ethods, an d  Management Science Applications to Leisure-Time Operations p rov ides n u m ero u s  exam ples which d em o n stra te  th e  value.Case stud ies are  th e  basic u n it o f  th e  book. A m ong  all o f  th em  th e re  is a little so m eth in g  fo r everyone. Q uan tita tive  m eth o d s u sed  are  reg ression  analysis, sim ulation , d isc rim inan t analysis, ne tw ork  flow analy­sis, a n d  lin ear an d  dynam ic p ro g ram m in g . L eisure topics covered  include o u td o o r recrea tio n a l use o f  w ilderness, cam ping , tourism , travel, re so rt hom esites, m ark e t analysis fo r zoos, an d  the d e m an d  fo r com m em orative coins.N ot all o f  th e  case stud ies a re  m athem atically  heavy. For instance th e  K erry  Sm ith a n d  R ichard  H eadly  c h a p te r  on  the  use o f  sim ulation  m odels in  w ilderness m an ag em en t is a stra ig h tfo rw ard , non-technical piece which prov ides a basic in tro d u c tio n  to  th e  w orkings o f  th e  wil­derness travel sim ula to r. O n  th e  o th e r  h a n d , th e  c h a p te r  by M ira B aro n  an d  M ordechai S h ech te r on  estim ations o f  th e  spatial s tru c tu re  o f  w eek­en d  recrea tio n a l d e m an d  in  Israe l’s Ju d e a n  Hills no t only is w ritten  with several equations, b u t also describes .the recrea tiona l system  in term s o f  an  electrical analog . W hile the  ana lo g  is no t trem en d o u sly  com pli­cated , it is som ew hat su rp ris in g  to  find  th e  rec rea tio n  system  m odeled  as an  electrical schem atic like o n e  m igh t find in  the  in struc tions fo r a bu ild -it-yourse lf ra d io  kit. O th e r articles are  bo th  h eav ier a n d  lig h te r on th e  m ath , b u t n o t so u n u su a l in th e ir  ap p ro ach .In  g enera l, this is n o t a field m a n a g e r’s book. Som e m anagers will320 Journal o f Leisure Researchfind  it u sefu l because they have been tra in ed  in m an ag em en t science; m ost o th e rs  probab ly  will n o t w ant to  read  it. For s tu d e n t tra in ing , how ever, it is useful. O p era tio n s research , business m an ag em en t, and  o u td o o r rec rea tio n  m an ag em en t classes could  each utilize p a rts  o f  the book. T h e  case exam ples could  be used  to  illustra te  th e  applicability o f  various o p era tio n s research  techn iques to schedu ling  an d  o th e r  real m an ag em en t problem s. T h e  cases cou ld  also be used  to  in tro d u ce  stu­den ts  to  th e  w hole a rea  o f  m an ag em en t science an d  w hat it m igh t o ffer fo r th e  m an ag em en t o f le isu re-tim e opera tions. For these  users the  book’s biggest draw back  is its cost; its b iggest asset is its diversity.PERRY  J. B R O W N , Outdoor Recreation, Colorado State University.Published quarterly  by the  National Recreation and Park Association. 1601 N orth  Kent Street, A rlington, Va. 22209. Second class postage paid  a t A rlington, Va., and a t other mailing offices. C opyright ® 1976 by the N ational Recreation and  Park Association.

Review: Management Science Applications to Leisure-Time Operations

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Review: Management Science Applications to Leisure-Time Operations

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