What is the third step in the five-step process of the Monte Carlo method?

Correct answer: Establishing an interval of random numbers for each variable.

Explanation

The five steps of the Monte Carlo simulation method are sequential. After establishing probability distributions (Step 1) and cumulative distributions (Step 2), the third step involves assigning specific ranges of random numbers to each possible outcome to prepare for the simulation.

Other questions

Question 1

What is the primary goal of simulation as a modeling technique?

Question 2

Which of the following is considered a primary advantage of using simulation models?

Question 3

What is identified as a major disadvantage of simulation?

Question 4

What is the first step in the five-step Monte Carlo simulation method?

Question 5

In the Monte Carlo simulation technique, what immediately follows the step of setting up a probability distribution for important variables?

Question 7

A manager is following the five steps of the Monte Carlo simulation method. After establishing the cumulative probability distribution and the random number intervals, what is the next logical step?

Question 8

What is the final step in the five-step Monte Carlo simulation method?

Question 9

In a Monte Carlo simulation, what are 'random-number intervals'?

Question 10

Given the following probability distribution for the daily demand for a product: 0 units (5 percent probability), 1 unit (10 percent), 2 units (20 percent), 3 units (30 percent), 4 units (20 percent), and 5 units (15 percent). What is the expected daily demand?

Question 11

A store has the following random-number intervals for daily demand: 0 units (01-05), 1 unit (06-15), 2 units (16-35), 3 units (36-65), 4 units (66-85), and 5 units (86-00). If the random number generated for a given day is 81, what is the simulated daily demand?

Question 12

Why might the average demand from a short simulation (e.g., 10 days) differ substantially from the mathematically calculated expected demand?

Question 13

In the inventory simulation example for Simkin's Hardware Store, which two components of the inventory system are identified as being probabilistic (uncertain)?

Question 14

For the Simkin's Hardware simulation, the random number intervals for daily demand are: 0 drills (01-05), 1 drill (06-15), 2 drills (16-35), 3 drills (36-75), 4 drills (76-90), and 5 drills (91-00). If the random number for demand on a particular day is 63, what is the simulated demand?

Question 15

In the Simkin's Hardware inventory simulation, the random number intervals for reorder lead time are: 1 day (01-20), 2 days (21-70), and 3 days (71-00). When an order is placed, the random number generated for lead time is 33. What is the simulated lead time for this order?

Question 16

Which of the following is listed as one of the seven steps an OM manager should follow to use simulation?

Question 17

One common way to establish a probability distribution for a variable in a simulation is to:

Question 18

In the Simkin's Hardware inventory simulation, why is an order NOT placed on day 4?

Question 19

In the Simkin's Hardware simulation from Table F.7, an order for 10 units is placed at the end of day 3. The lead time is simulated to be 1 day. On which day do these 10 units arrive and become available in inventory?

Question 20

What is the role of a computer in conducting a real-world simulation?

Question 21

The daily demand for a product has the following probabilities: 0 units (0.05), 1 unit (0.10), 2 units (0.20). What is the cumulative probability of having a demand of 2 units or less?

Question 22

Which of the following is an advantage of using a special-purpose simulation language like GPSS or SIMSCRIPT instead of a general-purpose language like C++?

Question 23

What does the text identify as a reason a manager might be forced to use simulation instead of an analytical model for an inventory order policy problem?

Question 24

Based on the description of the simulation process in Figure F.1, what action is taken immediately after 'Construct model'?

Question 25

In the Simkin's Hardware simulation, the average daily ending inventory over the 10-day period was 4.1 units. What does this value represent?

Question 26

The text describes how spreadsheets are excellent tools for simulation. What is one of the key built-in features that enables this?

Question 27

What is the primary function of the VLOOKUP function in the Excel simulation example?

Question 28

How is a cumulative probability distribution constructed from a regular probability distribution?

Question 29

What is the primary reason for using simulation to analyze inventory problems with variable demand and lead time?

Question 30

In the Simkin's Hardware simulation, the total ending inventory for the 10 days was 41 units and there were 2 lost sales. If the holding cost is 1 dollar per unit per day and the stockout cost is 40 dollars per lost sale, what is the total combined holding and stockout cost for the 10-day period?

Question 31

What is the relationship between the probability of an outcome and the size of its assigned random-number interval in a Monte Carlo simulation using 100 two-digit numbers?

Question 32

If a simulation is conducted by hand, where can the random numbers be selected from?

Question 33

In the context of the seven steps an OM manager should take to use simulation, what is meant by 'Consider the results (possibly modifying the model or changing data inputs)'?

Question 34

Which of these is NOT listed as an application of simulation in Table F.1?

Question 35

The simulation for Barry's Auto Tire was run for 10 days, resulting in a total demand of 39 tires. What was the average daily demand for this simulation run?

Question 36

In the Simkin's Hardware simulation, an order is placed whenever the ending inventory is 5 units or less. What is this inventory level of 5 units called?

Question 37

What is the primary characteristic of a Monte Carlo method?

Question 38

How many days of historical sales data did Simkin's Hardware use to create the probability distribution for daily drill demand?

Question 39

In the four-step process for working through the Simkin's Hardware simulation table, what is the first step for each simulated day?

Question 40

How many lost sales occurred during the 10-day simulation of Simkin's Hardware inventory policy shown in Table F.7?

Question 41

What is the idea behind simulation, as described in the text?

Question 42

According to the text, which of the following is NOT a probabilistic variable commonly found in real-world systems suitable for simulation?

Question 43

In the Solved Problem F.1 concerning Higgins Plumbing, what does a stockout mean for Higgins?

Question 44

Why must a manager generate all of the conditions and constraints for solutions they want to examine in a simulation model?

Question 45

In the Simkin's Hardware simulation, the average number of orders placed per day was calculated to be 0.3. How was this value determined?

Question 46

Based on the text, what is the key difference between a general-purpose and a special-purpose simulation language?

Question 47

What is the primary reason that even with a 1,000-day simulation, the generated distribution should be compared with the desired distribution?

Question 48

In Solved Problem F.2, a company's profit is described by the formula: Profit = -300 + 10X, where X is the number of units sold, and X is expected to be an equally likely chance from 0 to 99 units. What is the expected profit?

Question 49

Why would it be risky to draw hard and fast conclusions from a short simulation like the 10-day example provided in the text?

Question 50

In the context of computer simulation models for fast-food restaurants, what was a predicted benefit of adding a second drive-through window?