We consider the problem of a firm (“the buyer”) that must acquire a fixed number (L) of items. The buyer can acquire these items either at a fixed buy-it-now price in the open market or by participating in a sequence of NL auctions. The objective of the buyer is to minimize his expected...

This paper proposes a mathematical model for an optimal hostages rescue problem. When more than one person is taken hostage at a given time, a decision as to whether or not to attempt a rescue has to be made. The objective is to minimize the probability of a given number or more hostages being...

In this paper we study the optimal excess-of-loss reinsurance and dividend strategy for maximizing the expected total discounted dividends received by shareholders until ruin time. Transaction costs and taxes are required when dividends occur. The problem is formulated as a stochastic impulse...

In this work the problem of obtaining an optimal maintenance policy for a single-machine, single-product workstation that deteriorates over time is addressed, using Markov Decision Process (MDP) models. Two models are proposed. The decision criteria for the first model is based on the cost of...