Services industry has become a primary growth point in most countries. However, the current services business is largely constrained by human factors and lacks automated and quantitative techniques for operation and decision-making. In this paper, we propose an optimal-control based decisionmaking model that facilitates performance analysis and strategy planning for services enterprises. Using approximate dynamic programming, we are able to handle the model complexity and obtain a nearoptimal solution for the decision making of employee management, advertisement, and asset investment. We validate our model and approach in a business simulation practice. Furthermore, we propose a consulting methodology based on the optimal-control model and describe its application in services consulting practices.
By: Liang-Jie Zhang; Zhe Shan; Zhi-Hong Mao
Published in: RC24678 in 2008
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