"This monograph is both a well-prepared report about brand-new results of recent research and a very nicely and carefully written (graduate) textbook on the field of stochastic manufacturing systems. It is recommendable to operations researchers and system theorists as well as to applied mathematicians." -Optimization "A truly remarkable book, in which Sethi and Zhang have contributed enormously to the area of hierarchical controls in manufacturing. It is strongly recommended to operations researchers, industrial engineers, system and control theorists, applied mathematicians, and specialists in operations management." - Journal of Discrete Event Dynamic Systems "This book is clearly intended for an audience that is well versed in dynamic programming and finite state Markov processes. It would be well suited for researchers and graduate students in operations research, systems and control theory, and applied mathematics. Sethi and Zhang provide a very clearly written book that fills a gap in the research on hierarchical control of manufacturing systems by synthesizing research that was previously available only in research journals into a well-organized single volume." - Interfaces "Suresh Sethi has clearly made a series of important extensions to the treatment of hierarchical systems and applications to management science problems, and the book with Zhang is an impressive piece of work." - Herbert A. Simon, Carnegie Mellon University "The book is clearly written for operation researchers, system and control theorists and applied mathematicians." - Mathematical Reviews "Clear descriptions are followed by rigorous mathematical treatments. The bibliography is extensive and good...The book is a valuable progress report." - Computing Reviews "The book is recommended to anybody who has an interest in applied stochastic processes or manufacturing problems." - Short Book Reviews

• I. Introduction and Models of Manufacturing Systems.- 1. Concepts of hierarchical decision making.- 2. Models of manufacturing systems.- II. Optimal Control of Manufacturing Systems: Existence and Characterization.- 3. Optimal control of parallel machine systems.- 4. Optimal control of dynamic flowshops.- III: Asymptotic Optimal Controls.- 5. Hierarchical controls in systems with parallel machines.- 6. Hierarchical controls in dynamic flowshops.- 7. Hierarchical controls in dynamic jobshops.- 8. Hierarchical production and setup scheduling in a single machine system.- 9. Hierarchical feedback controls in two-machine flowshops.- IV: Multilevel Hierarchical Decisions.- 10. A production and capacity expansion model.- 11. Production-marketing systems.- V: Computations and Conclusions.- 12. Computations and evaluation of hierarchical controls.- 13. Further extensions and open research problems.- VI: Appendices.- A. Finite state Markov chains.- B. Martingale problems, tightness, and Skorohod representation.- C. Rate of convergence of Markov chains.- D. Control-dependent Markov chains.- E. Convergence of Markov chains with two parameters.- F. Convex functions.- G. Viscosity solutions of HJB equations.- H. Value functions and optimal controls.- I. A review of relevant graph theory.- J. Miscellany.- Author index.- Copyright permissions.

"This monograph is both a well-prepared report about brand-new results of recent research and a very nicely and carefully written (graduate) textbook on the field of stochastic manufacturing systems. It is recommendable to operations researchers and system theorists as well as to applied mathematicians." -Optimization "A truly remarkable book, in which Sethi and Zhang have contributed enormously to the area of hierarchical controls in manufacturing. It is strongly recommended to operations researchers, industrial engineers, system and control theorists, applied mathematicians, and specialists in operations management." - Journal of Discrete Event Dynamic Systems "This book is clearly intended for an audience that is well versed in dynamic programming and finite state Markov processes. It would be well suited for researchers and graduate students in operations research, systems and control theory, and applied mathematics. Sethi and Zhang provide a very clearly written book that fills a gap in the research on hierarchical control of manufacturing systems by synthesizing research that was previously available only in research journals into a well-organized single volume." - Interfaces "Suresh Sethi has clearly made a series of important extensions to the treatment of hierarchical systems and applications to management science problems, and the book with Zhang is an impressive piece of work." - Herbert A. Simon, Carnegie Mellon University "The book is clearly written for operation researchers, system and control theorists and applied mathematicians." - Mathematical Reviews "Clear descriptions are followed by rigorous mathematical treatments. The bibliography is extensive and good...The book is a valuable progress report." - Computing Reviews "The book is recommended to anybody who has an interest in applied stochastic processes or manufacturing problems." - Short Book Reviews

• I. Introduction and Models of Manufacturing Systems.- 1. Concepts of hierarchical decision making.- 2. Models of manufacturing systems.- II. Optimal Control of Manufacturing Systems: Existence and Characterization.- 3. Optimal control of parallel machine systems.- 4. Optimal control of dynamic flowshops.- III: Asymptotic Optimal Controls.- 5. Hierarchical controls in systems with parallel machines.- 6. Hierarchical controls in dynamic flowshops.- 7. Hierarchical controls in dynamic jobshops.- 8. Hierarchical production and setup scheduling in a single machine system.- 9. Hierarchical feedback controls in two-machine flowshops.- IV: Multilevel Hierarchical Decisions.- 10. A production and capacity expansion model.- 11. Production-marketing systems.- V: Computations and Conclusions.- 12. Computations and evaluation of hierarchical controls.- 13. Further extensions and open research problems.- VI: Appendices.- A. Finite state Markov chains.- B. Martingale problems, tightness, and Skorohod representation.- C. Rate of convergence of Markov chains.- D. Control-dependent Markov chains.- E. Convergence of Markov chains with two parameters.- F. Convex functions.- G. Viscosity solutions of HJB equations.- H. Value functions and optimal controls.- I. A review of relevant graph theory.- J. Miscellany.- Author index.- Copyright permissions.