Doing business is simply mathematics by other means – all a question of keeping equations in balance on both sides. Labour must be balanced with capital. Resources with allocation. Customers with services or goods. Workers with rewards. The only way that such balances can be instituted and maintained is through a system of management control. At the heart of any well-run business operation is a sound theory of control and overall operating strategy. There are a variety of management control systems, for not every system is well suited for every production situation. Moreover, each management control system incorporates a particular philosophy of work (Anderegg, 2000).
One of the key tools that can be used by managers as they seek to make their factories more efficient is algebra.
