Graph Theoretic Methods in the Management Sciences

Frank Harary
Additional contact information
Frank Harary: Princeton University and The Institute for Advanced Study

Management Science, 1959, vol. 5, issue 4, 387-403

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the potential utility of graph theoretical methods for the management sciences. In a series of joint papers (16, 17, 18,19, 20) with I. C. Ross, we have combined a graph theoretical approach with matrix theory and set theory to handle problems concerning redundancies, liaison persons, cliques, and strengthening and weakening members of a group. The correspondence between these organizational concepts and ideas from graph theory (to be explained below) is as follows. A redundancy is analogous to a directed path which passes through the same point more than once. A liaison person in an organization has the role of a cut point of a connected graph. A clique is taken as a maximal complete subgraph. A strengthening member of a group is one whose presence causes the graph of a group to be more highly connected that the graph obtained when he is absent.

Date: 1959
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.5.4.387 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:5:y:1959:i:4:p:387-403

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Management Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().