A Markov Decision Process Model of Operations Management in Start-up Firms

We present a general Markov decision process (MDP) model for operations
management with a profit maximizing objective and extend this to a survival
maximizing objective with a constraint on capital. We argue that the survival
maximizing objective may be more suitable for start-up firms. Analysis of the
models under different assumptions about the operating environment provides
insight into the successful management of start-up firms.