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The Future of Operational Research is Past
Abstract
After a brief discussion of the diagnoses of others of OR's ailments, a detailed examination is made of the impacts of academic OR on its practice. These impacts include the dispersion of OR in organizations, the displacement of OR workers, and the dissolution of its interdisciplinarity. Then the changes in OR's environment which should have evoked adaptive responses from it, but didn't, are considered. The increasing inappropriateness of OR's methodology is discussed by focusing on the deficiencies of its concept and practice of optimization, and its pursuit of objectivity. These deficiencies, it is argued, can only be overcome by a comprehensive reconceptualization of the field, its methodology, the way it is practised, and the way students are educated to practise it.
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Cited by
10 Sociomateriality: Challenging the Separation of Technology, Work and Organization
Orlikowski, W. J., & Scott, S. V. (2008) · Academy of Management Annals · doi:10.5465/19416520802211644 · Cited by 2,571
A Scientific Methodology for MIS Case Studies
Lee, A. S. (1989) · MIS Quarterly · doi:10.2307/248698 · Cited by 1,300
Learning in and about complex systems
Sterman, J. D. (1994) · System Dynamics Review · doi:10.1002/sdr.4260100214 · Cited by 1,279
Problem structuring methods in action
Mingers, J., & Rosenhead, J. (2004) · European Journal of Operational Research · doi:10.1016/s0377-2217(03)00056-0 · Cited by 749
Towards a System of Systems Methodologies
Jackson, M. C., & Keys, P. (1984) · Journal of the Operational Research Society · doi:10.1057/jors.1984.101 · Cited by 731
Metadata
- Authors
- Ackoff, R. L.
- Venue
- Journal of the Operational Research Society
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1979-02
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 93-104
- ISSN
- 0160-5682 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-9360
- OpenAlex
- W2049435834
- Cited by
- 1,071
- References
- 0
- FWCI
- 33.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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