Supporting the strategy process: a survey of UK OR/MS practitioners

This paper reports the results of an online survey conducted with practitioner members of the UK Operational Research (OR) Society. The purpose of the survey was to explore the current practice of supporting the strategy process in terms of activities supported and tools used. The results of the survey are compared to those of previous surveys to explore developments in, inter alia, the use of management/strategy tools and ‘soft’ Operational Research/Management Science (OR/MS) tools. The survey results demonstrate that OR practitioners actively support the strategy process within their organisations. While a wide variety of tools, drawn from the OR/MS and management/strategy fields, are used to support the strategy process within organisations, the findings suggest that soft OR/MS tools are not regularly used. The findings also demonstrate that tools are combined to support the strategy process from both within and across the OR/MS and management/strategy fields. The paper ends by identifying a number of areas for further research.     

From Problem-Structuring to Implementation

This paper is intended to encourage OR/MS practitioners to take seriously the notion that the implementation of their work deserves as much attention as do the technical aspects that underlie their recommendations. It focusses on the similarities between problem-structuring and implementation, and argues that an exploration approach can be used in both. It is now acccepted that successful structuring must involve deliberate exploration of tangible and intangible issues, and the same is true of implementation.     

Using Foucault to analyse ethics in the practice of problem structuring methods

As a new generation of problem-structuring methods (PSM) develops in operational research (OR) practice, the issue of ethics needs attention. This paper aims to contribute to examining ethics in the practice of problem structuring. The paper argues that PSM could influence ethical reflection but the scope of new developments is limited, as it is also the scope of ethical codes or norms in OR. Ethics needs to be understood as a continuous development by individuals in relation to existing frameworks and codes. This view of ethics is inspired by Michel Foucault's ideas on power and ethics. Using Foucault's ideas, two main areas of inquiry are suggested to enhance critical reflection about ethics: (a) individualization of forms of ethics, and (b) possibilities and constraints of ethics in power relations. Using these two areas, practitioners reflect on the ethics of their practice and relate it to their own ethical development.     

Examining the feasibility of using a modelling tool to assess resilience across a health-care system and assist with decisions concerning service reconfiguration

Changes in medical practice, demographic shifts and financial pressures are all examples of factors that may contribute to demand for periodic changes in the configuration of health services. When reconfiguring a service, health planners often take into account projected demand for services, patient access criteria and budgetary constraints (among other things), but typically give little consideration regarding its resilience to deliver services during and after external disruptions to its capability to deliver. In this paper we discuss a study conducted in response to a direct request from the National Health Service (NHS) Resilience Project within the Department of Health to explore the feasibility of assessing resilience across local services within the NHS and developing a computer software tool to assess resilience of different service reconfigurations. We give an account of the modelling process used, including the analytical framework we developed using both optimisation and heuristic methods, and an illustrative example of usage of a prototype software tool. We also highlight the key lessons that emerged during this project, which may be helpful to OR analysts working on similar projects regarding resilience in the public sector.     

Beyond problem structuring methods: reinventing the future of OR/MS

Some of the most influential pioneers of OR felt disappointed by the way it developed in the 1960s and 1970s. In their view, the original intention to create a holistic, interdisciplinary science addressed to strategic problems was betrayed. Problem structuring methods (PSMs) have made a significant contribution to taking OR/MS forward again in the direction charted by those pioneers. From a theoretical perspective, however, it is clear that the opportunities provided by PSMs tend to be limited to those drawn from the interpretive paradigm. That is only one way of adding to the positivist/quantitative approach of classical OR/MS. This paper suggests that OR has an obligation to explore a wider range of theoretical options and to convert the possibilities offered by all of these into a form that managers and management scientists can use. Only in this way can OR be reinvented to live up to the ambitions of its founders.     

Causal maps and the evaluation of decision options—a review

Causal maps are widely employed in problem-structuring interventions. They permit a rich representation of ideas, through the modelling of complex chains of argument as networks. The last stage of a problem-structuring intervention is often to identify and agree to a set of potential strategic options. In some circumstances the preferred direction may emerge naturally from a process of negotiation; in others further, more-or-less formal, analysis to evaluate the options and to understand their impacts on the goals could be helpful. Such analysis may help to bring closure to the process. The main aim of this paper is to review systematically the approaches for evaluating options following from the use of a causal map for problem structuring; some directly using the map structure, others working with concepts extracted from, or an external model derived from, the map. Following a proposed taxonomy, each approach is presented, and its advantages and disadvantages are discussed.     

The development of management sciences/operational research discourses: surveying the trends in the US and the UK

This paper explores the trends in American and British management science/operational research (MS/OR) during the last 25 years. We argue that British MS/OR has developed a soft and systemic approach to MS/OR practice, which has resulted in the emergence of a number of interpretive and critical-oriented methodologies. American MS/OR practice has remained closed to the positivistic discourse. Using a set of keywords and authors’ names associated with the main features of the interpretive and critical MS discourses, we surveyed articles published in three major US MS/OR journals. We compare these results with trends in the UK MS/OR scene. Findings appear to confirm the different directions taken by the MS/OR practice across the Atlantic. The paper posits possible reasons underpinning these differences: firstly, the particular methodological path followed by the British MS/OR, from early ‘soft systems’ applications in the early 1970s to the now well-established ‘Problem Structuring Methods’; and secondly, continuous engagement between the systems and MS/OR British communities (a dialogue that seems not to have occurred in the US). The paper contributes to a reflection on the MS/OR historical developments and contrasts these developments in both countries, two areas of OR significantly under-researched.     

Management science methodologies in environmental management and sustainability: discourses and applications

This paper investigates and discusses the use of systemic methodologies (SMs) developed in management science/operational research (MS/OR), in particular, those SM that have been informing the complexity inherent in environmental management and sustainable (EM/S) practices. By surveying a sample of the top MS/OR and systems journals, we assess the extent to which systemic management science methodologies developed recently have been used in tackling EM/S problems. Titles and abstracts of EM/S applications published in MS/OR and systems journals between 1989 and 2009 were queried for the occurrence of typical keywords associated with a set of SMs (eg, complexity theory, systems dynamics, soft systems, critical systems, viable systems model). The survey identifies a set of articles representing the practice of either a particular methodology or of a mixture of various SMs in EM/S setting. By assembling and critically reviewing a sample of applications in EM/S the paper hopes to raise awareness among environmentalists, operational researchers and management scientists of the benefits of using systemic approaches developed in MS/OR and, in this way, to encourage further exchange and conversation between these fields of management.     

Executive views concerning decision support tools

Support tools for strategic-level decision-making have become increasingly popular. This study investigates the role of OR/MS tools in today’s strategic-level decision support tool market. Executives working in Finland’s 500 largest companies were asked about the decision support tools they use when making major decisions. The responses received indicated that executives actively use a variety of tools, and an average of five different strategic-level tools. Approximately 10% of the tools used could be identified as OR/MS type, these often suit the needs of larger companies with strategic logistical or production functions and compared to other tools, have a specific profile. Executives see advantages in using tools that provide cognitive, collaboration and communication possibilities, and also in using tools that make processes more efficient. OR methodologies have influenced some of the other tools on the market, but ‘soft OR’ tool usage could not be identified. Tools which support creativity are needed.     

Overcoming the barriers: a qualitative study of simulation adoption in the NHS

This paper addresses a key issue in the health OR literature, namely the apparent failure of OR modelling to become embedded and widely implemented within healthcare organisations. The research presented here is a case study to evaluate the adoption of one particular simulation modelling tool, Scenario Generator (S:G), which was developed by the SIMUL8 Corporation in a PPI partnership with the UK's National Health Service (NHS) Institute for Innovation and Improvement. The study involved semi-structured interviews with employees of 28 Primary Care Trusts who had all been engaged in some way with the initiative, with participants classified as ‘Not Started’, ‘Given Up’ and ‘Actively Using’. This paper presents a brief summary of barriers and facilitators to the successful use of the S:G software, but its main purpose is to focus more broadly on factors influencing the successful adoption of simulation tools in general within healthcare organisations. The insights gained in this study are relevant to improving the uptake of OR modelling in general within the NHS.     

A Language for Policy-Level Modelling

Despite a history of successful applications to operational-level problems, the vale of OR/MS modelling techniques as aids in policy/strategy formulation has not been widely demonstrated. In this paper, we suggest that the language of traditional OR/MS model structures is too restrictive to deal with issues typically confronted in policy-making. Differences between operational-level decision-making processes and policy/strategy formulation processes are discussed; alternative model structures are described and classified; and a modelling language for addressing issues of policy and strategy is proposed. The language is presented in set-theoretic terms, and the resulting structure implies that certain model classes accommodate policy-level management needs better than others. Furthermore, policy-level models must serve a role distinct from the prediction and optimization role typically served by operational-level models.     

The practice of operational research in Taiwan

This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of operational research/management science (OR/MS) practices in Taiwanese companies. The survey was addressed to the current status and future perspectives of OR/MS in Taiwan. During the spring of 2001, 2000 questionnaires were mailed to the top 1000 domestic manufacturing firms and top 1000 domestic service organizations. These asked questions concerning specific OR/MS techniques being used, application areas of OR/MS, reasons for using OR/MS, reasons for not using OR/MS, difficulties encountered practically, and future perspectives. Results from 262 valid respondents provided several informative findings. Compared with the 1995 survey of Kao et al, it found that the percentage of companies that have used OR/MS techniques increased from 62.7% in 1995 to 76.7% in 2001. Also, the percentage of companies that have never heard of OR/MS decreased from 16.1% in 1995 to 11.1% in 2001. Because of the Taiwan government recently developing educational and training programs in OR/MS, it found that the importance of OR/MS has been recognized by Taiwan companies as an efficient management tool for economic development, and the usage of OR/MS will continuously increase.     

Why modelling and model use matter

When OR/MS analysts develop a model, how are they intending this model to be used? There are many different ways in which OR/MS models may be classified and one important categorisation is the intended use of the model. Some models are intended for routine use on a frequent basis, with little or no human intervention. Others form part of human decision process and provide support to that process. Considering model validation, data requirements, added value and possible pitfalls leads to a theory of model use based on four categories: decision automation, routine decision support, investigation and improvement, and generating insights for debate. A pilot investigation in an OR/MS group demonstrates that this categorisation could provide the basis for empirical research into a theory of model use in operational research. A theory of model use would be of value to academics, who could prioritise their work, and to practitioners, who could place their own work in a broader landscape.     

Implementation of the operations research/management science process

The aim of this article is to point out some basic aspects of the OR/MS implementation problem and to outline a frame of reference for dealing with the OR/MS process. The model proposed includes a decomposition of the OR/MS process. Phases, interest groups, strategies, and variables in the OR/MS process are considered as being important. The first part of the article is a summary of some important recent contributions by others, whereas the second part represents contributions resulting from the author's own research.     

On the roles of OR/MS practitioners in supporting strategy

This paper presents an exploratory account of how Operational Research/Management Science (OR/MS) practitioners understand their role in supporting an organisational strategy process. The role of strategy support is characterised by five dimensions: the activities supported within the strategy process; the nature of support provided; the orientation of the support provided; the tools used in providing support; and the nature of the relationship between consultant and client. The research draws on case studies of four OR/MS practitioners working as internal and as external consultants. The work of the practitioners is mapped onto the framework and gaps are identified. The research proposes a further dimension, namely, ‘the purpose of the support provided’, and suggests four purposeful support roles adopted by practitioners in supporting strategy within organisations: sensemaking/sensegiving; decision support tool development; problem solving/solution exploration; and process facilitation. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research.     

Innovative research in OR/MS?

This paper is a contribution to the continuing debate about research priorities and publications in OR/MS. It categorises research publications in several different ways. First it uses approaches suggested in the information systems and operations management literature. It then takes previous examinations of leading OR/MS journals to gain a different perspective on the same issues. Finally, it uses a multi-faceted view of OR/MS to try to capture its full richness. These analyses confirm the view that much published research in OR is unengaged and focuses on decision mathematics or optimisation, apparently for its own sake. That is, most papers published in the leading OR/MS journals take little or no account of how their findings might be used in practice, nor do they express much concern about this issue. The reasons for this state of affairs are discussed, so as to consider whether a change might be overdue.     

On the importance of behavioral operational research: The case of understanding and communicating about dynamic systems

We point out the need for Behavioral Operational Research (BOR) in advancing the practice of OR. So far, in OR behavioral phenomena have been acknowledged only in behavioral decision theory but behavioral issues are always present when supporting human problem solving by modeling. Behavioral effects can relate to the group interaction and communication when facilitating with OR models as well as to the possibility of procedural mistakes and cognitive biases. As an illustrative example we use well known system dynamics studies related to the understanding of accumulation. We show that one gets completely opposite results depending on the way the phenomenon is described and how the questions are phrased and graphs used. The results suggest that OR processes are highly sensitive to various behavioral effects. As a result, we need to pay attention to the way we communicate about models as they are being increasingly used in addressing important problems like climate change.