Three Case Studies of Operational Research for the Royal Air Force

Three case studies of Operational Research for the Royal Air Force are described. They illuminate the three main areas within which OR is carried out by the Ministry of Defence in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the RAF - maintenance, operations and manpower. The success of implementation of the work is discussed within the context of the Ministry of Defence.     

The Role of Operational Research in Creating an Information Technology Strategy

Journal of the Operational Research Society - Many organizations are now realizing that information technology (IT) is making a significant contribution to their operations, and could be even more...     

Nuclear Fusion: Some Linked Case Studies in Community Operational Research

Work is described with a group of voluntary agencies providing housing and other welfare services to disadvantaged clients in an inner London area. Three different types of assistance were provided—with development of a computer system, with work scheduling and with structuring a problematic situation which was a source of internal tensions. The appropriateness for community groups of problem structuring methods is compared with that of the more traditional operational research approach.     

Integrated Software-Its Implications for Operational Research

This paper considers the integrated (i.e. multi-application) packages that now available on micros and their implication for O.R. It is suggested that O.R. technique packages should be linked into the integrated packages to make use of the facilities available and to take advantage of user familiarity. This would help make such packages cheaper and easier to use-perhaps by non-O.R. specialists-and open up the use of techniques on much smaller-scale problems.     

Some Methodologies for Community Operational Research

As experience of conducting community OR projects grows and learning accrues, new approaches will be developed offering guidance on how best to proceed in alleviating the problems of community organizations. In the interim, it is sensible to consider which, if any, among the existing OR and systems methodologies might prove useful for this kind of work. In this paper it is argued that there already exist, within what might be described as ‘enhanced OR’, a number of approaches which are suitable for guiding community OR practice. This is demonstrated by outlining some of these methodologies, giving examples of their use with community organizations and showing their particular strengths in the community context. Some conclusions are drawn about the community OR enterprise.     

Operational Research for “Multi-organizations”

The need for operational research in the public and social services draws attention to the problems of conflicting and competing objectives present in such situations. The characteristics of a "multi-organization" are described, it consists of parts of several organizations, which come together for some task. Examples are given of the problems of doing operational research in multi-organizations and some possible approaches and models are suggested. Aspects of operational research methodology which require further development are indicated.     

Rethinking Statistics Teaching for Operational Research

Statistics is a standard component of most Management Science or Operational Research courses. This paper argues that the teaching of Statistics in such courses should emphasise the philosophical aspects of the discipline, should concentrate on developing concepts rather than techniques, should stimulate ideas and should allow each student to reach his/her own level in the discipline. A postgraduate course structured in this way is described in detail.     

Supranational Operational Research

Journal of the Operational Research Society -