Facilitation: some contributions to theorising the practice of operational research

The paper examines the contributions of two distinct areas of theory to the practice of facilitation in operational research. The first area examined is deconstruction, presented in terms of its theorising about the role of language in social interaction, and as a method for describing and critiquing different positions present in written or verbal texts, for example positions inherent in the views of different stakeholders or underlying alternative strategies or options under consideration. The second area examined is ‘re-evaluation counselling’ or ‘co-counselling’, presented as a body of theory about human emotion and the impact of distress, and associated with a range of tools and techniques for use in stimulating creative thinking and analysing and responding to emotional outbursts during the course of facilitated work sessions. Examples from OR practice in the field of group decision-making and action illustrate the discussion in both these sections.     

Strategic operational research

Operational researchers have been slow to define and claim a strategic role for operational research (OR). This article discusses the OR activities of a number of leading-edge organisations, and argues that in several instances these activities have sustained a competitive advantage over a significant period of time, and are seen as a ‘strategic asset’ to the parent corporation. Finally, it is argued that OR people should begin talking about OR as a strategic asset, and that recognition of this strategic role provides a vision of a very exciting future for OR.     

The role of operational research in organizational decision making

An increase in the complexity of modern organisations and their interactions with the environment and each other has lead to a corresponding increase in the complexity of the organizational decision making process and the various factors on which decisions need to be based. Although there is currently much debate amongst both OR academics and practitioners as to how OR should respond to this increase in complexity the public manifestations of this debate have been confined largely to academics talking to each other.This paper is intended to contribute to a rectification of this situation by indicating how OR is currently used in one particular large, bureaucratic, high technology organization, and how it is spontaneously evolving to meet the demands of increased complexity. This discussion is based on an empirical study, and on experience of the author of OR in this and other similar organizations.It is concluded that very few major decisions appear to be directly influenced by OR studies although the latter are frequently used in a ‘justification’ role to support decisions already taken. An increase in awareness is however becoming apparent of the many indirect benefits that may accrue to the organization from the OR process. The nature of these indirect benefits and the ways in which they might be increased are discussed.     

Operations research practice on logistics management in Taiwan: An academic view

The opinions of logistics educators in Taiwan on OR practices in the domestic logistics industry are explored in this research. In this study, questionnaires were given to 42 pre-screened educators at 10 logistics departments and graduate institutes. According to the 37 valid returned questionnaires, 70% of the responding educators believe the major source of OR techniques in Taiwan’s logistics industry originates from individual employee training, while 92% believe OR is not widely used primarily because companies are unfamiliar with OR techniques. OR techniques were considered helpful in solving problems by 73%. Generally speaking, familiarity with OR techniques is not associated with implementation of OR techniques by educators. Additionally, logistics educators express concern about insufficient training for logistics students in Taiwan. However, they are optimistic about the logistics industry’s willingness to more actively adopt OR techniques in Taiwan in the next two years.     

International publishing in operational research

The primary literature in OR, as defined in International Abstracts in Operations Research, has grown by 47 per cent between 1975 and 1985. EURO and North-America together account for 85 percent of the primary literature. The USA is more than three times as productive per capita as EURO. English has become the standard language; its share in the primary literature increased from 86 to 93 per cent. Most primary journals are nationalist and many cannot be called international. These and more detailed results are presented in this cross-section analysis of the OR primary literature.     

Model legitimisation in operational research

This paper suggests that model validation and model legitimisation are two overlapping but nevertheless distinct activities, and that it takes more than being valid for an OR model to be organizationally acceptable: it has to be legitimate. The paper forwards the idea that the implementation of a model is necessarily part of a change process and hence has impact on the organization. It discusses how organizational contract and legitimacy are related to one another, and how, in a change process, a model can be used in different modes by different stakeholders. Concrete suggestions for model legitimisation are proposed. The paper concludes by linking model legitimisation and model validation.     

Facilitated modelling in operational research

The traditional way of employing operational research in organisational interventions has been the expert mode. In this mode, the problem situation faced by the client is given to the operational research consultant, who then builds a model of the situation, solves the model to arrive at an optimal (or quasi-optimal) solution, and then provides a recommendation to the client based on the obtained solution. An alternative mode of engagement is to conduct the whole intervention together with the client: from structuring and defining the nature of the problem situation of interest, to supporting the evaluation of priorities and development of plans for subsequent implementation. In this latter mode, the operational researcher works throughout the intervention not only as an analyst, but also as a facilitator to the client. This paper discusses this latter mode of engagement with clients, with particular emphasis on the use of facilitated modelling as the intervention tool. Drawing on research scattered across a range of publications and domains, the review presented here provides a formal definition of facilitated modelling, together with a general framework that allows the conceptualisation of a wide variety of facilitated modelling approaches to organisational intervention. Design issues in facilitated modelling and their practical implication are discussed, and directions for future research identified.     

Community operational research issues and public art practice: the art director system

The key issues of community operational research, outlined in a paper by Ritchie, have relevance to community projects in general and, we argue, a particular relevance to public art. We illustrate this relevance by describing eight case studies in public art, four in Japan and four in the west, and by considering the projects in a three-way factorial design, make a case for the art director system in the management of public art projects.     

The origins and diffusion of operational research in the UK

This paper analyses the origins and diffusion of operational research in the UK from the end of the Second World War to 1970. After acknowledging ORs military origins, the paper discusses the process of diffusion into the civilian sector. In this context, the critical role fulfilled by OR groups in the coal and iron and steel industries is highlighted, as well as the individual advocacy of key individuals such as Sir Charles Goodeve. The paper also comments on the development of OR in the UK corporate sector by presenting a number of representative case studies. It concludes with an examination of the factors which encouraged the diffusion of OR into civil government after 1965, contrasting this development with the muted response of Whitehall departments in the late 1940s.     

Systems approaches and operational research

It is often stated that OR embodies a systems approach. What is meant by this varies widely from simple holism to abstract philosophy. This paper considers the impact that a systems orientation can have on the practice of OR by providing a language for analysis. As a language or framework it has severe limitations which are set out in the paper. Nevertheless, the paper concludes by arguing that a pragmatic systems viewpoint can be valuable.     

Management accounting and operational research

We discuss some topics relating to management accounting and operational research. Because of the wide area of application of operational research techniques in management accounting we had to make a choice and limited us to budgetting through input-output analysis, cost-volume-profit analysis and transfer prices in decentralized organisations.     

The initiation,evaluation and selection of operational research projects

This paper discusses the problems involved in conducting successful Operational Research within a large organisation and suggests ways of overcoming them. It describes ways in which Operational Research projects arise, methods of assessing their relative merits, and methods used by the authors to obtain a suitable portfolio of projects. It is argued that an Operational Research Group should apply to its own project planning the scientific approach that it advocates for others.     

Overview of OR practice in Taiwan companies

This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of Operational Research (OR) practice in business organizations in Taiwan, Republic of China—a newly industrialized country. Questions concerning the number of OR professionals, specific OR techniques being used, common OR users, reasons for not using OR, and the supporting factors and difficulties encountered in practice were posed to the top 1000 manufacturing firms and top 1000 service organizations. Replies from 249 respondents provide some insight into the use of OR in Taiwan's business organizations. The results are very informative for companies wishing to extend their use of OR and for educational institutions to design better OR curriculum to fit industries' needs.     

Strategy,performance and operational research

This paper explores the nature of operational research and its interactions with performance measurement and strategy. It is argued that operational research (OR) is well fitted to handle strategic issues as the modelling approach of OR facilitates understanding and learning, and the evaluation of strategies prior to action. The development of problem structuring methods is also a key aid to strategy and policy formulation. OR is also beginning to play a role in performance measurement and there is an opportunity for OR to lead in the improvement of performance measurement systems.     

A successful operational research intervention in one-day cricket

After its introduction to one-day cricket in 1997, the Duckworth/Lewis method has spread to become the standard rule throughout senior levels of the game for resetting the target in matches shortened after their start due to rain or other causes. This paper reviews how the method is working following its application to more than 400 known cases. A comparison of the Duckworth/Lewis model with several years of data from international matches is made that confirms the suitability of the underpinning model, but the data indicate that there is a need to update the model's parameters. An upgrading of the model is suggested to cope with high-scoring matches when the basic model's assumptions begin to break down. Although the price of the enhanced model is loss of simplicity and complete reliance on software, cricketing authorities have begun to believe the price to be worth paying. Data from actual matches are used throughout to illustrate the implementation of this successful use of Operational Research principles to the solution of a practical problem in one-day cricket.     

Independent learning and operational research in the classroom

While Operational Research and Education are common keywords in OR journals, most work focuses on course content. Relatively little has been written about processes of education and learning in OR. This paper adds to this important area by considering the use of more Independent Learning (IL) in Operational Research education. Included is an explanation of IL and justification for using it. Activities which encourage IL are described and supported by three case studies which give examples of how an academic might introduce IL into a range of OR education settings. Other topics include IL and assessment, arguments against the use of IL, and critical success factors.