Pragmatism and rationalism in the development of management science methodologies in the UK and France

Abstract

The development of a range of management science methodologies (MSMs) such as 'soft' operational research (OR) has been a feature of the UK OR practice over the last decades. This paper suggests that the increasing number of soft approaches developed in the UK is a direct consequence of the pragmatism in management education and management practice in Britain; and of the development of a robust British systems movement that has been engaged with the British OR community. Rationalism prevalent in French management education has kept OR/MS practice biased towards the hard end of MSM. We explore the usage of hard and soft methods and present results of a mailed survey administered to a small sample of British and French MBA graduates working in consultancy. Results reflect features of British and French business culture and management education; and indicate the different directions taken by the MS/OR movements in these two countries.

Using an improved rich pictures approach to improve project situational analysis in complex aid reconstruction development projects

“…practically and feasibly possible. It has many proponents (Shalin, 1992;Lovitt, 1997;Frederick, 2000;Joham et al, 2009;Paucar-Caceres, 2009) and fits in well with a desire to get on with the job at hand in a practical and realistic manner or in this case to find a pragmatic approach to better understanding these complex messy situations. We cite a pragmatic paradigm as being an appropriate epistemological stance to take in project front-end planning because as we argued earlier in this paper (Williams et al, 2009;Williams and Samset, 2010) that front-end project planning is undertaken with scant information and so much of the knowledge and insights available through stories and rich pictures are pragmatic and practical tools available for project managers and planners to use.…”

Understanding international grading scales: More translation than conversion

“…The specific case of international students, companies and lecturers using and understanding foreign grading systems seems to have received only minor attention and primarily in Europe subsequent to the Bologna reforms which called for a certain number of standardised features in documents and programme delivery to simplify mobility. Surprisingly few academic studies have been conducted into grading practices, specifically in business education, despite large numbers of mobile students seeking cross-national qualifications in business (OECD, 2008;UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2009). Although many recent publications concentrate on assessment, evaluation and the importance of qualitative and quantitative feedback on student's responsiveness to courses; the concern about grades, grade spread and the meaning and exploitation of grade reports has been discrete.…”

“…As French institutions integrate more international students, hire international lecturers and send students abroad (OECD, 2008); the grading and evaluation practices will inevitably be affected by contact with other cultural norms. Many French business schools now employ multiple choice questionnaires, case studies, behavioural observation and other field evaluation methods.…”

“…As business and engineering schools have the highest number of mobile students worldwide (OECD, 2008;UNESCO, 2009), they should be more proactive in promoting grading excellence and taking advantage of the learning involved in grading across cultures. In the wake of rising student mobility, grading and assessment should be reflected more thoroughly and critically into AACSB and EQUIS concerns.…”

Enhancing Deep Learning: Lessons From the Introduction of Learning Teams in Management Education in France

“…The French educational system places an early emphasis on competition and selection, which is accentuated at the secondary school level. Mastery of French and mathematics are the two main criteria for selection (Paucar-Caceres, 2009). Having successfully completed their baccalaureate at ages 17 to 18, students seeking entry to the Grandes Ecoles spend 2 years preparing in one of the French preparatory schools, known in France as a Prepa, for the highly competitive entrance examination to the prestigious institutions of the Grandes Ecoles.…”