The Fifth Column: On Doing Well by Doing Good and an Offer of Free Education

Pauley, Graeme S.; Ormerod, Richard J.; Woolsey, Robert E. D.

doi:10.1287/inte.28.2.99

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Experts understand the deeper economics of the model that cause the numbers to come out the way they do and either accept the results as insights or improve the representation in the model. Also, they take more time to understand the physical processes to be represented, as Woolsey (1998) emphasizes.…”

Section: Expertise In Linear-programming Modeling and Analysis: Formumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A focus on understanding the problem is consistent with Woolsey's approach, but soft OR emphasizes strategic problems, for which the process of achieving an understanding is different. Unlike the examples Woolsey (1998) describes in which students take jobs on factory floors or fire trucks, students do not get the CEO's job for a week to experience the work and understand the strategic problem. Instead, soft OR consists of techniques for eliciting perceptions, information, and ideas from the people in the organization and structuring that information and synthesizing it into a coherent understanding of the issues.…”

Section: Expertise In Problem Structuringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Elements of a Theory of the Practice of Operations Research: Expertise in Practice

Murphy

2005

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This is the second paper in a series of three (Murphy 2005a, b) on the practice of operations research. In the first paper I described an overall framework for a theory of practice and discussed the potential of cognitive science as an organizing framework of the knowledge and skills that make for good practice. Expertise in the context of OR practice consists of technical knowledge, institutional knowledge, and procedures and heuristics for bringing that knowledge to bear on the problem at hand and organizational issues. I illustrate technical expertise and heuristics using linear programming modeling and infeasibility analysis. Soft-OR techniques are useful for developing an understanding of the more complex and ill-formed issues an organization faces.

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Section: Expertise In Linear-programming Modeling and Analysis: Formumentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Expertise In Problem Structuringmentioning

confidence: 99%

ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Elements of a Theory of the Practice of Operations Research: Expertise in Practice

Murphy

2005

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“…One can have alternative steps in the analysis process and vary the emphasis. Woolsey (1998) places far more emphasis on the exploration and problem definition phases (Steps 2 and 3). His primary tenet is that one cannot and should not model a business process or provide a recommendation unless one actually does all of the steps of the process; he insists on developing total familiarity with the process, not just observing the operations without participating.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Elements of a Theory of the Practice of Operations Research: A Framework

Murphy

2005

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The ultimate value of operations research (OR) is making real differences in organizations. Yet little has been written on how one becomes good at doing OR and successful in practice. I propose a framework for understanding what makes good practice and an expert practitioner that encompasses the technical skills required to do OR through the managerial and marketing skills necessary to run an OR enterprise. The potential for success with OR methods depends on the nature of the problem, whether the initial and goal states are well defined or ill defined. The tools of artificial intelligence are useful for organizing the expertise in being a successful practitioner.

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“…We acknowledge that much important work in OR/MS that intersects community-based OR is done outside of business schools, departments of industrial engineering and remains unpublished, or is published in non-OR/MS flagship journals. For example, pro bono OR consulting and applications, as advocated by Woolsey [97] and McCardle [66], often address problems of interest to public-sector organizations. However, we believe that a greater emphasis on community-based OR in education, research, and practice may increase the professional returns to those who work in this area.…”

Section: What Is Community-based Or's Profile Within the Profession?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Community-Based Operations Research

Johnson¹,

Smilowitz²

2007

Or Tools and Applications: Glimpses of Future Technologies

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Community-based operations research is defined as the collection of analytical methods applied to problem domains in which interests of underrepresented, underserved, or vulnerable populations in localized jurisdictions, formal or informal, receive special emphasis, and for which solutions to problems of core concern for daily living must be identified and implemented so as to jointly optimize economic efficiency, social equity, and administrative burdens. As such, it represents a specific domain within public-sector OR. Community-based operations research (OR) problems tend to be "messy" and highly dependent on political and social considerations. Nevertheless, solution of these problems is essential to the continued health and well-being of individuals, families, communities, and entire regions. This tutorial emphasizes current research in a variety of application areas. We identify a tension between problems that reflect unique characteristics of local communities and those that represent more general characteristics that bridge diverse communities. We propose principles for bridging the gap between quantitative model-and method-based approaches typically associated with private-sector problems, and qualitative policy and process-oriented approaches typically associated with public-sector problems. We examine two research applications in detail: food security and affordable housing. In so doing we emphasize the commonality of problem attributes and the diversity of modeling and solution methods.

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The Fifth Column: On Doing Well by Doing Good and an Offer of Free Education

Abstract: The author discusses his belief that an operations research program at a state university should actively look for project work to do pro bono publico for state, county, and city governments and for private-sector enterprises.

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Elements of a Theory of the Practice of Operations Research: Expertise in Practice

ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Elements of a Theory of the Practice of Operations Research: Expertise in Practice

ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Elements of a Theory of the Practice of Operations Research: A Framework

Community-Based Operations Research

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