Operational research in social security

In this paper we describe the work of the Department of Health and Social Security Operational Research (OR) Unit in Social Security. This work started in 1972 and with one break of eighteen months still continues. One of the authors (AFH) led the OR team from the beginning until September 1979 and the other (MJP) was the customer for much of its work. We describe briefly the organisation of social security work, and go on to talk about some of the projects attempted by the OR team. We will not shrink from describing some of the successes but we will concentrate most attention on the things which did not achieve the expected results. Readers will make their own judgements about the extent to which the failures were due to circumstances or to inadequacies of the team, or its leader.     

Operational research in government and planning

This paper analyses the difficulties encountered by OR in the field of government and planning, difficulties due to the sociological nature of the executive and the administrative systems and to the psychology of ministers and civil servants. To improve this situation the paper suggests (1) changes in the composition of OR teams and the competence of their members (collaboration of model-builders and “reformers”, improvement of knowledge of basic sciences by model-builders, long experience of reorganization of reformers, sufficient familiarity with the public sector); (2) transformations in the mode of realization of studies (definition of problems, choices of objectives and criteria, reasoning in terms of general systems, costing, ...); (3) definition of a long-term policy for OR research-teams; (4) modifications in the relations between teams and decision-makers; (5) introduction of OR in the functioning of the democratic systems.     

Operational research techniques in Hong Kong

This paper presents the results of a survey of the use and organisational place of operational research techniques in different sectors of Hong Kong industry. The factors assisting the rapid growth of industry in the city-state are presented and the effect these have on the use of OR techniques is discussed. For a newly industralised country such as Hong Kong the conclusion of the authors is that OR techniques are best introduced and practised in a multi-discipline management services department rather than in a designated OR department.     

Civil spin-off from defence research: A fresh approach

An enhanced degree of civil spin-off from research and development in Defence Establishments has for some years been recognized as a desirable objective. A fresh approach to this matter has recently been introduced with the creation of Defence Technology Enterprises. The paper explains the objectives, mode of operation, and the potential benefits which will stem from the development of DTE. Explanations are provided on how industry will benefit from this new initiative, and the long-term prospects are indicated. Examples are provided of the source technology and case histories show the reality of the DTE concept.     

Operational research and the pluralist frame of reference

This paper is concerned with the practice of OR in situations of conflict. Two papers which consider the practice of OR in the public sector are criticised. Both papers do not fully recognise the implications of conflict and the guidance given for action suffers as a consequence. Conflict situations have been extensively studied by analysts of industrial relations and war. Relevant concepts from these studies are introduced which give an awareness of the problems of conflict and some sound guides for action.     

Operational research, social well-being and the zero growth concept

Operational Research (OR) can be regarded as the use of science and scientific methods to influence decisionsto the benefit of society. In military, industrial and government contexts, overall social objectives have so far been taken for granted: victory, profitability, expansion of production and services, and so on; but now such simple objectives are in question. Management, technology and growth are seen to conflict with humanity, quality of life and prosperity. OR at present puts much more effort into pursuing the former group than the latter. Even the scientific method is under attack as a way of deciding social issues. OR must be able to justify its methods and its application. The old simple minded objectives are still pursued, but less whole-heartedly. There will be less demand for major OR studies of that kind. If OR is to survive, it must re-examine its social role in the new world climate.     

Cost-effectiveness in defence expenditure

Decision-making in defence is complicated by the need to make long-range plans with regard to weapons systems and force structures in an environment marked by great strategic and technological uncertainty. Cost-effectiveness analysis, which is a variant of the general analytical approach, is an attempt to clarify and structure defence choice situations. As a method of analysis, it shares certain properties of both cost-benefit and operational analysis, and indeed emerged from them in response to the unique needs of defence planners. Cost-effectiveness analysis involves a number of conceptual and practical problems, but its most difficult challenge is the requirement to exist in a political and bureaucratic environment where the system of incentives may not be compatible with the notion of economic rationality. However, the recent appearance of competitive cost-effectiveness analysis of defence options promises to promote the relevance and applicability of this approach.     

Operational research at the National Defence Research Institute of Sweden (FOA)

This paper gives an account of an institute for applied research so as to enable comparisons to be made with other institutes: such comparisons need not be limited to defence establishments. In elaborating the methodology of the institute its local concepts are applied, a conceptualisation which has proven useful outside defence [I]. Defence methodology still creates civilian spin-off.     

The American missionary in the Trans-Mississippi West: Sources for future research in Indian history

This article surveys the primary source material available on Indian missionary activities in the Trans-Mississippi West. It assesses the usefulness of a large number of collections located across the U.S.A. including those found in missionary societies and public archives. The essay should offer short-cuts to either advanced or beginning researchers that have an interest in Indians as well as how the missionary influenced their development.     

Towards Best or Better Practice in Corporate Leadership Development: Operational Issues in Mode 2 and Design Science research

The research reported here was part of a UK government initiative to improve management and leadership capability. Corporate leadership development was one element of this initiative. The researchers, also the authors of this paper, were tasked with developing a best practice guide in leadership development. The aim was to establish current best UK corporate practice in order to inform similar organizations striving to improve their approach to leadership development. The aim of this paper is to present the findings of this inquiry as an example of Mode 2 research, i.e. that which is co‐produced with practitioners in a rigorous yet actionable way. The paper addresses operational issues by exploring the tensions inherent in Mode 2 research and makes some additions to previous literature on conducting Mode 2 research. It introduces the notion of technological rules derived from the concept of management research as design science, which enables the authors to articulate the way in which output can be developed in a form readily acceptable to end users of Mode 2 research. Actionable research products and accompanying dissemination issues are proposed as central operational concerns for Mode 2 research.     

Pricing and Operational Performance in Discretionary Services

In many services, for example, website or landscape design, the value or quality derived by a customer depends upon the service time, and this valuation differs across customers. Customers procure the service based on the expected value to be delivered, prices charged, and the timeliness of service. We investigate the performance of the optimal pricing scheme as well as two commonly used pricing schemes (fixed fee and time‐based pricing) for such services on important dimensions such as revenue, demand served, and utilization. We propose a novel model that captures the above features and wherein both service rate and demand are endogenous and functions of the pricing scheme. In particular, service time is an outcome of the pricing scheme adopted and the heterogeneous valuations of customers, unlike in the queueing‐based pricing literature. We find that the service system may benefit from a greater variance in consumer valuations, and the performance of pricing schemes is impacted by the shape of the distribution of customers' valuation of service time and the responsiveness desired by customers. Both the fixed fee and time‐based schemes do well relative to the optimal pricing scheme in terms of revenue in many plausible scenarios, but there are substantial differences between the pricing schemes in some important operational metrics. For instance, the fixed fee scheme serves more customers and has higher utilization than the time‐based scheme. We also explore variants of the fixed and time‐based schemes that have better revenue performance and show that the two‐part tariff which is a combination of fixed and time‐based pricing can do as well as the optimal scheme in terms of revenue.     

Economics and quantitative economics: A defence

The purpose of the paper is to discuss quantitative work in economics, especially in relation to problems of macro-economic policy. It is argued that many recent criticisms of economics are not well founded, and it is certainly not the case that what is wrong with economics is its quantitative bias. Quite the contrary; in a number of areas more quantitative work is required. The use of control theory methods should be welcomed by economists, but these need not be introduced to the exclusion of other methods. Finally, some suggestions are made for further research.     

On current issues in defence systems analysis and combat modelling

Summarizing the discussions of the 1982 symposium sponsored by NATO's Defence Research Group and directed by this author, the paper puts forward some major issues in defence systems analysis and combat modelling related to: (1) the architectural approaches to the design of military campaign simulation models; (2) the verification and validation of models; (3) the employment of combat simulation, field trials and exercises in an exploratory research mode in order to gain insights rather than supporting solutions; (4) the use of interactive combat models to obtain a better understanding of cognitive functions in command and control, especially also with a view to structuring knowledge bases for military expert systems; (5) the type and use of planning models permitting the defence planner to arrive at robust solutions to his problems, not least with regard to possible responses by the potential antagonists.     

Technology management in Indian companies

Since 1966, the Indian Government has progressively restricted imports of technology. Together with constraints on the growth of big business houses and of foreign firms, the next consequence of the Government's policies has been that it takes 3–5 years for a large firm to get a sanction for the import of technology and its utilization; this entails advance planning of technology imports, and advance action for the generation of alternatives within the country, should the imports not be allowed.

The restrictions on technology imports accentuated the need for internal research and development; at the same time, the recession that began in 1966, and whose effects still continue to be felt in some sectors, squeezed industrial profits and limited the resources that could be allocated to R & D. Hence large Indian firms have felt the need for methods of rational allocation of R & D resources among competing projects, and a number of them have been feeling their way towards general criteria of allocation. Some of their efforts are described here. They are essentially exploratory; but since R & D management is still a problematic area even in industrial countries, an analysis of Indian practices is perhaps of more general interest.     

Operational Models of Infrastructure Resilience

We propose a definition of infrastructure resilience that is tied to the operation (or function) of an infrastructure as a system of interacting components and that can be objectively evaluated using quantitative models. Specifically, for any particular system, we use quantitative models of system operation to represent the decisions of an infrastructure operator who guides the behavior of the system as a whole, even in the presence of disruptions. Modeling infrastructure operation in this way makes it possible to systematically evaluate the consequences associated with the loss of infrastructure components, and leads to a precise notion of “operational resilience” that facilitates model verification, validation, and reproducible results. Using a simple example of a notional infrastructure, we demonstrate how to use these models for (1) assessing the operational resilience of an infrastructure system, (2) identifying critical vulnerabilities that threaten its continued function, and (3) advising policymakers on investments to improve resilience.     

Operational Slack and Venture Survival

Slack can act as a double‐edged sword. While it can buffer against environmental threats to help ensure business continuity, slack can also be costly and reduce profitability. In this study we focus on operational slack, the form related to the firm's production processes. We investigate the role of operational slack on firm survival during its venture stage when its survival is significantly challenged by environmental threats. Specifically, we explore how change in three types of environmental uncertainty, namely dynamism, complexity, and lack of munificence, affect the relationship between operational slack and venture survival. Results suggest that with an increase in environmental uncertainty, operational slack lowers the likelihood of venture failure.