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Operations Research in Industry: New Opportunities in a Changing World

Author

Listed:
  • John D. C. Little

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Abstract

During the birth of operations research in World War II, some of the greatest OR successes occurred when events were happening so fast that people did not have time to learn from experience. Then skilled scientific analysis often provided a critical advantage. Today an analogous situation is unfolding on a society-wide scale. Rapid technological advances are shrinking the globe, speeding social change, and offering the prospect of an improved quality of life. The potential for increased effectiveness arises amid stiff global competition. Opportunities for OR analyses that will produce organizational and societal benefits are everywhere evident. Indeed, the complexity of today's industry virtually requires OR/MS models. This paper, based on the Morse Lecture given in October 1990 at the ORSA/TIMS meeting in Philadelphia, maintains that the challenge of contributing to industrial productivity will lead OR/MS in new directions. These will include: finding methods for extracting decision making information out of massive amounts of automatically collected data; helping to shrink the time required to develop and install new products and processes; and empowering front-line workers in organizations to improve their effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • John D. C. Little, 1991. "Operations Research in Industry: New Opportunities in a Changing World," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 39(4), pages 531-542, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:oropre:v:39:y:1991:i:4:p:531-542
    DOI: 10.1287/opre.39.4.531
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    Cited by:

    1. Yiting Xing & Ling Li & Zhuming Bi & Marzena Wilamowska‐Korsak & Li Zhang, 2013. "Operations Research (OR) in Service Industries: A Comprehensive Review," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 300-353, May.
    2. Luss, Hanan & Rosenwein, Moshe B., 1997. "Operations Research applications: Opportunities and accomplishments," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 220-244, March.
    3. Kleijnen, Jack P. C., 1995. "Verification and validation of simulation models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 145-162, April.

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