IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/jorsoc/v51y2000i9d10.1057_palgrave.jors.2601008.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spreading the gospel of management science: operational research in Iron and Steel, 1950–1970

Author

Listed:
  • M W Kirby

    (Lancaster University)

Abstract

This paper builds on the author's earlier work on the history of operational research by presenting an analysis of the development of the discipline in Iron and Steel, an industry long regarded as one of the outstanding pioneers in the application of management science to decision-making processes. The contribution of Sir Charles Goodeve and BISRA to the diffusion and practice of operational research is well-documented. Less well known is the reaction to operational research within the managerial hierarchies of the private sector iron and steel companies. In the light of the development of dedicated operational research groups by the leading companies after 1950, it might be assumed that the industry was highly receptive to the discipline in terms of its perceived benefits. The present paper questions this assumption by highlighting the problems encountered by operational researchers in two of the largest Iron and Steel Companies which gave every appearance of being at the forefront of the practice of management science in British industry. Where appropriate, the paper draws contrasts and comparisons with the development of operational research within the nationalised Coal Industry.

Suggested Citation

  • M W Kirby, 2000. "Spreading the gospel of management science: operational research in Iron and Steel, 1950–1970," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 51(9), pages 1020-1028, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:51:y:2000:i:9:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2601008
    DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601008
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601008?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Singer, Marcos & Donoso, Patricio, 2008. "Empirical validation of an activity-based optimization system," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(1), pages 335-345, May.
    2. M Al-Marsumi & O A'zoza, 2004. "LP modelling of the finishing hot rolling programme for low carbon steel coils," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 55(6), pages 579-588, June.
    3. J Rosenhead, 2009. "Reflections on fifty years of operational research," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 60(1), pages 5-15, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:51:y:2000:i:9:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2601008. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.