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Beyond problem structuring methods: reinventing the future of OR/MS

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  • M C Jackson

    (University of Hull, Hull, East Yorkshire)

Abstract

Some of the most influential pioneers of OR felt disappointed by the way it developed in the 1960s and 1970s. In their view, the original intention to create a holistic, interdisciplinary science addressed to strategic problems was betrayed. Problem structuring methods (PSMs) have made a significant contribution to taking OR/MS forward again in the direction charted by those pioneers. From a theoretical perspective, however, it is clear that the opportunities provided by PSMs tend to be limited to those drawn from the interpretive paradigm. That is only one way of adding to the positivist/quantitative approach of classical OR/MS. This paper suggests that OR has an obligation to explore a wider range of theoretical options and to convert the possibilities offered by all of these into a form that managers and management scientists can use. Only in this way can OR be reinvented to live up to the ambitions of its founders.

Suggested Citation

  • M C Jackson, 2006. "Beyond problem structuring methods: reinventing the future of OR/MS," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 57(7), pages 868-878, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:57:y:2006:i:7:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602093
    DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602093
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. M C Jackson, 2005. "Sexing-up the evidence: a reply to Ormerod and Ulrich," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 56(4), pages 467-468, April.
    2. Mingers, John & Rosenhead, Jonathan, 2004. "Problem structuring methods in action," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(3), pages 530-554, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sydelko, Pamela & Midgley, Gerald & Espinosa, Angela, 2021. "Designing interagency responses to wicked problems: Creating a common, cross-agency understanding," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 294(1), pages 250-263.
    2. Ion Georgiou & Joaquim Heck, 2021. "The emergence of problem structuring methods, 1950s–1989: An atlas of the journal literature," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 756-796, November.
    3. Pinzon-Salcedo, Luis Arturo & Torres-Cuello, Maria Alejandra, 2018. "Community Operational Research: Developing a systemic peace education programme involving urban and rural communities in Colombia," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 946-959.
    4. K Katsaliaki & N Mustafee & Y K Dwivedi & T Williams & J M Wilson, 2010. "A profile of OR research and practice published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 61(1), pages 82-94, January.
    5. A Paucar-Caceres, 2011. "The development of management sciences/operational research discourses: surveying the trends in the US and the UK," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 62(8), pages 1452-1470, August.
    6. Smith, Chris M. & Shaw, Duncan, 2019. "The characteristics of problem structuring methods: A literature review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 274(2), pages 403-416.
    7. Midgley, Gerald & Cavana, Robert Y. & Brocklesby, John & Foote, Jeff L. & Wood, David R.R. & Ahuriri-Driscoll, Annabel, 2013. "Towards a new framework for evaluating systemic problem structuring methods," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 229(1), pages 143-154.
    8. Gregory, Amanda J. & Atkins, Jonathan P. & Midgley, Gerald & Hodgson, Anthony M., 2020. "Stakeholder identification and engagement in problem structuring interventions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 283(1), pages 321-340.
    9. Lowe, David & Espinosa, Angela & Yearworth, Mike, 2020. "Constitutive rules for guiding the use of the viable system model: Reflections on practice," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 287(3), pages 1014-1035.
    10. White, Leroy, 2016. "Behavioural operational research: Towards a framework for understanding behaviour in OR interventions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 827-841.
    11. Slavica P. Petrovic, 2015. "Systemic intervention in creative managing problems in enterprises," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(5), pages 949-961, October.
    12. Michaelides, Marios & Laouris, Yiannis, 2024. "A cascading model of stakeholder engagement for large-scale regional development using structured dialogical design," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 315(1), pages 307-323.
    13. Johnson, Michael P. & Midgley, Gerald & Chichirau, George, 2018. "Emerging trends and new frontiers in community operational research," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 1178-1191.
    14. Shaw, Duncan & Smith, Chris M. & Scully, Judy, 2017. "Why did Brexit happen? Using causal mapping to analyse secondary, longitudinal data," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 263(3), pages 1019-1032.
    15. M C Jackson, 2009. "Fifty years of systems thinking for management," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 60(1), pages 24-32, May.
    16. A Paucar-Caceres & A Espinosa, 2011. "Management science methodologies in environmental management and sustainability: discourses and applications," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 62(9), pages 1601-1620, September.
    17. J Davis & A MacDonald & L White, 2010. "Problem-structuring methods and project management: an example of stakeholder involvement using Hierarchical Process Modelling methodology," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 61(6), pages 893-904, June.
    18. Foote, J. & Midgley, G. & Ahuriri-Driscoll, A. & Hepi, M. & Earl-Goulet, J., 2021. "Systemic evaluation of community environmental management programmes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 288(1), pages 207-224.
    19. Franco, L. Alberto & Lord, Ewan, 2011. "Understanding multi-methodology: Evaluating the perceived impact of mixing methods for group budgetary decisions," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 362-372, June.
    20. Matthew Pepper & Andrew Sense & Kate Speare, 2016. "Systems Pluralism in Infrastructure Decision-Making for Socially Connected Greenfield Communities," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 129-148, April.
    21. R J Ormerod, 2007. "On the history and future of OR," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(6), pages 832-835, June.
    22. M Jackson, 2009. "Managing the tensions created by mixing methods: comments for Eden et al from a critical systems perspective," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 60(9), pages 1297-1299, September.
    23. Cronin, Karen & Midgley, Gerald & Jackson, Laurie Skuba, 2014. "Issues Mapping: A problem structuring method for addressing science and technology conflicts," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 233(1), pages 145-158.
    24. Laouris, Yiannis & Romm, Norma RA, 2022. "Structured dialogical design as a problem structuring method illustrated in a Re-invent democracy project," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 301(3), pages 1072-1087.
    25. Gregory, Amanda J. & Atkins, Jonathan P., 2018. "Community Operational Research and Citizen Science: Two icons in need of each other?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 1111-1124.

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