OPERATIONAL RESEARCH AS MANAGEMENT TOOL

Operational Research as Management Tool

Operational Research as Management Tool

Introduction

Operations Research (OR) is one of the popular managerial decision science tools used by profit and nonprofit organizations. As the global natural environment becomes fiercely comparable, procedures study has profited implication in applications like world-class constructing systems(WCM), thin production, Six-sigma quality management, Benchmarking, Just-in-time (JIT) inventory techniques. The growth of global markets and the producing increase in affray have emphasised the need for Operation Research. In order to be competitive, businesses must meet the challenges present in a global market by offering products and services that offer good value to their customers. Good value is a combination of low cost, high quality, rapid availability and real time information on these. In order to enhance the role of operational research and speed up the process and methodologies of different stakeholders, they should work closely and complement each other's effort. In this method, the academicians should take the lead in the design, development and demonstration of sustainable operational study models. Industry should support this initiative and accelerate the transmission of this methodology. This would double-check riches creation in the short period, and sustainable development in the long term. The government should encourage this start by taking up optimized responses. Consequently, optimized policy responses and its implementation would bring about positive changes in the socio political and economic environment. As a result, sustained use of operational research would be a regular feature in the decision making process of the government, industry and the society. Such a wide usage of operational research models by the government, industry and academicians would not only contribute to the discipline but also would contribute to the enhanced quality of life in India. The present paper is an attempt to highlight the significance of operation research, different techniques used and its application in business and industry.

Origin, History & Developments

Operations Research as a new field started in the late 1930's and has grown and expanded tremendously in the last 30 years. The British armed detachment was carrying out physical exercises on the radar system for noticing the aircrafts. In July 1938, the Superintendent of Bawdsey Research Station, announced that although the exercise had demonstrated the technical feasibility of the radar system for detecting aircraft, its operational achievements were not up to what was required.

He thus suggested that a crash program of study into the operational - as are against to the mechanical - aspects of the system should begin. The term "Operational Research" was coined as a apt description of this new branch of applied science.

On 15th May 1940, with German forces advancing rapidly in France, Stanmore Research Section was asked to analyze a French request for ten additional fighter squadrons. They prepared graphs for Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister), based upon a study of current daily losses and replacement rates, indicating how rapidly such a move would deplete fighter strength. No aircrafts were dispatched and most of those actually in France were ...