Management Science in Practice

The Operational Research / Management Science profession is growing in strength worldwide.

Management Science in Practice contains four similarly sized parts. Part 1 defines the field of Management Science,  lays the foundations and gives an overview of the history. Part 2 describes the analysis toolbox used by the MS professional and contains topics such as Multi-Methodology, problem structuring techniques and analysis techniques. Part 3 looks at the key practical skills that OR graduates lack. Part 4 gives a brief overview of the current state of the OR profession. It outlines the current knowledge about the reflective practitioner to give guidance to the OR practitioner. It also looks at the ethics in an OR context and the future for the profession.

Terry Williams is well known in the OR field and is currently a joint Editor of the Journal of the Operational Research Society.  He is a fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), fellow of the OR Society, a chartered Mathematician and a certified Project Management Professional.

As the business world becomes more competitive and multi-faceted, organizations need the support of effective and well-founded analysis more than ever. The profession of Management Science is growing worldwide and now could perhaps be said to underlie all other management disciplines. Meanwhile, the scope of situations analysed by the profession has broadened considerably to include more complex problems and to take account of the social, organizational and political ‘soft’ issues, as well as the ‘hard’ physical issues.

Management Science in Practice takes a fundamental look at what Management Science is and how it can be practiced in today’s management environment. In doing so, Terry Williams:

• provides an underlying philosophy of how organizations operate and how analysts interact with organizations

• describes the analysis toolbox used by Management Science professionals.

• covers multi-methodology, problem structuring techniques and analysis techniques

• offers guidance about the practicalities of real-life consulting and focuses on the key practical skills needed.

Management Science in Practice is a valuable resource for Management Science and Operational Research students. It is also intended for practitioners who seek to make analytical interventions in business management or those undertaking continuous professional development.

Terry Williams is Professor of Management at Southampton University. He has over 25 years experience in the Management Science/Operational Research field. He is a frequent conference speaker, and has published widely in many academic and professional journals and books.