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Teaching OR/MS to MBAs at Warwick Business School: A Turnaround Story

Author

Listed:
  • Stewart Robinson

    (Operational Research and Systems Group, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom)

  • Maureen Meadows

    (Operational Research and Systems Group, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom)

  • John Mingers

    (Operational Research and Systems Group, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom)

  • Frances A. O'Brien

    (Operational Research and Systems Group, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom)

  • Estelle A. Shale

    (Operational Research and Systems Group, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom)

  • Stephanie Stray

    (Operational Research and Systems Group, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom)

Abstract

OR/MS is under pressure in MBA programs in the United Kingdom as it is in the United States. To ensure its continuance, members of the operational research group at Warwick Business School redesigned the core OR/MS module. The first attempt at a redesign was a failure. As a result, the module was redesigned again. The second version was a success. Through this process, we have learned many lessons about teaching OR/MS to MBA students, among them the need to have a guiding philosophy, adopt a critical-consumer approach, stress managerial relevance, discuss the context and process of modeling as well as content, and use spreadsheets for analytical work.

Suggested Citation

  • Stewart Robinson & Maureen Meadows & John Mingers & Frances A. O'Brien & Estelle A. Shale & Stephanie Stray, 2003. "Teaching OR/MS to MBAs at Warwick Business School: A Turnaround Story," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 33(2), pages 67-76, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:33:y:2003:i:2:p:67-76
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.33.2.67.14467
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Samuel E. Bodily, 1996. "Teachers' Forum: Teaching MBA Quantitative Business Analysis with Cases," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 26(6), pages 132-138, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. John Miltenburg, 2019. "Online Teaching in a Large, Required, Undergraduate Management Science Course," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 89-104, January.
    2. A A Tako & S Robinson, 2009. "Comparing discrete-event simulation and system dynamics: users' perceptions," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 60(3), pages 296-312, March.
    3. Dominik Kress & Jan Dornseifer, 2015. "LAVES: An Extensible Visualization Tool to Facilitate the Process of Learning and Teaching Algorithms," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 201-214, May.

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    Professional: OR/MS education.;

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