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Articulate intervention revisited

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  • R J Ormerod

    (University of Warwick)

Abstract

Articulate Intervention by Hylton Boothroyd was published in 1978. It offered a description of OR based on experience. Boothroyd said his aim was to explore what can and cannot be meant by the idea of intelligently directing human affairs, about the place of articulating our thoughts before acting, about the place of consultants in business, industry and government, and about the place of formal methods. At the time the book was widely acclaimed by both academics and practitioners. This paper sets out the main ideas encapsulated in Articulate Intervention, examines how they stand up to more recent experience and speculates on their inherent philosophical position. It is concluded that 30 years on the ideas are still relevant today and can provide the basis of a variant of what Ulrich calls critical pragmatism.

Suggested Citation

  • R J Ormerod, 2010. "Articulate intervention revisited," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 61(7), pages 1078-1094, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:61:y:2010:i:7:d:10.1057_jors.2009.47
    DOI: 10.1057/jors.2009.47
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Plackett, M. W. & Ormerod, R. J. & Toft, F. J., 1982. "The National Coal Board strategic model," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 351-360, August.
    2. Richard J. Ormerod, 1996. "Information Systems Strategy Development at Sainsbury's Supermarkets Using “Soft” OR," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 26(1), pages 102-130, February.
    3. R Ormerod, 2006. "The history and ideas of pragmatism," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 57(8), pages 892-909, August.
    4. W Ulrich, 2007. "Philosophy for professionals: towards critical pragmatism," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(8), pages 1109-1113, August.
    5. Ormerod, Richard John, 1980. "Energy models for decision making," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 5(6), pages 366-377, December.
    6. W Ulrich, 2003. "Beyond methodology choice: critical systems thinking as critically systemic discourse," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 54(4), pages 325-342, April.
    7. Eden, Colin, 1988. "Cognitive mapping," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 1-13, July.
    8. R J Ormerod, 2009. "The history and ideas of critical rationalism: the philosophy of Karl Popper and its implications for OR," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 60(4), pages 441-460, April.
    9. Ulrich, Werner, 1987. "Critical heuristics of social systems design," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 276-283, September.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Richard John Ormerod, 2022. "The economic logic of OR consulting practice: Towards a foundational view," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(4), pages 685-707, July.
    2. Richard John Ormerod, 2021. "Pragmatism in professional practice," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 797-816, November.
    3. Ormerod, Richard J. & Ulrich, Werner, 2013. "Operational research and ethics: A literature review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 228(2), pages 291-307.
    4. Richard Ormerod, 2017. "Writing practitioner case studies to help behavioural OR researchers ground their theories: application of the mangle perspective," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 68(5), pages 507-520, May.
    5. Brocklesby, John & Beall, Elizabeth, 2018. "Processes of engagement and methodology design in Community Operational Research – Insights from the indigenous peoples sector," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 996-1005.
    6. Brauer, Tony, 2018. "Capturing the imprecision during an OR intervention: What is, what isn't and what should be," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 798-808.
    7. Ranyard, J.C. & Fildes, R. & Hu, Tun-I, 2015. "Reassessing the scope of OR practice: The Influences of Problem Structuring Methods and the Analytics Movement," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 245(1), pages 1-13.
    8. Ormerod, R.J., 2014. "Critical rationalism in practice: Strategies to manage subjectivity in OR investigations," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 235(3), pages 784-797.

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