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Internal OR Consulting: Effective Practice in a Changing Environment

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Fildes

    (Department of Management Science, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom LA1 4YX)

  • John Ranyard

    (Department of Management Science, Lancaster University)

Abstract

Around 1970 some 96 percent of the largest Fortune-500 companies had established OR groups. The recessions of the '70s and '80s led many to close their groups. In 1993, the UK OR Society, disturbed by further closures, funded a study to identify factors that influenced the success and survival of internal OR groups. The study team found three categories of factors: changes in the external environment, in the organization, and in the OR group's management. This research shows that to be effective, an OR group needs good consulting skills, expert project management, active marketing of its services, and responsiveness to changes in its clients' requirements and in the surrounding organizational culture.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Fildes & John Ranyard, 2000. "Internal OR Consulting: Effective Practice in a Changing Environment," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 30(5), pages 34-50, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:30:y:2000:i:5:p:34-50
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.30.5.34.1638
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. R Fildes & J C Ranyard & W R Crymble, 1999. "The management of OR groups: results of a survey," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 50(6), pages 563-580, June.
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    4. L Abdel-Malek & C Wolf & F Johnson & T Spencer, 1999. "OR Practice: survey results and reflections of practising INFORMS members," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 50(10), pages 994-1003, October.
    5. Ivan Gryffenberg & Jean L. Lausberg & Willem J. Smit & Stephanus Uys & Sally Botha & F. Rauten Hofmeyr & Ruppert P. Nicolay & Willie L. van der Merwe & Gysbert J. Wessels, 1997. "Guns or Butter: Decision Support for Determining the Size and Shape of the South African National Defense Force," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 27(1), pages 7-28, February.
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    7. Arthur M. Geoffrion, 1992. "Forces, Trends, and Opportunities in MS/OR," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 40(3), pages 423-445, June.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Donald L. Keefer & Craig W. Kirkwood & James L. Corner, 2004. "Perspective on Decision Analysis Applications, 1990–2001," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 1(1), pages 4-22, March.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. M S Sodhi & B-G Son, 2010. "Content analysis of OR job advertisements to infer required skills," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 61(9), pages 1315-1327, September.

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