What is Management Science (MS)?
A discipline(a branch of knowledge)that attempts to aid managerial decision making by
applying a scientific approach to managerial problems that involve quantitative factors
,management science is also called operations research (OR).
A rational, structured approach to problem solving and often takes a quantitative view of
decision making.
History of MS/OR
Origins in World War II, when the United States and Great Britain employed
mathematicians and physicists to analyze military operations to make most Effective
Utilization of limited military Resources through the use of Quantitative Techniques.
Who uses Management Science?
A lot of manufacturing companies use Management Science quantitative techniques in
mostly all strategic and operational areas such as choosing a new plant location,
controlling production, or implementing statistical quality control.
Also service organizations such as banks, hospitals and investment firms rely on
Management Science to ensure their operations meet customers need and achieve customer
satisfaction with a high degree of efficiency.
And of course the military branches of the government depend on computer-based
quantitative models for logistical planning and mobilization.
Why is Management Science Important?
It is important for a companys profitability, efficiency, and high quality decision making
process.
Famous practitioners for Management science:
The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an
international society for practitioners in the fields of operational research and management
science
It was established in 1995 with the merger of the Operations Research Society of America
(ORSA) and The Institute of Management Sciences (TIMS).
Applications of Management Science
-Finance & Investment: How much capital do we need, what portfolio should we select?
-Manpower planning & assignment: How many employees do we need, who will do what?
-Location, Allocation, Distribution & Transportation: where is the best location for
operation, how big should the facilities be?
-Reliability & Replacement Policy: How well, reliable is the equipment, when should it be
replaced?
-Loading, Sequencing & Scheduling: What job is more important, in what order should we
do jobs?
-Inventory Control and Stock-out: How much inventory should we hold, when do we order
more?
-Project Planning and Control: How long will a project take, how should resources be
used?
-Queuing and Congestion: How many servers are needed, what service level are we
giving?
The Research Process and Two Key Questions
Some research questions arise in the real world from managerial challenges and issues.
Others arise internally within management science from the desire to build a stronger body
of knowledge. Both sources lead to a great variety of questions of general interest.
The research work done on these questions is of many kinds. It includes empirical work
