Operational Research

• read the narration column first
• then do the exercises

Reading list

You do not need to consult all these books. If you can find one in your local library, concentrate on that author.

• W.E. Duckworth, A Guide to Operational Research, Methuen and Co., Ltd., London 1962
• H. Theil, Operations Research and Quantitative Economics an Elementary Introduction, New York 1965
• Francis Pleasant Robinson, Diagnostic and remedial techniques for effective study, New York, London: Harper 1970
• David Ira Cleland, William R. King, Systems analysis and project management, New York: McGraw-Hill 1988

1. Have you come across examples of operational research yourself - in your own life or work?

1. What was the procedure used?
2. Did you find the process useful? Did it produce greater efficiency?

narration

1. 1 Why operational research?

The concept of ‘operational research’ as a special branch of scientific research has gained prominence only since the Second World War. But since then it has proved so extremely useful that no respectable form of management can do without it.

We all know what ‘research’ means. But what about ‘operational research’? What is special about it? In a few words we might attempt to describe it as follows: Operational research is a systematic way of determining in how far a certain activity [= operation] is achieving its end and how this activity can be improved, streamlined and re-directed to give better results.

It is not necessary here to make many subtle distinction between various types of operational research and its close allies. In simple terms operational research means: knowing precisely what you are doing.

Operational research is used extensively by the government, large businesses, the army and other major organizations. But the need of it applies equally to small areas of management. Everyone with responsibility for a task or for a number of people needs to use operational research from time to time. It makes us face the question: am I doing this particular job as efficiently as possible?

Imagine you are a highschool teacher in charge of a class of ‘problem’ youngsters. They come from different social backgrounds and suffer a variety of hangups.

Could you describe the ‘operational research’ you might want to do to determine:

• How they are seated in the class room?
• How you structure your class periods?
• Which youngsters would need priority attention?
• Anything else?

C. [personal exercise]
Do you just take things as they come along? Or do you take time to sit down and plan your activities systematically?

1. 2 How does operational research work?

Usually operational research proceedsin two steps

1. The first step is: collecting the facts.
2. The second: constructing models of possible new approaches. In the style of: what would happen if we arrange things like this, or like that?

Let us see how this works in some practical examples.

Postal services

All over a district there are dozens of post offices, big and small, in which postal clerks are helping customers who want to send letters or parcels, buy stamps or pay money orders. It is a well-known fact that the customers often have to wait for a long time. On the other hand, there are certain hours during the day when the postal clerks have little or nothing to do. At the same time, in some post offices the postal staff can hardly cope with the flow of customers; in other post offices the clerks are definitely under-employed.

It is easy to see that this situation is highly unsatisfactory both for the customer and for the postal service. In one way or other it will have to be worked out how with a minimum of personnel maximum service can be given to the customers. For this operational research is called in.

Step 1. The facts. Special investigations will be made to find out precise data as to the number of customers that enter each post office, as to the average waiting time, as to the relative distribution of busy and slack hours during the day, and so on.

Step 2. New models. From this information, adjustments in the use of the personnel can be suggested. Perhaps a new distribution of staff to the various post offices, or a new time-table including peak-hours with increased personnel and other similar measures.

Operational research will keep checking the findings in this field and will thus supply the management with the information needed to control the use of the available staff to the maximum of efficiency.

To summarise: operational research (1) first conducts enquiries to establish the precise figures and data. (2) Then on paper different possible models [= reconstructions] of the distribution of personnel are worked out. Again on paper it will be tried out how this new distribution will function. From the conclusions arrived at by the simulated new arrangements, the most efficient system can be calculated.

Evening classes

In big city evening classes were arranged to give working adults a chance to improve their education. A number of colleges agreed to cooperate with this scheme. A syllabus of courses was drawn up on different topics, all starting at about the same time in the evening.

Little thought had been given to question whether this hour for the classes to begin corresponded to the most efficient time-scheme possible.

Operational research demonstrated that in some parts of the city there was a tendency for many students always to come late. The courses started too early. Adjustments were made to make it easier for such studentsa to attend. In some colleges, with different strata of the population, there proved to be demand for courses starting earlier.

By common agreement between the participating colleges, the timings of the courses were ‘staggered’, i.e. arranged in such a way that every half hour courses were starting in one or other college. Also, the colleges agreed to specialise, some focusing more on elderly students, others on women, etc.

An interesting finding during this enquiry was that the college staff and course organisers had not anticipated many of the outcomes. They were greatly surprised when presented with the facts produced by statistical methods. Their generally accepted assumptions were overthrown in the light of the new information and it enabled the responsible leaders to plan the syllabus with a greater sense of justification.

1. 3 Conclusions

The examples enumerated above will illustrate that operational research finds many applications in our own life.

We may not run a vast business in order to profit from the systematic self-examination involved in operational research. In our ‘down-to-earth’ and ‘scientifically-minded’ twentieth century we may not overlook the advantages for our work that can be derived from methods that have been developed by larger organizations.

If major businesses invest capital to work out a highly rationalized system of verifying and controlling its successes in marketing toothpaste or cosmetics, it is worth our while to find out more precisely how efficiently we manage the smaller responsibilities entrusted to us.

Solving

Research

Path

Strategy

Image

Face to Face

Consulting