Knowledge that Transforms

This paper is concerned with formulating, exploring and interpreting the uses and constructs which may be derived from a mathematical model of programming type which expresses more realistically th...

The purpose of this paper is threefold; an attempt will be made to: (1) spell out at least some of the reasons which make the simple application of academic research difficult, (2) show that this research, even as it is, can be of help to administrators, and (3) suggest a way of facilitating communication between administrators and academic investigators to their mutual benefit. Management Technology, ISSN 0542-4917, was published as a separate journal from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 it was merged into Management Science.

Applied psychology has been affected just as powerfully by the vast military markets that have opened up since World War II and the technological advances of the last decade as management and other professions have. The kinds of problems that led to the growth of management science, the increasing number of psychologists attracted to industry, new research methods, and new knowledge—all of these have had their part in developing the kinds of psychological services now available to management. Management Technology, ISSN 0542-4917, was published as a separate journal from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 it was merged into Management Science.

The paper shows the development of the after-tax earnings from interest as a function of the proportion of money invested in each type of security and certain other parameters such as the interest yields and the tax rate. This function is then differentiated and the optimum point determined. A procedure is provided for computing the optimum proportion. Management Technology, ISSN 0542-4917, was published as a separate journal from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 it was merged into Management Science.

The author believes that digital simulation will make a great contribution to the understanding of management control systems, although little has been accomplished to date. He questions whether the problem can be “overwhelmed” by experimentation without a general theory of management control systems and states that proper design of an investigation is at least as difficult a problem as that of constructing a valid simulator, although the latter is no mean problem. Management Technology, ISSN 0542-4917, was published as a separate journal from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 it was merged into Management Science.

The purpose of this paper is to present a number of concepts pertaining to management controls and to discuss information requirements, decision rules and feedback mechanisms. The use of computer simulation as a means for studying the dynamic response characteristics of management controls in a business environment is also presented. Management Technology, ISSN 0542-4917, was published as a separate journal from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 it was merged into Management Science.

Military long-range planners are constantly presented with weapon systems studies that make use of measures of effectiveness. Understanding of the implications of the choice of specific measures on the conclusions drawn from a systems analysis study is, therefore, important for these military decision makers as it is for military system analysts. This paper examines measures of effectiveness used for air defense systems development and force composition purposes in the light of the criterion of air defense mission accomplishment. Both active and passive defenses are covered. Limitations in the validity of the various measures are shown and examples of erroneous conclusions based on the use of expedient measures of effectiveness are provided. In conclusion, measures appearing most meaningful for the evaluation of the effectiveness of a future composite air defense system against a composite threat are indicated. Management Technology, ISSN 0542-4917, was published as a separate journal from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 it was merged into Management Science.

This paper is a summary of the proceedings of TIMS Methodology Symposium on realism in management science held in Mont Gabriel Lodge in the Laurentian Mountains in April 1961. This particular symposium was organized by Roger Crane and C. West Churchman. Management Technology, ISSN 0542-4917, was published as a separate journal from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 it was merged into Management Science.

This paper emphasizes the purpose of an Operations Research report to business executives, discusses some of the problems of language and attitude, defends the need for executive “intuition” and suggests a format for Operations Research reports. Management Technology, ISSN 0542-4917, was published as a separate journal from 1960 to 1964. In 1965 it was merged into Management Science.

Recursive inventory decision processes, when formulated as dynamic programs, lead to functional equations. The unknown functions in these equations have arguments which range over the set of possible inventory conditions in the process, and values which represent the minimum possible expected present value of the costs of operating the process through the indefinite future. We call these functions “inventory valuations.” The realism of such formulations and the difficulties of solving for the implicitly defined functions lead to an alternative proposal: that approximate inventory valuations be induced more directly from the context of the recursive inventory process. Methods of developing such valuations are illustrated in sample analyses.