Visioning the future of OR Frances OBrien Maureen

Visioning the future of OR Frances O’Brien & Maureen Meadows Warwick Business School

Structure of Presentation z. Inspiration for research z. Participants z. The process z. The Candidate visions z. Key themes z. Making the vision happen z. Learning from the exercise

Inspiration for research z. Previous work of UK OR Society y. Changing nature of OR groups y. Regional societies / study groups y. Publicity & Membership Committee initiatives z. Presidential address - OR 42: Swansea y. What future do you want for OR? z. Research interests in vision / scenario development

The Participants z Different stakeholder groups: y. Academics, students y. Regional & study groups y. Practitioners from public & private sectors. z 220 individuals participated in 10 workshops: y 130 Practitioners y 75 Students y 15 academics z Most have OR background, almost no previous experience of visioning.

Visioning Workshop - The Process z. Establish discussion groups. z. Read material on candidate visions. z. Hold discussion about future of OR, which may draw on candidate visions. z. Present your group’s ideal FUTURE(S) FOR OR. Remember the exercise is about what YOU WANT to happen, not about what you think will happen.

RORI reigns supreme z The Royal Operational Research Institute - professional, chartered status. z OR is a recognised discipline. z OR Skills valued. z More in-house OR than external consultants. z Soft methods compulsory in OR courses. z JORS balance of soft & hard z Clear career progression in OR

It’s Management, Not OR !! z OR not called OR, yet its use is widespread. z OR skills treated as general management skills - loss of OR label. z Wide availability of software packages. z Falling demand for OR MSc courses. z OR not a recognised career. z OR Society merges with Institute of Management Consultants

Dedicated Followers of Fashion z Rapid growth in OR work z Old techniques find new application areas z OR flexible in use of specialist software z Mix of OR & non-OR personnel offering expertise z OR workers - some have careers under OR banner, others under general management banners. z Membership of OR Society is increasing

The Visions - Key themes z. OR - the discipline y. Multifaceted / embraces diversity y. Integrated e. g. hard & soft y. Practical with strong academic foundations & support z. OR - the profession y. Respected qualifications / relevant skills y. Experience relevant to private & public sectors y. Career progression --> appropriately rewarded

The Visions - Key themes z. OR is…. y. Recognised, Valued & Understood throughout society (e. g. cabinet --> professionals--> school children--> ordinary people). y. In demand / Exciting / Leading edge. z. OR is not…. y. Confined to one group of techniques or application areas.

Visions - vivid imagery R

Making the vision happen z. Government should…. y. Promote OR use in industry. y. Make greater use of OR itself (all levels). z. OR Society should……. y. Brand & promote OR. y. Influence / pressure government & industry. y. Employ centrally paid staff to undertake above roles.

Making the vision happen z. OR Society accreditation scheme recently launched - Membership voted at last OR Society AGM. z. Are some organisations addressing OR career paths ? z. OR Society initiatives - branding & communication.

Learning from the exercise z Being visionary is not as easy as it seems: y. Hard to launch yourself into the future and decide what might be desirable. y. Hard to let go of past & present. y. Easy to say ‘Someone else needs to do something to make this vision happen. ’ Harder to say ‘What I need to do to bring my vision about is…. . ’ z Lack of knowledge of current OR Society status, structures & initiatives - led to ‘reinvention of the wheel’ ? z Managing multiple groups - how to capture what was not written down by participants ?

What happens next ? z. Still some exercises to run / analyse. z. Further analysis of results: y. Have any stakeholders been missed? z. Feedback to OR Society committees Education & Research, Publicity & Membership, Council. z. Publish results.