Operational Research: A multidisciplinary discipline

Rene Victor Valqui Vidal

AbstractThis paper is focusing on the following question: What is Operational Research (OR)?

We will show that there is not a single and simple answer. Epistemological assumptions and practical traditions define different types of OR. We have identified three: The technical or hard OR, the practical or soft OR, and the critical OR. Following a historical perspective we will present these three schools. Habermas' theory about the three cognitive interests will provide a framework to understand this development. Finally, some final remarks about the future of OR will be outlined.
KeywordsOperational Research, hard, soft, critical, creativity
TypeTechnical report
Year2005
PublisherInformatics and Mathematical Modelling, Technical University of Denmark, DTU
AddressRichard Petersens Plads, Building 321, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby
SeriesIMM-Technical Report-2005-14
Electronic version(s)[pdf]
BibTeX data [bibtex]
IMM Group(s)Operations Research