USING THE SYSTEMS-APPROACH TO INCREASE MANAGEMENT SCIENCE IMPACT ON BUSINESS

Management Science has done a lot for business, but not as much as it could have. Ironically, the very factors that have enabled MS to contribute more effectively to the solution of business problems (easy availability of massive computing power and analytic software tools) also led many management scientists to focus one-sidedly on the techniques of their trade (solving mathematical models and building simulations) at the expense of the ultimate objective, improving business systems. Many managers, as a result, have turned to more accessible and easily understood management tools for help. The systems approach-which to many is the essence of MS-emphasizes defining and structuring business problems, and making the inter-relationships and possibly inconsistencies in management thinking explicit. It could be the umbrella for many other management tools and thus place MS in the central support position to management that the profession consistently claims for it but rarely seems to achieve.