Management Science Process—Understanding the Benefits of Poor Communications

There have been many reports of Management Science projects failing to be implemented even when it seemed that there were clearly obvious benefits to be realized upon such implementation. One such benefit that is often assumed during a Management Science project is that the development and implementation of a model will help to improve communications in an organization. This is particularly true with the normative type models such as PERT/CPM where improved communications is touted as one of the major benefits of the modelling process. Since better communication is often cited as a need in many organizations, one would think that models which aid in improving communications would be sought after with vigor. But experience has shown otherwise. This could lead one to surmise that better communication is not a desired goal in some organizations and that perhaps there are some people actually benefitting from poor communication. This essay will address the idea of the benefits of poor communication and argue that consideration of the effects of such benefits should be a part of any Management Science process.