The Readability of Operations Research and Operations Management Textbooks

An important concern to any educator in the Decision Sciences field is the improvement of the teaching of his courses. One factor influencing the effectiveness of the learning process is the textbook chosen and its ability to convey to the student the principles of the subject. The purpose of this paper is to present a survey of the readability of Operations Research and Operations Management books currently widely used at universities throughout the country. The Flesch Reading Ease Score is employed to rank tests based on their authors' writing style. It is suggested that the readability index be considered as one factor in the textbook selection process.