Laying the Groundwork for the Future Success of Management Science

A common industrial phenomenon appears to be the case of the manager who, by dint of a company training program, industrial seminar, or self-initiated study, has come to believe that “Management Science” may really be here to stay. Often without really understanding what a management scientist is, the manager becomes enamored of seemingly exotic terms like simulation, model, and statistical analysis. He then decides that, yes, that is just what his department needs. Whether or not this may sound naive, it exists, more often than many practitioners of management science might care to admit. The resulting situation for the department’s new hire, the Management Scientist (the “MS individual”), is fraught with danger. The deck is stacked against his success. From the ill understood motivation of the manager who hired him to the probable recalcitrance of his co-workers, the MS individual is in a difficult situation. How well he reacts to it will not only determine his own success, but, quite often, the future standing of management science in the department for years to come. The management scientist is really an emissary of his profession who must be skilled in many areas in addition to those of his technical competence.