The Progress of Management-Science Activities in Large US Industrial Corporations

On the basis of a field survey involving a sample of 108 US firms, this paper analyzes the progress of management-science activities. In large corporations through December 1970; it extends the findings of a 1968 paper by our research team [Opnal. Res. Quart. 19, 117–141 (1968)]. Here we describe changing trends in such key areas as: types of personnel performing and leading OR/MS, organizational location of management science, project-portfolio characteristics, problems and success with implementation, formalization processes, communication problems, the role of top management, and the general diffusion of OR/MS skills within organisations. Finally, we draw a general conclusion that OR/MS is in a “success” phase of its developmental history.