To Queue or Not to Queue: A Rejoinder

It's a good feeling to see a scholar of Peter Kolesar's stature take the time and effort to expound his views so eloquently in Interfaces. But while there is value in Professor Kolesar's comments, I feel he does not delve deeply enough.

First, let me give credit to Professor Byrd [Byrd, Jack. Jr. 1978. The value of queuing theory. Interfaces8 (3, May) 22–26.] who started the debate by asking “Of what value is queueing theory?” Professor Bhat [Bhat, U. Narayan. 1978. The value of queuing theory—A rejoinder. Interfaces8 (3, May) 27–28.] gave a quick answer, essentially that there is great value to queueing theory. Now Professor Kolesar attempts to settle the issue by detailing the value of queueing theory. He also severely criticizes Interfaces. The issues raised by Professor Kolesar are of great importance to our profession, but I strongly disagree with some of his conclusions. I requested that I be allowed to respond to Professor Kolesar's letter, and postpone my column on Information Systems to the next issue. So let me examine the questions we are debating.