Operations Management as a Problem-solving Discipline
Détails
ID Serval
serval:BIB_20CCB63A2EDA
Type
Actes de conférence (partie): contribution originale à la littérature scientifique, publiée à l'occasion de conférences scientifiques, dans un ouvrage de compte-rendu (proceedings), ou dans l'édition spéciale d'un journal reconnu (conference proceedings).
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
Operations Management as a Problem-solving Discipline
Titre de la conférence
Academy of Management Annual Meeting Best Paper Proceedings
Editeur
Academy of Management
Adresse
Atlanta, Georgia
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
08/2006
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Pages
B1-B6
Langue
anglais
Résumé
Some operations management researchers tackle real-life problems that are not well-defined, and where the focus is on discovery and problem solving, not explanation. In this paper, we suggest that the principles of design science can be used to formalize research on ill-structured operations management problems, such as research addressing the impact of emergent technologies on the performance frontier. Building on the work of Herbert Simon, we propose that a design science approach can be used to complement the conventional approaches in operations management, which are based on the methodologies adopted from the natural sciences, principally, Carl Hempel's hypothetico-deductive reasoning. The goal of this paper is to explicate an epistemology and methodology for the logic of discovery and problem-solving in operations management research. The process is illustrated through an in-depth case of a multi-year research project concerning new information technologies, where the performance frontier was affected through the development of applications that enabled the use of simpler integrating mechanisms and thus performance improvements in multiple dimensions. The case example illustrates why successful solution designs do not automatically translate to performance improvements but require step-wise development and introduction of the solutions in practice. If this is to be done under the rubric of scientific research, the proper methodology must be explicated.
Mots-clé
Management, Forces of production, Problem solving, High technology, Management science, Management research, Technological innovations
Création de la notice
15/05/2008 16:46
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 13:57