The chapter traced the search for order through science and systems in management. Operations research was viewed as a modern version of early scientific approaches to problem solving. Interest in production quality and lean manufacturing became an international force that leveled the competitive playing field. The development of computers and microcircuitry led to new methods to assist managerial decision making.
THE EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT, 6TH EDITION Electronic Resource by: Regina Greenwood and Julia Teahen Chapter Twenty One Science and Systems in Management Science and Systems in Management Quest for Science in Management The Scientific Method Operations research Old Lessons Relearned Systems and Information Systems GST Cybernetics From the Invisible Hand to the Digital Age Quest for Science in Management Scientific Method – roots in Aristotle, Descartes, Babbage, and scientific management Operations Research – developed in Great Britain during World War II by P.M.S Blackett and others Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett (1897-1974) Attempted to apply the scientific method and to quantify complex problems “Blackett’s Circus” was a team of specialists who could bring a variety of techniques to apply to problems Operations research applications after the war were primarily in the area of production management Frederick Taylor Revisited Used specialists in his metal-cutting experiments, suggesting numerous parallels between management science and scientific management “Optimal Decisions” – is this the “One Best Way?” The search was for a use of science in management, not a science of Production Management in Transition Gordon and Howell’s 1959 remark “Production management courses are often the repository for some of the most inappropriate and intellectually stultifying materials to be found in the business curriculum…” Also, they recommended more mathematics for business school students Production management and operations research merged into production/operations management Gantt Chart The Gantt Chart concept was extended with newer variations for planning and controlling, PERT and CPM (Critical Planning Method) PERT and CPM together plan a network of activities, their relationships, and their interaction along a path to a given completion point Gantt Chart Old Lessons Relearned Product quality was important historically – the hallmark concept allowed customers to connect quality with the maker of the firm (Carnegie) Some maintained that the U.S forgot how to complete which enabled the Japanese to use U.S experts such as W Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, and others for statistical quality control Wickham Skinner – incorporating manufacturing into overall corporate strategy Richard Schonberger – integrating the firm Old Lessons Relearned W Edwards Deming Courtesy of the University of Western Ontario Statistical quality control was pioneered at Western Electric by Walter Shewhart (1891-1967) Edwards Deming (1900-1993) revived Shewhart’s ideas and took them to Japan Old Lessons Relearned Joseph Juran (19042008) also influenced by Shewhart and Taylor Japanese developed quality circles Wickham Skinner – incorporating manufacturing into overall corporate strategy Richard Schonberger – integrating the firm around a “chain of customers.” Joseph Juran Lean Manufacturing Based on the Toyota Production System Developed by Taiichi Ohno, assisted by Shigeo Shingo Incorporated process improvement, zero defects, just-in-time inventory management, reducing setup and changeover times, coordination with suppliers of raw materials, and keeping in touch with suppliers and customers to form a Lean enterprise Taiichi Ohno and “just-intime” planning for materials delivery was influenced by Lean Timeline Source: Stratgeos-International Systems and Information “Systems” – an ancient concept found new meaning in General Systems Theory (GST) GST – a product of Ludwig von Bertalanffy, was a Gestalt concept The GST view was: Study of the whole organism Organisms sought equilibrium All systems were Ludwig von Bertalanffy Norbert Weiner (1894-1964) Cybernetics Developed cybernetics Cybernetics fits into GST by providing feedback loops so systems could “learn.” Example: consider a firm that scans its environment to sense changes that need to be incorporated into Computer Age to the Information Age Death to the Slide Rule “The Faber-Castell 67/87 is a plastic 6-inch simplex pocket rule with the Reitz scale arrangement and extended, self-documenting scales It's a nice little rule, and that's before you discover its secret: flip it over, and there's a 6-digit addiator on the back!” Source: http://www.toddtolhurst.com/sliderules/fc67- Computer Age to the Information Age Challenge: Can you imagine a world of work and a personal world without computers? Computer Age to the Information Age Alan Turing - a specialized machine to break the German Code Herman Hollerith, founded the firm that became IBM; his punch cards were reminiscent 1890 Census Tabulator of the Jacquard Hollerith http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/census- Computer Age to the Information Age John Atanasoff – built an electronic digital computer for Iowa State University in the 1930’s His ideas were plagiarized by Mauchly and Eckert John V Atanasoff Courtesy of Iowa State University Computer Age to the Information Age Early computers were monsters, slow, expensive, and with limited applicability This was the EDP stage of computer evolution Computer technology evolved rapidly from vacuum tubes to microcircuitry IBM1401 Source: http://www.computinghistorymuseum.org/ Computer Age to the Information Age JoAnne Yates Courtesy of Dr Yates JoAnne Yates noted that technological adoption, such as computers, comes not with the invention or advancement but when managers see an application for Computer Age to the Information Age Computers have benefited production/operations management, such as Computer-Assisted-Design (CAD) Management Information Systems replaced EDP for providing information to management enabling computerassisted decision making technologies Summary The chapter traced the search for order through science and systems in management Operations research was viewed as a modern version of early scientific approaches to problem solving Interest in production quality and lean manufacturing became an international force that leveled the competitive playing field The development of computers and microcircuitry led to new methods to assist .. .Chapter Twenty One Science and Systems in Management Science and Systems in Management Quest for Science in Management The Scientific Method Operations... management science and scientific management “Optimal Decisions” – is this the “One Best Way?” The search was for a use of science in? ? management, not a science of Production Management in Transition... Gordon and Howell’s 1959 remark “Production management courses are often the repository for some of the most inappropriate and intellectually stultifying materials to be found in the business