Cowboys and Professors Message from the President,
Frank M. Bass OR/MS Today,
September 1978 When I was a young man, I had a choice to make. I could have been a cowboy
or I could have been a professor. For the cowboy, the truth is simple
and direct and, unlike the professor, he will know with little ambiguity
whether he has succeeded or failed. I now realize that I was guided by
what has come to be called a multiple criteria objective function. I valued
the direct honesty of the cowboy, intelligence in my associates, and money.
Not only do cowboys dominate on the honesty dimension, but they are, perhaps,
slightly more intelligent than professors. Alas, however, professors make
a lot more money than cowboys. Hence, I became a professor. The choice
however, has not always been without regret. As President of TIMS, I hope
that the cowboy's truth will prevail so that you will know clearly whether
success or failure characterizes the pursuit of objectives. At the TIMS/ORSA meeting in New York last May, some rude person asked me
what I hoped to accomplish - what my objectives would be - as President
of TIMS. It was at that moment that I came to understand viscerally that
this event scheduled for a future date, like others in previous experience,
would move inexorably towards its rendezvous with the calendar. I confess
now that the thought did cross my mind fleetingly that my objective would
be to have the honor of being a Past President of TIMS having put forth
only that amount of effort required to prevent or forestall disaster to
the organization during my tenure. Upon reflection, however, I have concluded
that a somewhat bolder objective would be closer to that which would derive
from the utility functions of TIMS members and from my own. The principal objective I propose for TIMS during my term as President
is the rejuvenation or revitalization of management science / operations
research. No new area of science is created instantly. Time is required
for a new area to develop its own culture, to make mistakes, and to mature.
ORSA and TIMS are now more than a quarter of a century old. Management
science has passed through a naive stage in its maturation. Although there
has been great success and substantial impact in the adoption of certain
management science methodologies such as linear programming, there has
also been disillusionment following the failure to understand the difficulty
of some problems, especially important ones. Nevertheless, complexities
of important problems are now more readily recognized by experienced management
scientists. Thus, the rejuvenation we seek is one which rests not only
upon the exciting realization of the potential power of our science, but
also upon its limitations. If there was ever a time when the concept of rationality in affairs was
needed, this is it. Reason and rationality are sometimes defeated by improbable
outcomes and unexpected environmental shifts. But, for the most part,
who does not have faith that reason and rationality triumph over doctrinaire
prejudice and ignorant altruism? But how are reason and rationality to
prevail if they are not heard? A rejuvenation of management science /
operations research will require, among other things, an increased awareness
of its power and of its accomplishments. If the basic objective I have
set forth is to be accomplished, the following proposition must come to
be more widely believed than is now the case: Management science is science
and it works. Among the methods to be used in the pursuit of the basic objective are:
(1) increased publicity of our activities and accomplishments, (2) the
establishment of a forum through which qualified management scientists
may present their findings in areas which bear on public policy, the management
of public institutions, or are of general interest and importance to management
of private institutions, (3) a membership drive which will not only bring
in new members, but broaden the base of interest areas and (4) recognition
of our science as science by the National Science Foundation and the creation
of a section within the N.S.F. devoted to the support of research in management
science. Steps have already been taken in conjunction with ORSA and the
American Institute Decision Sciences (AIDS) in presenting the intellectual
argument supporting this last point to officials of the N.S.F. I believe that at the end of the year you will know whether I have failed
or succeeded. In accomplishing the rejuvenation of management science,
I want us to learn why in the management of business institutions, government,
and universities it is necessary for all time to settle for less than
the best, as we now do. If we conclude that it is necessary, then I will
have failed. |