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Managing reforms on a large scale : what role for OR/MS?
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Tsoukas, Haridimos (1994) Managing reforms on a large scale : what role for OR/MS? Journal of the Operational Research Society, 45 (9). pp. 977-986. doi:10.1057/jors.1994.164 ISSN 0160-5682.
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Abstract
In this paper evidence is presented regarding the degree to which social reforms have been systematically managed by the Public Sector in Greece between 1975-1992. The findings reported here concur with the findings of others that, by and large, in developing countries, important social reforms tend not to be systematically handled. A twofold explanation is advanced for what seems to be an inverse relationship between the importance of social reforms and the use of OR/MS techniques for their management. First, the subsidiary role of OR/MS techniques in both developing and developed countries is partly due to the conflict-ridden and complex nature of important social reforms, which are not as amenable to systematic analysis as small-scale reforms. It is also partly due to the competitive nature of liberal democracies which compels governments to use social policies not only in a problem-solving mode but also in a tactical mode. Secondly, the low degrees of bureaucratization and rationalization that characterize developing countries, in particular, account for seeing social reforms not so much as manifestations of rational calculation designed to solve problems but as political tools in the service of their masters. It is concluded that OR/MS may be useful in developing countries not so much for its techniques as for its ideology; not for what it is but for what it stands for.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of the Operational Research Society | ||||
Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. | ||||
ISSN: | 0160-5682 | ||||
Official Date: | September 1994 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 45 | ||||
Number: | 9 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 10 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 977-986 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1057/jors.1994.164 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published |
Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
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