P/OM/71. Issues of implementing organisational tasks

The paper examines the concept of organisational task describing the task of building a computer aided despatch (CAD) system by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) and reporting on its implementation, the difficulties in the specification of the task objectives, the consequences faced by organisations if the objective of the task in not properly defined, the issues of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ problems related to task planning, budgeting, human resource, information resource, leadership, management, motivation, etc.

P/OM/57. What caused the failure of London Ambulance Service despatch system?

The paper examines the causes and consequences of the failure in the computer-aided despatch (CAD) system of the London Ambulance Service (LAS) in 1992. The stages of the CAD system development are reviewed; mistakes in the design, operation and testing of the system are outlined; suggestions are made on the possible avoidance of managerial blunders.

P/OM/44. Operational research: benefits of supply chain optimisation software

The paper examines the concept of operational research (OR) as a problem-solving technique (heuristics) providing its definitions and reviewing its history, evolution, and applications focusing on the supply chain optimisation software. Examples from different industries are drawn to illustrate the benefits of the new software in minimizing their clients supply chain costs.

P/OM/41. Scenarios of queuing within store

The paper offers a simulation model of queuing within a store with the aim of improving the store efficiency. The model includes scenarios built on the varying utilization of staff and tills. The scenarios are tested, the results are reported on.

P/OM/27. Operational Research: history and evaluation

The paper looks at a brief history of operational research (OR), or management science. It opens with an overview of the OR early history, showing how operational research started in Britain in late 1930s was used in World War II and what methods of OR originated during this time. The paper focuses on OR application in Royal Air Force. It goes on to present a discussion of how OR has evolved over the years: its ''Golden Age'' in the post-war period (1945 ƒ 1970s) and the present day situation. Special attention is given to the Operational Research Society and its role in our society. The paper shows the elaborate tools OR is using now in order to apply the right technique to the appropriate problem. These are: Mathematical Programming, Networks, Scheduling, Inventories, Decision Theory, Heuristics, Renewal Theory, Probability Theory, Project Planning, Queueing Theory, Stochastic Processes, Simulation Modelling, Forecasting and Statistics. In the closing section the author comes up with a critical evaluation of OR.