Defining the Problem
When is management science generally applied? What kinds of problems do management scientists face? Provide
an example of a “problem” an organization you have been involved with has faced that did, or could have benefited
from a management science analysis. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings
Management science is an effective tool that when appropriately used can provide a method to
solve problems that affect various aspects of a company. Lawrence & Pasternack (2002, p.10)
claim, “Management science is generally applied in three situations:
1. Designing and implementing new operations or procedures
2. Evaluating an ongoing set of operations or procedures
3. Determining and recommending corrective actions for operations and procedures that are
producing unsatisfactory results”
Each of these situations hold individual challenges that must be focused on. The good thing
about the process is that it can be used on any size company and any size problem as long as the
analyst takes the time to adequately identify what the problem at hand is.
In my career field one of the things we struggle with is a recurring maintenance action that
happens on all aircraft. It is commonly referred to as phase maintenance. We try to turn the
task as quickly as possible, without sacrificing quality, to get aircraft back on the flight line to
facilitate training. A typical phase averages about 20 working days. Let me embarrass myself
and tell you all that as a young test pilot I was assigned to a team that could not meet this mark
for a very long time. We struggled with parts issues, training issues, and various other
obstacles. Had we taken the time to apply a mathematic solution we might have seen that there
were ways (outside of pure luck and random “good ideas”) to approach our problem and find a
way to mathematically solve our dilemma. Instead we simply tossed ideas and continued to fail
in our efforts. I sure hope I can learn this process and apply it in the future because smartly
approaching a problem sure feels better than the random acts we had taken. I think the
opportunities to learn better methods will definitely aid in future operations.
Reference
Lawrence, J., & Pasternack, B. (2002). Applied management science: Modeling, spreadsheet
analysis, and communication for decision making (2nd ed.) Hoboken,
NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 9780471391906