Operational Research in India: An Evaluation of the Current State of the Art vis-à-vis Potential

Abstract

India has made a significant investment in industrial development in the last two decades. The infrastructure and physical plant for an advanced industrial base have been created. Simultaneously a comparable investment in technical education has been made. However, the payoffs from this massive effort have been much less than anticipated. It is suggested that a factor contributing to the grave economic malfunction has been the neglect of the critical managerial dimension which has resulted in a serious shortage of trained managers. Operational research has a vital role to play in this situation in terms of increasing managerial productivity and thereby facilitating scarce management resources to be used more effectively. The current state of the art as practiced in India is examined vis-à-vis the potential in the context of the economic incentives and disincentives; social, cultural and political factors; computer availability and usage; availability of operational research personnel; and, current management styles.