History and Advancements in Management Science

1. College of Management
Department of Management
University of the Philippines – Visayas
BM 211
TO : DR. CHERYL JOY FERNANDEZ
University of the Philippines – Visayas
RE : ASSIGNMENT NO. 2
Dear Madam:
Herewith please find the answers to the aforequoted assignment by the undersigned,
in compliance with the course requirements.
History of Management Science/Operations Research ___________________________________1
Pre World War I___________________________________________________________________ 2
World War II Advancements ________________________________________________________ 2
Post World War II _________________________________________________________________ 3
Recent Advancements______________________________________________________________ 3
History of Management Science/Operations Research
Management Science or Operations Research is a discipline that deals with the
application of advanced analytical methods to aid in decision making by employing
techniques from other mathematical sciences such as mathematical modelling, statistical
analysis, and mathematical optimization to come up with optimal or near optimal solutions
to complex decision making problems. It has uses in economics, business, engineering, and
other sciences.
Management Science was initially an offshoot of applied mathematics, where early
challenges were problems related to the optimization of systems that could be modelled
using linear methods, such as determining the maximum efficiency and outputs of
mathematically identifiable processes, such as assembly lines and crop yields, and the
minimum amount of loss, risk, or costs of some objective function. The science later
included any organizational activity for which the problem can be structured as a functional
system in order to obtain a set solution with identifiable characteristics.
Management Science is concerned with developing and applying models and
concepts that may prove useful in helping to illuminate management issues and solve
managerial problems, as well as designing and developing new and better models of
organizational excellence. These models can be represented mathematically, visually, or even
verbally, to better aid in the decision making process.
Management Science is concerned mostly with probability, optimization, and
dynamical systems theory.

2. College of Management
Department of Management
University of the Philippines – Visayas
BM 211
Pre World War I
Early work in Management Science was engaged by such management luminaries like
Charles Babbage, who used it in his research into the cost of transportation, railway
vehicles dynamic behaviour, and the sorting of mail which led to the Penny Post system in
England in 1840, and Percy Bridgman, who brought the research to bear on problems in
physics in the 1920s and later into the social sciences.
Post World War I
Prior to and during World War I, Management Science or Operations Research was
mostly used by military planners, albeit was called by different names and not recognized as
a science in itself or even as part of management. It was used to determine the optimal use
of convoys (Convoy Theory) to reduce shipping losses and the relative strengths of military
forces (Lanchester’s Laws).
It was during this time that Management Science was recognized as a useful tool for
other endeavours, including business, industry, and society. Since that time, Management
Science has expended into a field that encompassed industries ranging from finance to
airlines, logistics to government, focusing on the development of mathematical models that
can be used to analyze and optimize complex systems.
World War II Advancements
Management Science, as a formal discipline, originated in the efforts of military
planners during World War II. Its techniques were later applied to various fields in business,
industry, and society. Today, it is used in virtually every business and government and
remains an active area of academic research.
Most believe that modern Operations Research originated in the United Kingdom in
1937 at the Bawdsey Research Station as a means to analyze and improve the early warning
radar system of the islands, known as Chain Home. The superintendent of the research
station, A.P. Rowe, analyzed the operations of the radar equipment and its communication
networks to determine their optimum placement and operating frequencies to best detect
approaching enemy aircraft, and which was later expanded to include the behaviour of the
personnel operating the system. His research revealed theretofore unrecognized limitations
in the system and allowed remedial action to be taken.
Operations Research, also known then as Quantitative Management, was used by
Patrick Blackett when he was working for the Royal Aircraft Establishment, wherein he set
up a team known as the Circus that helped to reduce the number of artillery rounds needed
to shoot down an enemy aircraft from 20,000 to 4,000 in 1941. When he transferred to the
Coastal Command’s Operational Research Section in 1942, Blackett and his staff undertook
crucial analyses that further refined the Convoy Theory developed in World War I, wherein
they discovered that the losses suffered by convoys depended more on the number of escort
vessels present rather than the size of the convoy itself, leading to the theory that a few large
convoys were more defensible than many small ones.

3. College of Management
Department of Management
University of the Philippines – Visayas
BM 211
It was also Blackett who recommended to the Royal Air Force Coastal Command
that their undercarriage of their aircraft be painted white instead of the usual black, after it
was discovered that aircraft painted white were, on average, not spotted until they were 20%
closer than those painted black, resulting in an increase by 30% of submarines attacked and
sunk for the same number of aircraft.
Other developments from operations research included the following:
a. Change of the trigger depth of delivered depth charges from 100 feet to 25 feet,
resulting in higher kill ratios (1% destroyed and 14% damaged to 7% destroyed
and 11% damaged) from the decreased time to manoeuvre of submarines;
b. Development of the bomber stream during night raids on Germany using
statistical loss analysis;
c. Redistribution of aircraft to more productive patrol areas using probability
theories;
d. Ratio of mines laid per ship sunk using distributive and probability formulae;
e. Doubling the on-target bomb rate of B-29s by increasing the training ratio from
4% to 10% of flying hours;
f. Development of three-submarine wolf packs, discovered to be the most effective
number to enable all members of the pack to engage targets discovered in their
patrol stations;
g. Use of glossy enamel paint, which was proven to be more effective camouflage
for night fighters and increased airspeed by reducing skin friction;
h. Artillery effectiveness, aerial bombings, and anti-tank shooting using
optimization theories.
Post World War II
After World War II, recognizing its importance in such wide fields of operation,
Operations Research was expanded to include not only operational processes, but also
equipment procurement, training, logistics, and infrastructure. Expanded techniques and
tools such as the simplex algorithm for linear programming developed in 1947 and the
advent of computers, Operations Research was able to solve more complex problems with
multiple variables and constraints.
Recent Advancements
The field of Management Science was characterized in 1967 by Stafford Beer as the
business use of operations research. However, the term was also used to refer to other fields
such as organizational studies and corporate strategy.
In recent times, Management Science has been used to address problems and issues
by providing insights and solutions, among which are:

4. College of Management
Department of Management
University of the Philippines – Visayas
BM 211
 Airline scheduling for both planes and crew using Supply Chain Management;
 Location analysis to provide efficient and effective service where and when
needed, including the design of the layout of equipment in a factory to reduce
manufacturing time;
 Water management;
 Future development paths for parts of the telecommunications industry by
network optimization;
 Program Evaluation Review Technique - Critical Path Analysis (PERT CPM);
Work in many other disciplines including finance, human resource management,
international business, marketing, transportation, production, health care, and natural
resources require the use of Management Science.
With the use of more and more powerful processors that can process teraflops of
data per nanosecond, the use of Management Science to find the optimal course of action
has widened in scope and breadth exponentially, allowing small businesses to use these
techniques and formulae with their meagre resources.
Hoping the same meets your requirements for the course.
Very truly yours,
MARCELO AUGUSTO A. COSGAYON