MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (or Operations Research) provides support to the decision maker. The special role of the Management Science practitioner is to provide a rigorous and scientific analysis of what decision options are available and how well each option meets the objectives and priorities of the decision maker. In providing this analysis, the practitioner draws on a specialized and extensive body of theory and techniques that have been found to be generally applicable to many different types of decision making situations.

Management Science is a relatively new field that emerged during World War II when the British turned to the scientists and engineers who had developed radar for advice on how to use it operationally. The military Management Science pioneers also studied convoys and strategic bombing, and as the war ended, began to apply the principles they had learned to the study of industrial problems. As the field developed many corporations formed Management Science groups. An initial emphasis on detailed production problems, such as inventories, maintenance and scheduling, has now been expanded to broader problems in marketing, capital expenditures, facility planning, risk analysis, and strategic planning.

Successful applications of Management Science are now found in all industries and across companies of all sizes. In addition, the public sector is becoming increasingly aware of the usefulness of Management Science for everyday decision making activities. Transportation, hospital management, ambulance and fire protection services, the legal system, and city and regional planning are just a few areas that have benefited from Management Science applications.

In order to conduct a useful, systematic analysis of a complex and difficult problem, the Management Science practitioner needs training in the tools, theories, and methodology of the Management Sciences. This training is available at most universities and can lead to a degree in Management Science or to a specialization in the Management Sciences within business, engineering, or mathematics disciplines. The emphasis of the Management Science education is on a formal approach to decision making, wherein a mathematical or computer model is used to develop good or perhaps 'best' solutions to a decision problem.

The Management Science practitioner uses the results from such models, together with a knowledge of the organization and the human factors surrounding the decision situation, to clarify the decision options and, often, to make recommendations to the decision maker. In many cases, the results of the Management Science study can have considerable influence on the decision as it emerges.

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