- Hardcover: 360 pages
- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (18 Dec 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0471964557
- ISBN-13: 978-0471964551
- Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 16 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 903,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This book explores the development and use of explicit models in management science, bridging the gap between "hard" and "soft" OR/MS. It emphasizes modelling rather than mathematics and places management science within a framework which is defensible in the face of attacks on rational methods in business. It discusses soft OR/MS and hard OR/MS and then compares the two. Written in a non–technical style, providing an excellent introduction to the field.
From the Back Cover
Tools for Thinking Modelling in Management Science Michael Pidd The Management School, University of Lancaster Thinking things through is easier said than done. Are there tools and methods that can help us to do this? Are there better ways of taking decisions than just following the latest management fad? Writing from over twenty years′ experience as management teacher and consultant, Mike Pidd argues that such tools for thinking do exist. Ideas developed over the last decade make it easier for us to think through the consequences of decisions before we act. Tools for Thinking straddles the soft and hard operational research schools of thought and provides an empirically based framework in which to place them. It focuses on modelling as an activity, rather than on techniques and models, and argues for its relevance alongside intuition, vision and leadership. It provides practical advice and theoretical underpinnings for ? soft systems methodology ? cognitive mapping ? qualitative system dynamics ? optimisation on spreadsheets ? visual interactive modelling ? meta–heuristics approaches In introducing the model as a tool for thought, Mike Pidd shows how models can be employed profitably to explore possible future scenarios and to make sense of managerial vision. Management Science
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First Sentence
Our lives are increasingly complex, whether we consider only our individual lives, sharing with our families or working in some kind of organization. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Our lives are increasingly complex, whether we consider only our individual lives, sharing with our families or working in some kind of organization. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The allied concepts of systems engineering and soft systems work, methodologies even, rely on concepts of explicit models of the domain under study. Pidd's thoughtful work here in clarifying the various types of meaning that may be included in a model, and what types of results can be gleaned from such abstractions is valuable for serious workers in these fields.
Some aspects of this 2nd edition are showing their age. The software-related chapters, as ever in works like this, need to be taken with a pinch of salt but there's no mention of what have now emerged as core concepts such as for example UML or genetic/evolutionary algorithms.
Some aspects of this 2nd edition are showing their age. The software-related chapters, as ever in works like this, need to be taken with a pinch of salt but there's no mention of what have now emerged as core concepts such as for example UML or genetic/evolutionary algorithms.
Format:Paperback
Product - Good quality of the product sent.
Content - Interesting mind training for quantitative researches and simulation. Except that the book size is to small to lay pages flat.
Content - Interesting mind training for quantitative researches and simulation. Except that the book size is to small to lay pages flat.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The book provides a very clear exposition and comparison of both soft and hard Operational Research methods. It is highly readable and utilises examples and diagrams well. The nature of the book is that it does not go into too much detail on any one technique, so people wishing to know how to employ a particular method will probably use the book as a 'stepping stone'to more detailed text books with narrower scope.
I would particularly commend the chapter on validation - which neatly summarises a variety of approaches one can take towards achieving a validation of models. In particular, it highlights the change of emphasis between the validation approaches as one moves from 'hard' to 'soft OR techniques.
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