Operations research/management science in the United Arab Emirates: Current status and future diffusion and challenge

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present results of a survey that investigates levels of awareness and usage of Operations Research (OR)/Management Science (MS) in industrial and service organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 450 individuals at different management levels were co‐opted and descriptive statistical analyses were employed.Findings – Results reveal that the majority of the respondents are aware of OR/MS and use it to some extent. Results also showed that the most common OR/MS techniques are: decision analysis, cost benefit analysis, computer simulation, financial modeling, and risk analysis. The most common application areas are: project evaluation, sales analysis, manpower planning, accounting procedures, and stock control.Research limitations/implications – This study like any other study has some limitations. First, the sample size is somewhat small, and therefore this might limit the generalization of the results of this study. S...

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