The Practice of OR: Operationalising Ackoff

Introduction In 1978, at the Operational Research Society Annual Conference, Ackoff presented two “state of the art” type papers, which were subsequently published. This article considers those views that are particularly concerned with the practice of OR, follows that with some reflections from practical work which exemplify and elaborate the concepts and ideas that Ackoff presented (with the intention not so much of assessing Ackoff's views as of inspecting the obstacles in the way of those who may wish to follow his suggestions) and finally summarises the experience of my colleagues and myself in following these suggestions.