Operational gaming is a kind of decision simulation where the players make decisions within the framework of a simulated operating system. For the game to have value in developing vocational awareness, the decision-making exercise should be structured around a model of real life vocational decisions. The gaming experience aims toward helping the…

Major literature is reviewed in the course of describing and assessing the role of operations research (OR) in educational administration. Increased use of OR approaches in education and a compounding of the present disagreement about the application and potential of OR are forecast. (MJL)

Suggests a program of research in Management Information Systems (MIS) by means of identifying five general considerations for any MIS design -- psychological type, class of problem, method of evidence, organizational context, and mode of presentation. Argues that a full program of MIS research should test the interaction effects of all possible…

The greater organizational complexity of libraries and information centers in recent years has given rise to more complex problems for managers. To facilitate solutions, operations research (OR) techniques have been developed that consider the quantitative dimensions of problems along with their political and organizational aspects. Eight standard…

This extension of Harris' classification system permits classification of the interval-scale properties of any 2 x 2 (two person, two choice) game. The system is compared to taxonomies developed by various previous researchers. It is shown to permit compact description of any 2 x 2 game as an octet of numbers. It also permits rapid classification…

A work-scheduling model for Corrections Officers at State Correctional Institutions is described. This is a real-life model that was developed to deal with a problem of unacceptably large expenditures for overtime work by state prison guards. The problem involves more than 200 constraints and more than 800 variables. It is felt the model can be…

Describes the current state of knowledge about human decision-making and problem-solving processes, explaining recent developments and their implications for management and management training. Rational goal-setting is the key to effective decision making and accomplishment. Bounded rationality is a realistic orientation, because the world is too…

This paper explores the fault-tree analysis approach to isolating failure modes within a system. Fault tree investigates potentially undesirable events and then looks for failures in sequence that would lead to their occurring. Relationships among these events are symbolized by AND or OR logic gates, AND used when single events must coexist to…

The report begins with a brief examination of the role of computer modeling in management decision-making. Then, some of the difficulties of implementing computer modeling are examined, and finally, the educational implications of these issues are raised, and a comparison is made between what is currently being done and what might be done to…

This text provides educational administrators with a working knowledge of the problem-solving techniques of PERT (planning, evaluation, and review technique), Linear Programming, Queueing Theory, and Simulation. The text includes an introduction to decision-making and operations research, four chapters consisting of indepth explanations of each…

Three fundamental educational issues which are usually ignored in favor of more trival operating problems are identified as follows: how can the educational process be redesigned to focus on the learning, not teaching, process; how to avoid organizing education around rigid schedules and artifically quantified units of subject matter and instead…

This monograph, based on a conceptual model called an information support circle, describes a structured management process that can be used by higher education institutions to add value to institutional data and information. The model offers a sequence of (1) thinking about the management and use of data, (2) considering problems in providing…

Operational gaming techniques that are permeating the architectural profession are used to: elicit user needs, represent architectural realities in the classroom, understand the rationale behind complex design decisions, and model decision environments at many levels with coarse or refined data. (MLW)

Research was conducted to develop and gather evidence of validity for a normative process model to be used by community adult education councils in establishing priority among community-level needs. The study design was based on a five-stage problem solving, systems model involving exploration, model building, design and development, validation,…