Operational research, also known as OR, is a field that can be used in a large variety of industries. Whether you want to improve the flow of your factory floor or find the most efficient method to link computers in your network, operations research/management science education and training can be the key to reaching your next set of career goals.

Educating yourself on sequential activities will allow you to make the decisions on efficiency and efficacy of a large variety of situations. Once you can analyze situations more effectively, you'll be much more marketable and able further your career. Operations research/management science education and training can come in a variety of ways, including:

1. Starting out with your undergraduate degree in operations research and management science.

2. Earning a graduate degree while learning operational research techniques.

3. Taking online training in appropriate production planning.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get an undergraduate degree in operations research

An undergraduate degree is the absolute minimum requirement if you want a career in business operations research. Without an undergraduate degree, you won't be able to find a job in operations research. If you're moving to OR as a career change, you're most likely to have credits count for your degree if your original degree was in engineering, mathematics or computer science.

I recommend: Stanford University offers an undergraduate degree in Management Science and Engineering, and this can be further concentrated towards operations research. The George Washington University has an undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering that covers operations research, as well as a minor specific to OR in the same department.

Meet the market's demands with a graduate degree in operational research

Most employers prefer that people within the operational research realm have a Master's degree.

I recommend: The University of North Carolina offers a dual-degree program that allows students to earn both their undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years. The University of Cincinnati can help you earn an MSQA that includes in-depth operations research coverage.

Continue to learn about operations research once you have graduated

Once you're finished with your degree program, it's important that you stay up-to-date on the latest in operational research. While most OR careers don't have formal continuing education requirements, you should always seek to learn more to promote yourself as a current OR expert.

I recommend: The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)offers a variety of educational opportunities, no matter what your career stage may be. The International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) offers educational resources and tutorials that highlight continued training resources.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Even with the operations research tools available today, computer knowledge is absolutely essential to a career in operations research. You need to be able to learn how to program in a variety of languages, including some that are applicable only to the OR realm.

Operations research and management science uses advanced analytical methods, such as mathematical models, to help management executives make more efficient and strategic business decisions. Operations research tools are relevant to nearly every aspect of a business, including scheduling, production planning, productivity, pricing, forecasting and strategic planning. A consultant specializing in operations research/management science can help your company with everything from planning for a potential terrorist attack to deciding how to allocate financial resources.

Operational research and management science thrives on data; the more numbers, variables and systems you can incorporate into the analysis, the more comprehensive it will be. Operational research techniques include:

1. Using simulation to test different approaches and processes.
2. Using optimization to narrow down even an extensive list of options.
3. Outlining sequential activities, to determine what needs to be completed first.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Hire a consultant skilled in business operations research

If you're new to operations research/management science, you'll likely want to enlist the assistance of a consultant. It's a highly specialized field, and any changes made could have a significant impact on your organization. A consultant can tailor a plan specifically for your company, and will have access to the latest methods, strategies and technological tools

I recommend: Start by looking at the consultant directory put together by OR/MS Today Magazine, published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. The website for Operations Management: The Science of Better features tips on working with an operations research professional.

Learn from the management science experiences of other companies

If you're considering implementing operations research/management science processes, find out how this practice has worked for other companies. Through case studies, you can find out the challenges other businesses have faced when adopting these practices, how they dealt with these challenges, and what impact the procedure had on their organization.

I recommend: Harvard Business Publishing offers case studies on management topics, including operations management and strategy. The Stanford School of Business offers case studies on operations and strategic management.

Consider management science software

Providers of management science software offer packages that can help you with everything from risk management to general decision making. In fact, consultants frequently utilize software to help them perform the most accurate analysis and recommendations they can.

I recommend: Take a look at the list of software packages reviewed by OR/MS Today magazine, published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences; for greater detail, read the magazine's software surveys and articles.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Operations research/management science isn't just for companies who need to revamp their practices and procedures; it can also help you stay competitive, and even gain an edge over others in your field. Consider operations management not only if you're having trouble with your processes or you're not getting as much from your data as you'd like, but also if you regularly face complex decisions or want to make your company more competitive before you fall behind.

Operations Research/Management Science is a rapidly growing field, and its techniques have been applied in many organizations, both public and private. In a nutshell, OR/MS seeks to streamline operations, be they financial, transportation, inventory or communications, with the goal of decreasing waste and increasing effectiveness. OR/MS is concerned with how organizations solve problems and implement solutions. To analyze this, the management scientists employ a wide range of mathematical tools, including logic, network analysis and game theory. A wealth of key terms is used to describe these tools, but this guide will outline the science's broader areas of focus.

Action Steps
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Simulation

Simulation is a method of modeling an operation in a way that allows management to identify areas for improvement and test possible solutions. Simulations are almost always created with software that allows users to import, test and analyze data.

I recommend: Flexism is a simulation software developer.

Optimization and decision analysis

Optimization allows management to choose solutions in a scientific manner. When presented with a problem, there might be an infinite number of remedies. Optimization provides a way of comparing the different routes based on targeted benchmarks.

I recommend: Microsoft has a series of guides to optimizing IT infrastructure. Dr. Hossein Arsham of the University of Baltimore publishes Tools for Decision Analysis and provides a resource for students and practitioners of the field.

Data analysis and statistical methods

This realm of OR/MS includes data mining and forecasting; it is the way in which decision makers pick up on patterns that can be exploited to increase efficiency or revenue.

I recommend: Topics in Statistical Data Analysis, also published by Dr. Hossein Arsham, is a treasure trove of data analysis resources.

Soft OR

Soft organization research refers to non-mathematical tools used in OR/MS, including soft systems mapping, the strategic choice approach and cognitive methodology.

I recommend: OR/MS Today has an article on soft OR, with case studies of how its methodologies have been used to effectively solve problems.

Strategic planning

Strategic planning helps an organization set priorities. To set goals, you need to figure out where you want to go and develop a plan of action. To evaluate your success, you must set benchmarks. Unlike a business plan, strategic planning is concerned with the health of the organization overall.

I recommend: The Free Management Library has an in-depth guide to strategic planning for non-profit organizations.

Linear modeling or programming

Linear modeling is a tool used to try and optimize an economic outcome. It can help OR/MS practitioners find the best solution, while taking into account constraints.

I recommend: The University of Regina explains the concept of linear programming and how it is used in operations research.

Operations Research/Management Science for beginners starts with the basic assumption that the terms operations research and management science are often used synonymously. Operations research is an interdisciplinary branch of mathematics and science that attempts to solve complex problems by utilizing methods like mathematical modeling and statistics.

The management science part of the term refers to the additional application of business management theory to finding the solution to problems. An operations researcher that is investigating a new problem will decide what techniques will be used, the goals for improvement and will evaluate any constraints on time or computing power which must be factored in. Learn what some of the scientific methods operations a research analyst uses to help management achieve its goals by:

1. Learning where you can study operational research in depth.

2. Reviewing the key elements to look for in software packages for production planning.

3. Studying some of the operations research tools analysts utilize.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Begin your tutorial by going to the most widely recognized organizations

As you review the resources that dedicate themselves to business operations research, start with the ones that are the most widely accepted and utilized. Learn more about operations research techniques and how it can help reduce costs, improve decision making, scheduling and forecasting and more.

I recommend: The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a down to earth explanation of the nature of the work of operations research analysts. Consider studying operations research at Cornell University. Consider studying operations research at Cornell University.

Become familiar with some of the operations research tools you will need

Operations researchers use a wide variety of tools such as statistics, probability theory, queuing theory, decision analysis and simulation to solve complex business problems. Find out how companies have utilized operational research techniques to improve their business.

I recommend: CBS Interactive provides an informative article on how P&G used operations research to drive success in their organization. ILOG has web casts and presentations you can view, as well as detailed information on optimization, an operation research discipline.

Investigate Operations Research/Management Science software packages

The best method for integrating operations research with management science is to purchase a state-of-the-art software package, which can provide you will all the operation research tools you'll need to streamline the multitude of processes required to improve your business.

I recommend: SAS Institute offers software which can process sequential activities such as project planning, materials resource planning and supply chain management. MBAWare Enterprises has powerful and affordable off the shelf software packages available.