تحقیق در عملیات به مثابه یک دانش فناورانه نرم: کاربردها و کارکردها

Objective: The beginning of operations research goes back to the years of World War II. This knowledge evolved over decades and there are different views about the nature of this discipline, its functions and applications. Operations research was initially interdisciplinary in nature, and its thinkers sought to investigate and solve major problems. In the future, the boundaries of this field were limited and its experts tried to investigate and solve operational problems by developing quantitative and mathematical methods. The current research seeks to analyze the historical roots and development of knowledge in operations research with a dialectical approach. In addition, the functions and applications of operations research to investigate and structure various issues and strengthen the data-driven decision-making approach have been investigated.
Method: The method of analysis in this study is a dialectical and argumentative approach. In the dialectical approach, opposing thoughts and views are examined and the way to combine them is shown. This approach was proposed by Hegel, a German idealist philosopher. From Hegel's point of view, history progresses based on the conflict of ideas. The combination and synthesis of ideas causes the evolution of history and its movement towards improvement. This approach of Hegel is influenced by Greek philosophy and follows the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment is the age of optimism for European civilization. Marx used Hegel's dialectical thought. Unlike Hegel, Marx's dialectic has a materialistic nature. The Hegelian approach and Marx's thoughts have been introduced into this field by Habermas and some operational research thinkers such as Jackson. The main nature of critical thinking and methodology is structural analysis.
Results: The results showed that operations research is gradually moving towards paradigm convergence and diversity, and the philosophy of pragmatism has greatly influenced this knowledge. The variety of methods and the use of qualitative and quantitative methods together have increased significantly since 2000. In the past, the paradigm war did not allow the development of mixed research, and many operational research thinkers considered only quantitative approaches as part of operational research. On the other hand, the epistemological analysis of operations research showed that this field, despite being influenced by different sciences and philosophies, has a technological and instrumental nature. Its interdisciplinary and practical approach makes it possible to use the tools and techniques of this knowledge in various fields and issues. The issues investigated by the users of operations research have moved from the perspective of complexity and conflict of stakeholders to normative-social issues. Finally, it should be said that the knowledge of operations research can be used to examine a wide range of organizational issues, especially to strengthen data-driven decision making. In the past, the role of operations research was limited to the problems of the physical world, and the methods of this knowledge tried to solve operational problems using quantitative and mathematical tools. In today's world, the role of operations research in investigating and solving problems in various fields is very strategic. With the development of soft and critical methods, researchers in various social and cultural fields seek to use research methodologies and methods of operations research.
Discussion and Conclusion: An analytical and historical review of operations research knowledge since the 1950s gives us a comprehensive definition. Operations research is a practical, technological and pragmatic knowledge that examines the problems of the organization and society, and its ultimate goal is improvement. Also, operations research plays an important role in strengthening data-driven decision-making and the use of new technologies. The data-driven paradigm in various business areas seeks to use quantitative and statistical analysis in decision-making to minimize bias in evaluations. The role of operations research in various areas of management and business such as marketing, human resources and finance is expanding.