International Operations Research Activities

International Operations Research ActivitiesAuthor(s): John E. WalshSource: Operations Research, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Jul. - Aug., 1968), pp. 709-716Published by: INFORMSStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/168293 .

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Operations Research

July-August 1968

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS RESEARCH

ACTIVITIES*

John E. Walsh

Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

(Received May 2, 1968)

This paper reports on visits to 24 national operations-research societies (two in Germany) and to operations researchers in ten other countries. It con- siders each visit to a society specifically, plus some of the visits in countries not having societies. My purpose was to promote closer relations between the OPERATIONS RESEARCH SOCIETY OF AMERICA and operations researchers of other countries. The first visits were made during July-August of 1967, in conjunction with the Operations Research Around-the-World Meetings. Canada was visited in November, Central and South America in December- January, and the remaining countries in Europe during March-April of 1968. These visits included all of the world's major operations-research societies, and some others.

(PERATIONS research has made great advances as a scientific field kJ} in the United States. The OPERATIONS RESEARCH SOCIETY OF

AMERICA now has about 7,000 members, and, as a rough (and subjective) estimate, there are at least 30,000 persons in the United States who have positions that involve some work of an operations-research nature; as an important example, the US Department of Defense is making extensive use of some branches of operations research (under the headings systems analysis, etc.), and the use of this viewpoint and its methods is now being extended to the other parts of the federal government.

Thus, it appears that operations research in the United States has achieved the primary goals of recognition and acceptance. However, few (if any) other countries have fully achieved these goals. It would thus appear desirable for the United States operations-research community to provide encouragement to the operations-research communities of other

* Presidential address, at the Thirty-third National Meeting of the SOCIETY, San Francisco, California, May 2, 1968.

709



71 0 John E. Walsh

countries. The goal of these visits, by its President, was to furnish such encouragement (and, perhaps, some helpful advice) from ORSA.

Some other operations researchers of world prominence have similar viewpoints. As an example, PHILIP M. MORSE, in his recent address to the AIAA/ORSA Forum on Systems Analysis for Social Change, Washing- ton, D. C., March 18-20, 1968, stated that the expansion of operations research in foreign countries is of great importance, and that the formation of national operations-research societies is a strong proof of progress, and should receive all possible encouragement. As another example, ALEC

LEE, President of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies, in advocating specialized meetings of an international nature, called attention to the desirability of more frequent international contacts between OR scientists than the triennial IFORS conferences permit, more intense interchanges between OR workers from various nations in different specialized areas of application than these members' national meetings usually permit, and stimulation of OR in countries where it is relatively new and in early stages of development.

In all, I visited 34 countries during four time periods: 1. Great Britain, Spain, Greece, Turkey, India, Thailand, Japan, Hong

Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico were visited (in that order) between July 20 and August 27, 1967, in conjunction with attendance at the Operations Research Around-the-World Meetings (Spain, July 28- August 1; India, August 7-10; Japan, August 14-18; and Mexico, August 22-26).

2. Canada was visited during November 3-5, 1967. Besides a conference with national officers, visits were made to the Toronto, M\ontreal, and Ottawa sections of the Canadian Operational Research Society.

3. Guatemala, Venezuela, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia were visited (in that order) between December 18, 1967 and January 16, 1968. Operations-research societies now exist in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, and others may be formed before long (for example, in Brazil, Colombia, and Vene- zuela).

4. The final visits to Ireland, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and The Netherlands were made between March 21 and April 9, 1968. Except for Finland, all of these countries have national operations-research societies.

For brevity, the discussions are severely limited, except where some consideration of strong interest arose. A section is devoted to each of the four time periods mentioned. The final section summarizes some of the important considerations raised during these visits, and outlines some possible future actions motivated by them.



International Operations Research Activities 711

VISITS ON THE AROUND-THE-WORLD MEETINGS TRIP

MY FIRST VISIT, in London on July 24, 1967, was to the Operational Re- search Society of the United Kingdom, where I attended a conference with officers and senior members during the evening. Since this was the world's first operations-research society, it is now well established. Thus it played a central role in forming the International Federation of Opera- tional Research Societies (IFORS) and provided its first executive officer (then called the Secretary), SIR CHARLES GOODEVE; PHILIP M. MORSE of the United States was the second.

The first of the Operations Research Around-the-World Meetings was held in Madrid, Spain; cosponsored by IFORS and the Operations Research Society of Spain, it had attendees from many countries. The Spanish society expressed a strong interest in associations with operations researchers of other countries, and there was interest in having some of their operations-research workers receive schooling and training in the United States.

The Hellenic (Greek) Operational Research Society was visited in Athens on August 2-3. This society, which became an IFORS member recently, expressed an interest in holding an international meeting, perhaps adjacent in time to the 1969 IFORS Conference in Italy.

The second Operations Research Around-the-World Sheeting took place in Delhi, India, and was cosponsored by IFORS and the Operational Research Society of India. The Indian society is very progressive and held a substantial meeting. Discussions with its President and Secretary disclosed a desire for a direct bilateral relation with ORSA, motivated by the large amount of aid that India receives from the United States, and by the need to use this aid in an optimum fashion. While in Delhi, I also attended the International Conference on Operational Research in Uni- versities, which included a speech by the Vice-President of India on the usefulness of operations research.

The third Operations Research Around-the-World Meeting was held at Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan, and cosponsored by IFORS and the Opera- tions Research Society of Japan. It was large, well planned, and well executed. Although of an advanced nature, the Japanese society is geographically isolated. It thus welcomes and encourages visits by operations researchers from other countries. The Vice-President of IFORS, T. MATSUDA, is from this society.

My next visit was to the Australian Joint Council for Operational Research, and it took place in Sydney on August 18. During a lively question-and-answer session after my talk, one questioner asked whether the existence of operations-research societies serves a worthwhile purpose; it was generally agreed that having an identity for one's profession is



712 John E. Walsh

a definite advantage. The operations researchers there expressed a desire to have a closer relation with operations-research activities in the United States.

The next to last of this set of visits was to the Operational Research Society of New Zealand, in Wellington on August 19. This society is of moderate size and reasonably high quality, but does not yet belong to IFORS. In response to a question on my opinion about the advisability of joining IFORS, I suggested that they should join.

The fourth and last of the Operations Research Around-the-World Meetings was the 14th International TIMAS Conference at Mexico City, cosponsored by the Mexican Operations Research Society. There was a huge program and a very large attendance. The discussions with the officers of the Mexican society extended those of my previous visit to this society in November of 1966, in which we talked about closer relations with, and perhaps some assistance from, the United States.

THE VISIT TO CANADA

THIS VISIT started with a luncheon on November 3 at Toronto with members of the Toronto Section of the Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS). The topics were varied but, as for all these visits, centered on relations between CORS and ORSA, and on special OR activities in Canada and the United States. CORS is, of course, one of the most advanced operations-research societies. One of its members, ALEC LEE, is the executive officer of IFORS, now called the President.

I next went to Montreal, where, on November 4, the Montreal Section was holding an all-day symposium, oriented toward managers in business and industry, on the concepts and practical uses of operations research. I attended parts of this symposium and met with national officers of CORS during this time; they expressed an interest in having one of a second set of operations-research around-the-world meetings in Vancouver, in case a second set should occur (say, in 1970).

The third and final Canadian stop was at the Ottawa Section of CORS on November 5. Ottawa is the seat of the Canadian national government, so that many of the operations-research workers here have government employment (not so much the case in Toronto and Montreal). Discus- sions indicated that operations research is used by the Canadian government, but to nowhere nearly as great an extent as by the government of the United States.

THE VISIT TO CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

GUATEMALA was the only Central American country I visited. It borders on Mexico and is relatively well advanced compared to the other countries



International Operations Research Activities 71 3

of Central America. The visit took place on December 18-19, 1967, at Guatemala City, with a lecture given the evening of December 18. The organizers for my talk hoped to use my presence as a starting point for organizing an operations-research section within their applied mathematics organization.

Venezuela was the first South American country visited. Parts of the technology of this country are quite advanced. l\fy visit was to Caracas on December 20-21, with a lecture the evening of December 20. 1\ t presence was used as a basis for open discussion about the formation of an operations-research society; one possibility discussed was to make application to become a section of ORSA (I did not know whether this was possible).

I visited Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the period December 22-26, with a meeting with local operations researchers being held the evening of December 22. The operations-research community in Brazil is divided among Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and some other locations. There is the potential for a moderate-sized society, but its formation is awaiting a strong organizational effort that will unify these various locations.

Asuncion, Paraguay was visited December 26-28 with a lecture the evening of December 27. This country has an agricultural basis and is not very advanced technically; for example, it does not have many compu- tational facilities. My presence was used as a basis for trying to form an operations-research division within the applied mathematics association.

I visited the Computation and Operations Research Society of Uruguay in Montevideo December 28-31, with a lecture the morning of December 30. This society is computationally oriented, but some of the university members are involved in interesting operations-research problems.

I spent December 31 to January 4 at Buenos Aires, Argentina, and held a discussion with officers of the Operations Research Society of Argentina on January 3. This society, the only South American member of IFORS, expressed an interest in being host to an IFORS Conference. I explained that 1975 was the first available date (the 1969 conference will be in Italy and the 1972 one in Japan). The possibility that Argentina could be one of the meetings in an around-the-world set (say, in 1970) was also discussed. However, a more promising possibility seemed to be to hold a set of Western Hemisphere meetings in 1970; one meeting could be in Canada or the United States and a second meeting in Argentina, with maybe another meeting located geographically in between. As a result, the Argentinian society is studying the advisability of such a set of Western Hemisphere meetings.

The Operations Research Society of Chile was visited at Santiago January 4-7, 1968, with some discussions with members being held Janu- ary 5. Here, operations research seems to be proceeding slowly but



714 John E. Walsh

satisfactorily. Several of the nationalized industries have operations- research groups. Also, a local consulting group (SDA Consultores) is both surviving and doing good work. The Chilean society expressed strong interest in joining a Western Hemisphere set of meetings in 1970, in conjunction with a meeting in Argentina.

I visited the Operations Research Society of Peru at Lima on January 7-9, and gave afternoon and evening lectures on January 8. This society expressed a strong interest in joining the possible Western Hemisphere meetings for 1970 (along with Argentina and Chile).

I visited La Paz, Bolivia, January 9-10, and attended a meeting the evening of January 9, mainly with persons from the local university. This country seems to have the strongest problems of technical development of any of the countries I visited in South America. Unless strong outside support is given, not much development of operations research will occur within the next few years.

The next visit was to Guayaquil, Ecuador, January 10-13; it included an appearance on a local television station and an evening lecture on January 11. My visit was used as a basis for the possible formation of an operations-research section in a larger scientific organization.

The final visit of this set was to Bogota, Colombia, January 13-16; it included a lecture the evening of January 15. Questionnaires were dis- tributed at this lecture for the purpose of trying to organize a national operations-research society. Colombia appears to be progressive in technical areas.

THE VISIT TO EUROPE

I VISITED the Operations Research Society of Ireland at Dublin March 21-23, and gave a lecture the evening of March 22. This society entered IFORS recently and is active in several areas, including airline work. As with nearly all the societies visited, a desire for closer relations with United States operations researchers was expressed.

Brussels and the Operations Research Society of Belgium were visited next, March 23-26, and conferences were held with several practitioners. Not much governmental support (direct or indirect) is given to operations research in Belgium. However, some persons at universities are interested in the OR field.

On March 26-27 I visited the French society in Paris, an advanced society that recently provided the Secretary of IFORS (MARCEL BOITEUX for two years, CHARLES SALZMANN for one year). A conference was held with the officers and some senior members the evening of March 26.

Rome and the Operations Research Association of Italy were visited March 27-29, a meeting with officers and senior members taking place the



International Operations Research Activities 71 5

evening of March 28. The Italian society is host for the IFORS Conference in 1969.

I visited the Operations Research Society of Switzerland at Zurich on April 1, and gave a lecture that evening. This is an active society with a larger number of members proportional to its country's population than ORSA has to the population of the United States.

The Operations Research Society of Germany (an IFORS member) and the Operations Research Group, two major operations-research societies of Germany, were visited at Bonn on April 2, a conference with the officers and senior members of these two societies being held that evening.

I visited the Danish Operations Research Society at Copenhagen on April 3, and gave a lecture that evening. This is a progressive society with a membership that is relatively large compared to the population of Denmark.

Oslo and the Operations Research Society of Norway were visited on April 4, a lecture being given that evening. This society was host for the Third International IFORS Conference in 1963.

I visited the Swedish Operations Research Association in Stockholm on April 5 and gave a lecture that afternoon. Sweden is a progressive country with regard to the uses of operations research.

My next stop was Helsinki and the Finnish Operations Research Club on April 6-7, where I gave a talk on the afternoon of April 6. Operations research is of interest in Finland, both industrially and in the universties. Their Club is of about the same size and general nature as some of the IFORS societies. I encouraged Finland to seek membership in IFORS.

The final visit in Europe, and the last of the visits, was to the Nether- lands Operations Research Society. This took place at Amsterdam on April 8, where I also lectured.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

THESE VISITS indicate that use of the word 'research' in the terminology for the field is more appropriate abroad than may be evident from the situation in the United States. In other countries, operations research nearly always functions in a very limited way except when it is permitted to have research aspects. To take a specific illustrative case: The President of the Belgian society works in a steel mill, and although his OR efforts in this company can be classified as successful, the uses are restricted; for example, he will not start an OR project unless it is virtually certain to show some tangible results within three months. Privately owned foreign industries and businesses usually do not show much interest in activities that do not demonstrate their worth within a short time.

The limitations on the use of operations research do not seem to be so



716 John E. Walsh

strong in government owned or nationalized industries, and in other government supported activities such as those of the military. In fact, an examination of the growth of operations research indicates that government support of activities involving OR is very important, a point that certainly holds for the United States, and appears also to hold for other countries as well; that is, research aspects seem to be permitted eacly when there is government support. Of course, the level of support from a nation depends on its economic status, its aid from other countries, etc.

For underdeveloped countries, operations research seems to be most useful for planning purposes. In particular, preliminary operations- research studies can be exceedingly valuable in deciding on the uses of aid money: The President of the Indian society made this point very strongly, since it does not seem to hold for India now. In fact, the suggestion of a bilateral association with ORSA was motivated by a desire to institute OR planning into the use of aid money from the United States. As another example, I sat next to a government minister at a dinner in Peru who complained strongly against the lack of controls placed by the United States on the use of its aid; since there are no restrictions on its use, the aid money is prorated among the various activities, with the result that no activity receives enough to solve its problems and become self-sufficient. Concentration of the effort into a few areas could presumably improve these areas to the extent that they will not need further support; but, as it is now, no area benefits enough to achieve worthwhile long-range progress.

Virtually all of the countries I visited expressed a desire for closer association with operations researchers from other countries, especially the United States. Exchange programs and international meetings could do much to meet this desire. As already mentioned, the South American countries are interested in holding a Western Hemisphere set of meetings in 1970 (say, in June, July, or August). Also, there is a possibility of having a new set of Operations Research Around-the-World Meetings (in 1970 or 1971). Here, most or all of the meetings might be in the southern hemisphere (say, South Africa, Australia and/or New Zealand, Chile and/or Argentina, and Peru), since there is already direct air travel between South Africa and Australia. Too, with the inauguration of the Easter Island link, it seems likely that Chile can be reached directly from New Zealand by 1970 or 1971.

In summary, I hope that these visits have been helpful to the field of operations research.

Thanks are due the System Development Corporation and the Southern Methodist University for partial support for these trips.



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International Operations Research Activities