FROM THE BOOKSHELFANDREW RUPPEL,
Feature Editor,
McIntire School of Commerce, DSI FELLOWS PICK INFLUENTIAL BOOKSby Andrew Ruppel, University of Virginia As the Institute moves to celebrate its 25th anniversary, there is the customary pause to reflect on the accomplishments of the organization and the discipline over that time frame. This summer we canvassed DSI Fellows, asking them to look over their personal library and, in considering the intellectual development of decision sciences over the last 25 years, to designate those books that have made signal contributions to the field. No limit was placed on the length of submitted lists. Textbooks and monographs were open for inclusion as the Fellows saw fit. More critically, we wanted to know the reasons why the Fellows selected the particular titles. The summer is perhaps not the best time to conduct a survey and so I especially want to thank those DSI Fellows who contributed their `key titles' suggestions. The respondents were (in alpha order):
These nine Institute Fellows submitted a total of 21 titles, falling into four broad categories: Management Science, Quantitative Tools/Techniques, Production/Operations Management, and Management Information Systems. Here are the listings:
Anderson, Sweeney & Williams. The first of these titles is, of course, a widely adopted text and is credited with bringing management science and its business applications þto the masses.þ The Beer, Churchman, and Simon titles are well known for stepping outside mere technique and discoursing insight fully on just what it means to address a manager's decision problems (particularly, ill-structured ones) and to deal with an organization's planning and control concerns. Raiffa showed, with comforting lucidity, how to overlay choice situations with a structure (the well-know decision tree) that facilitates analysis and resolution. Lee, S.M. Roberts, H.V. . 1st ed. 1988, 2nd ed. 1991. Scientific Press. Siegel, S. Sang Lee's classic work provided a new launching pad for practical applications for mathematical programming. Like most innovations, it enabled analysts to think about problem formulation in new ways, particularly for multi-objective situations. The Neter, et al. and Siegel books come highly regarded for their scope and careful exposition of techniques that enabled many researchers to do rigorous and insightful data analysis. Harry Roberts, a champion of interactive data analysis, makes readers of his text think first about the behavior of data as a process and then about what techniques to use to monitor and improve the process. Hayes & Wheelright. Hayes, Wheelright, & Clark. Johnson & Kaplan. Schmenner, R.G. Schonberger, R.J. Robert Hayes and his co-authors have prodded managers and policy makers to give greater recognition to the role of manufacturing strategy in corporate direction-setting and the development of competitive advantage. Johnson & Kaplan's book, in addressing the flaws of conventional managerial accounting approaches, drew attention to the dire consequences that these approaches have for new product development and manufacturing resource allocation. Roger Schmenner's text enjoys high appeal with POM faculty. Its use of documented plant tours makes the student recognize the crucial interconnection of production process and information flows. Schonberger's book is credited in making Just-In-Time and allied techniques widely known, early-on, among American managers and he was among the first to discuss "world-class manufacturing." Cash, McFarlane, & McKenney. Davis, G. Sprague & Carlson Gordon Davis is credited with defining/creating MIS as a discipline. Cash and his co-authors brought the effectiveness of the case method to bear on MIS instruction and investigation. Messrs. Sprague and Carlson carved out DSS as a distinct area and one is sure that they would acknowledge the foundation efforts of Herbert Simon, cited earlier. CONCLUSION Some readers may be disappointed by the omission of their favorite books. Other readers may take issue with some of the suggested titles as being key to their field. In either case (or in both cases), let us hear your views. Send your thoughts to me, via the mode of your choice, at the address below. Another book review project in the offing is to discuss what books, outside the `normal' decision science boundaries, members are reading that they feel have relevance to their work. The boundaries may, admittedly, be tough to pin down. To try an example: some readers may have found the biographies of physicist Richard Feynman stimulating to their work. As with the "significant books" survey, I'd be interested in hearing from members as to their suggestions regarding this project, especially specific book titles and the rationales for selecting them.
Andrew Ruppel
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