| Article ID: | iaor19941258 |
| Country: | United States |
| Volume: | 23 |
| Issue: | 5 |
| Start Page Number: | 20 |
| End Page Number: | 25 |
| Publication Date: | Sep 1993 |
| Journal: | Interfaces |
| Authors: | Wagner Harvey M. |
The early years of operations research set the directions of scholarly research and commerical applications that continue today. After four decades the initial promise is a reality. As the field matured, we became skillful in getting successful applications. We also became insensitive, however, to what is required to sustain this success. The field never had a unifying core. The diversity of themes was recognized at the outset and continues to undermine further progress in educating practitioners. The paper reflects on how we got here and suggests educational changes that are long overdue.