Olurotimi Ladeinde

Predicting Outcomes in Organizational Change Process and Development: the Impact of Operations Research and Scientific Decision-making Techniques on Business Process Olurotimi Ladeinde

In order to understand change process in organizations, it is important to understand the role of information technology as an enabler in such change. The dynamics that lead to change in contemporary organizations have their roots in evolution and continuing innovations in information technology (IT). This study examines theories of Operations Research (OR) of which Decision Analysis (DA) is a component part, and the relevance of mathematical and statistical techniques used by OR theorists to predict outcomes in organizational change process and development. The study starts with an overview of the historical evolution of theories of organizational process change as they relate to theories of decision making. Predictive models were examined including simulation and optimization models. Finally, two practical applications of these models, the new timetable introduced by the Netherlands railway and decision analysis techniques adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to solve air traffic flow management problems, were discussed to highlight the impact of operations research techniques on business process.