Operations research (OR), management science (MS), systems science,and Russell Ackoff: The development of two paradigms

The development of OR, MS, and systems science from 1946 through 1980 is seen through a review of Russell Ackoff's work up to approximately the 1980s. Five stages of OR development are distinguished: emergence, expansion of frontiers, institutionalization, controversy, and separation. The latter stages of OR coincide with the early stages in the development of systems science: initial ideas, accumulation of deviants, expansion within OR, and formal launching of systems science. This analysis demonstrates Russell Ackoff's particularly relevant role in the emergence and development of the OR and systems science paradigms.