Full paper
Full paper

Dual OR: a Partial Paradigm for the Future?

E. Grant Read


Over the past few years many authors have documented the demise of some traditional forms of OR practice. But at the same time, significant success has been reported in other areas. It is suggested that this pattern of failure and success reflects the degree to which OR has proved adaptable to a shift away from a reliance on top-down planning, toward reliance on pricing mechanisms; that is from a "primal" to a "dual" orientation, both in business and in Government. If so, this suggests significant potential in the adoption of a Dual OR paradigm which emphasises the use of OR to create and support "market" structures within which independent decision-makers can operate. Conversely, though, the OR profession must ask whether its current tool-kit is really adequate to the job ahead..