Conference Chairman's ReportAuthor(s): Ian NichollsSource: The Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 34, No. 12 (Dec., 1983), pp. 1149-1150Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals on behalf of the Operational Research SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2581838 .

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/. Opl Res. Soc. Vol. 34, No. 12, pp. 1149-1220, 1983 0160-5682/83 3.00 + 0.00 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved Copyright ? 1983 Operational Research Society Ltd

25th Annual Conference of the

O.R. Society

University of Warwick

27-30 September 1983

CONFERENCE CHAIRMAN' S REPORT

The Conference had 393 registered delegates, which was a distinct

improvement over 1982. In fact, requests for bookings were still being received up to the beginning of the Conference, and a significant number had to be refused since the accommodation was fully booked. It is to be hoped that the 25th Annual Conference, therefore, marks a turning point in the recent

declining numbers of delegates attending.

There is no doubt that one of the factors contributing to the popularity of the Conference was its major theme of microcomputing and the C.R.

practitioner. It should not be thought that all those attending, however, were uncritical supporters of the 'new technology1. Indeed, one of the plenary speakers, Ian McNaught-Davis, presenter of the B.B.C.'s two series on

microcomputer literacy, referred to them as "nasty little things" which had a

strcng propensity not to work when placed in front of the television cameras. His was an extremely interesting and humorous account of experiences with

computers of all types.

The Conference was well served by all four plenary speakers. Ian

McWaught-Davis spoke on the Wednesday, and he had been preceded on the Tuesday

by Sir Douglas Hague, economic adviser to the Prime Minister and newly-

appointed Chairman of the S.S.R.C. Conference delegates gained an

illuminating insight into the formulation of Government policy from his talk

on the case for privatisation.

On Thursday the plenary speaker was John Egan, Chairman and Chief

Executive of Jaguar Cars, who in three years has brought his company from the

brink of collapse to probably its most healthy state in post-war years. The

emphasis on quality, and the means of achieving it, was the keynote of Mr

Egan's successful strategy for the company.

The last plenary speaker, on the Friday, was the Prospect Award winner

for 1982, Paul Harrison of the Joint Consultancy on Patterns and Systems. In

his captivating address the audience learned how, contrary to accepted wisdom

and the published papers, the two-dimensional cutting problem had not been

solved by L.P. This was primarily because mere waste minimization was usually not the sole, or even the major, objective of a client when the problem was

properly analyzed.

In the last plenary session, another award was presented. R.S. Hambleton

of Four Square Catering and Vending received the President's Medal for his

work on "A manpower planning model for mobile repairmen", which was published in JORS Vol. 33, No. 7 (July 1982). The citation for this award was as

follows:

O.R.S. 34/12-B 1149

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O.R.S. Annual Conference 1983?Warwick

"This paper describes a project that was highly regarded by the client management. It was effective, innovative and simple, and the

paper itself is written with admirable clarity of style and structure."

At the Conference Dinner, delegates were addressed by Robert Maxwell, Chairman of Pergamon Press, and the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Conference was marked by the presence of the Vice-Chancellors of Birmingham, Warwick and Aston Universities, their wives and several past Conference Chairmen as guests of the President. Mr Maxw'ell's address, which encouraged O.R. practitioners to become practical innovators, will, we hope, be published in the Journal at a later date.

As is now customary, a computing exhibition was organized but, given the main topic of the Conference, this was much larger than in previous years, with a total of 11 exhibitors. It was a big attraction for delegates and outside visitors, if only because of the wide range of arcade and adventure

games on one of the exhibitors1 standsl It is the hope of the Conference Committee that this will provide a foundation on which even better exhibitions can be built in the future.

Although two planned external excursions eventually came to naught, Conference delegates appeared to enjoy the entertainments that had been

organized. A big attraction proved to be John Cleese in his roles as

"disillusioned repairman" and "expert slide presenter" in a number of Video Arts films which were on continuous showing in the evenings. A little of his

expertise with visual aids would have been most welcome at one or two

presentations1

For the second year running, the "Metaconference" service, brainchild of

Stafford Beer, was available to delegates. A detailed report by Robert Bittlestone of both years' experiences is printed below as part of the

Conference proceedings.

My overall impression of the Conference is that it was, indeed, successful. Naturally, there are many things that could have been altered or

improved, but there were no major catastrophes. I would like to express my

very deep appreciation of the help given to me by my colleagues on the

Conference Committee. I would like to single out three people for especial mention, without whose help there would have been no Conference: first, Sue

Williams, from my own O.R. Unit, who acted as secretary to the Conference Committee and provided me with invaluable administrative support. Secondly, I

wish to mention June Hedge and Ray Showell from the O.R. Society itself. To

them fell the task of handling all the administrative arrangements with

Warwick University, a task I was only too happy to pass on to them!

I finish with a last word of thanks to all those who attended the

Conference, either as speakers or as delegates. I hope that you will give similar support to Graham Rand's 1984 Conference at Lancaster University.

IAN NICHOLLS

1150

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