How, Thanks to a Decision Support System Called “Profiling,” a Forest Manager Saved His Forest But Lost His Job: A Fable

Abstract

Abstract Efficient and effective forest disease management relies on good research, yet forest managers are sometimes slow at adapting and implementing research discoveries. Meaningful research on management issues relies on an understanding of the difficulties of management, yet research discoveries often are remotely applicable to day-to-day management decisions. This communications gap may constrain the science and application of forest disease management. A fictional case study examines the incongruence between a new-economy manager and an old-economy corporate office when a decision support system called “profiling” is used to solve an ecological problem in an economic context. It illustrates the risks managers take when implementing new technologies–in this case, using information technology in a forest business when a root disease limits timber production. In the story that follows, our narrator is attending a guest lecture.