OR groups and the professionalisation of OR

Abstract

OR groups have been studied from several perspectives and increasingly their role as a means of organising OR work is seen to be subject to a variety of external influences. In this paper OR groups are examined as a form of arranging professional work in organisations using an analytic framework based on concepts from the sociology of professions. The changing character and fortune of such groups is shown to be related to processes involved with the professional character of OR. The role of education, changing organisational contexts, the emergence of other professions and the ability of OR to respond to these are all key factors in explaining the development of OR groups. Issues of relevance to the future of OR groups arising from this analysis are finally considered.