The INFORMS Roundtable addresses the needs of practitioners of OR/MS (operations research and the management sciences).  It comprises organizations, not people, each represented by the ranking manager or executive in charge of all OR/MS activity.  Its purpose is to promote OR/MS excellence in practice, to provide practitioner-inspired leadership to the profession, and to promote the personal professional growth of Roundtable representatives.  It provides a way for new OR/MS groups to leverage the hard-won lessons of similar groups elsewhere, and for mature groups to keep their edge through peer networking.

Prospective members and others will find the following information of interest:

The Three Missions of the INFORMS Roundtable.

How The Roundtable Works

Membership fluctuates in the range of 40-50 organizations. Titles of the representatives: about 40% Manager, 30% Director or Leader or Head or Principal, 30% President or VP or Professor or Chief Scientist or Executive Director.  The culture is very peer-to-peer.

"Topics From Previous Roundtable Meetings" lists the sessions at prior meetings of the Roundtable.

"A Word to Prospective Members" answers the most common questions about the Roundtable.

    Members of the Roundtable will find the minutes of recent meetings here (user name and password required):
 

 Public Access

    The general public will find abridged minutes of recent meetings here:
 

1. Share as effectively as possible among the membership the success factors pertinent to the quest for organizational excellence

a. Present in a group discussion setting what members are doing in their respective organizations, what their top management's concerns are, how they market themselves, what tools and techniques have proven especially good or bad, etc.

b. Share experience and information on the business environment as it relates to OR/MS, on improved management techniques, and on other matters relevant to Roundtable organizations.

2. Provide practitioner-inspired leadership to the OR/MS profession

a. Fulfill the Roundtable's charter responsibility to advise INFORMS on professional issues through annual discussion meetings with the INFORMS President-Elect and the INFORMS Board.

b. Maintain an active dialog with academia on matters of mutual concern (curriculum content, R&D needs, job market, etc.).

c. Work with INFORMS' Editors-in-Chief and VP-Meetings toward more relevant publications and meetings.

d. Undertake special programs and projects as time and resources permit (e.g., programs designed to bring practitioners and academics together).

e. Arrange for top leaders from industry, government, and academia to point out new challenges and opportunities.

3. Promote the personal professional growth of Roundtable representatives

a. Bring in top experts to offer executive briefings, tutorials, and personal development seminars.

b. Facilitate personal networking with peers and high-level people in other organizations (including academia).

The original design was modified only slightly when TIMS and ORSA merged into INFORMS. The essentials are:

• Aim is to strengthen OR/MS practice
• Organizations join, not people, each represented by the ranking OR/MS manager or a more senior executive
• Dues: $1,500/yr, with no extra charges for meetings
• 3 meetings per year in conjunction with both main INFORMS meetings plus a February retreat in a resort-city; Sunday evening plus Monday:
• Featured speakers from outside
• Discussion sessions focusing on member organizations
• Advisory sessions with INFORMS Board (Fall) and INFORMS President-Elect (Spring), with agendas set by mutual agreement
• Informal time to permit personal networking (receptions, meals, breaks, a suite called the "Rendezvous Room")
• Executive Committee (5 elected), Meetings Committee (5 appointed), Membership Committee (3-5 appointed)
• Advisory relation to INFORMS Board in the bylaws
• INFORMS liaisons to Roundtable: President-Elect, VP-Practice, Executive Director (join the Executive Committee in its monthly teleconferences)
• General Secretary provides organizational memory, helps coordinate all committees, produces detailed minutes of all Roundtable meetings
• INFORMS Business Office provides support (fully reimbursed).

1. Help the Member Organizations
 
• Thematic programs on pertinent topics such as consulting skills, financial services, marketing OR/MS internally and externally, next-generation organizations, logistics, and quality
• Briefings on member organizations (group profiles, project profiles)

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2. Help the Profession
 
• Work with INFORMS' Board, President-Elect, VP-Practice, and Executive Director

Meet with INFORMS Board at Fall meeting

Meet with INFORMS President-Elect at Spring meeting based on Roundtable discussion cells formed to address issues proposed by President-Elect

• Pro bono projects, some of them institutionalized by INFORMS (e.g., public relations initiative, careers brochure, Practice Track at the main meetings, George Dantzig Dissertation Award)

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3. Help the Representatives
 
• Executive briefings and personal development seminars (e.g., decision analysis, expert systems, internetworking, reengineering)
• Headliners such as Don Frey (ex-CEO of Bell and Howell), Peter Keene (DSS and IT guru), Ralph Keeney (decision theory guru), John Magee (Chairman of Arthur D. Little), Harry Markowitz (Nobel Laureate), Bill Ouchi (author of Theory Z best seller)

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2001 COMMITTEES

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Charles Beall, Chair
Joseph Discenza
Laurie Dutton
David Knies
Leon Schwartz

MEETINGS COMMITTEE

Laurie Dutton, Chair and Executive Committee Liaison
Joanne Heath
Shailendra Jain
Jack Levis
John Lucas

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Burnell Brown, Chair
Lloyd Herlong
David Knies, Executive Committee Liaison
Chuck McCallum
Irv Salmeen

EX OFFICIO LIAISONS TO INFORMS

Michael Trick, INFORMS President-Elect
Mark Doherty, INFORMS Executive Director
Brenda Dietrich, INFORMS VP-Practice

GENERAL SECRETARY

George A. Freestone  picture

Feedback on this document is welcome.

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