Dr Mark Hall awarded Stafford Beer Medal by Operations Research Society

Dr Mark Hall (BBS) and colleagues from Cranfield University were recently awarded the Stafford Beer Medal by the Operations Research Society, for the best paper “in recognition of the most outstanding contribution to the philosophy, theory or practice of Information Systems and / or Knowledge Management published in the European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS) or Knowledge Management Research & Practice (KMRP)”.

This award is named in memory of Stafford Beer, a world leader in the development of systems ideas, especially management cybernetics, and President of the OR Society 1970-71.

Details of the paper:

Elmar Kutsch, David Denyer, Mark Hall and Liz Lee-Kelley - Does risk matter? Disengagement from risk management practices in information systems projects - European Journal of Information Systems 22, 637-649 (November 2013) | doi:10.1057/ejis.2012.6

Risk management is considered fundamental to project performance. However the authors’ paper describes a study, undertaken across a wide range of organisations in which they found in practice, many project managers disengage from prescribed risk management before executing risk responses. Their analysis found five key underlying beliefs that governed project managers’ risk management attitudes and actions. The aims of the Operational Research Society are to bring logical analysis to improve management and decision-making. We consider that this paper could make a valuable contribution to project management practice and we commend it to Information Management professionals. The Society is pleased to award the authors with the Stafford Beer medal for 2013.