INFORMS announced the finalists for the Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences. Every finalist for this award is a model of efficiency and management strategy.
According to INFORMS, the finalists are:
1. Coca-Cola Enterprises, for a project entitled “Optimizing Distribution at Coca-Cola Enterprises”
2. The U.S. Coast Guard, for “Maximizing Aircraft Availability by Managing Aircraft Maintenance Throughput at the U.S. Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center”
3. Hewlett-Packard, for “Procurement Risk Management at Hewlett-Packard Company”
4. Chrysler Group and J.D. Power and Associates for “PIN Incentive Planning System: A Decision Support System for Planning Automobile Manufacturers' Pricing and Promotions”
5. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for “Operations Research Answers to Cancer Therapeutics”
All of the finalists look interesting. Is it wrong to wish that Coca-Cola loses? I don't like pop (I am a Chicago native, so it's pop, not soda) nor do I like high fructose corn syrup. I am not happy that the average person in the United States drinks about two cans of pop per day (even teenagers and children!!!). It's no wonder since Coca-Cola spends more on advertising than almost every other company. I'd like to see an enormous advertising campaign for broccoli instead. But then again, I drink about two cups of coffee per day, so maybe I'm no better (Does coffee count as a vegetable? It's made from beans, so I think I could make the case).
