Machines who manage-harnessing the combinatoric explosion

Abstract

It is suggested that a machine capable of management functions of a complex, real-world nature is feasible. Offered as evidence is a microcomputer scheduling program that is already replacing human managers in a complex real-world environment and handling problems whose size and complexity dwarf the empirically established limits for comparable problems with which researchers and practitioners have wrestled for more than a decade. The reasons for the success of this program and its implications for the notion of a machine that manages are examined.<>