Charles West Churchman—Philosopher of Management: An Interview With Richard O. Mason Conducted by Ian I. Mitroff

Two of C. West Churchman’s former students, Richard O. Mason and Ian I. Mitroff reflect on West’s career, his contributions to management and to science, and on their experience studying with and subsequently working with him. August 29, 2013, marked the 100th anniversary of Churchman’s birth. Known as “C. West” professionally and simply “West” to those close to him, Churchman was a philosopher, logician, statistician and, perhaps most importantly, a humanist who explored the intellectual and social foundations of management. He is especially well known in business circles for being one of the “founding fathers” of operations research and management science (OR/MS). He died from the complications of Parkinson’s disease on Sunday, March 21, 2004, in a Bolinas, California, nursing home, near his beloved sea-view cabin. For the most part, Ian I. Mitroff interviews Richard O. Mason.