Abstract:

The aim of the research presented in this paper is to solve one of the fundamental problems of modelling and simulation, i.e., verification of a model as a scientific tool of operations research. To attack this problem, certain crucial issues in the philosophy of science (the demarcation problem, the principle of verifiability) must be redefined. In discussing the question of verification, a procedure for verifying a model of a microeconomic system, in our case - a firm, is formulated. It is assumed that verification is a ceaseless process of evaluating the model’s scientificity from the standpoints of deductive reasoning, coherency and empiricism. The verification has been divided into two stages: the verification of the assumptions underlying the model of a firm and the verification of the simulator. The crucial element of the verification procedure proposed is the concept of a flexible model of a firm based on the following scheme: “abstraction - gradual concretization – verification”. The practical implementation of the verification procedure is illustrated based on the example of a dynamic model of a firm. The model under verification is used as a scientific tool of operations research for the qualitative explanation of the dynamic behavior of a real-life firm.