A Brief Note on the Theory of Constraints
4 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2010 Last revised: 10 Nov 2021
Abstract
This brief note offers an introduction to Eliyahu M. Goldratt's theory of constraints (TOC), and summarizes the principles outlined in a novel about manufacturing he wrote. TOC is applicable to manufacturing and service operations as well as for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Excerpt
UVA-OM-1105
Rev. May 9, 2019
A Brief Note on the Theory of Constraints
In 1977, Eliyahu M. Goldratt, an Israeli physicist who'd become a management consultant and philosopher, established Creative Output, Inc. (COI), and developed production-scheduling software called Optimized Production Technology (OPT). The software was criticized for being a “black box” whose underlying principles were incomprehensible to most managers. So, in 1984, Goldratt published The Goal, a novel about manufacturing. In it, a plant manager fights to save both his plant and his marriage, and is successful only after adopting the OPT doctrines offered by a thinly disguised Goldratt. This creative approach to marketing his theory proved to be ideal, as the book was easily understood by all kinds of company personnel all over the world. In fact, many manufacturing managers believed that the book was actually written about their own facilities because the story was so close to their own experiences.
This brief note offers an introduction to the theory of constraints (TOC), and summarizes the principles outlined in Goldratt's novel and TOC. Exhibit 1 contains excerpted editorial reviews of The Goal taken from Amazon.com.
The Goal of a Business
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Keywords: theory of constraints, manufacturing, systems thinking, throughput, inventory, operations, management
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