The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - Assignment Example

The GoalSummaryThe Goal is a book about Mr. Alex Rogo, who works at UniCo as a plant manager and is in a situation where the plant has three months to stop losing money or it will be closed down. Rogo attempts to get the plant back to profitability as he deals with family issues, where his wife Julie accuses him of neglecting his family (Goldratt & Cox, 2013). This highlights the challenges that managers face trying to balance their work and family life. In the beginning, Rogo does not know why the plant is losing money or where to start as the numbers available to him show that the company is running efficiently.

Finally, he remembers an encounter with a college physics teacher Jonah, who had managed to identify the issues facing the company with minimal information. After contacting Jonah, he is told to first figure out the meaning of productivity and the plant’s goal (Goldratt & Cox, 2013). After Rogo contacts Jonah back with these answers, Jonah presents him with three measurements; throughput, inventory, and operational expenses, which Jonah tells him to figure out in the context of the plant (Goldratt & Cox, 2013).

After pondering these measurements with others at the plant, he returns to Jonah with the answers, to which Jonah presents three quick rules that are different to what he has been taught in business, while also introducing the concepts of statistical fluctuations and dependent events. After Alex gains a clearer understanding of dependent events and statistical fluctuations, he goes back to Jonah, who then tasks him with understanding about plant bottlenecks and non-bottlenecks. Rogo and his workmates experiment with different supply routes to bottlenecks, achieving increased productivity until problems arise on another section of their plant (Goldratt & Cox, 2013).

At this point, Jonah decides to visit the plant to see what Rogo is doing, during which he walks around the plant, asking them questions that they should figure out and showing them a number of things (Goldratt & Cox, 2013). Eventually, they are able to improve the running of the plant to the point where it is the best performing plant in their division. The plant remains open, while Rogo and other group members involved in improving the plant’s profitability are promoted. After being promoted to become the division’s leader, Rogo sets out to represent the improvements they have carried out on paper.

The previous system they used shows that their plant is not productive, whereas it is actually performing well (Goldratt & Cox, 2013). After thinking about this issue, they agree on the idea that the company can expand internationally and be competitive for a low cost.Commentary The Goal shows that while the conventional management models may always be used as a reference point in running a plant, for example, they must not be the only concepts that managers rely on. In order to become a successful manager, it is essential to develop an understanding of the process of decision making.

Moreover, in order for a system to achieve success, it is important for the entire team to show dedication in a sustained manner towards the system’s progress. It is also important for the manager of the team to generate motivation and enthusiasm for each change they suggest to the team, while also being open to the opinions and criticism of the team and valuing these contributions. A clear message that arises from The Goal is that constraints involved in a system may change or increase as the system develops and grows.

Thus, the goal should always be kept constant and strategies should be identified to overcome barriers to its achievement. Indeed, productivity does not have much meaning is the individual does not understand their goal. ReferenceGoldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. (2013). The goal: A process of ongoing improvement. Great Barrington, MA: North River Press