Novel The Goal analysis

The work also introduces various characters who serve as examples of the inputs that contribute to the firm’s standing. It is important to note that the author of this novel is Eliyahu Goldratt, a pragmatic Jewish physicist who views everything in the world as something that can be explained by the utilization and observation of the scientific method. The plant manager needs to figure out a way to turn his plant around before the company he works for decides to shut the plant down. The plant manager identifies many constraints that are causing his plant to operate inefficiently. While there are many things that need to be fixed, the plant manager had to identify the most important constraints, (Stewart & Kennedy, 2010, 38). S. A, (Stewart & Kennedy, 2010, 38). One of the first constraints that are identified by the plant manager is the policies that are set in place by the company he works for.

The company’s policies are put in place because they are believed to help the plant operate efficiently, however this often not the case. The company bases performance with standards that in no way are reliable or accurate. The plant manager and his team begin to utilize accounting methods that reflect what is actually happening at their plant. The company they work for audit’s their plant and realizes that they are not adhering to company policy on accounting standards. The plant is forced to revert back to the company’s accounting standards which do not accurately reflect the performance of the plant, (Stewart & Kennedy, 2010, 38). Another constraint that affects the performance of the company is the personal knowledge of the plant manager and his staff and lack of knowledge by the employees.

This constraint is best seen when the bottlenecks are identified in the plant and the employees are told to operate these machines constantly. The bottlenecks operating constantly improved output and the sticker system decreased the time it took to complete orders. Reducing the amount of materials at a time to the plant decreased the amount of inventory in the plant and helped to not confuse workers on what to work on. These changes helped to minimize this constraint and the plant to operate smoothly and efficiently, (Stewart & Kennedy, 2010, 38). The third most important constraint identified by the plant manager was the equipment that was available to him at his plant. The bottlenecks that were at the plant, the heat treat and NX-10 were unable to keep up with production. Often times they had to do something without the company knowing for the greater good of the plant, (Jones & Jones, 2014, 11).

Though this book caused me to recall numerous situations in which there were throughput issues in my career, the most prominent point of reference for me relates to my first role as the Practice Administrator of a small specialty medical practice. The physicians I supported were surgeons and used specialized tools and equipment to provide niche care to patients. In addition to tools and equipment, certain staff members were trained in specialized roles to aid in the success of the practice. The physicians varied in age and in specialty, but there were overlaps in the type of care they could provide to patients. The owner/medical director had decided when the practice was much smaller, he only trusted one staff member to complete this task. This practice had continued several years later and presented itself as a huge inhibition to the furtherance of success and the achievement of the owner’s stated goal.

As a process, I began reviewing how I could expand this critical resource. The goal was lofty. My boss wanted us to increase patient care delivery by 75 patients daily with no additional staff members. Five providers with 19 clinicians and 1 machine does not equal productivity. Of course, my boss would hear nothing of purchasing an additional machine—and there were multiple patients scheduled at the same time each day. So the solution worked out, minimally. Had I been as persuasive as Alex and his team, I would have been able to successfully show that an additional machine would have made incomparable gains in the process. I would have also been able to identify any additional bottlenecks that inhibited positive growth.