The Goal - Executive Eval Brief Paper

When I originally reviewed the syllabus for my upcoming Operations Management course, I noticed that one of the assignments was to read and write an executive summary on the “The Goal” written by

Eliyahu M. Goldratt. I remember questioning myself as to whether or not the book would capture my attention since I had purchased it 12+ years ago and didn’t get beyond the first 30 pages before adding to the collection of books gathering dust in my basement. I had initially purchased the book on a recommendation from a customer who at the time had just finished his MBA and really enjoyed it so thought it would be a great way for me to see manufacturing differently. At that point, I was new to the manufacturing world and had difficulty relating to the initial concepts and writing style and honestly, didn’t give the book a fair shot.

The second time around was a different story. After being in manufacturing for the last 13+ years, it was an extremely enjoyable read and gave me a whole new prospective on manufacturing and leadership. I felt that the book describes my plant in many instances. The book covers an array of topics and principles in regards to the Theory of Constraints and how the central character Alex discovered and implemented them into his organization. It’s a story of how success bred success and I will explore the Operation Management Decisions that were used and what impact they had on the company’s performance as well as my key take-aways from book.

Mr. Goldratt demonstrates the Theory of Constraints in an extremely interesting manner. The story clearly portrays what the goal of a business is and suggests a number of methods that are fascinating and practical to apply in a manufacturing company. Throughout the book are a number of issues concerning management decisions and key issues that need to be considered. The book points out that everyday life is a source of information regarding relationships that can be applied to the business world; one such example is how Alex used his hiking experience with his son.

One of the key themes is how managers should use common sense, always consider ways of doing things and not to be satisfied with the initial conclusions. Most importantly, it is critical that managers are able to identify the need for change and that they are not afraid to implement it. That said it is vital that they know what to change, what to change to and how to cause the change. This change happens in the book when Alex identifies what the goal of the company should be in order to “make money”. From that determination and by working with his mentor, Jonah and his core staff, they are able to determine the key metrics that the company should be using as the basis for their business model:

• Throughput = the rate at which the system generates money through sales

• Inventory = all