xix The core idea of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) is that every real system... must have at least one
constraint. If it were not true, then the system would produce an infinite amount of whatever it strives for... Because
a constraint is a factor that limits the system from getting more of whatever it strives for, then a ... manager ... must
manage constraints. There really is no choice in this matter. Either you manage constraints or they manage
you. The constraints will determine the output of the system whether they are acknowledged and managed or not.
xxii These difficulties [trying to apply TOC outside of a strictly manufacturing operation]
led to the development of a generic approach for diagnosing and solving problems called the "Thinking Process."
According to the claims made by TOC advocates, this approach can be used to solve virtually any problem anywhere
in an organization... The generic Thinking Process approach involves building logical "trees," which basically are cause-and-effect
diagrams.
xxiii It is impossible to disentangle TOC operations from TOC accounting. Any attempt to run a TOC operation
while using traditional management accounting measures and controls is doomed to failure... The biggest single reason for
this incompatibility is that both absorption costing and standard variance reporting create incentives to produce excess inventories.
p.27 A constraint in a system is anything that limits the system from achieving its objective. Any real
system must have at least one constraint... If a system did not have a constraint, its output would be unlimited. It is also
true, but less obvious, that physical systems consisting of sequential processing through a chain of resources ordinarily
have only one constraint.
p.42 managers who want to make real progress must learn to break the constraints rather than just
accept them.
p.45 Any decision regarding nonconstrained resources needs to be answered in light of how the action
will involve or impact the constraint.
p.46 If a constraint has been broken, something else immediately will become the constraint.
Energies and attention then must shift to identifying and dealing effectively with that new constraint.
p.52 Goldratt claims that the Thinking Process can be used to develop a successful plan to deal
with any organizational, personal, or interpersonal problem that can be solved... The Thinking Process appears
to be an elaborate logical system, that is, a system for understanding and manipulating cause-and-effect relationships.
p.55 the Thinking Process was said to appeal more to analytical than to intuitive thinkers.
p.56, 57 The Thinking Process is an intriguing collection of logic-based tools that promises to
help people diagnose problems, find solutions, and draw up successful implementation plans. It is quite general and
can be applied to many kinds of problems... Like any other decision process, the Thinking Process relies on the quality
of the information brought to it... The Thinking Process provides a comprehensive set of articulated tools for diagnosing
problems and designing actionable solutions.
p.137 The formal Thinking Process is potentially a powerful tool for identifying and implementing
solutions to just about any problem. It can be used to attack small problems or big problems.
p.147 The constraint is a fact of life. Ignoring it does not make it go away... an economist
would add that a constraint should be elevated as long as the marginal benefit from elevating the constraint is less than
the marginal cost before that point is reached.
p.148 one can argue that TOC will have a tendency to focus attention more or less automatically
on the most important areas to improve from a strategic standpoint.
p.148, 150 The Theory of Constraints is a remarkably coherent and logical framework for managing
complex processes... The TP [Thinking Process] is nothing less than an attempt to get people to think through problems
and their solutions logically and systematically.
p.154 The process of building the Current Reality Tree usually begins with a list of symptoms, called "Undesireable
Effects," or UDEs
p.155 Step 3 of the Guidelines consists of building a complete causal road map that shows how all
the UDEs are consequences of a few root causes.
p.158 The arrows in the Current Reality Tree are "sufficiency" arrows - the entity that is the source of
the arrow is presumed to be a significant cause, by itself, of the entity at the end of the arrow. The connecting arrows are
read in a specific way. If an arrow points from entity A to entity B, then the connection is read "if A, then B."
p.169 The Evaporating Clouds method does not strive to reach a compromise solution, rather it concentrates
on invalidating the problem itself. The first attack is made on the objective itself asking, "Do we really want it?" ... evaporating
the cloud consists of exposing an invalid assumption underlying one of the arrows.
