Critical Review of "It's Not Luck"
Write a critical review of the book "It's not Luck" by EM Goldratt from an operations strategy perspective. The emphasis of your review should be on principles of good operations strategy and should NOT just be a summary of the book.
Table of Contents
1. Preface 3
2. Introduction to Business Strategy and its Operations Strategy 3
3. Levels of Strategy 4
4. Executive Summary of It's Not Luck 6
5. Principles of Operations Strategy 7
6. Conclusion 9
7. References 10
1. Preface
The content of this assignment constitutes my understanding and interpretation of the book "It's Not Luck" authored by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt. I have endeavoured to provide a critical review of the book and its application to the business environment. Throughout this assignment I refer to myself as "the student", whenever I offer my own opinion, presumptions and thoughts regarding the book. I am still very much a student in the art of the Theory of Constraints (TOC).
In a nutshell, the underlying concept the author presents to the readers is TOC which is a management philosophy that prescribes that most modern organisations operate on a systems philosophy. And the goal is to make more money, both now as well as in the future. TOC consists of two fundamental applications: 1) The Five Focusing steps and their application to operations; 2) The Thinking Processes (TP) and their application to project management and human behaviour. TOC considers a system as a chain, with the underlying premise that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This weakest link is most often the constraint of the system.
In this assignment I have opted to outline my understanding of a business strategy first, following with the operations strategy. Following this is a discussion on some principles of operations strategy. I have applied these very same concepts in my critical review of "It's Not Luck".
2. Introduction to Business Strategy and its Operations Strategy
The
Table of Contents
1. Preface 3
2. Introduction to Business Strategy and its Operations Strategy 3
3. Levels of Strategy 4
4. Executive Summary of It's Not Luck 6
5. Principles of Operations Strategy 7
6. Conclusion 9
7. References 10
1. Preface
The content of this assignment constitutes my understanding and interpretation of the book "It's Not Luck" authored by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt. I have endeavoured to provide a critical review of the book and its application to the business environment. Throughout this assignment I refer to myself as "the student", whenever I offer my own opinion, presumptions and thoughts regarding the book. I am still very much a student in the art of the Theory of Constraints (TOC).
In a nutshell, the underlying concept the author presents to the readers is TOC which is a management philosophy that prescribes that most modern organisations operate on a systems philosophy. And the goal is to make more money, both now as well as in the future. TOC consists of two fundamental applications: 1) The Five Focusing steps and their application to operations; 2) The Thinking Processes (TP) and their application to project management and human behaviour. TOC considers a system as a chain, with the underlying premise that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This weakest link is most often the constraint of the system.
In this assignment I have opted to outline my understanding of a business strategy first, following with the operations strategy. Following this is a discussion on some principles of operations strategy. I have applied these very same concepts in my critical review of "It's Not Luck".
2. Introduction to Business Strategy and its Operations Strategy
The
References: Cox, J.F. III, Spencer. M.S. (1998). The Constraints Management Handbook. Boca Ratopn, Florida: CRC Press LLC. Dettmer, H.W Goldratt, E.M., Cox, J. (2004). The Goal: A process of ongoing improvement. 3rd Revised Edition. Goldratt Group. Goldratt, E.M., (1994), It 's Not Luck. New York: North River Press. Hill, T. (2000a). Manufacturing Strategy: Text and Cases, 2nd Edition. Hampshire: Palgrave. Hill, T. (2000b). Operations Management: Strategic Content and Managerial Analysis, 2nd Edition. Hampshire: Palgrave. McMullen, T.B. Jr. (1995). The Goal -- It"s Not luck -- Stand Alone Story: Yes. [Online] Available from: http://www.saigon.com/~nguyent/thomas.html [Accessed: 2007-09-01]. Moore, R., Scheinkopf, L. (1998). Theory of Constraints and Lean Manufacturing: Friends or Foes? Chesapeake Consulting, Inc. [Online] Available from: http://www.teamtec.be/pdf_texts/leantoc.pdf [Accessed: 2007-09-01]. Pearce, J.A. II, Robinson, R.B. Jr. (2003). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. 8th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Pretorius, P.J. (2006). Study Unit 1.2 Class Notes Rev 4. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. PTA 106. (2006). Assignment 3b: Practical operations strategy development. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. Russel, R.S., Taylor, W.T. III. (1998). Production and Operations Management, Focusing on Quality and Competitiveness, 2nd Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Skinner, W., (1974). The focused factory, Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 113-21. Schroeder, R.G. (1987). Operations Management: Decision Making in the Operations Function. 2nd Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.