Passage 1- Chapter 1

"Burnside's order is just a symptom of the problem around here. Do you think I'd come down here just to expedite a late order? Do you think I don't have enough to do? I came down here to light a fire under you and everybody else in this plant. This isn't just a matter of customer service. Your plant is losing money." (Goldratt & Cox, 2014, p. 5).

When Peach Bill exploded with Al, then made an outburst that it was basically beyond the Burnside order. I knew it was deeper than just one order. Sometimes I think we may get blind-sided by barriers and do not see the real problem. I can relate to being so consumed in spending a budget, and not fully aware of the process and time it would take with short of staff. I believe the plant did not fully understand the importance of how one department could impact so much more. The delay in orders or broken machines impacted other areas of profit.

Passage 2- Chapter 4

"Alex, I have come to the conclusion that productivity is the act of bringing a company closer to its goal. Every action that brings a company closer to its goal is productive. Every action that does not bring a company closer to its goal is not productive. Do you follow me?" (Goldratt & Cox, 2014, p. 32).

This passage was very compelling because it helped me to understand another meaning of productivity. I agree that all have their different terminology of productivity. Productivity is more than an operational team or their input. I was able to understand from Jonah that it is completely accomplishing an organizational goal or using efforts to bring it closer to the goal (Goldratt & Cox, 2014). If the plant understood all efforts and necessary actions for fulfilling the company's goal, it is a strong possibility that the plant may not be the in its state of condition.

Passage 3- Chapter 9

"I don't know what effect, if any, they've had on throughput. But off the top of my head, I know inventories have generally increased over the past six or seven months, although I can't say for sure if the robots are to blame. The robots have increased our depreciation, because they're new equipment, but they haven't directly taken any jobs from the plant; we simply shifted people around. Which means that robots had to increase operational expense." (Goldratt & Cox, 2014, p. 67).

Throughput accounting is the assessment of cost and performance measurement in a manufacturing environment (Kadhim, 2020). Management can utilize this approach to ensure information on cost reduction, efficient resources, and productivity. Al and others could have observed all areas to see which departments and resources was helping a gain or contributing to the loss. Performance evaluations and financial analysis could have helped the plant to monitor how the company was doing in the market with an effective approach with the throughput.

If I had only known this back when I was a Customer Service Manager, then I would have strictly emphasized the importance of not wasting company time or resources. I would have encouraged all to never waste goods by making sure all merchandise was taken back or handled sufficiently. All resources that cost the most to use and did not bring anything to the table would have been immediately shut down.

References:

Goldratt, E. & Cox, J. (2014). The goal: A process of ongoing improvement (4th ed., pp. 1-123). North River Press.

Kadhim, H. K., Najm, K. J., & Kadhim, H. N. (2020).Using throughput accounting for cost management and performance assessment: Constraint theory approach.TEM Journal,9(2), 763-769. https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM92-45

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QUESTIONS:

1. Provide an insight you gained from the passages your colleague found compelling or from another example from the book.
2. Ask a clarifying question about your colleague's analysis, either of the concept from the book or of their reflection on past experiences.