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.