Eliyahu Goldratt's The Goal

“The Goal” by Eliyahu Goldratt is a surprisingly entertaining novel that tells the story of plant manager Alex Rogo and his journey to manufacturing productivity. After being transferred to the small town of Bearington, Alex discovers that his plant is a manufacturing disaster. Despite the fact that the company is equipped with all the latest technology and competent staff, almost all of their orders are delayed by weeks at a time, the plant is constantly running a loss, and everyone seems to be overworked. Alex is given three months to turn his plant around and with the help of Dr. Jonah, an old college professor, he is able to expand his way of thinking.
“The Goal” is very different from your typical eco-management-business handbook. Its plot and storyline allows it to be read as a fiction, but behind every line are various scenarios that help break down the logic behind Dr. Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints in a simplified way. The theory of constraints is a methodology used in the manufacturing industry to manage constraints, or “bottlenecks” and …show more content…
Failure at the plant was reflected on Alex’s home life with his failure at marriage. This is a form of truth that can occur in an operations manager’s everyday life that is often overlooked when talking about company growth. I found it interesting that the book was able to highlight the fact that when a company flourishes their people flourish too, not just financially but personally. Manages that are overworked and/or obsessed with their work tend to neglect the people in their lives that matter, the same way Alex neglected his wife and children. When Alex begins to mend relations in his work life he also begins to mend his marriage as well. He learns to incorporate the lessons he learns from Dr. Jonah by first identifying the goal of his marriage and taking the necessary steps to rectify the