Music therapy for autism spectrum disorder

¶ … Goal, Eliyahu Goldratt uses the mystery novel form of literature to introduce his business theory of constraints. This theory is based on a chain with a weak link. That is, when analyzing any complex system at any specific time, one will find one area of this system that has a limited ability to maximize its goal. In order for this system to attain significant improvement it is necessary to identify the constraint and redefine the system. Using the plot as a means of educating the readers, Goldratt's book becomes an interesting read plus offers a great deal of information that is so basic to today's management system.

The system knowledge and analytical tools used for redefinition in the constraint theory are called TOC, the Thinking Process, and are based on rigorous, easy-to-understand, cause-and-effect logic. The TOC tools also allow the ability to support development of breakthrough solutions based on the underlying theory that in the real world all systemic conflicts delaying action result from unexamined assumptions that can be found and corrected for positive solutions. TOC addresses the construction of solutions and the need for communication and collaboration, which is imperative for successful implementation.

The plot of the Goal starts out with the plant manager Alex Rogo, who knows that his job is on the line if he does not make improvements and meet business output goals. The marketing, accounting and production departments are frequently battling it out for solutions. Jonah helps Alex identify and manage the operational problems, specifically by finding the critical bottlenecks that are determining the rate of production and developing strategies for these them. Although many in the company were fixed on updating equipment Alex's team took an old piece of machinery they received for free and increased the capacity of the N/C machine, which was one of the two found bottlenecks. At the second bottleneck, the heat-treat operation, they just moved quality control from after the process to before. This eliminated to-be-rejected inventory from losing valuable. With careful observation and constraint changes, Alex's team improved production and a successful outcome.

Despite the fact that the protagonist is called Jonah, which is trite in its reference to the Biblical Jonah and the whale, the Goal may not be as intriguing as a James Peterson mystery but is an interesting easy-to-read book. The most interesting aspect of the Goal is that it was first published in 1984, which was a revolutionary time in the manufacturing world.

It is difficult to believe that not even thirty years ago many of the management tools and strategies used today, such as continuous improvement and six sigma, were barely in the infant stage. The Japanese were using a variety of manufacturing improvement processes, like kaizen and poka-yoke, but it took time for them to be recognized and brought back the U.S. By individuals such as Edward Deming. Meanwhile, other business managers were also looking for ways to enhance quality and speed up production. In 1951, the concept of total quality management was introduced along with its quality circles. In 1982, Tom Peters' book in Search of Excellence shook the industrial world by making companies look seriously at their production mode. Statistical process control (SPC) was also making a comeback in industrial areas. Ford Company started to look seriously at was happening with automobile production in Japan.

It is in the midst of all these changes that Israeli-born physicist and business manager Goldratt used the unique novel form instead of a textbook to introduce his theory of constraints. When reading the book, it now seems "ho hum," because in most companies looking for the bottlenecks is second nature. Yet going back to the early 1980s, these were radical ideas concerning continuous process improvement that the Goal was covering. It is only by looking at this book from an historical perspective can one see its true significance. The level of the equipment at that time vs. today's state-of -- the art operations, other "clues" to its time period as calling on Ralph Nakamura the processing manager, the terminology with bottlenecks and demand, and capacity. On one hand, it seems so common sense today and even trite. On the other hand, organizations are having the same types of problems today as in the 1980s and the constraint theory is just a relative now as it was then. If a theory is appropriate, it will function regardless of changes in the equipment.