Allied Academies International Conference page 9 Proceedings of the Academy of Strategic Management, Volume 2, Number 2 Las Vegas, 2003 THE APPLICATION OF GOLDRATT’S THINKING PROCESS TO PROBLEM SOLVING Lloyd J. Taylor, III, P.E., Ph.D., University of Texas taylor_l@utpb.edu R. David Ortega, University of Texas ABSTRACT The “Thinking Process” as introduced Dr. Eliyah Goldratt, in The Goal and further expounded upon in, It’s Not Luck, is based on the Socratic teaching method of if …then reasoning. This type of deductive reasoning is extensively used in the field of medicine, in the diagnosis and treatment of disease and for determining clinical pathways and other fields of science. Even though medical professionals find it easy to map out the cause and effect relationships when dealing with a disease process, few have explored the benefits of using their highly developed intuitive thinking skills in the area of solving problems in management. This paper will detail the use elements of the Thinking Process, as outlined by Dr. Goldratt, in an attempt to elicit a logical, comprehensive solution to a multifaceted, intricate problem. INTRODUCTION The emphasis of this paper concerned it’s self with the Thinking Process brought to light, by Elli Goldratt. Goldratt feels that companies should not be broken up to create efficiencies at any part of production. He suggests that by disturbing a link in the chain of production one could cause problems with production (Goldratt 1992-c). GOLDRATT AND THE THINKING PROCESS In the 1980’s, Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt [1992-c], a physicist, wrote a book entitled “The Goal.” In his book, Goldratt relates the story of an embattled plant manager searching for ways to improve plant performance. With the help of an old college professor, the plant manager not only learns how to improve the performance of his plant but also a new method of identifying and resolving problems. Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints (TOC) focuses on the efficiency of all processes as a whole rather than the efficiency of any single process. The principles of the Theory of Constraints and the Thinking Process are not new to the world. They have been used for many years in the sciences and medicine. What is new is the fact that Goldratt has applied the process to manufacturing and other areas of the business world. Dettmer [1998], Lepore and Cohen, [1999] and Roybal, B... ... middle of paper ... ... Haven Connecticut. Goldratt, E. M., (1992-a), "An Introduction to Theory Of Constraints: The Production Approach," Avraham Y. Goldratt Institute. Goldratt, E. M., (1992-b), "An Introduction to Theory Of Constraints: THE GOAL APPROACH," Avraham Y. Goldratt Institute. Goldratt, E. M., (1992-c), The Goal, (2nd revised edition), Massachusetts, North River Press. Goldratt, E. M., (1993) "What Is The Theory Of Constraints?" APICS The Performance Advantage, June 1993. Goldratt, E. M., (1994), It’s Not Luck. Massachusetts: North River Press. Lepore, D., and Cohen O., (1999), “Deming and Goldratt, The Theory of Constraints and the System of Profound Knowledge,” Great Barrington, MA, North River Press Publishing Co. Rack, Kevin, (1992), “Using The Theory of Constraints The Systems Thinking Approach” Managing Change Inc, December, pp.1-20. page 14 Allied Academies International Conference Las Vegas, 2003 Proceedings of the Academy of Strategic Management, Volume 2, Number 2 Roybal, H., Baxendale, S.J., and Gupta, M., (1999), “Using Activity-Based Costing and Theory of Constraints to Guide Continuous Improvement in Managed Care,” Managed Care Quarterly, 7, 1-10.
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Many people believe that in order to succeed in a business that is having difficulties, it is important to focus on a particular area in order to be better productive in each of them, and be able to reach the goal. Instead, Goldratt and Jonah demonstrates that is important to focus on the company as a whole, but at the same time, it shows that it is incorrectly to only focus in an specific manufacturing department, or one plant, or a department within the plant, because people should not be concerned in local optimums.
Kahneman has applied this concept to answering or provide a way out of a problem according to the manner in which one bases their judgment and decision making.
Symbolic interactionist’s like to understand the world through understanding the specific meanings and causes that society attributes to particular events. When analyzing health and illness symbolic interactionist’s like to look at individuals or groups and how they give meaning to their particular illness. Then they take that information and see how it affects their relationships with others and how it makes them view themselves. The symbolic interactionist theory also claims that we socially construct health and illness much like we do with race. For instance if someone spends his days staring at the sun and goes blind people blame him for staring at the sun. They believe that if they do not engage in sun staring then they will not go blind. The same reasoning usually follows people who get lung cancer or AIDS. The person is blamed for having the illness regardless of how they got it; people assume the sick brought it upon themselves.
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Part one of the book goes into discussing the importance of analytical thinking; addresses the eight elements that are present in all thinking; and the importance of intellectual standards and how to apply them.
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Deductive reasoning is general information people have and use to reach to some type of conclusion. Deductive is done by understanding the first part which is using logic to reach a conclusion which reasoning is to understand what is going on. There are many different ways to explain what is required of deductive reasoning. For example, in an article, it states, “logical way of reaching a conclusion based on ded...
Taylor, J. and Ortega, D. The Application of Goldratt's Thinking Processes to problem Solving. Allied Academic international Conference. Las Vegas. 2003
Reasoning is a key component in understanding medicine. It impacts the decision-making strategies used by doctors in their chosen medical field daily, whether it be routine check-ups, surgeries or serious accidents. Decision making is influenced by how people get to grips with the decision that they are being faced with and how they seek advice to help in that decision. In clinical reasoning the deciding factor is making the best choice; the best treatment for a patient, finding out the correct diagnosis and so on. (Higgs, p.93, 2008) Whereas in diagnostic reasoning doctors much determine what the best diagnoses may be, what is the most like diagnoses based on the knowledge that has been provided by test results and a patient’s medical history.