The Goal

James Hebenstreit

Professor Holmes

5 March 2012

The Goal- 1st Reflection Paper

“TheGoal” is written by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, and is a story about Alex Rogo and his problems running his production plant. In the early chapters we get to know who Mr. Rogo is and what he does for a living. Very early on we learn he is the plant manager and the plant is not going as well as everyone would like it to. Alex’s boss is Mr. Peach and he is the Division Vice President of the company. Mr. Peach starts to become very upset and impatient with the way the plant is being run and the lack of inventories being shipped out to their destinations. There is a dispute between Alex and his boss, Mr. Peach about an important order being shipped out on time and Mr. Peach will not take anything but it being shipped out today for an answer. We also learn early on the Alex has moved back to the town that he grew up in and his family is not adjusting very well. His family liked the city life but Alex decided to move back home for his own reasons. Alex has no problem with the moving adjustments but his family does and this leads to another problem in Alex’s life.

At a plant meeting, Alex and his employees learn that Mr. Peach will be fired and the plant will be sold if it does not improve upon its efficiency and productivity in a year. This worries Alex and he begins to think about ways to make the business successful. One night he remembered what one of his professors’ told him about running a business and the answer to making the business more successful was money. Increasing money is the goal. Alex meets with one of his professors, Jonah, and he tells Alex that he needs to put everything that costs the plant money or anything that the plant makes money on into three categories. These categories are Throughput, which is the rate the system makes money through the product they sell. Inventory, which is all the money the company has invested in purchasing products and is intending to...