The Goal - Summary

Summary and Review of The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox

Published by David C. Wyld Southeastern Louisiana University, January 20, 2010

This summary was prepared by Jennifer Barnes while a Business Administration major in the College of Business at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Executive Summary

The novel explores the life of Alex Rogo a recently transferred manager of one of the plants of UniCo Manufacturing Corporation, located in a slowly declining industrial town.  The author’s use of real life situations to write a business fiction was ingenious.  I felt I was studying algebra in parts of the book, physics in the next chapters and a good fiction in other parts. 

Alex’s plant performance has been gradually sinking into a hole that is not profiting UniCo.  The plant must both get the shipments out and start showing an income or the plant will be closed in 3 months.  Alex gathers his department heads into a team.  Alex and his team threw out a lot of questions concerning daily operations, procedures and in some cases abandoned company policies to try new methods. 

The author was able to teach many aspects for identifying problems and possible solutions any corporate office might could utilize to improve overall performance management processes.  He points out that lengthy studies and reports used for management may be just paper generating and not a good measurement of events really occurring.  I feel he is identifying a large problem in stating with company guidelines and policies constraints that are in place only limit’s the mind of its employees.  In addition, he did it all in a supposedly fictitious setting.   I feel the title of the book infers that change and processes should be ongoing. Just as Alex and his team changed their 5 steps to critical problem solving, this process is often not followed up, determining weaknesses.  Most employers and in addition, I feel the title of the book infers...