Goldratts The Goal Essay -- Goldratt Goal Bottleneck Essays

Goldratt's "The Goal" â€Å"The Goal† by Goldratt is a book about the Theory of Constraints, TOC. It is about the behavior of manufacturing facilities. It deals with bottlenecks that are the manufacturing constraints and the variability that creates them. The book states that a manufacturing organization cannot run at 100% and that you cannot balance the assembly line. It seems that your efforts for efficiency must be focused on the worst bottleneck. The loss caused by a bottleneck is a loss for the entire system. Focusing on improving the throughput of the bottleneck increases the flow for the entire manufacturing line. If there is a bottleneck, then all other areas are capable of excess capacity. Don’t try to improve non-bottlenecks, as it is a waste of time and effort. The TOC integrates into Total Quality Management, TQM, except for one main theory. TQM supports continuous improvement of the system while the TOC does not support continuous improvement of every process. The TOC says that we must focus on the constraint. Q: What is the Theory of Constraints about? A: Developed by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, TOC states that any system has at least one constraint. Otherwise, it would be generating an infinite amount of output. Bearing this in mind, TOC is easily explained through use of the "chain" analogy - "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link." If we look upon our organization as a chain, where each department is a "link" in the chain, what constrains our organization from achieving its goal? Only through addressing the weakest link, the constraint, can substantial improvements be made. In other words, if the constraint dictates the pace of an organization's ability to achieve it's goal, it makes sense that addressing the constraint will allow the organization to achieve a substantial rate of throughput faster. There are five steps in applying TOC: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Identify the system's constraints. Of necessity this included prioritization so that just the ones that really limit system progress toward the goal. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Decide how to exploit the system's constraints. Once we have decided how to manage the constraints within the system, how about the majority of the resources that are not constraints? The answer is that we manage them so that they just provide what is needed to match the output of the constrained resources. We NEVER let them supply mo... ...achine was running and an operator on your line was to set it up if it went down, you could take your break at your convenience. A few months went by and new coaches were hired. They decided they wanted to closely monitor the operator to see when they took their breaks and for how long. The decision was made to stop the machines when you go on your break and/or lunch. The new coach obviously wanted to make a good impression and bring something new to the table. They changed our staggered breaks to scheduled breaks. The results after a few weeks showed production was down and efficiency was at a record low. It showed machines were not running at full capacity for a tour. Immediately their superiors decided we would go back to the staggered lunches and breaks. The downtime was then reduced and our departmental efficiency went up. They realized it was not as important to monitor the person, as it was to have the machine running. Now I know this does not stand up to the problems Alex and his staff faced with UniCo but this is what I face everyday. I found a case study that was used at the TOC World 2000 Seminar in St. Paul MN last year. I thought I would include it for your enjoyment

City Life vs Country Life

Today the city life is more and more stressful, by the minute, however the people who were born and raised in the country are coming to the city, but which is better? It depend on the likes and necessities of that particular person, he or she may only be in the city because they can find much more entertainment and facilities. Meanwhile the country?s advantage consists on the calm and relaxation that it offers to us. For this and more reasons these two places are completely different. To start off the difference between these two places is the nature. In the country everything is natural; there are hardly any buildings, up to now making it difficult to destroy the ecosystem and pollute the nice luxurious air. In the city on the other hand, it is very difficult to see a lot if any trees or a forest area, a fact is that we can see a lot of buildings, smudge, and pollutions. As a result, natural areas are reduced, something that really affects our ecosystem, in the most atrocious way. I’d take the country in this point any day and twice on Sunday. Another difference is the distance between places. In the country people are used to walking to go from place to place over long distance, which is good because it is a great healthy benefit, also in the country traffic jams do not exist. So if you wanted to drive anywhere it’ll take you 30 minutes instead of the 3 hours in the city. Because of the 5:00 rush hour in the city, in which in my most humble opinion is not fun to be in trust me I’ve had my fair share of them. Again the country takes the cake. The next difference is the lifestyle. In the country, people can have a healthier lifestyle. Because of the farming, and there is a very calm place and people have more relaxing situations. However in the city people are always in a hurry rushing from place to place. Nobody has any time to do anything anymore. Nevertheless any of these options to live can be the best according to people's plans; also it depends on the ideas and jobs of everyone. If they want to relax and let pain just melt away the country is the way to go. But if they prefer a busier schedule and more variety on entertainment, the city no matter how messed up it is the thing for you. City Life vs Country Life Today the city life is more and more stressful, by the minute, however the people who were born and raised in the country are coming to the city, but which is better? It depend on the likes and necessities of that particular person, he or she may only be in the city because they can find much more entertainment and facilities. Meanwhile the country?s advantage consists on the calm and relaxation that it offers to us. For this and more reasons these two places are completely different. To start off the difference between these two places is the nature. In the country everything is natural; there are hardly any buildings, up to now making it difficult to destroy the ecosystem and pollute the nice luxurious air. In the city on the other hand, it is very difficult to see a lot if any trees or a forest area, a fact is that we can see a lot of buildings, smudge, and pollutions. As a result, natural areas are reduced, something that really affects our ecosystem, in the most atrocious way. I’d take the country in this point any day and twice on Sunday. Another difference is the distance between places. In the country people are used to walking to go from place to place over long distance, which is good because it is a great healthy benefit, also in the country traffic jams do not exist. So if you wanted to drive anywhere it’ll take you 30 minutes instead of the 3 hours in the city. Because of the 5:00 rush hour in the city, in which in my most humble opinion is not fun to be in trust me I’ve had my fair share of them. Again the country takes the cake. The next difference is the lifestyle. In the country, people can have a healthier lifestyle. Because of the farming, and there is a very calm place and people have more relaxing situations. However in the city people are always in a hurry rushing from place to place. Nobody has any time to do anything anymore. Nevertheless any of these options to live can be the best according to people's plans; also it depends on the ideas and jobs of everyone. If they want to relax and let pain just melt away the country is the way to go. But if they prefer a busier schedule and more variety on entertainment, the city no matter how messed up it is the thing for you.

Law, Ethics & Corp. Governance Essay

1. Describe what steps you would take to address the following scenario involving skills, competence, and abilities: The employee seems to be unable to learn the computer applications that are basic to her job responsibilities, but, consistently â€Å"tells† her boss that she is â€Å"a good worker and a genius† and that he does not â€Å"appreciate her†. Even after a few months of training and support, she is unable to use the computer tools to be productive and efficient in completing the required tasks. This can be a difficult situation for an employer to make because many employers try to see the positive and have faith in all their employees. If this situation took place within my company, I would continue to observe the employees attitude as well as dedication. Many times, employees are not capable of performing certain tasks, however, with a humble mindset, it is possible to work with them and guide them while working. This specific employee seems to have a self-assured mindset that she is not doing anything wrong. Instead of opening up and allowing her boss to assist her, she becomes arrogant. I would go a different route and have a professional come and train her from another company to see if that would help. If this specific assistance does not help, I will have to write the employee up to warn her that she must submit to the work load within a certain time frame. I do not believe this is being harsh to the employee. If she is hired to do a specific task and cannot get the task accomplished, then she is incapable of doing the work. I will be able to provide a written statement and have her terminated. Employers cannot waste time on employees who talk about their capabilities, yet not perform them. According to â€Å"Law and Ethics in the Business Environment† Chapter 2, she is able to voice her opinion publically in court, however, she must have written proof to back her up whys he should not be terminated. 2. Describe what steps you would take to address the following scenario involving management, behavior, and performance: The employee tends to burst into a rage when criticized and is frequently late to work as noticed by her boss and other staff members. When her boss attempts to address her behavioral issues and the company late policy, the employee’s response is that she â€Å"knows her rights and what to do† if she is wrongfully discharged. She also says she took a business law class in undergrad that taught her â€Å"everything she needs to know about exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine and wrongful discharge in violation of public policy†. I would provide counsel and verbal warning to the employee. It is important to get all of the facts and bring that person into your office without making a big scene. Being honest and upfront about the tardiness and improper behavior will get much respect from the employee and show firm leadership. I will discuss what has been taken place and how important it is to have the whole department working on one accord. I will also discuss that their tardiness is not fair to the other employees. I would take the time to ask if there is anything wrong, or if there is something happening in the workplace or personal life that is causing what is perceived as â€Å"a person with a bad attitude who is unhappy at work. I believe listening and showing empathy will let the employee know you care about their well-being but yet, still mean business. There may be some personal issues that they just need to get off of their chest. If I get a sarcastic response from them, then I must be strong, but not attacking, and let them know that the behavior shown is not acceptable and needs to improve. I would be sure that I am focusing on the problem, not the person. In situations like these, staying calm and let them do the talking will show the humility in you as a leader. In situations like these, I would point out their strengths, and try to first focus on the good aspects of their performance rather than a perceived bad attitude. Documenting and date this conversation as a verbal warning to the employee, yet not making it a threat. This is not a written warning, but shows that you did talk to the person about difficult employee issues. The more the employer documents, the easier it will be to terminate if it gets to that point. The biggest mistake is to not document. Documentation and building a case is the proof that shows you talked to this employee many times but to no avail (Sheahan, 2012). 3. Describe what steps you would take to address the following scenario involving labor and laws: The employee takes a day off from work, without management consent, for her religious holiday observance that falls on a day that is during â€Å"tax season†. The day off occurred during an incredibly busy period for the company during which the employer had notified all employees they were not allowed to take off without prior management approval. Also, there is no labor union for accountants. However, she begins talking to her co-workers during lunch breaks and sometimes during regular work hours, encouraging them to organize and form a union to â€Å"protect ourselves†. This can be a difficult situation because it involves the employee’s religious rights. According to an Act in 1997, â€Å"GUIDELINES ON RELIGIOUS EXERCISE AND RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN THE FEDERAL WORKPLACE†, Agencies shall not discriminate against employees on the basis of religion, require religious participation or non-participation as a condition of employment, or permit religious harassment. And agencies shall accommodate employees’ exercise of their religion in the circumstances specified in these Guidelines. These requirements are but applications of the general principle that agencies shall treat all employees with the same respect and consideration, regardless of their religion. At the same time, employees are not to engage in religious acts with employees by forcing their beliefs and opinions on them. This can cause immediate termination. Regardless of religious observation day or not, an employee is not to take a work day off without employers permission. The employer has every right to terminate the employee. It is understandable to observe religious acts as an individual but there has to be communication between employee and employer. The employer has to make accommodations for that specific day. 4. Describe what steps you would take to address the following scenario involving policies and procedures: The employee’s supervisor consistently asks her out on dates; the employee initially refuses to go out on a date with her supervisor. The employee later discusses the issue with her girlfriend who encourages her to accept his offers. During her new employee orientation, the employee was informed of the company policy which prevented employees from dating their supervisor and was given an employee handbook with the written policy. The employee and her supervisor later begin having a consensual relationship. Based from the research according to Saalfeld Griggs PC Publications, a supervisor dating an employee is prohibited within many companies. Although romantic relationships in the workplace are common, employers have legitimate reasons for concern about employee dating. The biggest fear is a sexual harassment lawsuit arising from either a supervisor who has a habit of asking subordinates out on dates; an employee who files a lawsuit after a consensual relationship goes sour; or the perception of co-workers that a supervisor is playing favorites with his or her â€Å"significant other. A policy that prohibits a supervisor from dating a subordinate must also describe the penalty imposed if the policy is violated. Men often hold more senior positions in a company, therefore, a policy that always penalizes the subordinate (e.g. by requiring termination or transfer) may create sexual discrimination liability. When enforcing a â€Å"no dating† policy, the employer must be careful to penalize both sexes equally. An employer who selectively enforces the policy, or enforces it more harshly against one sex compared to the other, may be liable for sexual discrimination. In a consensual relationship between a supervisor and a subordinate, the subordinate often is the recipient of preferential treatment. Employees have asserted claims for sexual harassment based on the theory that they can’t receive the same benefits because they are not â€Å"sleeping with the boss.† The policy is in writing and both the employer and employee decided to go against this policy. If one or the other is not able to transfer to another department, they must suffer the consequences of being released from the company. Reference Page: 1. Halbert, T., & Ingulli, E. (2012). Law & ethics in the business environment (7th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. 2. Sheahan, K. (2012). Bad Employee Behavior. Article retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/facts_6739049_bad-employee-behavior.html 3. Sutton, R. (1999). Regulating Workplace Romance. Article retrieved from: http://www.sglaw.com/publications.php?id=36&pubtype=showarticle

Love is in the Air †How the World Gets Ready for Romance

Love is in the Air – How the World Gets Ready for Romance Love is In the Air: How the World Gets Into the Romantic Mood Valentine’s Day is almost here. Florists tell us that this is the biggest sales day they have all year. Candy stores stock up for their big sale day too. And jewelry stores start advertising on TV, social media, and anywhere else they can find a spot. More couples get engaged on Valentine’s Day than any other day of the year. Even though Valentine’s Day has some dark history in its beginning, no one cares. It’s the day that love is celebrated. Go, how do we get ready for romance? Here are a few ways. If you haven’t tried them, now is the time to experiment. Rent Some Movies A few days before the big day, begin to watch some romantic movies with your significant other. Some great options are: â€Å"Sleepless in Seattle† – two strangers, one little boy – it’s a match â€Å"Titanic† – tragic, but oh the love â€Å"Pretty Woman† – people from very different backgrounds can still fall in love â€Å"Ghost† – another tragic love story, but love is still eternal â€Å"The Notebook† – forbidden love can triumph One a night for 5 nights before Valentine’s Day should do the trick. Download Your Favorite Romantic Songs Play these often in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day. The mood just gets more and more romantic. Here are a few suggestions: â€Å"Let’s Get it On† – Marvin Gaye â€Å"50 Candles† – Boyz II Men â€Å"Crash Into Me† – Dave Matthews Band â€Å"Just Because† – Johnny Mathis â€Å"Fly Me to the Moon† – Julie London â€Å"The Longer We Make Love† – Barry White You probably have others that are your favorites. The criteria is that they make you feel romantic and ready for love. A Romantic Dinner It doesn’t have to be at a restaurant. Candles, low lighting, a favorite meal, and lots of wine – a definite recipe for romance Dress Nothing gets romance going better than some totally sexy outfits – buy a few and sport them just before the big day. Save the best for that romantic dinner. Poetry Think ahead on this one. If you don’t feel creative but want to show thought and effort, contact a custom writing service and have one of their creatives craft the perfect poem. You can personalize it by giving your writer details about your love. Flowers Of course, red roses are the flower of choice on Valentine’s Day. Sending them to a woman at her place of work is particularly smart, because then she can show to everyone else how much she is loved by her man and how thoughtful he is. Valentine’s Day Around the World Japan: Role reversal is the â€Å"rule.† This is the day that women shower their men with gifts – usually chocolate. This tradition also exists in S. Korea and Taiwan. But there is also a â€Å"White Day later on when the roles are reversed. Denmark and Norway: Valentine’s Day has only recently begun to be celebrated in these two countries, but it is celebrated by men writing short little poems to women anonymously. If the woman guesses the name of the send, he must then give her an Easter egg on Easter. If she fails, she has to give him an egg on Easter. Wales: In Wales, a man shows his love for a woman by presenting her with a spoon. This goes way back to when men were gone to sea for long periods of time and spent their free time carving intricate spoons from wood and presenting them to their love upon their return. In America we have roses; in Wales are the spoons! A national day of love is a good thing. And it doesn’t have to just be between man and woman. It is a great day for parents and children to show their love for one another too.

How to Easily Grow Silver Crystals

How to Easily Grow Silver Crystals Silver crystals are beautiful and easily grown metal crystals. You can watch crystal growth under a microscope or let the crystals grow overnight for larger crystals. Directions Suspend a piece of copper wire in 0.1M silver nitrate in a test tube. If you coil the wire you will get high surface area and more visible growth.Place the tube in a darkened location. Try to avoid high-traffic (high-vibration) areas.Crystals should be visible to the naked eye on the copper wire after about an hour, but larger crystals and noticeable blue coloration of liquid will occur overnight.ORPlace a drop of mercury in a test tube and add 5-10 ml 0.1M silver nitrate.Allow the tube to stand undisturbed in a dark location for 1-2 days. Crystals will grow on the surface of the mercury. Tips It is easy to watch crystals form on a copper wire under a microscope. The heat of the microscope light will cause crystals to form very quickly.AÂ  displacement reaction is responsible for crystal formation: 2Ag Cu → Cu2 2Ag Materials Needed 0.1M Silver NitrateTest TubeCopper Wire or Mercury

Failure of Real-Time Online Facility Assignment

Failure of Real-Time Online Facility - Assignment Example These major changes and other significant measures require a complete devotion and perfect dedication from the management, administrative department and particularly the Information Technology department to stabilize the performance of our online school and take our pride from good to best in the online school (Linda 1995). Everybody was appreciating and praising the performance of our online school before the advancement of technology introduced by our one of the closest competitor in the online school sector. Ever since this improvement has been presented by the competing firm, a steep decline has been observed in the size and magnitude of the market share of our online school. Profits have stuck somewhere, lowering from 8% to 5.5%. Faculty turnover ratio has increased substantially from 4% per annum to somewhat 16% annum. Increased customer complaints received more than 6% from the previous period. Things are pointing a major problem in our processes and demanding a significant solution to overcome that problem. What actually is that problem? How is it showing its effects and implications on the management and other departments of the business? What are the possible remedies to rescue? What would be the consequences of this operation clean sweep? Who is going to gain and who is going to lose? These all critical questions will be probed in the following discussion. Since the inception, the main focus of our online school has remained on providing the education to our students in a virtually â€Å"real-time† online environment. Students always liked and valued this methodology of teaching as it provided them the core benefits that they always needed. This methodology provided the students with an opportunity to interact with their tutors and mentors live on our online web portal, group forum and other live chat and discussion platforms. This helped the students in tackling with their study curriculum related issues with their tutors and share their problems in an online streaming session conducted via our live web portal.

Genetics assignment two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Genetics assignment two - Essay Example sive alleles of each of these genes (a,b,c and d) produce abnormal enzymes that cannot catalyze a reaction in the biosynthetic pathway for seed pigment. The pathway is shown below: 2. In the Australian Shepherd, Hereditary Cataracts is an autosomal dominant disorder that results in abnormal clouding of the lenses of the eye. In some Aussies, heterozygous for Hereditary Cataracts, the disease is not always expressed. Based on this information, answer the following questions: b. Several alleles are responsible for Hereditary Cataract formation. When present, some alleles result in very rapid cataract growth, whereas; other alleles result in very slow cataract growth. What terminology best describes the behavior of these various alleles? 3. In the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis), a number of genes determine eye color. A fly with wild-type eyes (red) is crossed to fly with yellow eyes. All the F1 flies from this cross have wild-type eyes. When the F1 from the cross are interbred (selfed), 450 of the progeny have wild-type eyes, 150 have amethyst eyes (a bright sparkling blue color) and 200 have yellow eyes. 4. The Scots Dumpy, a type of chicken from Scotland, can exhibit short-leg length and normal-leg length phenotypes. A breeder crosses two normal-legged Scots Dumpy, and finds that all of the F1 are normal-legged. The breeder repeats the cross and observes the same result. However, when the same breeder crosses a normal-legged fowl with a short-legged fowl,  ½ of the offspring are short-legged and  ½ of the offspring are normal-legged. Finally, following a third cross between two short-legged Scots Dumpy fowl, the breeder observes the following results among 200 offspring counted: 5. Fruit flies homozygous for the recessive allele, sc-, have bright red eyes. Fruit flies homozygous for the recessive allele, br-, have brownish purple eyes. Fruit flies homozygous recessive for both alleles have white eyes. Fruit flies that possess the sc+ and