Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [463]
Copyright © 2010 by Oded Cohen.
Three major TP are available for daily use: the Evaporating Cloud (Cloud), the Negative Branch Reservation (NBR), and the Intermediate Objectives (IO) Map.
The Cloud is the heart of the TOC methodology. It helps us to understand the problem and develop a breakthrough solution. Thereafter, we need the NBR in order to strengthen the solution and the IO Map in order to prepare the implementation plan. The chapter will follow this sequence. It is intended to show how to apply these tools in managing day-today operations, as the title of this chapter suggests. For more details of TP methods, see the other chapters in this Section VI.
Solving Daily Problems
During the course of the day, unexpected problems crop up to disrupt your concentration. Many times, you are unable to set them aside but must address them before moving on. Understanding problem structure and being able to frame a problem while surfacing the relevant facts helps address these problems effectively. A simple way to learn Clouds is to try them on these daily problems. Let us take a close look at the Cloud.
Problem Investigation and Solution Development—the Cloud
The objective of this section of the chapter is to enhance your ability as a manager to make better decisions and find better solutions in cases where conflicting options and views block such solutions. The better solutions are achieved through surfacing choices that resolve these conflicts (dilemmas) underlying the problem—using the Cloud method. The Cloud is a logical diagram that represents the problem through five boxes that are connected through the logic of cause and effect. The Cloud comprises three types of statements:
Statements captured in the boxes A, B, C, D, and D′—presenting the most important entities helping to verbalize the conflict.
The underlying assumptions—presenting the logical arguments supporting the cause-and-effect relationships between the entities written in the boxes (the logical connections are denoted through the use of the arrows on the diagram).
Potential injections—new entities that when introduced into the reality of the problem can cause the conflict to disappear (this is why the solution is also called “Evaporating Clouds”). Please note that while theoretically there are potential injections to break every logical connection on the Cloud, it is unlikely that logical connections between A and B, or between A and C, need to be broken because by definition B and C are the necessary conditions to achieve A. If we feel we need to break these arrows, then it means that the Cloud is not the true representation of the conflict or dilemma.
See Fig. 24-1 for the format of the Cloud, the assumptions, and the injections.
In this chapter, I will cover the use of the Cloud1 as a stand-alone application of TP for daily problems, especially those that managers have with issues that in their eyes prevent them from performing their jobs better. People are promoted to managerial positions due to their capabilities and past performance. Managers are put in charge of areas (departments, projects, processes, etc.) and people, and hence are constantly bombarded by system and people problems. Not all of the problems are easy to solve. Many times managers feel that solutions they have come to are not the best they could have produced. If you have this feeling, then this chapter is for you.
FIGURE 24-1 The general structure of a Cloud with the underlying assumptions and potential injections.
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