A Study of Improvement Based on Theory of Constraints

This paper will examine applicability of the theory of constraints,TOC and assess the foundation of the theory of constraints and five step improvements. Theory Of Constraints ( TOC ) is management philosophy proposed by E. M Goldratt in 1984. Initially,TOC focused on the area of production control and management accounting. Later,it extended to the areas of project control,thinking process. Currently it covers not only operations management but also management in general. One of the main characteristics of TOC is so called “the five steps of improvement”. The first step is to identify the constraint; the second step is to decide how to exploit the constraint ; the third step is to subordinate all other processes to above decision ; the fourth step is to elevate the constraint ; and final step is to return the first step if,as a result of these steps,the constraintshave gone. The fifth step also indicates not to let inertia become the constraint. Referring to the five steps of improvement and theoretical ground of the TOC,this paper will examine theoretical background in the cases of mathematical models with liner programming and constraints. It will also examine to what extent the TOC would apply for analyzing non-profit organizations and organizations with multi