The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

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Summary: Shoking eyeopener
Review: The Goal provides a very clear description of the situation in many organisations today where (1) most of the managers try to manage processes that they actually do not understand and (2) the finance managers/accountants use faulty measurements to measure company's performance. A must read book for General Managers and Finance Managers - reading this book will hurt you, but at the same time will show you the way how to do your job much-much better.

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Summary: Well worth the price and the time!!
Review: It's got love, suspense, mystery, process management, intrique, quality, and entertainment all rolled into it. Stick with it through the slow part and you will not regret it. Great to listen to in traffic.

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Summary: A must read for any student of management
Review: Having never worked in a manufacturing company it was difficult for me to fully benefit from the Production and Operations Management module during the Management Education Programme at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad. However, this book enables people from all industries to visualise some of the problems faced by manufacturing companies. It is written in a fluid style and a simplicity that belies its subject matter.It also speaks of other aspects of business such as the links between functions (eg marketing and production), the importance of team work, brainstorming, office politics and the impact of one's actions on the company, the people in that company and ultimately the bottom line. Most importantly it encourages one to think and keep asking questions. That is the book's biggest contribution. A must read for students and managers alike.

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Summary: A book to read before you take up an MBA
Review: This book demystifies management concepts buy adopting a simple fiction novel approach. Dont be misled however cos' the books delves into such areas such as operations -> Resource management, Prod. planning etc. The protagonist also encounters personal problems in his quest for a solution. If you are a practising production manager, this is a must read. It was also al great help in the course of my MBA as it helped me appreciate management concepts far better than I would have.

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Summary: It may be good business, but it's TERRIBLE fiction.
Review: I read the first version of this book because a manager of mine made me. I'm giving it two stars because it really did teach this novice to the business world a few things about manufacturing. But as a reader and lover of novels, I nearly puked. It is one of the worst excuses for a novel I've ever read, and I would have preferred that the author remained in the realm of nonfiction. Nevertheless, it did provoke one charming comment, from one of the computer geeks in the company, to all of us English majors in the technical writing division. Told by the same manager that he, too, had to read "The Goal," and informed that it was by a novelist, he asked, innocently, the immortal question: "What IS a Novell-ist?"

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Summary: Perhaps the best book I have read on business management
Review: I read this book first as an undergraduate student, and then again for an operations class when completing my MBA. I believe that this is one of the most important books a manager can read on business, not just production management.

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Summary: Best Practical Production-Operations book I've seen
Review: I first read this as part of my MBA Program. I loaned the book, it never came back, now I'm looking for it again because we need it's advice in my new company.

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Summary: It taught me more than any teacher.
Review: I'm finishing my studies of Industrial Engineering and I was delighted with this book. I recomend it to every student who wants to see the factory from another point of view and who wants to have a good time.

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Summary: A potent "manufacturing pill" effectively sugar-coated!
Review: This book can be compared to a bitter but potent and effective pill that has been sugar-coated for easy swallowing. It effectively touches on common problems and misconceptions in manufacturing that cloud a plant manager's decisions on real issues. It's unique written style as a romantic novel makes for easy reading and comprehension. As in any good novel, it is hard to put down once you get started.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant explanation of a difficult topic
Review: This book successfully clarified the mystic world of manufacturing issues which were a maize after attending APICS courses and the like.

This is the best teaching material I have read on this area of business. More than that the story line was such that it was difficult to put down.