Theory of Constraints and its Thinking Processes

Applying TOC to Organizations

The TOC processes used to improve the health of an organization (or solve any problem) are almost identical; however, the terminology is changed to better suit the language of problem-solving in organizations. In TOC, the process is described via the use of three questions: What to Change?, What to Change to?, and How to Cause the Change?

1. What to Change?
   From a list of observable symptoms, cause-and-effect is used to identify the underlying common cause, the core problem, for all of the symptoms. In organizations, however, the core problem is inevitably an unresolved conflict that keeps the organization trapped and/or distracted in a constant tug-of-war (management versus market, short term versus long term, centralize versus decentralize, process versus results). This conflict is called a Core Conflict. Due to the devastating effects caused by Core Conflicts, it’s common for organizations to create policies, measurements and behaviors in attempts to treat those negative effects (often referred to as band-aid fixes) that, when treating the Core Conflict, must be removed, modified or replaced.