Theory of Constraints : Creative Problem Solving

This book was written to assist professionals and students to become proactive in their own education, improve thinking, resolve personal and interpersonal conflicts, improve pedagogy, management departmental affairs, and guide administrative decisions. The text captures the practical experience of the authors with and formal training in TOC to address many of the issues facing today’s professional and student.

The text is designed to teach methods for 1) "win-win’ conflict resolution, 2) decision-making, 3) problem solving, and 4) analysis of using TOC’s powerful logic-based graphical Thinking Process tools. Knowing just the Thinking Process (TP) tools, a creative thinker can identify, plan and achieve their goals.

• Teaches one how to think "out-of-the box," how to go beyond one’s familiar assumptions by challenging them. Once mastered, TOC becomes a part of the learner’s general approach to systematic thinking. The reader learns how to resolve any conflict with a win-win solution, solve problems systematically, and make decisions that do not lead to negative consequences in the long run. TOC yields insight into a problem situation. Using TOC and their professional expertise, creative thinkers, managers, executives, counselors, faculty, or administrators can resolve the problem in a more systematic and coherent manner instead of wasting resources on individual, isolated or redundant efforts.
• Teaches Theory of Constraints and Thinking Processes rigorously using familiar examples without requiring specialized training.
• Teaches how to solve various types of conflicts, find consequences of any action, without actually going through them.
• Teaches "Systems Thinking" in academia. TOC/TP is currently extensively used in business and industry for systems approach but not known in academia.

Preface

Chapter 1 : Introduction
Chapter 2 : What to Change?

Part 1 : Branch, Current Reality Tree and Future Reality Tree
Chapter 3 : What to Change?

Part 2 : Evaporating Clouds
Chapter 4 : What to Change to?
Chapter 5 : How to Cause the Change? Prerequisite Tree, Project Plan, and Transition Tree
Chapter 6 : Five Focusing Steps in the Process of Ongoing Improvement –Institutional Problem Solving

Index