Cox, James F. - "What is the Theory of Constraints Basics Workshop"

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About this Conference Video: The TOCICO Dictionary (2012, 2nd Ed. Cox, Boyd, et al., 45) defines the theory of constraints (TOC) as 'A holistic management philosophy developed by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt that is based on the principle that complex systems exhibit inherent simplicity, i.e., even a very complex system made up of thousands of people and pieces of equipment can have in any given time only a very, very small number of variables – perhaps only one (known as a constraint) – that actually limits the ability to generate more of the system’s goal.' The term, Theory of Constraints, was coined by Dr. Goldratt in 1986 with his realization that his OPT philosophy applied to more than the management of bottlenecks in production. He realized that his concepts also applied to projects with the 'bottleneck' being the critical path (better described as a critical chain); hence the new name 'theory of constraints'. The evolution of TOC started much earlier in the late 1970’s with the development of Goldratt’s OPT software and later the OPT principles. In 2010, Dr. Goldratt in 'Chapter 1 What is TOC? My perspective' (of the Theory of Constraints Handbook) wrote that TOC could be described by one word: 'focus'. In the chapter Goldratt describes redefining the term 'focus' to solve each new problem blocking achieving the system goal and in each instance of solving the new problem he expands the scope to several organization functions (production, accounting, marketing, sales, distribution, retail, human relations, engineering and projects, business strategy, etc.) and increases the performance of the system significantly. The answers to the first two change questions of 'what to change?' and 'to what to change to' are provided for organizations and for various organization functions. (1 hour, 43 minutes).

About the Presenter:

James F. Cox III: Ph.D., TOCICO certified, CFPIM, CIRM, JONAH’s JONAH, Professor Emeritus, was the Robert O. Arnold Professor of Business at the University of Georgia. Prior to an academic career of over 30 years, he held positions in industry and the military. He taught Jonah workshops and numerous TOC workshops and programs. Dr. Cox’s research has centered on TOC for over thirty years. He recently co-edited (with John Schleier) the TOC Handbook. He has written three books on TOC and has authored/coauthored almost 100 refereed articles in top academic and practitioner journals. He was the coeditor of the APICS Dictionary (five editions) and more recently co-editor (with Lynn Boyd, et al.) of the TOCICO Dictionary, 2nd Edition.
Dr. Cox an APICS member for over 40 years, held numerous chapter, regional, and national offices including serving on their BODs. He also served on the TOCICO founding Board of Directors and as their first Director of Certification, setting up the initial certification structure and exams. He was again on the TOCICO BODs (2012- 2016). In additional to speaking at numerous academic conferences, he has spoken at over 50 APICS and other professional organization chapter meetings, several regional seminars and several international conferences on TOC. He received the APICS Voluntary Service Award and the TOCICO Lifetime Achievement Award and Distinguished Service Award for contributions to the field.

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