Applying common sense for business success

4 November 2013

Applying common sense for business success

A common sense theory has solved numerous business problems for a Victoria University of Wellington professor, who will share her insights at an upcoming talk.

In her inaugural professorial lecture ‘It’s just common sense, right? So why is it so uncommon?’ Professor Vicky Mabin from Victoria Business School’s School of Management will discuss applications of Elihayu Goldratt’s theory of constraints, with examples from personal experience in areas as diverse as manufacturing, health, resource management and education.

Goldratt’s book The Goal, first published in 1984, is a bestseller which is listed as number 10 in Time magazine’s top 25 most influential business books—and is compulsory reading in many business degrees. After first reading the book in 1986 Professor Mabin has successfully applied Goldratt’s methods in her own work and has helped her students to apply the theory to case studies and their own problems.

“I was trained in more traditional business approaches, but when I came across Goldratt’s approach it turned light bulbs on for me,” says Professor Mabin. 

“It’s all about improving performance by focusing on a few key things, rather than trying to improve everything everywhere. By doing so, you can achieve more with less effort. The theory includes plenty of clever thinking tools that help people work through their problems, develop their own solutions and implement them.”

An organisation adopting the theory of constraints would first identify its main goal and then use a focusing process to identify the key constraint that prevents them from achieving that goal. They would then ensure the organisation works together to improve the performance of the constraint, thereby improving the whole organisation’s performance.

Professor Mabin will share how she applied Goldratt’s method while working as a consultant to Expozay International swimwear, which was struggling to produce swimsuits in a timely manner. The company was planning to buy another printing press, believing lack of capacity was the problem, but using the theory of constraints Professor Mabin demonstrated that a different approach to process was needed rather than a new press.

Other examples Professor Mabin will discuss include a real life case study where her MBA students found a way for a local food manufacturer to keep up with demand and how one of her research students identified what was needed to improve water management in Kapiti.

“As the well-known thinker Edward de Bono says, good solutions should always seem obvious in hindsight,” says Professor Mabin.

“Although we can look back and say the solutions were just common sense, why weren’t they applied in the first place? Goldratt’s theory isn’t rocket science, but it helps you put all the different bits of your puzzle together and see the whole.”

What: It’s just common sense, right? So why is it so uncommon?
When: 6pm, Tuesday 12 November
Where: Hunter Council Chamber, Level 2, Hunter Building, Gate 1 or 2, Kelburn Parade, Wellington
RSVP by Friday 8 November. Phone: 04-463 6390 or email rsvp@vuw.ac.nz with ‘Mabin’ in the subject line.

ENDS

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