TABLE OF CONTENTS Although each of the management theories devolves into considerable detailed complexity, two perspectives can bring the observed results into perspective. First, TOC provides a strategy and tool to focus any other management approach on the constraint. One can easily see how one company could have great success with TQM, Six Sigma, or Lean, and another very little success, simply by focusing on the constraint, or not. If you focus on something other than the constraint, you will invest the same effort but see little bottom-line result. I believe this to be the primary difference between those who succeed with any new management approach and those who do not. I think many have succeeded by stumbling onto the constraint, while others have not been so lucky. For this reason, I do not find that critical thinking or data supports either of the premises inherent in the title of P. Pande, R. Neuman, andR. Cavanagh s Chapter 3 [10], Why Is Six Sigma Succeeding Where Total Quality Failed? Both succeed when applied to the constraint. The effectiveness of change management provides a secondary determinant of success. Many companies that attempt TOC also fail to see significant improvement and/or lose the gains they have made after a few years for this secondary reason.
The second perspective is that all of the management theories are accessible through the perspectives of Deming s System of Profound Knowledge.
