The Haystack Syndrome: Sifting Information Out of the Data Ocean

This is one of the best books on business administration I've ever read. OK, reading the final chapters related to information systems might be somewhat boring, but Part I alone is worth the highest praise. Why? Because it tears apart the obsolet Cost Accounting paradigms and other Jurassic sacred cows of the traditional administration that still nowadays, in the vast majority of the companies, lead business leaders to wrong decisions, with severe damage to the financial performance of companies and even countries! For example, if you read this book with an open mind you will learn that product cost is nothing more than an "accounting phantom" that haunts our daily routine and prevents us from seeing the whole picture and reaching to the best decisions for the company's objective. Moreover, Goldratt's system of Throughput Accounting is so much simpler that you'll be amazed about why we needed a physicist from Israel to teach us the obvious, common-sense thinking. The answer here is that common-sense is the least common of all resources, and learning to see the obvious simplicity in the middle of so much complexity created by ourselves is not obvious at all. Read, or better, study the book, and be prepared for mental challenges!

There is important information here, but compared to the author's other books it takes more effort to understand. Part of it is due to the style, the author has presented the material as if he was conducting a workshop with a running dialog with the participants. He doesn't limit the discussion to what works but explores possibilities suggested by the participants. So at times it gets confusing about what his real point is. The other part affecting understanding is the limited use of graphics. The ones the author provided are quite helpful, he just needed to add more. Still, the book is a worthwhile read just plan on spending more time with it than his other books.

Having had the chance to read many of Goldratt's books on TOC - including the magnum opus of "The Goal", I purchased this book to hopefully build on the knowledge and the amazing insights that the "story" format books had. This book contains significant information on TOC, at a relatively detailed level. However, it is a tough and largely uninteresting read, and when juxtaposed against Goldratt's other works, really left this reader flat. There's a lot here, but it doesn't convey well. The power of buffers, scheduling and MRP systems are explored, but without a deeper knowledge of TOC, it is somewhat disjointed.

You will need to re-read and take additional training from other sources to have actionable ideas to put into practice

Brilliant book with groundings in first principles. Highly recommended for anyone involved in setting up reporting and/or information systems. Very insightful.

A good read!!

excelente!

Another great book from Dr. Goldratt! Highly recommend any book that he wrote for professionals in any field. The theory of constraint can be applied ubiquitously.

This book arrived on time and in great condition. Like the Haystack this book is essential reading for anyone who is into consultancy or management. I have even faxed David Cameron and Nick Clegg with an example test from this book as I sincerely believe that the principles outlined in this book goes right to the heart of all of the governments financial budgeting problems both in departments and NGO's. ALL POLITICIANS SHOULD STUDY ALL OF THE GOLDRATT/DEMING BOOKS IF THE WANT TO DO THEIR JOBS PROPERLY.

Simply brilliant and as valid today as the day it was written

I'm in the process of making a DBR scheduling program, with the help of a consultant of course. But everything that needs to be implemented and everything the consultant and I discuss has to do with something referenced in that book. I would add that any person knowledgeable in the field of TOC and DBR are usually well reversed in anything you will find in the book. The Haystack Syndrome is a bible in this field.

日本語訳と英語原本の題名には、落差があるが、ITの時代において、おびただしいデータ群から、マネジメント思考のCoreになる情報と情報とのリンクを引き出す、そのような思考の仕方を小説形式の本書から引き出すことができる。