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The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of self‐efficacy in facilitating the joint management of work and family and in predicting the well‐being of employed mothers.

Via a self‐report questionnaire, data were obtained from 300 full‐time professional women on measures of: work interfering with family (WIF), family interfering with work (FIW), self‐efficacy, emotional health, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relations among these variables and to test for the mediation effects of self‐efficacy.

Three key findings emerged: self‐efficacy was a significant predictor of FIW and WIF, and of all three indices of well‐being; the greater the interference between work and family, the more women felt emotionally exhausted, the less committed they were, and the more likely they were to consider changing jobs or opting out of the market; and self‐efficacy mediated the relationships between FIW and WIF and all three indices of well‐being.

Findings confirm the importance of self‐efficacy in the adjustment of employed mothers. They also extend previous works by showing that efficacy beliefs not only impact general areas of well‐being, such as emotional health, but more active components of functioning as well like turnover intentions. Exactly how self‐efficacy leads to effective coping and limits the negative impacts of FIW and WIF on women's well‐being are critical issues that deserve additional attention.

Re‐examines traditional views on change management, in particular the resistance to change, and to suggest alternative views and a practical approach for better managing change. The literature on change management contains numerous prerequisites for successful change, with a predominantly negative view on the issue of resistance to change. Some authors have argued for the positive utility of resistance, but have lamented a lack of management theories which support this view. Describes a management methodology called the theory of constraints (TOC) which views resistance as a necessary and positive force, and we demonstrate how it was applied in a case study involving a bank merger. Reviews how TOC handles the various types of resistance identified in the change management literature, and posit that the TOC framework helps lead and manage change by providing practical guidance on, inter alia, situational assessment, assumption surfacing, conflict resolution, planning and implementation of successful change.

This paper seeks to provide a timely review of developments to the theory of constraints (TOC) body of knowledge, particularly the TOC thinking processes as reported in the public domain peer‐reviewed literature, and to present an analysis of the nature of the thinking processes (TPs), and their methodological and applicatory evolution.

Research reported in the public domain from 1994 to early 2006, as peer‐reviewed journal articles or as papers published in refereed conference proceedings, was reviewed to summarize key research issues that have been studied and to suggest future research. The literature is categorized along several dimensions and according to several emergent and self‐defined clusters that relate to application area, methodology and epistemology.

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the TP literature, identifies specific publication and research gaps as they relate to the defined classification and also provides some future research topics.

The review addresses only the peer‐reviewed literature spanning a limited period from 1994 to the time of the current work in early 2006 – that is the period since the publication of Goldratt's It's Not Luck. In doing so, the review complements the work of others for the period to 2000, extends previous reviews beyond 2000, whilst providing an additional focus on the TPs.

This paper provides useful insights about the development of the TOC body of knowledge, especially as it relates to the development and reported use of the TPs as stand‐alone tools or in tandem with other tools or methods. It provides a valuable summary, for academics and practitioners, of the developing TOC body of knowledge that has been reported in the peer‐reviewed literature.

The development of the TOC body of knowledge has been largely practice‐led, manifested not only in the diverse nature of application areas and in the diverse use of TOC tools, but also in the broader evolution of TOC methodology, methods and tools. Earlier reviews of the literature in this journal preceded many of the developments documented here. This paper will help position the many TOC methods and tools in relation to one another, as well as capturing developments in multi‐methodological usage across several domains.

An increasingly utilized framework for implementing the continuous improvement management philosophy is the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Although this systemic managerial approach was initially developed and applied in the manufacturing sector, its underlying philosophy has been expanded to address three basic questions: What to change?; What to change to?; and How to cause the change? Demonstrates how a manager could apply the TOC thinking process (TP) logic tools to answer the first two questions for a small service organization. In regard to the first query, uses a relatively new procedure called the “three‐cloud approach” to determine the core problem or root cause responsible for the majority of the problems currently faced by management. By using this approach, a manager creates a current reality tree (CRT) that uses sufficiency logic to document the cause‐effect relationships responsible for a system’s current state. In regard to the second query, develops another TOC logic tool, a future reality tree (FRT), to help construct and evaluate planned interventions for resolving the core conflict and improving effectiveness. Draws conclusions relative to the feasibility and utility of using TOC TP logic tools to help managers of service organizations improve their overall system performance.

The study investigated the impact of theory of constraints (TOC), a change methodology previously employed in the private sector and now adapted to the health sector, on three NHS Trust departments, Neurosurgery, Eyes and ENT, especially in relation to reducing waiting lists in the system and improving throughput of patients.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected over a period of 40 months, on a number of NHS performance indicators, before and after the TOC intervention. An interrupted time series design with switching replications was used to investigate the impact of the intervention.Findings – An overall ARIMA analysis indicated that TOC had an impact in both Eyes and ENT. Out of 18 measures, 16 went in the direction of the hypotheses, the probability of these changes in the predicted direction by chance alone was 0.0006. However, there was a lack of significant improvements in neurosurgery that was associated with the size of the system, complexity of treating neurological disorder, heavy reliance on support services, impact of emergencies on elective work and the motivation and receptiveness of staff to the proposed changes.Practical implications – In order for organisations to maximise the benefits of TOC organisations should take into account the social environment in which they exist.Originality/value – The importance of customising the intervention to the local needs of each department, and the requirements for leadership and robust project management are highlighted in this study. Failure to do so can potentially derail the change process.

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive descriptive analysis of the sequential application of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) five‐step focusing process in improving the effectiveness of a service process that was limiting the performance of the entire service system.

The five‐step approach is schematically presented with each step being described and evaluated relative to its role in effective constraint management. A detailed example provides additional insights and nuances into its use in managing the constraint within a banking organization's subsystem, namely, the loan application and approval process. This hypothetical, realistic, and comprehensive illustration iterates through several cycles of the five‐step focusing process to demonstrate how managers are able to address different types of constraints.

The paper provides a detailed description on how each of the five‐steps can be used to improve the organization's performance relative to its stated goal by focusing management's attention on the system's (or an aligned subsystem's) leverage or control point. Major types of constraints include physical or capacity limitations and restrictive policies. Constraints may be located either internal or external to the process or system being managed.

Various managerial implications are discussed including: the relevance and utility of applying the TOC five‐step focusing process in services; advantages associated with utilizing this structured approach for continuous improvement in services; and some strategic issues associated with the placement of the ubiquitous system constraint.

Although the successful application of the five‐step focusing process has been well documented in improving manufacturing processes, this paper provides an illustrative tutorial which details its application in effectively managing a service process.

Aims to compare performance measurement of a continuous process manufacturing operation under two accounting systems – a traditional cost accounting system and the theory of constraints (TOC) system.

Using a computer‐based simulation methodology to capture operational performance, it is found that the TOC‐based accounting system presents a more realistic state of performance scenario.

Findings from this research indicate that businesses using a TOC‐based system can improve their performance more accurately, and hence gain a sustainable competitive position in the future.

This research is limited to continuous process manufacturing operations.

The research makes a significant contribution to the knowledge of performance measurement.