Demystifying Six Sigma - a Company-Wide Approach to Continuous Improvement

1. Six Sigma is a management philosophy that sets objectives, collects data and analyzes results as a way to remove wasted expenses from its processes and help reduce the number of defective products produced. Six Sigma uses quality measures to strive for near perfection by eliminating errors and variables.

The driving factors for a success or failure of implementing Six Sigma is largely dependent on the inputs set forth at the conception and duration of the integration. This whitepaper will compare and contrast these critical inputs for a successful deployment. In order to accomplish this five various companies: GE Electric, W.R. Grace, Royal Chemicals, Diversified Paper and Lemforder. Some of these organizations had very successful results while others failed to reach their full potential. What is clear is the similarities of those that succeed and those that failed.

Implementing change in an organization is complicated. It is important that a manager understands their role and responsibilities for which could very well be the success or failure of an organization. A manager should know how to handle staff resistance, and the areas that require change. There are processes that help management with assisting their staff members with adjusting to change and concentrate on the areas of importance. This process includes planning, assessment, implementation, and evaluation. The difference between a failed organization and a successful manager is when the manager has the ability to implement change with little disruption to

D., & Pieperl, M. A. (2010). Managing change: Cases and concepts (3 ed.). New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill.

This book presents an array of practical procedures which can assist the prudent practitioner in preparing for change and how to handle all of the up’s and downs which accompany change. The two strengths in this book revolves around asking the right diagnostic questions which pave the way for change and the many characteristic of leaders who lead.

This theory gives answers apropos to change management like where the change needs to happen, how to go about delivering the change, Where to start from , whom to involve and how to see it through to the end.

By understanding the importance of effective change management we can facilitate our commitment to the development of a successful change management program. By gaining insight into the different factors that can contribute to successful change management, we can guide the design of an appropriate change management program. In the following pages, it

For this discussion board assignment I have chosen to further research the key term of continuous improvement. My main reason for wanting to do further research into this topic is out of a general curiosity and interest of mine as well as how it is relevant to my current job. Ever since learning about the Toyota Production System (TPS) and lean manufacturing a year ago while taking another class at Liberty University, I have been continuing to learn as much as I can about it. I think that lean manufacturing is so interesting and has a lot of value for manufacturing as well as many other fields and even in my daily life. Continuous improvement is a big part of lean manufacturing, so that is why I chose to write about this topic.

The creation of a consistent culture of safety and quality in an intensive care unit can be a major challenge. Many healthcare organizations are embracing the Six Sigma strategy to reduce variability and decrease risk for central line-associated bloodstream infections. This process is known as the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) process. The five steps required are as follows: 1) define the project goal and identify issues to address; 2) measure the current trends to obtain baseline data; 3) Analyze root cause(s) of problem; 4) improve the process, while removing barriers; and 5) control the process through monitoring (Loftus, Tilley, Hoffman, Bradburn, & Harvey, 2015).

A quantitative study conducted by Lifvergren, Gremyr, Hellstrom, Chakhunashvili, and Bergman (2010) analyzed the experiences and from a hospital group during a three-year period after the introduction of Six Sigma. It reports on 22 large Six Sigma improvement projects, their results and influence on other improvement activities. The study shows that 75% of the completed projects reached their goals within 18 months. The average net cost savings per completed project/year was $55,300. Overall, the results showed that Six Sigma is a useful concept when trying to improve healthcare processes. They recommend that Six Sigma should be an addition to the improvement practices used in healthcare development initiatives. It was also observed that the Six Sigma program can create much organizational pull regarding quality management and improvement efforts if teamwork is applied.

• This coursework is worth 70% of the overall module marks. • The assignment questions are based on the main case. Supplements A and B provide useful insights into previous Six Sigma initiatives in the organization. • Preferably your write-up may not exceed 5000 ± 10% words. • This coursework should adopt academic conventions in terms of writing style, be supported by research, with proper attribution of sources and be fully referenced. • Do not submit an

The following critique is written for the reflection review of change management. The report proceeds with a review of each question that was assigned as well as presents a brief exploration of my experience and ideas that were acquired from taking change management classes.

1.1 Change management is described by Armstrong (1) as “the process of achieving the smooth implementation of change by planning and introducing it systematically taking into account the likelihood of it being resisted”. Change, the fundamental constant in any successful organisation, can be adaptive, reconstructive, revolutionary or evolutionary and can happen for a number of diverse reasons:

Breyfogle III, F.W., Cupello, J.M. and Meadows, B. (2001), “Managing Six Sigma”, John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Looking at the success of Motorola, many companies like Texas Instruments, Allied Signal etc started using Six Sigma methodology to bring organization-wide improvements.