Management Philosophy : Six Sigma

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.

Six Sigma has produced very successful outcomes in business and industry in terms of their fame in market, profit, customer relation and quality. It accelerates the growth, reduce product cost with an extraordinary increase in profit by eliminating the waste, defects and process line unnecessary steps. Most of the company’s especially manufacturing sector adopted six sigma to improve performance through aim to reduce time and error during each and every step. It also involves large reliability for current and future era with best product quality as well as quality in service and delivery or product with quality.

Six Sigma project teams required a diversity of skills that range from technical analysis, creative solution development, and implementation. These teams are not only addressing instant problems, but also provide an environment for individual learning, management development, and career advancement. Six Sigma teams are composed of several types of individuals which are: Champions, Master Black Belts, Black Belts, Green Belts and Team Members. Champions are Senior-level managers who promote and lead the deployment of Six Sigma in significant area of the business. They understand the philosophy and tools of Six Sigma, select projects, set objectives, allocate resources, and mentor teams. On the other hand Master Black Belts are Full-time Six

The concept of Six Sigma was developed in the early 1980’s at Motorola Corporation (Harry and Schroeder, 2000). Six Sigma can be defined as a statistical measure of the performance of a process or product (Kumi et. al., 2006). It is used as a quality control mechanism, which seeks to reduce defects or variations in a process to 3.4 per million opportunities thereby optimizing output and increasing customer satisfaction (Sambhe, 2012). Sigma is representing the standard deviation, a unit of measurement that designates the distribution or spread about the mean of a process (Six Sigma Academy, 2002). In addition, the Six Sigma uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of fact, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing improving, and reinventing business processes (Pande, P., et. al. 2000). The Six Sigma methodology uses statistical tools to identify the factors that matter most for improving the quality of processes and generating bottom-line results. The Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure,

Six Sigma is a concept based on statistical method that measures a process in terms of defects. Achieving Six Sigma means your process is delivering only 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO). So your process will achieve near Zero Defect. Thus Six Sigma helps in achieving Process

A Champion does not have the quantitative skills to function. An active Six Sigma project team member does not have the quantitative skills to function in a Champion and it is the theory of Six Sigma management is understands. However, champions of Six Sigma projects are functioning as executives Six Sigma organizations. Sponsorship and leadership role in conducting and implementing Six Sigma projects that the executives take a very active as champions. A member of the Executive Committee or at least a trusted direct report of the Executive Committee should be in a champion. The influences must be enough by the person so that she or he can remove obstacles or provide resources without having to go higher in the organization. The project leader (called a black belt) assigned project to them, and the master black belt (supervisor of black belts) overseeing their projects so these are the reasons why they work closely with the executive committee. The champions have some responsibilities which is identifying their project on the organizational dashboard. Besides that, top management must develop and negotiate the objectives of the project. A project team must lead by a belt so select a black belt or a green belt for a simple project. In Six Sigma project they must remove any political barriers or resource constraints. Between project teams and top management they must provide a communication link. Resources and stay within the budget that manage by team members to help in the project. Each project’s timetable must be review. Provide the direction and guidance to keep the team focus in the project. Use Six Sigma methods and tools to assure the results in the

Although originally introduced by Motorola in 1986 as a quality performance measurement, six sigma has evolved into a statistically oriented approach to process and product quality improvement. Many organizations have reported significant benefits as a result of six sigma project implementation, though not all are yet success stories. Antony, J. and Banuelas, R. (2002) defines Six Sigma is a business strategy and a systematic methodology, use of which leads to breakthrough in profitability through quantum gains in product/service quality, customer satisfaction and

It is therefore essential that Starwood invests considerable resources for specific training of employees. The black and green belts active in the company are formed internally, external qualifications are not recognized by the chain because Six-Sigma is seen as a model specifically adapted to the hospitality industry. From the beginning, rather than assigning belts to specific areas of expertise, Starwood requires its full-time Six-Sigma practitioners to learn from first-hand experiences, working in the various departments (housekeeping, food and beverage, sales and marketing, etc.) in order to develop large-scale initiatives. At the same time, the belts are also expected to lead process improvement projects at the individual hotel

In last 25 years many companies are adopting Six Sigma methodology as a process excellence tool. Few of them are GE, Motorola, Siemens, ABB, Citi Bank, Ford etc. Many Japanese and Korean companies like LG, Toshiba, Honda, Sony and Samsung have also implemented Six Sigma. In India many companies are implementing Six Sigma. Wipro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata motors, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC are some of them. Due to globalization world market is opened to Indian organizations and to compete with other countries they want to bring their products & services to world class level. To achieve this along with various methodologies Six Sigma is becoming popular in India.

This chapter reports related literatures to describe the methodology and implementation of six sigma. The literature review in this paper is divided into four parts viz: Basic concept, DMAIC methodology, DFSS approach, and Quality deployment.

In last 25 years many companies are adopting Six Sigma methodology as a process excellence tool. Few of them are GE, Motorola, Siemens, ABB, Citi Bank, Ford etc. Many Japanese and Korean companies like LG, Toshiba, Honda, Sony and Samsung have also implemented Six Sigma. Many organizations are implementing Six Sigma in India. ICICI, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata motors, HDFC are some major organizations implementing Six Sigma. Due to globalization world market is opened to Indian organizations and to compete with other countries they want to bring their products & services to world class level. To achieve this along with various methodologies Six Sigma is becoming popular in India.

As explained by Kumar and Kaushish (2015), Six Sigma is a “disciplined data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process” (p. 7). Six Sigma stresses the reduction of variation within processes by identifying and eliminating the root causes of defects (Jayaraman et al., 2013; Kerzner, 2013; Kumar & Kaushish, 2015). The goal of Six Sigma is to get as close to zero defects as possible. The term Six Sigma comes from the Greek letter σ (sigma) which in statistics represents one standard deviation (Ismyrlis & Moschidis, 2013; Kumar & Kaushish, 2015; Mădălina, 2014). Six Sigma, or six standard deviations, yields a

Six Sigma main purposes were to enhance performance and value. The use of Six Sigma in organization can upgrade communication among employees, customers, and shareholders. An organization which applies Six Sigma within their establishment is taking on a commitment to motivate and instruct their employees on the various principles. In essence, the Six Sigma is has become a way that companies can protect themselves from accountability. “ If a company produces a product that is low in quality or can harm its user, the organization can use the defense that quality is at the forefront in order to be viewed positively” (http://www.tech-faq.com/).

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