Six Sigma in the Contemporary Business Environment

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 focuses on defect prevention; improving quality, cost savings, and reducing waste by helping

Six sigma is a quality management approach that places heightenedmanagerial attention on customer satisfaction and on seeking businessprocess improvements.

The basic principle of improvement by the processes of Six Sigma methodology is by the reduction of diffusion. The six sigma approach aims to reduce defect levels to only a few parts per million for an organization's key products and processes. The Six Sigma philosophy is based on the fact that all processes from design, through to manufacturing and to services provided to customers, display aberrances, which may result in product errors that cost time and money. These errors are variations of processes that can be reduced by various methods in order for the real cause of the problem to be systematically identified and

Design can be related to the creation of products goods and services for the benefit of customer satisfaction. When a product is not created effectively the organization could be plagued with costly problems down the line. However, Six Sigma uses tools that will allow companies protection from future problems and widespread liabilities (Kumar et al., 2009). If an organization implements six sigma in well planned out and methodical way, the benefits for the organization could be endless and have a positive effect well into the future of the organization. Therefore, main focus of Six Sigma is to ensure speedy breakthrough performances, substantial financial outcomes, and to have long lasting effects. Another component of Six Sigma is Total Quality Management which focuses things such as strategy, process, and the end

Six Sigma improves the design, the original design business strategies, optimize satisfaction and minimize waste while increasing the financial stability or include monitoring the process of elimination.

Six Sigma was first introduced in the 1980’s by none other than Motorola. It was not however necessarily a novel concept at the time so much as it drew from a conglomerate of proven manufacturing principles. It is strikingly similar to the scientific method in design. Six Sigma approaches areas that may not necessarily be viewed as problematic with an open mind. It seeks to analyze problems or questions with a stepwise, statistical, and quantitative focus in order to discover, fix, or disprove problems that may or may not exist within a process. By doing this Six Sigma can improve efficiency and therefore improve positive outcomes for whatever the endpoint may be (Mast, Bisgaard, & others, 2007).

Six Sigma aims to establish the causes of errors, measures those errors, and assess them so that they can be minimized. It has five types of examination that aids to solve problems when utilized. These analysis steps include define, measure, analyze, improve and control. The sigma letter is a character that is occasionally used by statisticians to define the variability of any method, particularly the extent of uncertainty with the outcome. There is a big evidence of proof that the use of this process might lead to an enormous minimization of errors in manufacturing, healthcare or any service that is related to the customer. Moreover, the bigger the sigma the fewer the errors permitted. The goal of sigma converts into a maximum of 3.4 defects per every million opportunities, methods, events, proving that it can be used to solve any problem that any product or service fails to meet client’s needs and requirements (Arthur, 2011).

First, The Six Sigma, usually intended as a professional plan, includes refining, scheming, and monitoring procedure to minimalize or remove excess while enhancing gratification and increasing financial steadiness. The performance of a procedure—or the process competence—is used to ration enhancement by associating the baseline process competence (before development) with the process competence after directing possible solutions for quality development.

It can also be argued that Six Sigma is proactive addressing the entire production process instead of concentrating only on the end product. The way the concept seeks to find how improvements can be brought about well before defects are detected.

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 seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization ("Black Belts", "Green Belts", etc.) who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified targets. These targets can be financial (cost reduction or profit increase) or whatever is critical to the customer of that process (cycle time, safety, delivery, etc.).

This essay will discuss the value of using DMAIC six sigma in contrast to solving the defection and error rates in service and manufacturing processes.

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