The Organization of Six Sigma
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With the unprecedented success of six sigma at GE and Motorola, the process has come under closer scrutiny by many companies wishing to duplicate their process organization and their outstanding results. A giant step beyond the ôzero-defectö programs of the past, six sigma wisely looks not only at the number of product defects but also at customer satisfaction, which is, after all, the main driver of a companyÆs success. Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, where six sigma revolutionized the company and its products, stated, "We want to make our quality so special, so valuable to our customers, so important to their success that our products become their only real value choice."' (Pande et al, 2000, p. 12).In brief, the six sigma approach is a means of ôdelivering top-quality service and products while virtually eliminating all internal inefficiencies.ö (Perez-Wilson). The six sigma quality management program was pioneered by Motorola in the 1980Æs to achieve the ultimate level of qualityùsix sigmas, or standard deviations, resulting in fewer than 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMOs). This translates to fewer than four in every one million customers who will have a legitimate issue with the companyÆs products and service. (Wikipedia, 2005). Getting on board with six sigma is a substantial undertaking for any company. It involves a complete revamping of how business is done, how products are made, and how processes are managed. Naturall
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. Since it is preceded by awareness and understanding, the action phase is very focused and has an extremely high likelihood of success. This approach develops competency through learning and far surpasses the old putting-out-fires mentality because it looks beyond symptoms to the real problem underlying them and deals with it at its source.
In her book Transactional Six SIGMA and Lean Servicing, Betsi Erlich examines in depth the leveraging of manufacturing concepts to achieve world-class service. Erlich uses real case studies to provide a how-to manual for using six sigma and lean manufacturing methods in a transactional service-oriented environment. ôLean ServicingÖöùa term coined by the authorùdescribes the application of lean manufacturing concepts to transactional and service processes. The term encompasses continuous-flow manufacturing, a concept borrowed from Henry FordÆs ôflow manufacturing,ö preventive quality, the elimination of all wastes, just-in-time inventory, and small-batch production as a manufacturing process blueprint for achieving six sigma in the manufacturing environment. In lean servicing, cycles are short; i.e., the time between the order and the receipt of payment is compressed. This results in fas
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Approximate Word count = 1801
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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