Six Sigma- The Quality Initiative Above the Rest

     The six sigma, founded by Mikel Harry with Motorola Corporation in the late 1970s came into being to measure quality by reducing variation, increasing improvements, and saving costs in the areas of products and services provided by an organization.  This methodology is implemented by using a set of statistics and management tools geared towards improvement. For six sigma to take place, it must be implemented in the initial stages of a project format and key members need to be dedicated to performing various roles and various times.  Six sigma has an international interpretation known as ‘lean six sigma’ (Dedhia, 2005).   

In implementing the six sigma methodology, it is suggested that it is carried out in project form and in the research and design stages.  Since this methodology is customer-centered, the focus is around variance reduction.  With total commitment starting with senior management toward six sigma, with continuous improvement as the goal coupled by accountability at the individual level, six sigma will yield success.  In problem solving, the following actions are carried out:  Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (Dedhia, 2005).    

     For six sigma to take place, the environment needs to consist of team members that are involved in committing resources known as the ‘Executive’, training and coaching known as the ‘Master Black Belt’ (MBB), leading improvements on projects known as the ‘Black Belt’ (BB), supporting and running projects known as ‘Green Belts’ (GB), and being involved in supporting the project known as champions.  The direction of this is top-down with the MBBs training the Black and Green Belts. Various belt holders are fully committed to the project and dedicated training is provided over a certain time period (Dedhia, 2005).        

            Another key concepts of the article is lean six sigma developed by Toyota Corporation.  As six sigma was being rolled out at Motorola, the Japanese were already controlling quality.  In the lean version of six sigma, barriers are eliminated to allow continuous improvement to take place.  Lean six sigma focuses on increasing productivity, asset utilization and quality by going beyond Just-In-Time (Dedhia, 2005).    

           To conclude, six sigma is an American concept founded by Motorola Corporation in the late 1970s.  In Japan, Toyota Corporation developed lean manufacturing which reduces waste and improves efficiency of a process.  For the best results, six sigma is implemented in the initial stages of a project format and is carried out by quality professionals known as executive, master black belts, black belts, green belts, and champions.  Problems are solved by carrying out the steps of define, measure, analyze, improve, and control.  These steps loosely follow the steps found in the quantitative analysis approach. A lack of commitment and inconsistency on total buy-in can undo all of the benefits that six sigma brings therefore, the key people mentioned and the support of the entire organization are paramount to the success of six sigma (Dedhia, 2005).               

            In reflecting on the reading, General Electric’s approach to six sigma by not approving promotions unless there was active participation in the six sigma methodology is an effective way in introducing a high maintenance and labor intensive program.  However, the extra time and effort is worth it since operations run more smoothly, production is increased, customer satisfaction is increased, inventory levels are better maintained, and work centers run more efficiently, and forecasting is more manageable since jobs are done within a prescribed time (Dedhia, 2005). 

     To substantiate my perspective with situations I have experienced in past work situations, I have spent seven years in work situations that were managed by Japanese organizations.  Three of those years were in a public school system and like American government organizations, were in dire need of quality management.  The private enterprise counterparts were managed more effectively with a version of delivery by doing the following:  Plan, Do, Check and Action.  The planning process in the Japanese organization was much more time consuming due to the culture of building group consensus.  As a result, the expectation was to do less with more which made committing to a continuous improvement approach challenging.  It would be interesting to see how former Japanese organizations that I was employed with are doing presently with technology that was untapped when I was employed at their organization (Franz and Liker, 2011). 

In closing, the continuous improvement approach is of great interest to me as a director of a department that is in dire need of support of the other departments of the organization.  In asking the question, “If I were guaranteed not to fail, what could I do differently to garner support from the organization?”  The answer could be cultivating a relationship with the senior management and sell the importance of our department and how it helps the organization as a whole (Maurer, 2004).           

 References

Dedhia, N. (2005).  Six Sigma Basics.  Total Quality Management, Vol. 16, No. 5, 567-574.

 Franz, J. and Liker, J. (2011).  The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement:  Linking Strategy

and Operational Excellence to Achieve Superior Performance. 

Maurer, R. (2004).   One Small Step Can Change Your Life:  The Kaizen Way. 

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