It was thought that the Six Sigma concept was simply "too powerful to fail," a misconception on which the whole misfortune of the Six Sigma programs is based. The human factor is often not taken into consideration. Elements such as empowerment, communication and recognition play an important role in determining the success of the Six Sigma methodology, according to the result of the study.
Implementation in sectors like finance and sales were unsuccessful, due to the very nature of the concept, which was developed and is still mainly applied in manufacturing organizations (especially mass-manufacturing). The very basis of Six Sigma, the defect measure approach was simply ineffective in other areas of the economy. The opinion which rises from the literature review above coincides with the result of the study conducted by McAdam and Lafferty: outside a mass manufacturing environment, the Six Sigma methodology is unsuccessful.

The data gathered from this research…...

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References

Antony, J. And Banuelas, R. (2001) 'A strategy for survival', Manufacturing Engineer, Vol. 80, No.3, pp.119-121.

Antony, J. And Banuelas, R. (2002) 'Critical success factors for the successful implementation of Six-Sigma projects in organizations', the TQM Magazine, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp.92-99.

Bischeno, J. (2000) Cause and Effect; Lean Operations, Six-Sigma and Supply Chain Essentials, Blackwell, London.

Breyfogle J. And Forrest, T. (1999a) 'Implementing Six-Sigma: Part 1', the Quality ManagementForum, Annual Quality Congress.

Sigma
Define Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a management frame that in the past 15 years has developed from a center on process improvement with statistical tools to an inclusive structure for managing a business.

The significance that the Six Sigma procedure has on improving business performance is spectacular and well recognized. Leading global companies including Motorola, General Electric, Allied Signal and Citibank have enlightened the world how Six Sigma programs have enhanced customer approval and helped them initiate new products quicker, influence their market position and save millions in operating costs.

Six Sigma has transformed the DNA at GE. According to GE manager, "it is now the approach we work in everything we do and in each product we aim." (Evans, J.. And W.M. Lindsay, 1993)

Six Sigma focuses on founding world class business performance bench marks and on providing an organizational configuration and road-map by which these can be recognized. This is…...

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Reference:

DeVor, R.E., T-H Chang, and J.W. Sutherland, Statistical Quality Design and Control: Contemporary Concepts and Methods, McMillan, 1992.

Evans, J.R. And W.M. Lindsay, the Management and Control of Quality, West Publishing Company, Second Edition, 1993.

Gitlow, H., A. Oppenheim, and R. Oppenheim, Quality Management: Tools and Methods for Improvement, Irwin, Second Edition, 1995.

Six Sigma, The Breakthrough Management Strategy Revolutionizing the World's Top Corporation, Mikel Harry, Ph. D., Richard Schroeder, Doubleday, Random House, Six Sigma,.

Sigma
'Lean Six Sigma Systems' is a strategy that was employed by big industries like Motorola because of the exorbitant costs involved in the black belt strategies and the large organizations were able to afford it rather than in small industries. However now all the sections of the industry is leaning to 'Six Sigma' and there are developments both for the big and the medium industries that can be used and combined to make the process cost effective. The problem is that many companies lack the plan for the good and bad times, especially when the going is good the leadership does not care about quality, cost or efficiency. When the profits shrink there is fighting rather than leadership. Thus cost management is accorded better status than any other plan. (Gupta, 2004) Therefore the quality controls systems ought to be given priority from the beginning to avoid a cost spiral.

(1)…...

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References

Bertels, Thomas. (2003) "Rath & Strong's Six Sigma Leadership Handbook." John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ.

Bhote, Keki R. (2002) "The Ultimate Six Sigma: Beyond Quality Excellence to Total Business

Excellence." AMACOM: New York.

Brue, Greg. (2006) "Six sigma for small business"

Sigma
The organization in question is American Express (NYSE: AXP), which is a credit card firm. The majority of the company's business is in issuing consumer credit cards, which are used to purchase a wide variety of goods and services. According to the company's latest annual report, it is also engaged in network services, merchant acquisition and processing, fee services, travel-related services, expense management products and stored value/prepaid products. The company operates globally, but the bulk of its revenues come from developed markets and in particular North America. The company had revenues of $32.8 billion in 2015, down from 2014 levels, and net income of $5.163 billion, also down from prior years. The company's OE and OA both declined in 2015 relative to the two prior years (2015 Annual eport).

Six Sigma Analysis & ecommendation

Six Sigma is a management technique that is primarily used to improve on processes, either in manufacturing…...

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References

2015 American Express Annual Report. Retrieved April 17, 2016 from  http://ir.americanexpress.com/Cache/1500081626.PDF?O=PDF&T=&Y=&D=&FID=1500081626&iid=102700 

Boyar, S., Maertz, C., Pearson, A. & Keough, S. (2003). Work-family conflict: A model of linkages between work and family domain variables and turnover intentions. Journal of Managerial Issues. Vol. 15 (2) 175-190.

iSixSigma.com (2016). What is Six Sigma? iSixSigma.com. Retrieved April 17, 2016 from  https://www.isixsigma.com/new-to-six-sigma/getting-started/what-six-sigma/ 

Sig Sigma Online. (2016). Six Sigma and its use in marketing. Six Sigma Online. Retrieved April 17, 2016 from  http://www.sixsigmaonline.org/six-sigma-training-certification-information/six-sigma-and-its-use-in-marketing/

rules for evaluating an investigator's research endeavor are closely guarded by a code of research ethics to which the writing and investigation must adhere; namely objectivity, subject knowledge, and professionalism. The article authored by Henderson and Evans and the subject of review is the six-sigma statistical process employed to evaluate manufacturing quality improvement.
The article was carefully scrutinized with respect to adhering to proper research formatting. A definitive evaluation was presented in terms of identifying a proper research question, need and problem, proper data analysis, and the effectiveness summary conclusions drawn. Unfortunately the article critiqued is not a true research endeavor as the authors failed to adhere to the stringent rules of conducting research investigations. The totality of the information presented is simply a reporting of what is currently taking place in a large corporation with respect to quality improvement.

Introduction

The structure of a research report is simple. It is almost…...

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References

Henderson, Kim M. And Evans, James R. (2000). Successful implementation of Six-Sigma: Benchmarking General Electric Company. Benchmark: An International Journal. 7:4. 260-281.

Kerlinger, Fred (1964). Foundations of Behavioral Research. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.

Ohlson, E.L. (1998). Best-Fit Statistical Procedures and Research Designs. Chicago: ACTS Testing Lab.

Polit, D.F. & Beck, C.T. (2004).Research Principles and Methods (7th ed., Chapter 26). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Wipro Technologies and Six Sigma
Wipro Technologies is a successful global services provider that primarily delivers the technology and relative mechanism to those companies that are IT-oriented and use IT as the primary mode for satisfying their clientele. Wipro has 40 'Centres of Excellence' that induce solutions around specified requirements of the producers and manufacturers. Wipro provides unmatched business value to clients through a mix of development excellence, quality structures and repair delivery innovation. Wipro may be the World's first CMMi Level 5 licensed software organization and also the first outdoors American company that was able to get the IEEE Software Process Award for its performance and services (Sharma et al., 2008).

Wipro has probably the most advanced and intricate Six Sigma structures in the market making certain that 91% from the projects are finished in a timely manner, which is a much higher percentage than the approximate completion rates of the…...

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References

Adams, Cary W.; Gupta, Praveen; Charles E. Wilson (2003). Six Sigma Deployment. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

De Feo, Joseph A.; Barnard, William (2005). JURAN Institute's Six Sigma Breakthrough and Beyond - Quality Performance Breakthrough Methods. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.

ExpressComputer, Sept.2002

Gygi, C., DeCarlo, N., Williams, B. And Stephen, C. (2012). Six Sigma for Dummies," 2nd edition, Willey Dreamtech India.

It aids the six sigma team to look at and find out the probable causes of the problem at hand, recognize the root cause and get rid of it.
FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis): This is a six sigma tool which deals with Murphy's Law which says that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. This tool takes into deliberation all the possible breakdowns that can take place and find answers for these troubles.

Pareto Analysis: The Pareto graph is a six sigma Black Belts best friend. It is the most effectual method to examine and attribute data as also to find a fast win solution to the difficulty at hand. According to this principle eighty percent of the output in a business organization comes from twenty percent of the inputs (Six Sigma Tools Explained, 2011).

Six Sigma has been put into practice by thousands of company's world wide. Early famous…...

Predictable business processes are often difficult to establish in the SME environment.
For one six sigma integration often requires logistics integration which historically has been one of the more prevalent challenges SMEs face in managing processes (Bigras & Gelinas, 2004: p. 263). SMEs must often change operational and organizational styles to conform to six sigma strategies and replace traditional ways of doing business with more integrated systems to help synchronize transactions (Bigras & Gelinas, 2004: p. 263). This is particularly challenging for small industries where replacement of management methods or integrated practices is not feasible in most situations.

Why Cost Likely to Big Deterrent for SME's When Financial and H esources Limited

Cost is often a large deterrent for SMEs desiring six-sigma implementation. Large enterprises often have no trouble delegating the resources necessary to promote successful implementation. For years human resource management and financial resources have often been highlighted as primary concerns…...

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References

Aragon-Sanchez, A. & Sanchez-Marin, G. (2005). "Strategic orientation, management characteristics and performance: A study of Spanish SMEs." Journal of Small Business Management, 43(3): 287.

Bigras, Y. & Gelina, R. (2004). "The characteristics and features of SMEs: Favorable or unfavorable to logistics integration?" Journal of Small Business Management, 42(3): 263.

Filion, L.-J. (1991). Vision relations: success keys for the entrepreneur. Montreal,

Canada: Les Editions de l'Entreprise.

Question 2

BSC has been criticized for being essentially backward-looking, and thus fails to set goals for the future that can truly push the organization forward. The contention that more than 70 per cent of Balance Scorecard implementations fail should be taken with something of a grain of 'salt' given that this may be due in part to faulty human processes, although a Six Sigma advocate might stress that reducing human error should be a goal of any performance management system, and this illustrates the failure of BSC.

The fundamental failure of BSC is in its lack of creativity -- its focus on financial performance encourages short-term 'tweaking' and a focus on quarterly or annual results, rather than upon long-term performance improvements. Although the approach has been reformed to give strategic advice, the focus on metrics and statistics can tend to deemphasize unexpected shifts in the environment, such as changes in technology…...

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Works Cited

What is the balanced scorecard? (2009). Balanced Scorecard. Retrieved August 11, 2009 at  http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx 

What is Six Sigma? (2009). Six Sigma. Retrieved August 11, 2009 at  http://www.isixsigma.com/sixsigma/six_sigma.asp

Management Comparison
A Comparison of Six Sigma to Lean Manufacturing, Strategic Quality Management, and Total Quality Management

There are a plethora of management strategies and perspectives that are being employed in operations and supply chain management in the modern business environment. Among the various theories being implemented, Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Strategic Quality Management, and Total Quality Management are among the most popular. This paper will compare and contrast some of the different points associated with these models to provide an introduction into the different strategies as well as look at some of the research that has been conducted in these areas.

Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Strategic Quality Management and Total Quality Management Discussion

Six Sigma has gained a significant amount of attention in industry however comparatively little research has been conducted on the conceptual definition and underlying theory associated with this model (Schroeder, Linderman, Liedtke, & Choo, 2008). In fact, in the beginning…...

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Works Cited

Basu, R., & Wright, N. (2012). Quality Beyond Six Sigma. New York: Routledge.

Deming, W. (2011, September 22). The Deming System of Profound Knowledge. Retrieved from The W. Edwards Deming Institute:  http://deming.org/index.cfm?content=66 

Naslund, D. (2008). Lean, six sigma and lean sigma: rads or real process improvement methods? Business Process Management Journal, 269-287.

Schroeder, R., Linderman, K., Liedtke, C., & Choo, A. (2008). SixSigma: Definition and underlying theory. Journal of Operations Management, 536-554.

Net). Over time Six Sigma will act as a catalyst for aligning the many processes, systems and strategies in the company to the customers that they rely on to survive. This transformation is exactly what the CEO of CommLab India is after when he ends the article with his quote about being market-driven (P-USA.Net). By market-driven, he is saying that his company needs to get the customer at the center of all their activity first, and then build out from that point, aligning each process to be more efficient from the customers' perspective. The six summarized benefits of Six Sigma shown in the article are meant to inform the reader as to the value, both short- and long-term, of pursuing a rigorous Six Sigma design and process methodology. In reality the work will magnify the strengths of CommLab India while alleviating many of the weaknesses, basically rooting out inefficiency processes…...

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Reference

"COMMLAB INDIA ADOPTS SIX SIGMA." PR-USA.Net . PR-USA.Net, 31 May 2011. Web. 12 Jun 2011. .http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=756466&Itemid=29

Nold, H.. "Merging Knowledge Creation Theory with the Six-Sigma Model for Improving Organizations: The Continuous Loop Model. " International Journal of Management 28.2 (2011): 469-477.

It is a comprehensive approach that certainly includes the optimization of operational processes emphasized in the Six Sigma framework, but operational processes represent only one small component part of the much broader focus of TQM. If there is a disadvantage to TQM, it would be in connection with the types of businesses or industries in which the standardization and optimization of operational processes is extremely important. In principle, those types of organizations and operations would benefit from the Six Sigma approach whereas industries and organizations in which operational processes are merely one component of a much broader set of variables would likely benefit more from the TQM approach (obbins & Judge, 2009).
The ISO 9000 approach to business management is one of the most successful modern business management systems, largely because it offers some of the advantages of Six Sigma and of TQM but with fewer potential negative consequences (George…...

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References

George, J. And Jones, G. (2008). Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Robbins, S.P. And Judge, T.A. (2009). Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Prentice Hall.

Commitment from top level management is of utmost significance. In order to successfully implement six-sigma, the management must commit to it so that it can influence others and gain their support as well. Employees must be completely convinced that Six-sigma initiative is for real and needs to be taken seriously. Top management can tie rewards with performance based on six-sigma just like GE CEO Jack Welch did when the company first implemented six-sigma in 1996. When it appeared that people might not take it seriously, Welch informed employees that their promotion in the organization would be dependent on how quickly they mastered Six-Sigma (Harry, 2006). This had an immediate impact on people's attitude towards the new initiative. The same kind of conviction needs to be displayed by our executives in order to get the desired results out of this program.

eference

Mikel Harry, Six Sigma: The…...

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Reference

Mikel Harry, Six Sigma: The Breakthrough Strategy, Bantam Books. 2006

To maintain the improvements, it is necessary to rewrite the SOPs, and ensure that the staff are properly trained in the new techniques. One of the key elements to Six Sigma is that not only should the company improve processes, but that those improvements should be replicable. The only way that is possible is if each person involved in the process is aware that the process has changed, and is capable of executing the new process. DMAIC Phase 5 is control, which is the means by which the new process is made replicable.
There are a couple of key steps in the control phase to ensure that the method is standardized. The first is documentation. It is critical that the new process is properly documented, including all key aspects of the process. The documentation allows for the improvements to be recorded. But having great documentation is not enough -- it is…...

Six Sigma at Starbucks
Starbucks is a coffee-making giant in the retail sector that has experienced tremendous growth and profitability since inception. The company's success to an extent that its renowned as one of the leading coffeehouses across the globe is attributable to its relatively effective business operations and processes. Starbucks Coffeehouse has a huge customer base that has contributed to a significant market share and competitive advantage. This coffeehouse targets customers from all walks of life and provide coffee products for a wide range of customers based on their needs and preferences. However, the firm's major customers are urban and affluent populations, especially on-the-go white-collar professionals who want to take coffee to their workplaces (Bowman, 2016). This target population is Starbucks' favorite customer given that the firm considers its major customers to be educated professionals with an average income of $90,000. Additionally, Starbucks targets customers who are looking to relax…...

When writing a career plan, it is important to take into account all of the factors that could impact your career in the projected period.  You want to look at where you want to be in ten years, but, more importantly, you want to look at the steps that you are going to need to take to get there.  If you know that you will have significant personal events occurring in that time period or that you want to have occur in that time period, you want your plan to accommodate those....

Principles of Business Essay Topics

Ethics and Social Responsibility

The Importance of Ethical Decision-Making in Business
Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility: Balancing Profits and Planetary Health
The Role of Business in Addressing Social Issues
Whistleblower Protection and the Ethical Obligations of Employees

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Role of Innovation in Driving Business Growth
The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Characteristics and Erfolgsfaktoren
Creating an Innovative Work Environment
The Impact of Technology on Business Innovation

Leadership and Management

Effective Leadership Styles: Authoritarian, Democratic, and Laissez-faire
Motivating Employees: Theories and Best Practices
The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Management
Managing Organizational Change: Challenges and....