MBA Journal July 2011

Gaining A Better Understanding Of Six Sigma

To really begin to understand Six Sigma it is best to understand first when and where this business management philosophy first erupted. During the mid 1980’s a very successful and major company in the field of communications want to find a way to improve their bottom line and increase the quality of the products they were making and distributing. As a result they took an employee named Bill Smith and put him in charge of sorting through all the management programs that were already in existence to help formulate a better way to do business and over time this is what he did.

He began by looking at some major business management strategies and philosophies and as a result he found that each one seemed to have a plus side and a down side. By taking the things that worked from a variety of different strategies he was able to create what was to be known as Six Sigma methodology. The Six Sigma title actually was developed from the sigma as it is used as a Greek letter to represent variation from the standard and the Six having to do with the number of times to improve on results to achieve near perfection.

Six Sigma today offers a management philosophy that puts focus on measuring and obtaining results. It focuses on improving quality of products and services by removing defects and uses extremely focused objectives and data collection to obtain and analyze results. It is a tiered system but one in which everyone plays an essential role in the process and where teamwork is essential to success in every level of the business.

Six Sigma has been around for such a long time because it has really helped many successful companies make the changes they needed to overcome obstacles and increase their bottom line even during difficult economic times. And although Six Sigma works exceptionally well for large manufacturing based businesses a wide variety of businesses in the medical and customer service fields as well as large number of smaller businesses have all found that Six Sigma helped to provide them with the tools they need to obtain the results they are looking for.

This program is not a cure-all for all businesses and it is not a miracle. It is very simply a way to help businesses refine what they are doing to improve the results they are looking for consistently and gradually improve their business over time. 6 Sigma can really help propel any business to true success.

Putting Together The Right Resume

Over the years the information you offer on job resumes has significantly changed and as a result it is likely that you may find yourself in serious need of revising your resume if you are hitting the job market once again. The current resume formats are pretty simple and basic and while this makes them easy to complete and revise it also doesn’t leave you much room to showcase your talents.

Online you will find a variety of different templates and when selecting one it is best to make sure you select one that best accommodates your particular situation keeping in mind that you want to make sure that you have enough information to make each section of the resume appear full. If it applies you should go out of your way to make sure that you offer information to the prospective employer about anything extra that you have to offer them.

Extras can come in the form of extra trainings that were job related or not, any courses that you have taken, or any extra certification programs that you have completed. In business adding extra courses and seminars for things such as business management training or Six Sigma can really help to boost your resume to the top of the pile and at least should help you get the interview over other applicants.

It is important to realize that when you are applying for a job that the market is flooded so when you turn in your resume with a pile of other resumes it is likely that you will find out that anything you can do to make your resume stand out will work well for you. You definitely won’t get the job if you don’t get the interview and therefore pay a good deal of attention to your resume and remember the more you can do to impress with that piece of paper the better chance you have at getting both the interview and the job. Just one typo, error, or lackluster answer and chances are that opportunity will slip right through your fingers.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression and when it comes to your resume it is your time to impress. If you fail to do so you won’t ever have a shot at the job. Many don’t realize that one piece of paper is something that they should be paying a lot of attention to and if you keep turning in your resume time and time again and never get called in for the interview then it may be time to give that document an overhaul because it is definitely not making the impression you are looking for.

Six Sigma Pass Or Fail?

There are so many variables to both life and business and yet it always seems that companies and individuals alike are all looking for the same thing in life, a guarantee. The funny thing is that even in cases where they are nearly guaranteed results most of the time people won’t believe you because that sounds just too good to be true.

It is a vicious cycle and while many people are trying to figure their way through to financial success, one thing is certain and that is that nothing is certain but there are things that are working with good even excellent results. One such business management system that is proving itself effective time and time again is Six Sigma.

The six sigma methodology is about attaining results and in companies that range from high end manufacturing firms to medical offices and strictly service based businesses. And no matter what business you are in you have customers and something that you are providing for them and it is from this point that just about any company can be managed using Six Sigma principles and practices. It is just perfect to meld into your current infrastructure with ease.

When you look at the program it just makes sense. You train your staff to work together towards common goals and adapt the process over and over again to attain progressively better results. You take into account not just profitability but also customer experience and realize that as you improve the process the results will also change and adapt accordingly resulting in overall better profits. The concepts are simple and that is perhaps why they work so well for so many companies across the board. Very few companies struggle with increasing their profitability under Six Sigma as a matter of fact once they get the kinks out of the implementation phase of the program they usually find it relatively simple to keep their Six Sigma successes coming.

As far as management techniques that are on the market today, Six Sigma towers above them all. It is a definite pass in the eyes of most companies very simply because it has been tried and tested over the past several decades with exemplary results. If 6 Sigma is being used by the top companies in the world, then there definitely must be something to it. After all, the top companies in the world are in that position for a reason. When you are looking to create success for your company it is important to follow those who have already attained success in business. Following leaders in the industry will most likely lead you to a Six Sigma Certification course in your area.

What The Industry Leaders Have To Say About Six Sigma

When it comes to Six Sigma most people want to know does it really work and the answer of course is yes. But taking the word of those teaching the process can be a little disheartening and most want some sort of reassurance that this process is going to not only help them build a stronger company but that it is going to show them significant results in their bottom line as well.

The good news is that many companies have used Six Sigma and have achieved incredible results not only over time but within a very short period of time following implementation. 6 Sigma has been around for decades which has allowed for it to not only be tested in a variety of different industries and businesses but also to allow for it to be tweaked along the way helping to further insure its success across the board. In the end, it is Six Sigma that will shine above just about any other management process that you will come across.

Six Sigma success has been experienced by a variety of major companies worldwide over the past several decades. Large business leaders such as General Electric and Honeywell have been achieving success since they first decided to implement the system into their business structure and there have been other companies that have found success with Six Sigma. Companies such as Textron, Dupont, and Bank of America have also implemented 6 Sigma. As a matter of fact 82 of the top 100 companies in the United States are using it right now.

Even in a case like with the Home Depot where there were some concerns about what was occurring and their customer satisfaction rating was going down during a period of time when they were using Six Sigma it really turned out that it was not the process that was to blame but the inefficiency of the company to implement it properly. Now under a new CEO the Home Depot is beginning to attain the type of results they should have been attaining all along.

Overall, 6 sigma is so powerful very simply because it works. It works for large businesses and for small ones and it works to improve the quality of the business as well as the bottom line. When so many top companies are using Six Sigma to incredible success there definitely must be something to it.

How to Become a Lean Six Sigma Organization

Six Sigma and lean process management are buzz words across a variety of industries. Companies which claim to be Six Sigma organizations include GE, Merrill Lynch, and Amazon.com. Knowing the credibility that the Six Sigma label can bring, many companies are interested in learning how to become a lean Six Sigma organization.

The first thing business owners asking this question should know is that they are actually asking two questions. First, they are asking how they can implement Six Sigma process improvement within their business. Second, they want to know how to get to functional levels where they can claim their quality meets Six Sigma.

It is relatively easy to implement Six Sigma process improvements within an organization. The best way to begin this implementation is to hire one or more Black Belts who can lead projects and provide Six Sigma education throughout the company. Prior to beginning projects, business leaders should conduct in depth reviews to determine why process improvement is necessary, what areas are most in need, and what the goals for process improvement are. Black Belt certified project managers can assist in this analysis as well.

In order to claim Six Sigma level status, a corporation must meet a certain quality threshold. There are multiple levels of Sigma, which is a measure of how many defects per million opportunities a company produces. This is also referred to as DPMO. A Six Sigma company produces a quality rate of 99.99966%, or only 3.4 defects for every million opportunities.

To better understand the concept of DPMO, imagine a factory that produces pencils. One machine in the factory places the erasers onto the end of the pencil. For that machine to operate at a Six Sigma level, erasers would have to be properly placed onto pencils 999,996.6 times out of every million tries. Reaching and consistently maintaining a Six Sigma quality level is extremely difficult.

However, companies can still claim to be at four or five Sigma level. A four Sigma level company has 6,210 DPMO, which is still 99.38% quality. What is most important for a Six Sigma company is that it is continuously working for improvement.

How to Know if You Are Ready for Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a popular process improvement method utilized by companies world wide. Many people look at getting certified as a Six Sigma Green or Black Belt because it will be a good addition to a resume. Job lookers in the current market note that many companies are looking for this certification, and salaries for those with Six Sigma backgrounds do tend to be higher on average. However, it is important for individuals to understand how to know if you are ready for Six Sigma.

Six Sigma is a data driven improvement approach, which means there are a lot of statistics involved. In order successfully drive and implement change through a Six Sigma approach, individuals must be able to collect data, provide analysis, and understand complex statistical principles. Many Master Black Belts recommend that those interested in earning Six Sigma certification take a college level statistics course prior to beginning certification classes.

In addition to a good understanding of statistics, experience and knowledge in project management is also important. A person who has never worked with project teams implementing process, facility or software changes should seek opportunity to be a part of one of these teams prior to attempting Six Sigma certification. Work completed in conjunction with these types of projects is often very different than the work required to maintain daily production requirements. Even the best day-to-day department managers may not have the required skill sets to succeed as a Six Sigma Black Belt.

For individuals looking to determine if their process is ready for a Six Sigma project, there are many forms and tools to help. It is a good idea to develop a definition for the problem, and how the process is measured. If the business can not define the problem, they might not be ready to employ Six Sigma to improve it.

When looking to find out how to know if you are ready for Six Sigma, individuals should never feel that a failure to reach Six Sigma certification means they are not a good manager or able to provide value to the company. Six Sigma is a great tool for driving process improvement, but those certified in Six Sigma are only one part of a team. Non-Six Sigma managers work daily with those certified in the process to create the best possible outcome for the company.

How to avoid six sigma mistakes

The most essential element in a successful six sigma deployment is the commitment and support ofan organization’s leadership at every level. With this in mind, senior management should communicate regularly with the entire staff, stress the significance of the project, and explain how it relates to their general business goals. They should also take the time to analyze the deployment’s progress at every management review meeting.

The following steps should also be taken to ensure that six sigma deployment methods will succeed:

The strategies used should synchronize the organization’s objectives with the anticipated deployment results. Project teams should evaluate the progress they have made related to every strategy on a consistent basis, and when conditions improve significantly, those within the organization will become confident in the six sigma process.

If a deployment team is genuinely focused on their organization’s business objectives, they will establish a basis for selecting projects, coaching and mentoring that will produce the most favorable results. To ensure that things will go as planned, senior management should review both the changes in meeting those objectives and the basic elements of six sigma deployment, which include training and certification. If they determine that progress is lacking at some point, they should insist on taking steps to improve the situation at once.

The teams involved in six sigma should also conduct workshops to identify and select projects, and determine that every project has a sponsor who will assume the responsibility of monitoring and signing off on the progress it has made. While a project is in progress, they should oversee its progress, provide additional guidance if that is needed, and make corrections whenever that becomes necessary.

Avoiding common errors six sigma will produce long-term benefits, and the organization will make major strides in reaching its business goals. In order for this to happen, problems must be identified at an early stage, and viable corrections should then be taken to solve them before they evolve into major stumbling blocks. Effective leadership and support throughout the organization, combined with an authentic deployment strategy, will enable a team to avoid any roadblocks, and all of those who are stakeholders in the project can share in its success.