MBA Journal December 2011

Driving Six Sigma Success Without Top-level Support

Business of all sizes can use the Six Sigma training program to achieve a desired result The program requires commitment throughout all levels of an organization The employees may not be on board with any new idea at first, but an employee may change his or her mind when he sees how the program works. He may also decide not to complain if the employee realizes that there is little he can do about the change. Most employees go along with changes if going along with the changes is necessary for a worker to keep his employment.

The system works best with top level support, as program is often implemented at the upper levels of management, but it is not always possible to get support from upper level management. A mid-level manager may decide to get the support he needs. If a person in middle management wants to show initiative, he can use the Sigma Six system without the support. If he is going to use the system without the support of his supervisors, he needs to know what the system entails and how to use it. He still needs to go through the training course.

If he wants to implement it, he needs to educate the people who work under him about how they will be involved in the process. They do not need to know about the system itself, but they should have a good idea what they need to do under the new system. The new system, or at least the system that is new to the business should be started with the permission of the supervisors. The supervisors can see if the system works.

A manager can achieve success if he follows the steps of the system and follows through with it. The Sigma Six system requires that the manager evaluate the system every so often to see if the system is working as well as it should. There are many places where a manager can get support from others who are using the system. There are entire forums devoted to the site as well as many blogs and websites that can help a manager get ideas.

Before a manager can implement the Sigma Six system, he needs to go through the training process. The training seminars take a few days to complete. He may want to keep the training materials she he can refer to them. Driving Sigma Six success without top-level support is a matter of determination.

Defining Defects, Units, and Opportunities

There are lots of business strategies that are overwhelming the world of business. Some tried a few and given up resulting to either using their own methods or ended up losing the business because of too much bad decisions. How do you choose the right strategy? Simple, Look for evidences. One of the most successful strategies around is the Six Sigma, this strategy was introduced by Motorola Inc., which is now a successful company, A direct proof that Six Sigma really did a great job.

Where the idea did came from?

The very concept of six Sigma was born on 1970s at Motorola. The concept was brought by the criticism of the recent senior executive Art Sudry because of Motorola’s bad quality. It was inspired by the quality improvement methodologies such as quality control, total quality management and zero defects. These methodologies brought serious escalations to how these three could be achieved. The term came from a field of statistics known as process capability studies. The strategy was first used mainly by Motorola but later on was used by Honeywell, General electric and fortune 500. Today, there are now seminars and workshops that are conducted to teach six sigma to other manufacturing companies to lessee their costs when it comes to defect items.

How does it work?

Unless you’ve had much training like anybody does, you won’t get every procedure intended for those who attend their workshop. Six Sigma actually follows two methodologies inspired by Deming which is known as the Plan-Do-Check-Act-Recycle. These methodologies are composed of two acronyms both with 5 letters: the DMAIC and the DMADV. Here is more elaborate explanation:

DMAIC – stands for:

• Define the problem
• Measure key aspects and collect important data
• Analyze the data and look for cause and effect relationships
• Improvise the current process using the latest data analyzed
• Control the future states of the production. Prevent defects by making sure that your goals are fixed.

DMADV which is also known as DFSS (Design for Six sigma) stands for:

• Define goals that are consistent with the market’s demands
• Measure and identify CTQ (Critical to quality)
• Analyze to develop new design alternatives
• Design Details, optimize and plan for verification
• Verify the design, set up pilot plans, implement production process and you are now ready to start your innovated production.

This strategy has been known for years and there are actual trainings that consider this plan and actually making It known over the years. As more and more people is trusting this very same strategy, more businesses are more likely to bloom as they continually accept wrong decisions and turns and are now heading for the right path.

Understanding Why Six Sigma Works

There are so many people out there who are Six Sigma skeptics. These people see, hear, and read articles and testimonials all the time about the 6 Sigma methodology and the ways in which it benefits all businesses large and small. The reasons they are skeptical usually lie in the few bad stories that are out there about Six Sigma failures, like those that surround the Home Depot.

Now, just because 6 Sigma doesn't work for every company doesn't mean that there is an inherient flaw with the system. After all, the training across the board is the same and therefore as long as the training and certification programs are consistent then the results should be the same. The differences in the programs lie usually ways in which the program is implemented within the companies themselves.

One of the biggest consistency problems with Six Sigma lies in the ways in which the variety of different companies tend to implement Six Sigma and this is one of the biggest problems that plagued the Home Depot with Six Sigma. Former CEO Robert Nardelli became so focused on Six Sigma that he allowed it to cloud and over-take the good common sense that is needed in business management.

And the same was true with 3M and the problems that they encountered with Six Sigma as well. In 3M, profits began to soar but then plummeted because once again this company was so focused on Six Sigma that they forgot the essential principles of business in general.

While these are some examples of Six Sigma failures, they are also examples of companies that took 6 Sigma too far and allowed it to overcome their business. It should also be noted that while both companies did away with their CEO's in the end, they both did hang onto Six Sigma and found that with a few changes that they were able to attain Six Sigma success without a problem. After all, sometimes it is not the management system that is the problem but the ways in which those in charge try to use it exclusively and without good judgment that tends to cause the problems.

Six Sigma Is The Only Way To Go

Six Sigma is to the business world what ice cream is to children. It is something that can please a room full of executives in a matter of minutes. Most big wigs think that they understand what their business needs in order to be successful but after a period of time most find that try after try they are not getting the results they are looking for. When you are looking for true success mild and moderate successes simply won't do.

Of course, there are millions of business management techniques out there and while many claim to be as effective and renowned as Six Sigma very few measure up. Perhaps it is becasue Six Sigma combines everything that is important in business and ties it together in a package that provides a comprehensive training, a good solid plan, support and preparation, and of course a way to produce and refine measurable results. There are no other programs out there that succeed at being this comprehensive and cohesive.

Most believe that Six Sigma is so successful simply because it was developed by Motorola, however important this fact was at the inception of 6 Sigma at this point in time over 3 decades later, Six Sigma is only still being used widely across the board, very simply because it has proven itself to be one of the most effective training and certification plans on the market today.

And if you are unsure as to whether the 6 Sigma process will work for your business it is important to understand that some of the top companies in the world are using Six Sigma to gain success even in the current economic climate. Companies such as Bank of America, Home Depot, Honeywell, 3M, and GE are just a few of the top companies that have integrated Six Sigma to true success.

For the most part, six sigma can work for a wide variety of companies large and small. In order to make sure that you provide your company with the best overall chance for success you will want to enroll your entire staff in a certification program. These types of programs and the essential coaching that comes after them can have you seeing results within weeks of completing the training sessions and these classes are not only available at universities world wide but are also available in an online format to make it easier to get your entire staff trained.

How Six Sigma Practitioners Should Give Presentations

At some point, every Six Sigma practitioner must give a presentation, whether it's targeted for process owners or a board of directors. Many people believe that Six Sigma means calculating statistics in front of a computer, but the truth is that everyone involved in Six Sigma Management spends more time interacting with co-workers than with computers. Unfortunately, most people have never learned presentation techniques. Here are a few tips on how to improve presentation skills.

Develop an Organized Presentation

• The following tips will help to deliver content with maximum impact.
• Minimize both the number of slides used and the amount of information on each slide.
• Organize the talk with a strong introduction, a body with supporting arguments and facts, and a strong close. Be sure to use transitions between concepts. And in writing the close, consider what the goal is for the audience: challenge them? Motivate and inspire them? Call them to action?
• When using bulleted lists, keep the sentences to one line whenever possible. It's acceptable to remove words such as "the" or "a" in this case.
• To create a more vigorous presentation that commands attention, use an active voice rather than a passive voice.

Build Professional-Looking Slides

• Limit the number of fonts within the presentation. It's best to use just two or three simple fonts such as Arial. Make sure the font size is large enough to read from the back of the room; 16-point is the minimum.
• Graphics will break up the text and capture visual interest, but don't use too many. Leave some blank space on the slides to make them more readable.
• Stick to a maximum of four to six complementary colors throughout the entire presentation. Make sure there's a large contrast between the background and the words to ensure readability. For instance, a light background requires bold, dark type while a darker background works better with a lighter font color.

Deliver the Presentation Confidently

• Know the content inside and out. Be prepared for questions at the end of the presentation, but don't be afraid to turn away a question which is beyond the scope of the presentation.
• Explain the slides; do not read them to the audience. Consider adding variety, supplemental information, or a deeper meaning which isn't shown.
• Time the presentation to make sure that the allotted time is not too long or too short. When in doubt, shorten the presentation. Some presenters like to have a countdown timer to help them stay on track or a partner in the front row of the audience who can signal at designated intervals.
• Speak with conviction to grab the audience's attention. Vary the intonation and pacing, and make sure to speak loudly enough for the entire room to hear clearly.

One final note: the best way to prepare for any presentation is to practice, practice, practice. It's often helpful to record the practice for later viewing and critiquing or to perform a dry run with a colleague who will give honest feedback.

By applying these techniques and practicing extensively, the chances of success will be greatly tilted in the presenter's favor.

Applying Lean Principles To Improve Workforce Management

Lean Workforce ManagementProcess improvement drives cost savings and bigger profits with any business. One area of improvement that brings the opportunity for high cost savings revolves around workforce management. Workforce management concerns making decisions that inspire your employees to work efficiently while eliminating wasted activities.

Lean principles provide a framework for improving workforce management. Businesses that embrace lean principles realize the benefits of these actions in employee attitudes and in real costs. Employees see the efforts of the company to succeed financially and invest themselves in being part of that success. Three lean principles apply directly to workforce management.

Identify Non-Value-Added Labor

To understand non-value-added labor, it’s often easier to understand value-added labor. Value-added labor refers to activities the employees engage in which increase the selling price of the product, increase the salability of the product or increase internal efficiencies. Each of these activities create a financial benefit for the organization whether through the cost savings of efficiency or the increased revenue from customers.

When a company pays employees to engage in non-value-added labor, the money spent earns no return and brings no benefit to the organization. The money spent to pay these employees could be spent on activities that bring value to the organization. An organization that identifies the labor activities which do not add value can find ways to eliminate those activities and redirect the employees into value-added activities.

Manage Variability

Consistency breeds efficiency and improves the financial impact of each work activity that occurs. When the work of employees varies from one shift to the next, the company experiences a moments of high efficiency and moments of low efficiency. Low efficiency in work processes costs money. When the company determines how each work process should occur, all employees should be trained to follow this procedure. This maintains both consistency and efficiency.

Motivating Employees

Employees who see their managers invested in the success of the company build on that attitude. Motivated employees seek methods for improving the work activities. As these employees implement their ideas, they feel vested in the improvement as well as motivated to continue eliminating waste.

Allow disagreement on improvement teams, but not dissention

To understand the value of allowing disagreement on teams, one must consider the reason the six sigma team was formed in the first place. The function of the team is to develop and implement changes that lead to improvement. By definition, a team consists of a number of individuals, meaning that input from more than a single person is needed. For maximum team effectiveness, each member must feel free to speak his or her mind without fear of repercussion. This atmosphere is necessary to get the ideas on the table. Otherwise that one breakthrough idea might never be submitted. One important ground rule should be that, once an idea is shared, it becomes property of the group and no longer belongs to a single individual. The discussion that follows becomes one that focuses on the issues at hand and not the personalities involved. This can reduce the feelings of rejection and intimidation that a member may experience once the pros and cons are debated. Even a rejected idea may spark a thought from another member that might not have otherwise occurred. This is where the team as a whole becomes greater than the sum total of its parts. Consequently, no contribution to team dynamics should be viewed as a failure.

To prevent dissension, disagreement should actually be encouraged. Every member should be free to speak his or her mind. Otherwise, dissension may occur because of the feeling that only the opinions of one or two members matters. Fear of conflict can actually hinder success. On the contrary, healthy debate within a group is important in reaching consensus, which can only occur after any reservations on the part of one or more members have been overcome. This does not necessarily mean that each member is in total agreement with everything that has been said or done, but that their concerns have been resolved to the point that they can support and take ownership in the recommendations of the group.