The Case against Export Credit Agencies
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Employee Relationship Management (ERM) through Information System
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How do Firms such as Uber, AirBnB, and Upwork Compete in the New Digital Economy ?
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Barriers to India achieving Double Digit Growth
Indian Economic Growth: Hype versus Reality Much has been written about how India is on the cusp of achieving double digit economic growth and that the long awaited Acche Din or Good Days are to be realized. Indeed, this was the campaign promise of the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who made the state of […]
Production and Operations Management – Meaning and Important Concepts
Introduction The very essence of any business is to cater needs of customer by providing services and goods, and in process create value for customers and solve their problems. Production and operations management talks about applying business organization and management concepts in creation of goods and services. Production Production is a scientific process which involves […]
Six Sigma is a data-based methodology to improve performance by reducing variability. It requires thorough understanding of product and process knowledge and is completely driven by customer expectations.
In other words, it is a methodology to achieve 3.4 defects per million opportunities. It can also be used to bring breakthrough improvements in the process. It focuses on the bottom-line and is a proven methodology for problem solving.
| Sigma Level | Number of defects per Million |
| 2 Sigma | 308537 |
| 3 Sigma | 66807 |
| 4 Sigma | 6210 |
| 5 Sigma | 233 |
| 6 Sigma | 3.4 |
The need for process improvements and a continuous improvement methodology like Six Sigma came into existence only due to
In the year 1980, Motorola started facing survival problems due fierce competition from Japanese companies. The CEO of Motorola - Bob Galvin was determined to overcome the competition. He challenged his organization to achieve a ten-fold improvement in performance over a period of five years. To achieve the same, strong emphasis was given to training of employees and also performing global benchmarking.
Bill Smith was a veteran engineer in Motorola and he wrote a research paper on product quality and its performance after delivery to customer. In his report he discovered that the products with fewer non-conformities (high quality) were the ones that performed well after delivery to the customer. It was accepted by everyone but the challenge that came in front of Motorola executives was to develop a solution to tackle this problem.
Mikel Harry having a doctorate from Arizona University worked with Bill Smith in developing a four-phase problem solving approach - Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. A few years later Bob Galvin launched a long-term quality program called “The Six Sigma Quality Program” in Motorola.
Looking at the success of Motorola, many companies like Texas Instruments, Allied Signal etc started using Six Sigma methodology to bring organization-wide improvements.
In 1990’s Jack Welch launched Six Sigma in GE in a big way. He implemented Six Sigma in all areas and ensured that the entire organization participates in the initiative. He changed the performance incentives and made them based on individual’s ability and enthusiasm to take part in Six Sigma initiatives. He transformed GE to a state where Six Sigma had become the culture of the organization and not just a methodology for brining organization-wide improvements.
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The Cost of Poorly Performing Processes – Need for Six Sigma
February 12, 2025
