1. Watch the Ted Talk: The case for letting business solve social problems https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_porter_why_busin… 2. Explore Six Sigma and watch this video https://library-books24x7-com.prx-stratford.lirn.n… 3. Initial Post (600 words) How can six sigma tools offer your global company a competitive advantage? What are some of the benefits of implementing six sigma in your global operations? 4. Reply Posts (300 words each) Choose two (2) students that you agree or disagree with and reply to them. You can also reply to your professor’s posts. Posts must contain thought provoking and analytical observations ; contributions embedded with academic literature and a list of references are encouraged.* *Posts should be supported by academic literature. This will enhance the discussions.
discussion 1: Six Sigma is a business management philosophy that focuses on reducing errors by setting goals, tracking production and analyzing results. An example of Six Sigma philosophy is working toward goals that can be measured in statistics. Six sigma technique can help minimize defects in both products and services related to any firm. For example, in a product manufacturing process, it can help to minimize the number of defective products rates drastically. In today’s highly competitive, global economy, continuous improvements are critical in order to have a competitive advantage. You can achieve this competitive advantage with Lean and Six Sigma methods. it can help maximize customer value which in turn provide a competitive advantage by driving rapid improvements in the following areas: Cost reductions, Productivity, Increased throughput, Defect reduction. Lean helps organizations focus on what is really important to their success. Six Sigma compliments Lean methods, by reducing errors and deviations that cause waste and rework. The adoption of Lean and Six Sigma can have a far-reaching impact on the entire organization by supporting a culture that has the following desirable attributes: A customer-centric focus A clearer unification of all levels of the organization as they work on clearly defined, shared goals More definition of roles and responsibilities which supports engagement, ownership and provides framework of support for future improvement efforts also it is my understanding that Lean Six Sigma develops a sense of ownership and accountability for the employees. This increases their effectiveness at delivering results for any improvement project they are involved in. some other benefits from lea: n Six sigma are the following: Financial benefits: The financial benefits associated with Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma are well documented. Companies such as GE, Motorola and Honeywell have been posting amazing numbers for decades based on Lean Six Sigma projects. Typically we see projects which on average save around £50k. Projects which save less than £50k either have not had the right support or they were not chosen correctly in the first place. We frequently see projects which save well over £100k. Strategic benefits: Lean Six Sigma training will enable the company to solve complex problems for good. They will not just put out fires but they will remove the root causes stopping the fires from starting again. People development benefits: majority of people who are trained as Lean Six Sigma, obtain an amazing amount of self confidence, the training and being able to speak with data enable them to challenge the norm, suggest new ideas and solve problems. Customer benefits: the benefits to the customers normally take the form of better service, better delivery and even better quality. Competitive position: As you improve your performance you will start to see a difference between yourselves and your competitors. Stakeholder benefits: engagement of your workforce in transforming your business, the whole workforce will be identifying and solving problems for your company. Standardisation benefits: all projects would be run in a standardised same way following the same process – DMAIC. This means that as managers you can be confident that the problem is being solved properly with data to back up any decision. It has been estimated that Six Sigma alone has saved companies an estimated $427 billion, and that 53% of all Fortune 500 companies and 82% of Fortune 100 companies currently use Six Sigma. com/blog/benefits-lean-six-sigma-company/”>https://www.100pceffective.com/blog/benefits-lean-… discussion 2: Six Sigma tools are a strategical and systematical improvements methodology for process improvement in a company. It is focused around the DMAIC modal. – D stands for Define Phrase: Define problems, project goals, the scope of the project and customer deliverable. There are several tools that can be used to define problems, goals, etc. – M stands for Measure Phase: Measure the process to find out the current baseline performance. During this phase, the conductor can understand what the problem is and in what condition it exists. During this phrase, the process measurement can be initiated to understand the current process and to start developing relationships. – A stands for Analyze Phrase: Analyze the data to understand the customers’ voices to evaluate why the issues occurred and what the potential factors or roots caused the issues. – I stands for Improve Phase: through getting rid of the factors and roots that caused the issues, improve the process. During this phrase, performing design of experiments and possible solutions, verifying if the experiments and solutions work or not, and eliminate the root causes. – C stands for Control Phase: Control how the process is done in the future. There are several competitive benefits to companies when they apply the six sigma tools. First, it increases productivity. It is hard for employers or leaders to control and utilize their employees effectively at all the time, especially, large size organizations that manage and operate different locations, regions, and cultures. Using six sigma tools helps leaders or managers to precisely measure time spent on direct and indirect activities and find out the root causes of low productivity. If the size of organizations is large, many leaders think that they should hire more employees to operate their business. However, sometimes it could be insufficient training or supply chain issues. Six Sigma tools can be helpful to identify what the problem is to enhance productivity. Second, it will help reduce costs. Inappropriate processes can cause extra money. As mentioned earlier, the six sigma tools contain five steps which are defined, measure, analyze, implement, and control. These steps can determine issues, find solutions, and help implementation for the new process. Some studies show that utilizing these five steps reduced “problems to less than 3.4 defects per million opportunities” and this could help a company reduce its cost to make products “by 20% and increases its operating revenue by 50%.” Third, six sigma tools help a company reduce its waste. It means six sigma tools can help leaders to figure out if there is information conveyed not necessarily or not. Also, leaders can identity unrevealed employees’ creativities, ideas, thoughts, etc. to improve their organizations by using the six sigma tools. Especially, it is important to find out if employees have better ideas but never revealed because they do not have to hire more employees to get the same or similar ideas. Moreover, six sigma tools can help increase employee satisfaction. It is hard to measure employee satisfaction or leaders sometimes ignore that. However, figuring out employee satisfaction can help improve organizational culture and work environment. When employees’ issues get resolved, it will boost up employee satisfaction and improve their work performance as well. http://www.apriso.com/blog/2013/11/6-ways-six-sigm… https://www.sixsigmadaily.com/six-sigma-certificat…
0 comments