Six Sigma is defined as a statistical term that refers to 3.4 defects only per million processes undertaken by, or products made by, a company. This focus on product quality leads to lowered costs of operation for the company. Lower costs ultimately lead to higher profit margins. Six Sigma is the benchmark-Four Sigma is average.A successful Six Sigma program must start with the CEO of a corporation. The CEO must express their personal vision, provide steady and enthusiastic leadership, and assess results and reward participants. Management must have a vision of where the company is going that is clearly communicated to every employee at all levels of the organizati ...view middle of the document...
The CEO must:(1) Set up and serve on the Six Sigma management council.(2) Establish goals for the process.(3) Lead the deployment process.(4) Allocate needed resources.(5) Assign responsibilities for review and measurement.(6) Lead the employee recognition ceremonies.(7) Revise the company's reward system.The Six Sigma process can improve every part of a company, from production to the structure of the company. DeFeo writes that "people, companies, industries, economies and nations will maintain leadership and a competitive edge only if they have a consistent mental attitude and a thirst for more effective ways to produce state-of-the-art products and services." And considering that DeFeo is the CEO of the Juran Institute, I would say that he is biased toward the benefits of the Six Sigma process.I do agree with the main theme of the article. The successful implementation of a Six Sigma program can improve the quality and efficiency of any department or process within a corporation. The program is very similar to Deming's Total Quality Management in that they both promote continuous quality and process improvement. The Baldrige award also builds upon the very same framework.I would recommend reading this article to future MSSL students. Six Sigma is being used by more and more corporation each year. Any business student will need to have an understanding of this process because they may find themselves working for a company that is using the methodology. I think Six Sigma is very relevant to the study of Strategic Leadership.
