Understanding the Benefits and Limitations of Six Sigma Methodology

Six Sigma is both a philosophy and a methodology that improves quality by analyzing data with statistics to find the root cause of quality problems and to implement controls. Statistically, Six Sigma refers to a process in which the range between the mean of a process quality measurement and the nearest specification limit is at least six times the standard deviation of the process. Despite the pervasiveness of Six Sigma program implementations, there is increasing concern about implementation failures. One reason many Six Sigma programs fail is because an implementation model on how to effectively guide the implementation of these programs is lacking. While Six Sigma is increasingly implemented in industry, little academic research has been done on Six Sigma and its influence on quality management theory and application. There is a criticism that Six Sigma simply puts traditional quality management practices in a new package. To investigate this issue and the role of Six Sigma in quality management, this study reviewed both the traditional quality management and Six Sigma literatures. Quality professionals are aware that the six-sigma methodology employs existing, well-known tools developed in quality sciences and are based on the works of Deming, Juran, Ishikawa, Taguchi, and others. Nevertheless six sigma, a Motorola innovation, has been a positive force. A good presentation - black belts and green belts honoring six-sigma experts - can make statistical process improvement, and the systematic six-sigma methodology taste good, and do good work.

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