|
|
|
Holistic Junction Featuring School of the Week
Holistic Junction's featured school of the week is Clayton College of Natural Health. Clayton College, a Nationally-leading, distance learning school, affords students with education and training in becoming a natural health practitioner. Why? They...
Holistic Junction's Featured School of the Week: Louisville School of Massage
This week, Holistic Junction is proud to present Louisville School of Massage . Situated in historically-rich Louisville, Kentucky , Louisville School of Massage is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and...
Learn How To Learn
As a home schooler, teaching our children how to learn should be
a primary goal. Learning is more than facts and figures. It
involves the ability to think, analyze, and use the thought
process. In short, to know how to learn and how to apply...
Resources for Celebrating Black History Month
Black History month in February is an opportunity to broaden your understanding of the role of African-Americans in history. Here are some resources to help you and your family learn more and take part in the celebration. 1. Start by taking the...
What is the Meaning of Life
A young man in search of enlightenment had traveled to Tibet at great expense and more than a little consternation amongst his family and friends. It was a week before he was allowed to speak with a red-capped administrator of the Dalai Lama's...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Changing Face of Corporate Management – Making Six Sigma Work For You
Since its introduction, Six Sigma has literally revolutionized management processes and the way business is done. Over the years, major corporations world-wide—from Motorola to General Electric—have adopted and implemented its methodology as the keystone of their management philosophy.
As such, Six Sigma practitioners are in high demand by top companies looking to streamline their processes and increase their profit margins through this powerful management tool.
This article will provide a basic overview of the concepts and methodology that is redefining the management strategies of major corporations—and the managers they hire.
What is Six Sigma?
At its heart, Six Sigma is a business tool used to increase profit by optimizing performance. In order to understand how Six Sigma achieves this, one must first learn to look at business as a series of processes.
Any business can basically be viewed as a machine comprised of many moving parts, called processes. This idea can be applied to any department, across the board—from Human Resources to Research and Development, from a hiring process to a manufacturing process, from marketing to distribution. All the main parts of whole must be synchronized for optimum performance in order for a company to be successful. The same applies to the processes that make up the individual departments. In this way, everything is interlocked and interdependent. And by extension—as the saying goes—you are only as strong as your weakest link.
With this in mind, Six Sigma sets out a disciplined data-driven methodology to measure and analyze the processes that a company ultimately runs on. Its ultimate goal is the optimization of performance by identifying and eliminating “defects” in the process, resulting in higher customer satisfaction, and thus profit.
The Underlying Principles
Six Sigma is a powerful management tool used to optimize performance by eliminating defects in corporate processes. A defect in process can be seen as an obstacle to customer satisfaction, which is the lifeblood to any company's profitability. Therefore, while Six Sigma analyzes and improves the internal processes of a company, it's ultimate aim is to increase the degree of customer satisfaction.
The term “Six Sigma” itself offers clues to the ideas at the heart of its methodology. The word “sigma” is a statistical term for measuring deviation from perfection. The “six” refers to six standard deviations. Taken together, the term translates into a methodology that, when applied to processes, seeks to
produce no more than six standard deviations from the defined point of perfection. In the Six Sigma methodology, this has been defined as no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. While the statistical terminology might sound intimidating, the idea of making only 3 mistakes for every million attempts is easy enough to grasp and shows the power of the methods at work.
The methods that underpin the overall Six Sigma approach are split into two categories. The first, DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control), is used to analyze and improve existing processes. The second, DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze and Verify), is used to develop new processes that adhere to the stringent deviation specifications of Six Sigma.
Obviously, the closer you are to perfection, no matter how you define it, the better off you are in any endeavor. In the business world especially, the competitive edge can be a razor thin line separating competitors in any market space. When it comes down to it, the company that makes the fewest mistakes is the most successful.
Thus, the processes of Six Sigma offers a competitive advantage to any company that can master its concepts—and to any individual trained to implement it.
Make Six Sigma Work for You
Six Sigma training is recognized at two levels of certification reflecting the expertise of the individual. These categories are divided into Six Sigma Green Belts and Six Sigma Black Belts.
The Green Belt program introduces managers to the fundamentals of the Six Sigma methodology as well as how it apples to the overall management structure. Green Belts have the basic training of valuable skills that can be immediately applied to critical business processes.
The Six Sigma Black Belt is, as the name suggests, a master of the methodologies and practices of Six Sigma. They have full knowledge of the DMAIC and DMADV methodologies and can implement them in a leadership role.
Obtaining your Green Belt or Black Belt in Six Sigma methodologies will make you more enticing to potential employers. So if you’re looking to boost your career in the corporate world and gain some invaluable knowledge that will give you a leg up on the competition, consider taking a Six Sigma program – such as the one offered by Villanova University – today. It might just be the break you’re looking for.
About the Author
Matt McAllister is a writer for http://www.searchforclasses.com To read more of his articles and to learn more about online education visit http://www.searchforclasses.com/newsletter/
|
|
|
|
|
| philosophy: the best cosmetic is great-looking skin |
| the best skin of your life is at your fingertips. owner and ceo of philosophy, cristina carlino, is the creator, founder and former ceo of BioMedic, ... |
| www.philosophy.com |
|
| The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |
| Non-profit organization that collects and makes available original articles about philosophy topics. University of Tennessee at Martin. |
| www.iep.utm.edu |
|
| Philosophy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| The entrance page to all articles in the philosophy section of the free encyclopedia. |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Philosophy Pages |
| Aids to the study of philosophy, including study guide, dictionary, timeline, discussion of major philosophers, and links to e-texts. |
| www.philosophypages.com |
|
| Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |
| Online encyclopedia of philosophy created and maintained by Stanford University. |
| plato.stanford.edu |
|
| Table of Contents |
| Arabic and Islamic Philosophy, historical and methodological topics in ... Beattie, James — see Scottish Philosophy: in the 18th Century; Beauvoir, ... |
| plato.stanford.edu |
|
| Philosophy Collection |
| Links to canonical philosophic texts available for viewing. |
| philosophy.eserver.org |
|
| Guide to Philosophy on the Internet (Suber) |
| A regularly updated collection of online philosophy resources by Peter Suber of Earlham College. |
| www.earlham.edu |
|
| Humanities > Philosophy in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Browse resources about philosophers and philosophy, including schools of thought, study guides, university departments, and conferences. |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| Bristol University - Department of Philosophy - Home |
| With 13 permanent members of staff, we are larger than many philosophy departments in the UK. Our interests cover a wide range of topics within the Analytic ... |
| www.bris.ac.uk |
|
| Google Corporate Information: Our Philosophy |
| Our Philosophy. Never settle for the best "The perfect search engine," says Google co-founder Larry Page, "would understand exactly what you mean and give ... |
| www.google.com |
|
| Philosophy of the GNU Project - GNU Project - Free Software ... |
| This directory describes the philosophy of the Free Software Movement, which is the motivation for our development of the free software operating system GNU ... |
| www.gnu.org |
|
| Intute: Arts and Humanities - Philosophy |
| Search or browse the database of Philosophy resources which have been selected, evaluated and described by subject specialists. ... |
| www.intute.ac.uk |
|
| EpistemeLinks: For Philosophy Resources on the Internet |
| EpistemeLinks is a comprehensive resource for philosophy on the Internet, providing thousands of links categorized by philosopher, topic, and resource type. |
| www.epistemelinks.com |
|
| Cambridge Journals Online - Display Journal |
| Philosophy is the journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, which was founded in 1925 to build bridges between specialist philosophers and a wider ... |
| journals.cambridge.org |
|
| MIT philosophy home page |
| Department of Linguistics and Philosophy - Cambridge, Massachusetts - BA, PhD. |
| web.mit.edu |
|
| The Philosophers' Magazine Online |
| Philosophy articles, bookstore, events, and discussion board. |
| www.philosophersnet.com |
|
| VoS - Voice of the Shuttle |
| The Philosophy of Complexity Per Se with Application to Some Examples in Evolution" ... Philosophy is Everybody's Business: Great Ideas from the Great Books ... |
| vos.ucsb.edu |
|
| Philosophy Now |
| Bi-monthly, non-academic publication with news, articles, and columns aimed at those with an interest in philosophy. Site features select full-text articles ... |
| www.philosophynow.org |
|
| Philosophy around the Web |
| Guide and a gateway to philosophy resources on the Internet, by Dr Peter J. King, University of Oxford. |
| users.ox.ac.uk |
|
|