Archive for December, 2009

When It All Comes Down To Saving Money, Are Coupons Worth The Hassle?

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Are coupons worth the hassle? There seems to be significant noise over the potential for savings made by the store of redemption as well as the manufacturer. It takes time to find, cut, arrange, store, and carry the necessary coupons that it takes to really save money.

There are all kinds of places to clip a coupon. Most people get the Sunday paper specifically for the one of a kind savings you can receive. Others find that the circulars that are mailed to the house are perfect for coupon clipping. Whether you see them as money or you look at them like a nuisance will determine your genuine feelings on the effort they require.

Food coupons are the most common. To decide their worth is entirely up to the buyer and a buyer’s spending habits. Many people are usually faithful to a brand and may find that coupons are rarely issued for those items. However, there are coupon clubs that have started all across the country. People swapped the coupons that they do not use, for ones that they need.

The most sought after coupons are the ones that save significant funds on the everyday, non food items. Cleaners, laundry detergents, and household products can be costly. A coupon can drop the price down to a more manageable figure. With the demand for cleaning products and personal products, these coupons are usually the first to be clipped and carried.

By knowing when and where to redeem your coupons can wind up saving a lot of money. But always read them terms of the coupon. Some require the purchase of another item or require certain quantity of items to be bought in order to redeem the coupon. Most of the items that need to purchased together are usually items that naturally go together; like peanut butter and jelly.

It is also important to pay attention to the size of the item that is on the coupon. They are usually specific. A coupon may state that it offering 25 cents off a 7oz bottle of oil and it will not be able to be redeemed if you picked up the 10oz bottle. There are coupons that are not size specific.

When money is tight and your shopping patterns remain pretty much the same you might answer the question with a resounding yes. Are coupons worth the hassle if your shopping habits are unpredictable and haphazard? It depends on whether you can find enough weekly savings on the normal items you buy all the time.

It’s impossible not to notice the Optionsxpress promo code going on right now because it’s a free $100 for signing up and using the account.

Six Sigma - Not Just a Passing Fancy

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Six Sigma - Not Just a Passing Fancy

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.


Six Sigma & Related Columns - Six Sigma IQ

Looking for Six Sigma and related columns? Read the latest columns on Six Sigma & Process Excellence IQ.


DMAIC Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training Project Execution Roadmap …

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training needs a Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve (DMAIC) for executing projects as part of an overally businees.


Motorola's Change Management Evolution by Jeff Cole by Six Sigma …

Motorola’s Change Management Evolution by Jeff Cole- When you think of Six Sigma, you think of Motorola, where the methodology was first invented by engineer Bill Smith in 1986. As the inventor, Motorola has been engaged in Six Sigma


Lean, Six Sigma taking hold at hospitals - FierceHealthFinance …

Sure, Lean and Six Sigma management tools were well-known to healthcare leaders well before the recent economic collapse–but this year, they seem to have became more of a “must have” than a “nice to… Read more…


Four Critical Ingredients to a Successful 6 Sigma Implementation

The six Sigma strategy is steeped in info collection and statistics analysis. As such, many practitioners fall into the mistake of thinking the success of a.

Six Sigma - Not Just a Passing Fancy

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Six Sigma - Not Just a Passing Fancy

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Six Sigma

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Six Sigma

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.


Six Sigma & Related Columns - Six Sigma IQ

Looking for Six Sigma and related columns? Read the latest columns on Six Sigma & Process Excellence IQ.


DMAIC Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training Project Execution Roadmap …

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training needs a Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve (DMAIC) for executing projects as part of an overally businees.


Six Sigma And Finance « Finances

The success of Six Sigma implementations depends on the ability of the implementation teams to identify and alter systems that are responsible for the efficiency of a business process. For successful implementation of Six Sigma concepts …


Six Sigma Project Selection

The steps that need to be taken in selecting a project for Six Sigma vary as per your line of business and the scale of the operation. However, the whole scope of Six Sigma hinges on two key focal points, namely, ‘total customer …


Cost Of Poor Quality And Six Sigma

If the cost of quality is high, looking through the Six Sigma glass the cost of poor quality is still higher. Companies bear a huge cost of about 9-16 percent of their revenues on problem solving. This is the cost of poor quality, …

Six Sigma - Not Just a Fad

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Six Sigma - Not Just a Fad

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma - Not Just a Fad

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Six Sigma - Not Just a Fad

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Thursday, December 24th, 2009


Six Sigma - Not Just a Fad

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Six Sigma - Not Just a Fad

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Six Sigma - Not Just a Fad

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.


Integrating Lean Six Sigma in Financial Services by Arul Aruleswaran

Integrating Lean Six Sigma in Financial Services by Arul Aruleswaran- A commercial bank receives many loan applications, and these application forms are submitted to the consumer loans department. If one were to track the trail the …


Lean, Six Sigma taking hold at hospitals - FierceHealthFinance …

Sure, Lean and Six Sigma management tools were well-known to healthcare leaders well before the recent economic collapse–but this year, they seem to have became more of a “must have” than a “nice to… Read more…


Greenhoof » Blog Archive » IBM – Green Six Sigma

IBM has the perfect Green Gift … bringing together both GREEN and Six Sigma. Better Green Business. ” … author, Eric Olson, is an IT strategist … wields degrees from the likes of Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology …


Go Beyond Lean Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard with the …

Described is a system for going beyond lean six sigma and the balanced scorecard. System integrated scorecards, strategic planning, and business improvement.


Why Six Sigma Is on the Downslope - Tom Davenport - Harvard …

Business bloggers at Harvard Business Review discuss a variety of business topics including managing people, innovation, leadership, and more.

Six Sigma

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Six Sigma

Six Sigma has become a culture and a way of life for many industries big and small, manufacturing and service industries alike.

The aim of Six Sigma is to achieve sustained improvements, which is possible through the use of tools and techniques and controls systems.

Reasons Why Six Sigma Has Endured Over the Years

Six Sigma has endured over a period of time due to the underlying fact that it is a methodology that aims to achieve long term success based on a very sound decision making process.

Another important reason is the discipline in effective execution of the project using a large variety of tools and techniques.

A major factor for the success of any organization is the innovativeness of those involved to bring about higher productivity levels.

Other reasons for its sustainability are listed here:

• Association with Finance: For any company to have greater levels of productivity and profitability as well as higher levels of savings, it is necessary that the finance department be involved to validate any improvements.

In a Six Sigma project, the finance department is involved mainly to estimate, validate or control phases. For a quality initiative, when the statistical figures are converted into financial terms, top management also finds it easier to relate to them and get involved in the different phases as required.

A comparison process that is measurable can ensure better participation of team members and bring about better results.

• Based on quality metrics: Six Sigma is based upon quality metrics that will give team leaders the answers to how well a certain process has been accomplished.

However, sometimes Six Sigma projects also involve productivity metrics that answer the question ‘how many’. When quality metrics are defined, the Six Sigma project will surely succeed.

• Training for a select few: Six Sigma training is not conducted throughout the organization for all employees. A few employees with good technical and social skills are selected for Six Sigma trainings.

These members are seen as future leaders and are trained in facilitation, statistical tools and other methods. These members also learn about project management and can tackle different improvement initiatives.

• Statistical thinking: Six Sigma is based on statistical thinking and not on intuition. However, there are times when team members fail to understand the concept of variation and standard deviation.

This leads them to resort to intuition-based decision-making.

• Suits all types of organizations: The best thing about Six Sigma is that it does not have a one-size-fits for all settings.

It can be molded to suit the needs of organizations of all sizes and types.

• Applied training: The Six Sigma training methodology is given as a week of training and another 3 weeks of applying techniques learned to get hands-on experience.

This methodology helps to bridge knowledge and achieved skills.

• Process improvements: Six Sigma allows the organization and management to invest in eradicating chronic problems and to improve the infrastructure.

Trained teams work towards investigating and preventing root causes of problems and improve processes in numerous ways.

With such a sound approach to problems faced by organizations, Six Sigma has every reason to grow in the years ahead.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.


Six Sigma Process- Exploiting The Naysayers « just a test blog

If you mention that your business is considering using Six Sigma, there will probably be some people that will tell you that you are making the wrong decision. Some of these people will have never actually gone for Six Sigma training, …


Integrating Lean Six Sigma in Financial Services by Arul Aruleswaran

Integrating Lean Six Sigma in Financial Services by Arul Aruleswaran- A commercial bank receives many loan applications, and these application forms are submitted to the consumer loans department. If one were to track the trail the …


How Much Does Six Sigma Cost? | Spercus

Most companies contemplating Six Sigma implementation have most of the costs worked out beforehand. This follows the assumption that taking additional work.


Greenhoof » Blog Archive » IBM – Green Six Sigma

IBM has the perfect Green Gift … bringing together both GREEN and Six Sigma. Better Green Business. ” … author, Eric Olson, is an IT strategist … wields degrees from the likes of Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology …


Lean, Six Sigma taking hold at hospitals - FierceHealthFinance …

Sure, Lean and Six Sigma management tools were well-known to healthcare leaders well before the recent economic collapse–but this year, they seem to have became more of a “must have” than a “nice to… Read more…