Six Sigma Process- Exploiting The Naysayers

By Craig Calvin

There are many critics of the Six Sigma methodology who insist that it is nothing more then a waste of time and money, and it is more of a hindrance to your business then it is a help. There are, however, many successful business who have implemented Six Sigma, and seen the results first hand. The critics of Six Sigma are often those who have not been trained properly and do not have adequate Six Sigma experience, and therefore they have not been part of a successful implementation of Six Sigma. If you are trying to decide if Six Sigma is right for your company, you should talk to some experienced Six Sigma experts at companies where Six Sigma continues to help improve quality and eliminate defects.

The fact is, Six Sigma is a complicated process that requires thorough training and it helps if you have experience with the process. People who tell you Six Sigma does not work have probably never had Six Sigma training, and do not understand how the research, processes and tools can help you improve your quality, reduce the number of defects in your process, increase revenue, reduce expenses and improve customer satisfaction. If you examine the Six Sigma methodology logically, it makes sense though. The only way to eliminate defects, and improve quality, is to do the necessary research to determine what the root cause of these defects are, and then research possible solutions to see which will be the most effective.

When you are going to make a significant decision in your company, you need to consider how it will impact your customers, that is what is most important to your future success. When you are going to implement Six Sigma, your focus should be on how it will increase your customer satisfaction, eliminate defects, and improve quality, all great things for your customers. The happiness of your customers is certainly more important then what some other people may be saying about the Six Sigma methodology, especially when their opinions are most likely biased or uninformed.

The problem with the people who don't agree with the practices of Six Sigma is that they've never been given the genuine opportunity to share their process improvement with a Six Sigma team, so they're highly uninformed about the process as a whole. If they have never used Six Sigma, where do they get the authority to say that it's not useful to a business?

Don't be deterred from using such a useful and versatile process just because a few people are trying to convince some others that it is a herd mentality, a buzz word, an ineffective tool, or anything else when it truly is a great process improvement methodology to work with. Only the people within an organization can determine if Six Sigma is right for their needs, but everyone should at least give it one chance, because the use of quantified data can add a fresh perspective to almost any business. - 32179

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