Lean six sigma as a strategic review tool: Exploration of critical success factors in a global service company

Manville, G., Greatbanks, R., Krishnasamy, R. and Parker, D. (2010) Lean six sigma as a strategic review tool: Exploration of critical success factors in a global service company. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management. (Submitted)

Abstract

Purpose: six sigma has been embraced by the service sector and is receiving increasing attention within both academe and practice. Many organisations are operating in a dynamic competitive environment and experiencing increasing competition. As a result organisations in the service sector are continually seeking opportunities to remove waste and improve performance. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate six sigma as a strategic review tool.
Design/methodological approach: a mixed method approach involving a structured survey to 200 managers and semi-structured interviews with two of the management team.
Findings: highlights the importance of developing learning capabilities in the middle management team and the empowering of them. A greater role should be given to middle management in performance improvement and strategy formulation.
Research limitations/implications: it only applies to one case so it is difficult to make assumptions across different sectors. More research with regard to change management in Lean Six Sigma implementations.
Practical Value: this paper shows that developing dynamic capabilities in middle management along with a learning culture will facilitate participation in strategy formulation.

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