Motorola Six Sigma Improvement, is About Training

Among the main issues on the minds of today's business execs is to achieve better results from the business. To obtain these coveted business results and improvements in the performance of the company, a focus needs to be placed on the Motorola Six Sigma training in corporations and businesses of all sizes.

This is contrary to what traditional methods have dictated. Though indeed, training is a desirable element within a business, with cost cutting at such a priority, training is usually one of the first things to go, in order to make room for other more "important" priorities.

With Motorola Six Sigma, on the other hand, the focus is on achieving success by improving the process of the performance of the business. Essentially, by bettering the process, the bottom line improves accordingly. This is done by using a project-by project technique for betterment where the projects are each individually linked to the priorities of the specific business.

This augmentation in the quality of the process relies heavily on the Motorola Six Sigma training, which is specifically designed to provide managers, Black Belts, and Champions with the skills and knowledge that they required for implementing the Motorola Six Sigma approach to each project.

Indeed, the Motorola Six Sigma training can be rather expensive - as training itself is a rather costly element, hence its quick removal from traditional business budgets - however, it has the ability to rapidly pay for itself. In fact, often, it takes only a single project to more than pay for the training of a company's Black Belt.

The time involved in training for Motorola Six Sigma is usually between two and three days for managers, two to five days for Champions, four weeks for Black Belts, and two weeks for Green Belts. Over time, the amount of training will need to grow beyond the initial amount of time.

The result of this training in Motorola Six Sigma throughout the company, however allows for a strong infrastructure development among the managers, champions, Black Belts, and other team members. Each of these individuals will be empowered with the knowledge and abilities for using the Motorola Six Sigma approach to improving each of the processes within the business for improving the results at the bottom line.

Though the cost of training has always been one that companies have struggled to incorporate in their budgets, especially when times are tough, Motorola Six Sigma should always be welcomed as an investment in the future of the business that will ensure dramatic and desirable results.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts

Six Sigma And The Customer

The customer centric focus of Six Sigma methodologies cannot be sidelined for any reason whatsoever. Although the end results of Six Sigma implementation (such as improvement of bottom line profitability and lean management) are quite significant, the ultimate value addition comes in the form of the return of satisfied customers. In the business world, constant pressure for innovation stems from increasing changes in customer demands and global technological challenges. Companies that get to the top and stay there are there in the first place because of their commitment to change through Six Sigma initiatives.

Six Sigma And The Customer

Six Sigma, a quality management tool founded on statistical approaches and devised by Motorola, helps improve customer satisfaction through significant changes to cost and product utility. The entire approach is innovative; with the implementation of Six Sigma, instead of attempting to fight with mechanics, the focus shifts automatically to strategies and integration of efforts.

Some companies are taking initiatives to take the Six Sigma methodology to customers, outside company walls and actively involving them in an effort to integrate them into the process. This approach is proving to be a resounding success by placing these corporations ahead of competition.

Engaging The Customer

Today's customers are wary that they get nudged into buying products by customer savvy marketers in the clutter that we call "the market". Six Sigma works to make things clear to the customers by sharpening the cutting edge (value) that customers are looking for in a product.

The customer is engaged strategically at a stage when plans are being drawn up. By listening to customers and involving them in the process, the company can gain an in -depth understanding of why they are moving in the direction that they are moving, locally as well as globally. This approach also helps in building trust and loyalty.

Companies like Motorola, who implement Six Sigma, go beyond product development and profits in their commitment to customers. In addition to their regular help line, they have established another line dedicated to this purpose. Customers can use this line of communication for more detailed questions relating to either product or service, and track the status of their original question. This is a classic example of individual level quality demands being met through Six Sigma implementation.

Looking Ahead

Another strategic approach has been taken by GE Commercial Finance, and is a true revolutionary step in the commercial lending business. The ACFC initiative (At the Customer, For the Customer,) clearly showed what the customers needed and why, with over 30% of them answering, they needed Six Sigma. Effective communication with customers has made GE a favorite among consumers. GE has successfully implemented the initiative and in addition, is now sharing its Six Sigma experiences with smaller customers who can't afford to implement Six Sigma in their own companies.

With the "belts" working from the front, companies can get into a win-win situation with their customers because of the feedback they receive. If this approach directly benefits the customers, it benefits the companies too. However old or large the company is, it gets to interact with its customers one-on-one. The positive result of this is seen in further building of a company's customer base and increased profitability. The goal of matching people with projects, made possible with Six Sigma, brings about a win-win situation for all.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts

Thinking Six Sigma

 

The sole purpose behind thinking Six Sigma is the uncovering of the mystery of process variations. Six Sigma professionals, starting from top down, must combine their goals so that they all think in unison about 2 things: maximizing customer satisfaction and minimizing wastage, both of which are the essence of Six Sigma thinking.

Six Sigma Mindset

The Six Sigma mindset is a special state of mind which looks at things in a rather critical way, analyzing rationally about the need for each elemental process and why and how they are what they are.

Defining Six Sigma metrics and processes with customer specifications as a target of achievement brings out what can be called the skillful uncovering of the process specifics that destabilize the end results. The irrepressible urge to question things to tie up all loose ends exposes the value of each of the process steps.

The guiding force behind defining and analyzing process steps is clearly the path to problem solving. Naturally, a Black Belt or a Master Black Belt is inclined to interact with all persons involved in Six Sigma implementation. Interpersonal skills take center stage as the mindset is focused on brainstorming to produce accurate data. A Six Sigma “belt” is never hesitant to make use of statistical tools.

The Art Of Six Sigma Thinking And Creating The Mindset

The fundamental quality of thinking Six Sigma is dependent on the ingenuity of all the professionals involved. Furthermore, it is through clear direction during Six Sigma training that such qualities are honed for better. Here are several steps to help you develop the Six Sigma mindset:

1. Identifying A Problem: Realize that problems fall into different categories. If one problem originates from customer, others are caused by internal organization reasons. Solving them requires developing a ‘problem focus,’ involving data collection, measurement systems and analyzing discrepancies.

2. Finding The Problems To Attack: Segregate the problems making use of available tools such as ‘Pareto Diagram’.

3. Formulating Measures: Analyzing why each problem could have occurred opens the doors on the steps required to work them out.

4. Perfecting Countermeasures: Before short-listing countermeasures for implementation, identify the discrepancies in them by trial and error. At this stage, you must be open to possibly scrapping a measure that fails and to start from scratch all over again.

5. Keeping The Wheel In Motion: When implementing the now ‘refined’ procedure is complete, a Six Sigma “Belt” cannot relax. Using feedback from the line staff and upper management, interpreting the feedback may expose further gaps in the process for improvements.

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.