Management Article Archive

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Archives by Year: 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000

• Black Belt Tenure Grows Future Business Leaders
  For companies hoping to groom future leaders, a two- or three-year Black Belt tenure can serve as a key testing ground. Therefore, it is important to select the right Belt candidates, provide them with proper training and assess their performance. Read the full article. September 25, 2008


• Standardize Processes to Make Change Stick
  One method to approach change is to actively engage process owners. This can be done through the creation of standards for how a process is to be completed, using owner input. Once in place, they can lead to improved quality and reduced costs. Read the full article. September 18, 2008


• Reactive Complaints: A Valuable Source of Customer Data
  Customer complaints, known in the VOC process as reactive data, may be difficult to hear, but they are valuable information for an organization to track. They usually represent many unspoken issues, and can be used to take needed improvement action. Read the full article. August 28, 2008


• Objective Defect Evaluation Leads Improvement Efforts
  In order to objectively analyze and take corrective action in instances where the best improvement project is not immediately visible, assigning severity, failure effect and end effect numbers to each option may help practitioners make the next move. Read the full article. August 11, 2008


• Enlist Process Owners to Survive an Absence of Data
  Although real data is always preferred, in the absence of data, it has been demonstrated that a valid direction can still be found through a creative approach and good old-fashioned interpersonal communication with people who understand the process. Read the full article. July 28, 2008


• Blending Process Analytical Technology and Six Sigma
  The process analytical technology (PAT) approach encourages manufacturers to re-think their systems strategy both for infrastructure and applications integration. Lean Six Sigma provides a bevy of tools to make this possible. Read the full article. July 7, 2008


• Developing BBs and MBBs: Three Questions to Answer
  Technical skills alone cannot guarantee success when getting people to behave differently is one of your goals – as is the case in Lean Six Sigma. Because of this, organizations must focus on developing soft skills when training Belt candidates. Read the full article. June 16, 2008


• Change Dynamics: Prepare for Optimal Buy-in
  Why is change so difficult? The answer lies in how people are innately hardwired and how that hardwiring affects how they accept and buy-in to change. By recognizing these differences, it is possible to make change a more comfortable experience. Read the full article. May 19, 2008


• Start Small with New Lean Six Sigma Initiatives
  To maintain control and assure a payoff from LSS, it may help to start on a limited scale. With only a few key team members – including the right Black Belt candidate – a company can create a program that will have an impact enterprise wide. Read the full article. April 21, 2008


• The Futility of Call Center Coaching
  Although it has become an industry standard, one-on-one coaching is less valuable than many believe. Through the use of mathematical modeling, it is possible to see that coaching, even in moderate turnover environments, is a fool’s errand. Read the full article. March 31, 2008


• 12 Tips for a More Motivated Team and Better Results
  Follow these tips to incorporate motivation at all phases of an improvement project in order to ensure passionate teams and management buy-in, along with better business results. Read the full article. March 10, 2008


• Dispute Resolution: Facilitators, Mediators, Arbitrators
  Dispute resolution has become a popular way to identify the root cause of a problem and to build a solution strategy - both in and out of the business world. The three resolution processes are facilitation, mediation and arbitration. Read the full article. February 18, 2008


• Lean and Creative Six Sigma to Solve Real-life Issues
  Some organizations using Six Sigma are failing to obtain the true potential of the methodology. Those organizations need to integrate with the Six Sigma methodology an effective, comprehensive and a focused approach to solve real-life problems Read the full article. January 28, 2008


• Managing Change to a Continuously Improving Culture
  Instead of rewarding those ready to change and discouraging those who fight change, organizations establishing a culture of continuous process improvement should focus on moving the largest group, the neutrals, toward supporting the change. Read the full article. January 7, 2008

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