T. van der Wiele

The Six Sigma improvement approach: a transnational comparison

This research has been undertaken to develop insights into the meaning given to the Six Sigma improvement approach by practitioners around the world. Although a body of knowledge has been developed which centres around standardized improvement methodologies, the approach to Six Sigma varies between organizations. Some use it as a general quality philosophy, while others use it as a statistical tool only. This indicates that there is confusion about the meaning of Six Sigma and its benefits to organizations. To investigate possible differences between organizations in different parts of the world, a descriptive questionnaire survey has been undertaken aimed at organizations in The Netherlands, UK and USA. Firstly, respondents from the three countries are found to show little variation in their perceptions about the meaning of Six Sigma, suggesting that it is a transnational concept. Secondly, a successful Six Sigma implementation builds upon a number of quality management prerequisites, such as an existing quality culture and a certain level of quality maturity. Thirdly, the sustainability of Six Sigma over the long term depends on factors which are equally important in any other long term change and improvement process. This is the first research that employs a large scale questionnaire survey project to collect and describe the opinions of practitioners in three advanced industrialized countries about the meaning and benefits of Six Sigma.

Marginalisation of quality: is there a case to answer?

This paper makes the point that since the early 1990s there have been signs (e.g. the move from quality and total quality management (TQM) to excellence, and process control to process management) that quality and TQM are perceived by some commentators to be out‐of‐date and fallen by the wayside. The paper outlines these signs and points out that they can lead to a marginalisation of quality. However, through major trends such as business to business e‐commerce and six sigma there are clear indications that old style quality is coming back into the business arena because of the savings it can bring. These trends and their implications are examined in the paper.

B2b, old economy businesses and the role of quality: part 1 – the simple alternative

This paper explores the impact of the Internet on the business transactions of organisations. Three main impacts – globalisation, customisation, and customer demands solutions are examined. It is argued that the medium and large old economy companies will be most affected by transactions within the new economy, and this leads to both problems and possibilities. The paper has identified three major ways in which these old economy companies are attempting to integrate the new economy as a development of their current business – treating the net as an extension of their normal service, using the net to expand and improve their current co‐makership relationship with suppliers, and a step‐back‐and‐reflect approach to assess how the Internet might affect their business.

Organizational change through quality deposits

This article sets out the argument that despite the perceived relative lack of success with Total Quality Management, some things have actually been learned and some changes have been made in the organizational processes, systems, and culture by those involved. The key question examined in the article is how this learning and these changes, as a form of quality deposits, can be retained within the organization so that they actually build up over time and eventually make the organization ripe for major improvement change. The article sets out positive arguments for this, although it is pointed out that more research is still needed. It is also hypothesized that this is probably the most likely way in which change actually happens within large complex organizations.

B2b, old economy businesses and the role of quality

This paper explores the impact of the Internet on the business transactions of organisations. Three main impacts – globalisation, customisation, and customer demand solutions – are examined. It is argued that the medium and large old economy companies will be most affected by transactions within the new economy, and this leads to both problems and possibilities. The paper has identified three major ways in which these old economy companies are attempting to integrate the new economy as a development of their current business – treating the Net as an extension of their normal service, using the Net to expand and improve their current co‐makership relationship with suppliers, and a step‐back‐and‐reflect approach to assess how the Internet might affect their business.

Integrating quality and business planning using a self assessment matrix

This paper explores how quality award criteria (quality management principles) can be integrated into the business planning process in organisations to provide an effective means of self-assessment for the entire organisation.