| |
| |
|
Small Business Information |
|
|
|
Six Sigma for Small Business
It is not surprising that some people may perceive Six Sigma as being only for large corporations. Major corporations such as Allied Signal, Black & Decker, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Federal Express, General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, Kodak, Motorola, Sony, and Toshiba have all rolled out Six Sigma efforts and achieved outstanding results. Yet, it is incorrect to think that Six Sigma process improvement results can only be achieved by huge organizations. Small businesses can also succeed in implementing Six Sigma and reap the process improvement benefits that Six Sigma provides. Certainly, there are factors that can be disadvantageous for implementing Six Sigma in a small business rather than a large business, such as lack of resources and expertise in change initiatives. However, there are also characteristics inherent in small businesses that can speed up the effective implementation of Six Sigma more than in large businesses, such as flexible process flows, a shorter decision-making chain, and higher visibility of senior management. Six Sigma can work in any size business because the nature of Six Sigma is dependent upon characteristics inherent to any business, not on the size of a business. Six Sigma MAIC (measure, analyze, improve, and control) disciplines work no matter the size of the organization or even the size of the Six Sigma project. Small businesses do have constraints that limit their ability to initiate a large scale Six Sigma implementation. However, there are ways to overcome these limitations. Small businesses don't have large reserves of excess cash to earmark for the massive training programs employed by the large corporations in implementing their Six Sigma programs. Small businesses generally can't afford to have full-time Master Black Belts on staff and may not have the personnel with the skills and expertise to step into the role of Black Belts without extensive training. A certified Six Sigma consultant can act as your Black Belt for the initial projects until you have generated sufficient savings to be able to provide some of those savings for training your own people. Training happens at a slower scale for smaller companies but it still happens. Financially, savings realized from the first set of projects usually justifies the entire cost of the Six Sigma training. Once some members of the organization have been trained as Green Belts, Six Sigma projects proceed with Green Belts executing Six Sigma processes. Incrementally, Green Belts are developed into Black Belts and new Green Belts are trained. Using a more gradual training approach addresses many of the constraints of smaller companies and allows them to implement Six Sigma at a pace a small business can more easily manage. There is a benefit to implementing Six Sigma in a smaller business. Because of the size of a small business, the financial results and cultural transformation that stem from Six Sigma will propagate more quickly through a smaller organization. Focusing the Six Sigma tools at virtually any properly scoped project will drive savings to your bottom line and achieve breakthrough change in your organization. Peter Peterka is the Principal Six Sigma Consultant in practice areas of DMAIC and DFSS. Peter has over 15 years experience in including implementation of Six Sigma for small business with a variety of organizations. For additional information please contact Peter Peterka at Six Sigma us.
MORE RESOURCES:
Small-Business - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Are You Satisfied With Your Business Just As It Is? Did you know that satisfaction is the number one emotion people want to experience about their life and business? Yes, fame and fortune are up there, but satisfaction is the key. Satisfaction is about contentment, gratitude and pure joy. Effective Customer Interviews Make Life Much Easier! One of the critical success factors for service-related businesses is our ability to understand a client's needs and requirements. Misunderstandings can lead to loss of repeat business, economic loss, and damage to reputation. Boston Market; Mobile Auto Detailing Boston itself covers 50 square miles of concrete and traffic, well city limits actually exactly 46 square miles, the entire metro area can be and is often over stated at 1100 square miles, but more realistically about 380 in our humble opinion. And you know some of that is water. Franchising 101- What You Absolutely Need to Know Franchising has made the world look really small. The well known flavors are now not just restricted to a single town or city but can be enjoyed world wide. Perfecting Your Pitch Why should you describe your business to others in 5 to 10 seconds?How long do you think you have to get anyone's attention? 5 minutes? 2 minutes? 30 seconds? It is actually 10 seconds. I know it does not seem like a long period of time but you will be amazed what you can say in 10 seconds. Where To Get Money For a Franchise Idea How often have you thumbed through a business opportunity magazine, noticed a franchise opportunity advertisement, and felt you'd really like to get in on that.. Why Do Franchisors have Exclusive Territories The reason we Franchisors call it an exclusive territory is because we will not sell that area again to another franchisee. That is your area to market and to conquer and to generally obtain as much market penetration as possible. Five Tips for First Time Entrepreneurs It seems so long ago that I started my first business. Since that time, I've created several successful businesses and learned a lot of lessons along the way. How to Curb Antique Shop Theft Inexpensively If you have ever had your antique shop or mall ripped off, you understand that it's very hard to detect. There are simply so many items to keep track of, and an item can be missing literally for months and you may not realize it. New Habits, Rebounding Economy Help To Sell Giftware and Collectibles Just a few years ago, when one thought of a home-based sales business, Tupperware, Avon and a host of multi-level marketing schemes might have come to mind. Today, however, changing market conditions and evolving consumer habits have converged to make home-based selling businesses a realistic opportunity with real profit potential. Your Practice is Only as Valuable as Your Referral Base Many physical therapists in private practice have the appearance of a very successful business that is built on the backs of about four to five doctors. Now if anything would happen to any of these guys, the value of these practices would drop markedly. Small Business Stress Buster: Completion not Perfection Completion not Perfection Five Keys To Doubling Your Productivity and Boosting Your EffectivenessI frequently meet with business owners and executives who feel overworked and undervalued. Many of them are highly gifted and are in fact contributing a huge amount of work, energy and brilliance to the companies they own or work for. We Know Who THEY Are Am I the only one that does not have an "A" button on my computer? I have looked on the keyboard, monitor and hard drive I can not find that darn thing anywhere. Nobody will tell me where it is. Top 7 Small Business Tax Tips Here are seven ways for owners of small businesses to save money on their taxes.1. Small Business 101: Deadly Ignorance American small business is again in transition. Many employees, now working from home, are no longer tied to a geographic office and the woes of commuting. How To Choose A Franchise You'd like to go into business for yourself, and believe that the best way for you to become your own boss is to buy a franchise. You know it will takes time and money to be successful, and that's OK. Small Business Marketing Secrets: Look Like Sizzle, Be The Steak You've heard marketing and advertising gurus quip, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." Advertising initiatives best reach their target audience with benefits and the "wow" effect, not the value or features of their product or service. Survival Tips For Small Businesses You may be in Mail Order, Direct Mail, or you may be a local merchant with 150 employees; whichever, however or whatever---you've got to know how to keep your business alive during economic recessions. Anytime the cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the money management of that business has to be run as a "tight ship. 3 Ways To Make Certain Your Business Fails Most small businesses incorporated in 2005 will fail by the year 2007. No matter the industry or the economic times in which the company was initially conceived, the fact remains that businesses fail on a daily basis due to general lack of knowledge and know-how. How to Create an Employee Manual Large corporations use employee manuals to both educate employees about policies and protect themselves legally. Whether or not you need an employee manual is your decision, though it can be a great tool for keeping your policies consistent.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
