Articles

The Cold Shoulder

The Cold Shoulder

Back in the good old days, companies that were persistently conservative and resisted change were handsomely rewarded. Stalwarts like General Motors, Procter and Gamble and Sears Roebuck were empires unto themselves; they tapped their resources to ward off change or to avoid it altogether. This strategy used to work. Not anymore. Change – like death […]

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The More Things Change…

“…the more things remain the same.” As they gathered around the salad bar, one employee said, “that must be the umpteenth announcement this month.” One of the senior employees smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s all talk. There’s never any follow-through. Trust me, I’ve been here long enough. Things will NEVER change around here.” We remembered conversations […]

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Multiple Regression

What is Multiple Regression?

Consider a situation where a number of different factors (called predictor or independent variables) interplay to determine an outcome (called the criterion or dependent variable). Depending on what the factors are different outcomes may be achieved. For example, the price at which a house sells (the criterion) may be determined by a number of factors […]

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Hiring a Police Officer: Six Sigma Brings a New Approach

Hiring a Police Officer Hiring a police officer can be a lengthy and costly process. Unlike many traditional professional hiring situations, the process for hiring a police officer is lengthy and detailed. A hiring agency must go through a multitude of steps with excruciating detail to ensure they have a candidate that is suitable for […]

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Force Field Analysis: The Power of Drivers & Restraints

May The Force Be With You Force Field Analysis is a powerful tool used to clearly understand the true position of a process. When trying to understand a process or a “why” there will always be proponents and detractors. Debates will ensue with lively arguments from both sides of the issue, clearly advocating their positions as […]

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Six Sigma Pittsburgh: A Flexible and Focused Training Event

With Six Sigma methodology starting to play an integral role in organizations, training for a Six Sigma professional has never been more crucial. Improving your skills is not only about mastering knowledge related to your specific field, but it’s also about improving interpersonal relationships and communication. Quality training is crucial to the growth and development of any […]

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Fall River Businesses Finding New Glory with Six Sigma Training

Fall River, MA is famous for its dominance of the textile industry in the 19th century. In the late 1800s, the city was an incredibly productive center for printed cloth. It produced more printed cloth than any other city in the United States, and the only city in the world that produced more was Manchester, […]

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Go Army, Go Six Sigma!

What’s good for the geese is good for the gander. Or better, what’s good for the private sector is good for the public sector. Our Six Sigma focus now turns to the United States Army. The generals have reason to be proud. That pride is expressed in US dollars. How does a savings of $110 million in 2005 sound? In […]

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Handling Statistical Variation in Six Sigma

Six-Sigma provides a methodical, disciplined, quantitative approach to continuous process improvement. Through applying statistical thinking, Six Sigma uncovers the nature of business variation and its affect on waste, operating cost, cycle time, profitability, and customer satisfaction. The term “Six Sigma” is defined as a statistical measure of quality, specifically, a level of 3.4 defects per […]

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The Basics of Business Process Management

The key to efficiency in any business or organization is its processes. By processes, we mean the steps and actions that must occur for a particular outcome to be achieved. When those processes go wrong, occur too slowly, or simply don’t work, the business or organization does not succeed. Just as processes are the heart […]

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Why Six Sigma will work in Healthcare

If ever there were an industry where we want zero defects, it’s healthcare. Patients, medical professionals, and healthcare administrators all want mistakes eliminated and quality and efficiency improved. Although most industries have undergone some type of data-supported, systematic, quality-improvement process, healthcare still has not. Medical and technological advances continue to outpace process and education adjustments. […]

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Six Sigma Jobs

The demand for people with Six Sigma expertise is constantly increasing. More and more organizations are discovering the many ways that the Six Sigma methodology can help them grow and improve. As Six Sigma spreads to many different industries beyond its genesis in manufacturing, you can now find many service and government organizations advertising for […]

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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 […]

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Six Sigma and Online Training

While nothing can exceed the breadth, depth, and quality of direct in-person training, various factors can make it inconvenient. If your organization is serious about Six Sigma training, but find it difficult to get everyone together for instructor-led training, then an online Six Sigma course is a worthy alternative. An online training program can give […]

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Six Sigma is about More Than Just Number Crunching

Top executives who know only that Six Sigma is famous and popular have called for the implementation of Six Sigma programs, and, of course, want to see numbers. They may become very enamored with the copious numbers that Six Sigma produces. Unfortunately, they may not want to see more than just a series of reports […]

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