A Six Sigma Culture is Key to Achievement of the Ultimate Transformation…

…During 2002, GE has completed 50,000 Six Sigma projects, focused on customers, internal processes to generate cash, and improving the flow of products and services to the marketplace… …Six Sigma is creating repeatable and reliable processes that allow us to reduce cash tied up in inventory and receivables. Excerpt from GE 2002 Annual Report.

The sixth sigma enterprise mentality is much harder to achieve, though. Creating a culture that constantly seeks to identify and eliminate waste in business process is a nirvana that business is striving for. Imagine a workplace where most employees thrive on constantly achieving and exceeding the limits of high performance, leveraging balanced scorecards to track their progress, and eliminating defects and reducing variability in processes in real-time. That is the vision six sigma practitioners are trying to achieve.

Achieve the mental and spiritual transformation. Create employees in the mainstream workforce, as change leaders, owners, and champions… Understand your company's readiness and willingness to drive and adopt change and track the change in culture over time. Provide leadership with target areas for special focus. Provide support and encouragement to teams involved in the change process to reduce the stress and potential negative implications of institutionalizing change within the target business processes.

Create the engine of a Six Sigma program. Establish the organization vision and call to action, obtain the necessary skills, offer incentive, supply the resources, and commit to an action plan.

Six Sigma projects are characterized by tangible results. The project leaders are accountable for achieving the benefits. Projects are selected and driven by data. Executives sponsor the improvement projects and the workforce is trained in quality improvement techniques.

Share the external pressures to change with the workforce. They will participate in the Six Sigma project, if they understand how their work contributes to the company’s success. Engage change agents early. People in the workforce, who are passionate about the change, can serve as role models. They may be in the cultural center of the organization or may have connections to influence others. Identify and cultivate these employees.

Manage the workforce emotions. Help employees confront their natural reactions to change and decide how they can be successful in the new environment. Provide them support and encouragement along the way. The project team’s achievements must be recognized and rewarded. Success is celebrated to create momentum and encourage acceleration through the organization, which sustains the cultural transformation.

Change Management Consultants   ... Verity Management Solutions LLC Six Sigma consultants providing DMAIC and DFSS with an emphasis on cultural change management. Suggest ...  

New York hospital looks to Six Sigma for culture change   File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat  ... nhionline.net. $150 million in savings targeted New York hospital looks to Six Sigma for culture change 04-9050 Page 2. Reprinted ...  

Leadership and Professional Training Courses   ... return on investment as BlackBelts apply the methodology to new Six Sigma performance improvement projects; Organizational cultural change where performance ...  

The Culture Factor and Assessment impacted in Six Sigma Management   File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat  ... Behavior Quality Culture Assessment Matrix   The Six Sigma Strategy has to be supported by culture change. ...  

Making Six Sigma Last : Managing the Balance Between Cultural and ...   ... Only then can any organization change its systems and structures "to support the new Six Sigma culture." Next: "Measure Six Sigma cultural acceptance" and ...  

Six Sigma Solutions - Providing Six Sigma Training ...   ... The way organizations change is influenced by their predominant national culture. Since Six Sigma is about organizational change, it impacts how companies ...  

Six Steps to Creating a Six Sigma Culture   ... Six Sigma is a program focused on customer satisfaction that will result in better product and service. It is a cultural change that will affect every employee ...  

Making Six Sigma Last: Managing the Balance Between ...   ... improve your chances of realizing a solid change initiative, including ... Alter your systems and structures to support the new Six Sigma culture; Avoid pitfalls in ...  

A One-Day Overview - "Establishing a Six Sigma Culture"   ... of the factors effecting implementation of a Cultural Change. This will then be developed into how one would establish the Six Sigma Quality Culture in an ...