Six Sigma has become a widely recognized strategic tool to improve business performance and profitability. Many books cover basic Six Sigma concepts, but none detail the most critical element of its improvement methodology: performance measurements. Without a strong grasp of performance metrics, a company can have no clear, quantitative indication of its quality improvement. The is a unique approach to measuring performance. It allows companies to track their improvements in quality and profitability--and make adjustments if such improvements are not up to expectations--while implementing Six Sigma. Without a comprehensive performance measurement strategy, your company can't hope to reap the many benefits of Six Sigma. This guidebook will show you how to implement a successful, statistically rigorous Six Sigma program. * Provides numerical methods for evaluating a corporation's Six Sigma success (or lack thereof) * Written by an author with twelve years teaching experience at Motorola University * Builds on the recognized Business Scorecard approach

This chapter comes from the Second Edition of Six Sigma Business Scorecard, which is filled with performance-measuring techniques that can be used throughout a corporation. This guidebook was designed to translate an organization's mission and business strategies into performance measures and operating objectives. Widely used around the world, it has become the linchpin of an integrated approach to taking the Six Sigma program of any company to the next level. Six Sigma Business Scorecard will show you how to implement a successful and a measurable Six Sigma program.

In the U.S., service related activities have become dominant aspects of the economy and currently account for well over 50% of our GNP. The authors' framework eliminates outdated, low-value techniques originally created for manufacturing firms, replacing them with advanced techniques that fully leverage your investments in technology. Tyagi and Gupta begin by explaining why conventional balanced scorecard approaches don't work well for service organizations, discussing issues ranging from the inherent variability of customers, servers, and processes, the crucial importance of engagement, and the unique challenges of service innovation. Next, they introduce a Service Scorecard framework that encompasses the seven key elements of service organization success: Growth, Leadership, Acceleration, Collaboration, Innovation, Execution, and Retention. You'll learn how to set clear performance targets at the function and business level; benchmark performance against best practices; identify improvement opportunities; and capture performance data that offers a leading indicator for financials. Their proven approach is designed for easy understanding and implementation without the need for expensive consultants. Simply put, it offers today's most direct path to measuring performance and optimizing business value in any service organization.

Advance Praise for Managing Six Sigma "This book is a unique blend of practical knowledge and cultural change, revolution and evolution strategies. I recommend that serious managers buy the book, spend some serious time reading, and then go out and use its lessons to make a name for themselves."-William Baker, Benchmarking/Knowledge Transfer Office, Raytheon Corporation "I believe Managing Six Sigma will be the new reference standard for the quality movement in coming years."-Robert T. Hunter, Executive Vice President, Rehnborg Center for Nutrition and Wellness "[The authors'] step-by-step process for integrating the tools of Six Sigma takes the mystery out of this methodology and, by itself, makes this book worth having."-Dennis Adsit, PhD, Vice President, Quality, Intuit "Breyfogle's Six Sigma deployment methodology is explained in detail for four different business processes: manufacturing, service, transactional, and development. . . . His 21-step plan for each business process is explained in a way that allows any type of company to perform a successful implementation."-Mark Feller, Director of Quality, Baker Electronics "Breyfogle teaches not only the wider application but also the deeper implications and in-depth implementation of Six Sigma deployment in organizations large and small."-Ram Josyula, President, gelrad.com Managing Six Sigma is the only book that provides both detailed coverage of Six Sigma techniques and effective methods for managing those who implement Six Sigma. With real-world case studies recounting the triumphs and pitfalls encountered during successful implementations at Motorola and General Electric-plus plans, checklists, and metrics to speed up the implementation process-this rich resource helps managers solve problems effectively and ensure a fast, smooth, and successful Six Sigma implementation.

Six Sigma for Business Excellence: Approach, Tools, and Applications, based on the author's first-hand experience in quality engineering, provides a comprehensive coverage of the Six Sigma methodology. This book provides the complete study material for students taking the certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt examinations conducted internationally by the American Society for Quality (ASQ). At the same time, it adequately fills the need of management professionals with numerous application examples and case studies providing an insight into the practical aspect of implementing Six Sigma tools. The book begins with providing an overview of the evolution of Six Sigma, explains the basic concepts and then takes the readers step by step through the process. The focus is more on enabling the implementation of the Six Sigma tools by providing illustrations, tables, application examples, and templates as well as Minitab and Excel data files for project work and exercises in the soft form on a CD accompanying the book. The templates carried in the book include the Sigma calculator, Six Sigma project review checklist, process mapping, confidence intervals, hypothesis tests, project charter, and measurement systems analysis (Gauge R & R Study). The CD also contains a 30-day trial version of the Minitab and SigmaXL software programs.

The Rational Guide to Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 clearly and comprehensively describes how to apply the power of BSM to your performance management strategy. This book covers all the basics of performance management theory, BSM installation, deployment, and management. Key concepts are discussed in depth, including BSM Builder, Elements, KPIs, Scorecards, Report Views, and more. Advanced topics include collaboration with Windows SharePoint Services, security, scoring, and customization using MDX (Multi-Dimensional eXpressions). The authors have included a book-length case study that illustrates how these concepts work in practice. Technical Accuracy is assured by Ian Tien, Program Manager, Office Business Applications, Microsoft Corporation.

The following is a chapter from Praveen Gupta's The Six Sigma Performance Handbook, which gives results-oriented help with Six Sigma initiatives. With this handbook, you will learn how to optimize performance and sustain breakthrough results. This book also gives a quick, straight forward tutorial on the use of the statistical tools which form the bases for Six Sigma project success. The handbook shows you how to simplify Six Sigma methods for cost-effective implementations that work best in your organization.

The Definitive Six Sigma Guide for Healthcare: Methodologies, Tools, and Metrics Rising costs are making healthcare unaffordable for millions, and 100,000 people die every year due to medical error. Healthcare must change–dramatically. Many leading healthcare institutions are discovering a powerful toolset for addressing both quality and cost: Six Sigma. In this hands-on, start-to-finish guidebook, four leading experts introduce Six Sigma from the unique standpoint of the healthcare professional, showing exactly how to implement it in real-world environments. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience, the authors offer step-by-step methodologies, tools, and metrics–all thoroughly adapted to the unique realities of healthcare. They demonstrate how to utilize Six Sigma’s Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) process to address even the most challenging problems. They also offer realistic guidance on rolling out Six Sigma initiatives that deliver rapid and sustainable value. The authors show Six Sigma at work in every area of the hospital: clinical, radiology, surgery, ICU, cardiovascular, laboratories, emergency, trauma, administrative services, staffing, billing, cafeteria, even central supply. You'll learn why Six Sigma can produce better results than other quality initiatives, how it brings new rigor and discipline to healthcare delivery, and how it can be used to sustain ongoing improvements for the long term. Coverage includes · Adapting Six Sigma methodology, tools, and measurements for healthcare · Designing more successful experiments · Rolling out your Six Sigma initiative successfully · Case studies from every area of the hospital, from the ICU to billing · Six Sigma templates modified fully for the healthcare environment Comprehensive and user-friendly, this book will be indispensable to everyone concerned with quality or cost: administrators, managers, physicians, and quality specialists alike. Where Six Sigma is already in use or being considered, it will serve as a shared blueprint for the entire team.

This collection highlights the most important ideas and concepts from Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, authors of The Balanced Scorecard, a revolutionary performance measurement system that allows organizations to quantify intangible assets such as people, information, and customer relationships. Also included are Strategy Maps, which enables companies to describe the links between intangible assets and value creation with a clarity and precision never before possible; The Execution Premium, which describes a multistage system to help companies to gain measurable benefits from carefully formulated business strategy; and The Strategy-Focused Organization, which introduces a new approach to make strategy a continuous process owned not just by top management, but by everyone.

One study after the next shows that most employees are unhappy with their jobs and that less than a third actively engage with their work. That means that two out of every three are merely putting in their time, rather than maximizing productivity and attaining satisfaction. One could argue that such a malaise is the symptom of an unhealthy workfor