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Why is Six Sigma so successful?

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  • Roland Caulcutt

Abstract

There can be little doubt that Motorola, General Electric, Black and Decker, Allied Signal (now Honeywell), ABB and Bombardier, have achieved impressive business performance in recent years. Their annual reports document this success. Furthermore, in several cases, the Annual Report clearly attributes this success to having followed a Six Sigma strategy. Not surprisingly, many other companies wish to learn what Six Sigma can do for them, and their first question is 'What exactly is Six Sigma?'. Unfortunately it is rather difficult, if not impossible, to define Six Sigma in one or two sentences. This paper identifies the essential elements of Six Sigma. Some are obvious, such as the extensive use of statistical techniques by employees known as Blackbelts. However, other more subtle, but very important, features of Six Sigma are concealed within the business culture of these successful companies. It is clear to those who have participated in this success, that any company embarking on Six Sigma will not succeed if it focuses on statistics whilst failing to develop a supporting culture.

Suggested Citation

  • Roland Caulcutt, 2001. "Why is Six Sigma so successful?," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3-4), pages 301-306.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:japsta:v:28:y:2001:i:3-4:p:301-306
    DOI: 10.1080/02664760120034045
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    Cited by:

    1. Freiesleben, Johannes, 2008. "A proposal for an economic quality loss function," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(2), pages 1012-1024, June.
    2. Muwafaq Alkubaisi, 2013. "Statistical Quality Control (SQC) and Six Sigma Methodology: An Application of X-Bar Chart on Kuwait Petroleum Company," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 4(3), pages 61-72, May.
    3. Freiesleben, Johannes, 2010. "Proposing a new approach to discussing economic effects of design quality," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 348-359, April.
    4. Swain, Ajaya K. & Cao, Qing Ray & Gardner, William L., 2018. "Six Sigma success: Looking through authentic leadership and behavioral integrity theoretical lenses," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 5(C), pages 120-132.
    5. Vishal Singh Patyal & K. Maddulety, 2015. "Interrelationship between Total Quality Management and Six Sigma: A Review," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 16(6), pages 1025-1060, December.

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