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Lean Six Sigma for higher education institutions (HEIs)

Author

Listed:
  • Jiju Antony
  • Netasha Krishan
  • Donna Cullen
  • Maneesh Kumar

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate whether Lean Six Sigma (LSS) can be a powerful business improvement methodology for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education institutions (HEIs). The paper will also explore the fundamental challenges, barriers and critical success factors for the introduction and development of LSS in the HE context. The last part of the paper is to understand the role of tools and techniques for the sustainability of this initiative for making the HEIs more efficient and effective. Design/methodology/approach - The paper discusses whether LSS can be a useful and systematic approach to tackle operational and strategic issues within the HE industry. The authors use secondary data from literature to justify the need for this powerful approach and the benefits of adopting this business process improvement strategy within the HEIs. Findings - The paper presents the challenges and barriers to be encountered during the introduction of LSS in the higher education sector, most useful tools and techniques for process improvement problems, success factors which are essential for the implementation and sustainability of LSS. Research limitations/implications - This is a very theoretical paper based on the existing literature and authors’ experiences in the HE sector. The next stage of the research is to carry out empirical studies in a number of HEIs and develop a practical and useful roadmap for the implementation and sustainability of LSS as a business process improvement methodology. Originality/value - This paper makes an attempt to remove the myth that LSS is confined to manufacturing. It also demonstrates, through relevant existing literature and authors’ experiences, that LSS is equally applicable to public sector organisations and in particular HEIs. Although lean has been adopted by a few HEIs in the UK and abroad, very few HEIs have adopted the integrated LSS approach for waste reduction and variability reduction, which leads to superior performance and enhanced student satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiju Antony & Netasha Krishan & Donna Cullen & Maneesh Kumar, 2012. "Lean Six Sigma for higher education institutions (HEIs)," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 61(8), pages 940-948, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:ijppmp:v:61:y:2012:i:8:p:940-948
    DOI: 10.1108/17410401211277165
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Andreas Kakouris & Eleni Sfakianaki & Marios Tsioufis, 2022. "Lean thinking in lean times for education," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 316(1), pages 657-697, September.
    2. Jiju Antony & Maneesh Kumar, 2012. "Lean and Six Sigma Methodologies in NHS Scotland: An Empirical Study and Directions for Future Research," Quality Innovation Prosperity, Technical University of Košice, Department of integrated management, vol. 16(2).
    3. Ioana CALINESCU & Georgiana COSTACHE & Corina FRASINEANU, 2018. "Quality Management In The Romanian Upper Secondary Education: A Different Internal And External Perspective," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(1), pages 957-967, November.
    4. Amrik Sohal & Tharaka Vass & Tristan Vasquez & Greg J. Bamber & Timothy Bartram & Pauline Stanton, 2022. "Success factors for lean six sigma projects in healthcare," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 215-240, June.
    5. Jorge L. García-Alcaraz & Liliana Avelar-Sosa & Juan I. Latorre-Biel & Emilio Jiménez-Macías & Giner Alor-Hernández, 2017. "Role of Human Knowledge and Communication on Operational Benefits Gained from Six Sigma," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-19, September.
    6. Daniel Dasig Jr, 2017. "A frontier in organizational and business process innovation in service management through lean six sigma Kaizen project implementation," Journal of Administrative and Business Studies, Professor Dr. Usman Raja, vol. 3(6), pages 263-283.
    7. Falah Abu & Hamed Gholami & Muhamad Zameri Mat Saman & Norhayati Zakuan & Dalia Streimikiene & Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos, 2021. "An SEM Approach for the Barrier Analysis in Lean Implementation in Manufacturing Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Bandar Alzahrani & Haitham Bahaitham & Murad Andejany & Ahmad Elshennawy, 2021. "How Ready Is Higher Education for Quality 4.0 Transformation according to the LNS Research Framework?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-29, May.
    9. Lukrafka, Tatiany Oleques & Silva, Diego Souza & Echeveste, Marcia, 2020. "A geographic picture of Lean adoption in the public sector: Cases, approaches, and a refreshed agenda," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 506-517.
    10. Marco Maciel-Monteon & Jorge Limon-Romero & Carlos Gastelum-Acosta & Yolanda Baez-Lopez & Diego Tlapa & Manuel Iván Rodríguez Borbón, 2020. "Improvement project in higher education institutions: A BPEP-based model," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, January.
    11. Yilmaz, Aysegul & Dora, Manoj & Hezarkhani, Behzad & Kumar, Maneesh, 2022. "Lean and industry 4.0: Mapping determinants and barriers from a social, environmental, and operational perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).

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