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Six Sigma SWOT

T. N. Goh and L. C. Tang

Six Sigma as an initiative for quality improvement and business excellence has been
a subject of intense study and discussion since the early 1990s. Although concepts
and templates such as DMAIC have been frequently presented and advocated, there
exist a number of different perspectives as to what Six Sigma is fundamentally ca-
pable of. In this chapter we examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats associated with the application of the common version of Six Sigma. Some sta-
tistical, engineering, and management aspects are considered. Thus, a realistic tech-
nical as well as management review of Six Sigma is made, twenty years after its
inception.

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Six Sigma as a quality improvement framework gained the attention of indus-
try over a decade ago. Not only manufacturing companies, but also service or-
ganizations such as financial and educational institutions have started to embrace
Six Sigma concepts and strategies. Success stories emerging from Motorola, Gen-
eral Electric, Seagate Technologies and Allied Signal have enticed organizations to
adopt Six Sigma as the ultimate tool towards performance perfection and customer
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satisfaction. However, Six Sigma has always been subject to debate and criticism.
It is therefore useful for quality practitioners to take an objective view of the pros
and cons of Six Sigma as it is commonly practiced, since any serious commitment
to it would entail considerable corporate resources and management reorientation.
This chapter examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)
of the Six Sigma strategy, and offers both technical and management viewpoints
on the subject for those who are seriously considering embarking on Six Sigma
implementation.

Six Sigma: Advanced Tools for Black Belts and Master Black Belts L. C. Tang, T. N. Goh, H. S. Yam and T. Yoap
C 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
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