In the business world, especially in manufacturing or quality management, the term Six Sigma usually refers to a set of tools and methodologies developed by Motorola to improve processes by eliminating defects. So why should the HR professional care what Six Sigma is or how it can be applied in the HR function? According to the specialists at Orion Partners, there are ten key reasons: * to create excellence in process delivery; * to reduce defects; * to increase efficiency; * to create a quality focused mindset; * to benefit from best practice; * to bring clarity to the processes of HR; * to use a structured scientific approach; * to speak the same language and improve communication; * to gain control over your processes; * and to strengthen your business case. Mircea Albeanu and Ian Hunter explain some of the basic concepts to show how applying Six Sigma tools and methodologies can be used to manage the practical challenges of improving HR operations to meet your organization's expectations at a lower cost and with greater efficiency. To help illustrate some of the key messages examples are drawn from Orion Partners' work using Six Sigma tools with international organizations over the last seven years. This concise guide is ideal for project and programme managers involved in business transformation, and for HR managers as well as Six Sigma specialists seeking to understand its applications within human resources. About The Gower HR Transformation Series: The Human Resources function faces a continuing challenge to its role and purpose, in many organizations it has suffered from serious under-representation at strategic, board level. Yet, faced with the challenges of globalism, the need to innovate, manage knowledge, attract and retain the very best employees, organizations need an HR function that can lead from the front. The process of transforming the function is complex and rarely linear. It includes the practical challenges of improving HR operations to meet customer expectations at lower cost and with greater efficiency. The Gower HR Transformation Series will help; it uses a blend of conceptual frameworks, practical advice and global case study examples to cover each of the main elements of the HR transformation process. The books in the series follow a standard format to make them easy to read and reference. Together, the titles create a definitive guide from one of the leading specialist HR transformation consultancies; an organization that has been involved in HR transformation for clients as diverse as Bombardier Transportation, Marks & Spencer, Barnardo's, Oxfam, Schroders, UnitedHealth Group, Nestle, BP, HM Prison Service, Transport for London and Vodafone.

While there are a growing number of books based on the Toyota Production System, or lean, focused on healthcare, there are very few that detail the tools that make lean more than just a way of thinking and put the methodology into practice. Based on Hiroyuki Hirano's classic 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace and modeled after the Shingo Prize-winning Shopfloor Series for Lean Manufacturers, 5S for Healthcare adopts a proven reader-friendly format to impart all the information needed to understand and implement this essential lean methodology. It provides examples and cased studies based on the experiences of the principals involved with the Rona Consulting Group, who were responsible for the groundbreaking implementation of the Toyota Production System at the Virginia Mason Medical Center. Written to readily assist with hands-on implementation efforts, this volume offers innovative features designed to improve understanding and support application. This includes helpful how-to-steps and practical examples taken directly from the healthcare industry.

In the tradition of Taoist philosophers and Zen masters, Steve Hoeft tells the stories he learned from his Toyota Production System (TPS) master teachers. Sometimes enigmatic, sometimes funny, but always powerful and enlightening, these stories of continuous improvement and Lean implementation are organized around the Toyota House framework. After covering historical and foundational aspects of TPS, the stories go on to illustrate a wealth of essential topics encompassing the timeless, unchanging principles of Just-In-Time, Built in Quality, and Respect for People, and delves into specifics on many tools like kanban, Quick Changeover, and A3 Problem Solving.

Winner of a 2011 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Prize

More than entertainment, the telling of stories is a way that human wisdom is handed from one generation to the next. It is a gentle but memorable way to learn the lessons of failure without suffering the personal pain of misdirected efforts; a way to find the best path without having to personally experience hundreds of dead-end journeys. It is a way to gain understanding that goes deeper than definitions.

"When Steve writes about the TPS house, it is not just an abstraction. It is something he lives. He can vividly picture it in every operation?. Steve's stories?bring the house to life."

--From the Foreword by Jeffrey K. Liker, author of The Toyota Way

TPS is more than just a manufacturing blueprint and a set of business rules. It is a tradition, a learned and shared cultural legacy that imbues each ensuing generation with ethics and a sense of purpose that goes far beyond the punching of a clock and the filling of a ledger. It is far better taught by stories than by rulebooks. Ideal for individual learning and reflection as well as for use with groups, Stories From My Sensei provides key insights into how and how-not-to implement TPS principles. Reflection questions accompany each story to help readers apply the lessons to their own situations?situations that will ultimately become the basis of stories handed down to the next generation.

In 2001, we gathered a group of researchers in Nice, France to focus discussion on performance measurement and management control. Following the success of that conference, we held subsequent conferences in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009. This volume contains some of the exemplary papers that were presented at the most recent conference. Though the conference has been generally focused on performance measurement and management control and has included presentations on many facets of the topic, each year we have also focused on a particular theme of current interest. This year's theme was directed at innovative concepts and practices. This includes creative approaches to solving management challenges of performance and management control and improving organizational performance. It also includes the innovative use of empirical, analytical, experimental, and case based research. The contents of this book represent a collection of leading research in management control and performance measurement and provide a significant contribution to the growing literature in the area.

It is widely accepted that management concepts such as strategic management, human resource management and management development have a well-defined body of knowledge designed to inform management praxis, however the notion of efficiency has no such body of knowledge to support its application within management praxis.
This book proposes the replacement of the generalised term efficiency with the more comprehensive notion of performance efficiency to provide a reliable basis on which to evaluate management behaviour. Given the scope of the investigation, the outcome is not designed to prove the success or failure of the inherent nature of efficiency, but rather to establish a new starting point for yet wider empirical research. At a macro-level, it advances the proposition that the notion of efficiency has become an ideological statement of support for any management intention rather than a practical means to inform or evaluate a range of management actions.

Mistakes occur for many reasons. This book takes a hands-on approach to the reasons mistakes happen, analyzes the actual mistakes, and develops a strategy to reduce them. This book proposes error reduction strategies in human decision making and educates the reader to further reduce the likelihood of making a mistake. It provides error reduction strategies, describes various cost-effective methods for eliminating costly errors, and discusses Anthropometry, Crew Resource Management, Human Factors, Industrial Engineering, Scientific Management, and Usability and the role these topics play in the avoidance of mistakes. This book will be of interest to professionals and students in the areas of industrial engineering, human factors, logistics, quality control, manufacturing, human resources, and safety.

From TQM to Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard, there appears to be no end to the "revolutionary" approaches proposed to improve business performance. However, on closer inspection, most new performance improvement approaches offer few differences from their predecessors.

This thought-provoking book provides a critical perspective on the management of performance improvement initiatives by relating major theories to practical examples from a wide range of organizations. Baxter and MacLeod analyze ideas on performance improvement and discuss how these concepts might not make any impact on organizations, using cases as diverse as telecommunications, cement manufacturing, a major airport, and an economic development organization. In their critique of popular performance improvement "innovations," the authors highlight the possible damage to organizations they can cause. In response to prevailing performance improvement practices, the authors put forth the concept of repair as a way to rescue these efforts. Working from the authors' extensive research, they present alternative perspectives on improvement that shifts forward the stagnant debates on these processes.

Offering a needed alternative perspective and real insights into the process of implementing performance improvements, this book will prove invaluable to advanced students and MBAs studying quality, performance improvement, operations management, and HRM.

Lynne F. Baxter is Senior Lecturer in Management Information Systems at The York Management School.

Alasdair MacLeod is an Honorary Research Fellow at Heriot-Watt University.

Everyone has trouble with bureaucracy. Citizens and politicians have trouble controlling the runaway bureaucratic machine. Managers have trouble managing it. Employees dislike working in it. Clients can't get the goods from it. Teachers have difficulty getting a grip on it. Optimists argue that soon all of this will be fixed. The new Fifth Edition of Ralph P. Hummel's classic text maintains just the opposite - that despite all the current rhetoric from proponents of total quality management, corporate reengineering, and the new public management, it's still "business as usual" for bureaucracies. The persistent reality of organizational structure remains resilient in the face of feel-good trends and values. For this edition the book has been thoroughly revised and updated, with two key changes: each of the six core chapters has been trimmed and edited to consolidate and streamline the important organizational theory developments since the book's initial publication; and, each chapter contains newly added critiques of the postmodern theory of modern organizations, pursuing the theme that postmodernism covers up the persistent reality of organizational structure.

The pharmaceutical industry is under increasing pressure to do more with less. Drug discovery, development, and clinical trial costs remain high and are subject to rampant inflation. Ever greater regulatory compliance forces manufacturing costs to rise despite social demands for more affordable health care. Traditional methodologies are failing and the industry needs to find new and innovative approaches for everything it does. Six Sigma in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Understanding, Reducing, and Controlling Variation in Pharmaceuticals and Biologics is the first book to focus on the building blocks of understanding and reducing variation using the Six Sigma method as applied specifically to the pharmaceutical industry. It introduces the fundamentals of Six Sigma, examines control chart theory and practice, and explains the concept of variation management and reduction. Describing the approaches and techniques responsible for their own significant success, the authors provide more than just a set of tools, but the basis of a complete operating philosophy. Allowing other references to cover the structural elements of Six Sigma, this book focuses on core concepts and their implementation to improve the existing products and processes in the pharmaceutical industry. The first half of the book uses simple models and descriptions of practical experiments to lay out a conceptual framework for understanding variation, while the second half introduces control chart theory and practice. Using case studies and statistics, the book illustrates the concepts and explains their application to actual workplace improvements. Designed primarily for the pharmaceutical industry, Six Sigma in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Understanding, Reducing, and Controlling Variation in Pharmaceuticals and Biologics provides the fundamentals of variation management and reduction in sufficient detail to assist in transforming established methodologies into new and efficient techniques.

Now in Paperback!

Highlighted with valuable tips and Brown's firsthand experiences, "Winning Score" is an excellent tool for constructing a performance measurement system. It explains how to lay the foundation for the balanced scorecard by developing operational and strategic plans. "Winning Score" explains how to: Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Design data collection strategies. Link the scorecard to other systems in an organization. Develop a performance index. Avoid the top 10 measurement mistakes.

In addition, case studies of actual scorecard implementation in different sectors, such as manufacturing, service, support, and government are included.

Click here for the introductory chapter

A 296 minute abridged version of this book is also available on 4 compact discs or 4 audio cassettes from Productivity Press.

In Keeping Score, the author contends that metrics must be all-encompassing. They must focus not just on the present, but need to consider the past and future. They also must consider the needs of all participants, including customers, shareholders, and employees. Still one must know exactly what to measure, as measuring everything can be more damaging than measuring nothing. Taking a balanced Baldrige approach, this book shows how to evaluate current approaches to measurement and pinpoint false measurements. It covers the selection of financial metrics, ways to measure employee and customer satisfaction, and methods to track performance and measure quality.

Organizations in the construction industry struggle with three key issues: quality management or better meeting customer expectations, supply chain management or more effectively working with suppliers to provide a seamless service to customers, and knowledge management, the challenge of learning between collaborating organisations and between people working on similar projects around the world. Excellence in these key aspects of business is the hallmark of great companies.

This book tackles each of these themes, demonstrating their significance as strategic concepts for the construction sector and illustrating how development goals in each of the areas can be met. To be successful Total Quality has to impact on the organisation's Performance, which should be measured on a "balanced scorecard," including the results from the customer. This can be achieved through good Planning and improvements in Processes through involvement of the People. These 4Ps combine with the 4Cs - Customer, Culture, Communication and Commitment to provide a model for implementing total quality into construction.
The book brings together, within this consistent theoretical framework, international case studies from all areas of the construction industry. These include examples as diverse as quarrying, construction, design, real estate, land development and regulatory agencies, drawn from the UK, USA, Hong Kong, Singapore Australia and Japan. Through these the authors demonstrate how a total quality or business excellence strategy can be applied in all activities in the construction supply chain to achieve world-class performance.
Written by two of the world's leading experts, in a logical and verypractical style, Total Quality in the Construction Supply Chain offers students and others new to the subject a clearly structured introduction to the concept of quality in the industry, while offering help and guidance to the most experienced professionals. The book should also appeal to people from all areas of the building and construction sector in any country.
* Key management techniques applied specifically to the needs of the construction industry
* International case studies demonstrate how to achieve real and lasting improvements in quality across the industry

This work examines the evolution and rationale of the ISO 9000 series of standards, their structure, interpretation and relationship to other quality systems. Theory and applications are provided, and the author explains how to put the standards into place and achieve quality. Specific methods and tools for the implementation of the ISO standards that lead to certification and certification maintenance are supplied.

This cross-disciplinary business book develops insight into the management of businesses operating in various economic sectors that take a proactive approach to the triple dimension of sustainability (economic, social and environmental), positioning itself as a key reference for both academics and practitioners in the wide area of business management. The concept of sustainability is today at the heart of international policies and debate, and plays a key role in deep changes to the organizational models of companies operating in a wide range of sectors of economic activity. In particular, this book aims to gain a deeper understanding of how stakeholder engagement can contribute to value co-creation both in the company and along the supply chain, and what distinguishes the differing involvement of stakeholders, in particular between public involvement and stakeholder participation. Each chapter of this book presents different modalities of stakeholder involvement and develops the concept of value co-creation from organizational and marketing perspectives. This book is recommended reading for those interested in the fields of stakeholder engagement and theory, sustainability, business studies, and sustainable development.

Since the publication of the first edition of this book in 2000 the revised ISO 9001 standard has been implemented and is being used widely. While the basic premise of the original book is still sound, the reality of auditing the new standard has shown up various areas which require refinement - this new edition addresses that need. It remains a pragmatic guide, covering all aspects of auditing, including certification assessment, supplier investigation and internal audit, enabling auditors to appreciate the approaches adopted by those working in related areas. With its detailed analysis of the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, this book will also be of interest to all those involved in implementing certified quality management systems, as well as the auditors who are required to examine those systems. A down-to-earth approach is taken throughout The Quality Audit for ISO 9001:2000, avoiding the impractical and nit-picking methods which have so often characterized quality management audits, making it an invaluable source of realistic advice. It demonstrates how to produce real benefits from an audit programme rather than simply guaranteeing compliance to a documented system. Everyone who sees audits as a useful tool for business improvement should read this book!

Assessing Business Excellence presents a strategic framework for business excellence and total quality management and shows how you can be actively involved in continuous improvement by systematically reviewing your business activities and results against holistic business excellence frameworks.
For all practitioners who seek to use total quality management to improve their organization's effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness, this title is the essential route map to business excellence. From two leading expert authors comes a book where the most recognized quality award criteria are used to explore the concepts of business excellence and self-assessment.
This book:
* Introduces the major business excellence and total quality frameworks including The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the European Quality Award and ISO9000: 2000
* Compares the frameworks and identifies their strengths and limitations
* Introduces the self-assessment process
* Explores the main approaches to self-assessment
* Illustrates the practical benefits of self-assessment through case examples
* Includes practical case examples
* Provides an explanation of the major excellence business models and frameworks from around the world * A regularly updated web site accompanies the text

This practical, industry-oriented reference starts with the basic concepts and principles behind Total Quality Management. The author then presents examples of Quality Assurance (QA) programs that can be applied to the food industry using simple, proven formats. He provides readers with an overall understanding of quality assurance programs and the practical knowledge necessary to set up a program. The book discusses the role of QA in product manufacturing, stressing the need for interactions between QA, Qualtiy Control, product development, marketing, sales, and consumer Affairs.

The do-it-yourself manual, with steps to success and simple explanatory notes, designed for real companies. ISO 14001 Environmental Certification Step by Step has been written with smaller companies especially in mind.
Dr. A.J. Edwards explains how to achieve the ISO 14001 standard aided by resources freely available from the accompanying website, including a sample manual and detailed sample registers and procedures. Together, these provide a quick and straightforward guide to achieving the requirements of ISO 14001 Environmental Certification.
This revised edition has been updated to cover the latest developments in the interpretation of the standard, plus changes in related legislation, such as the EU's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), Control of Pollution regulations, Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations, Landfill charges, Pollution Prevention and Control, and Asbestos Regulations. In addition, the new ISO 19011:2002 standard for auditing is reflected in the book, as are approaches to phased introduction of ISO 14001.
Many organisations working towards ISO 14001 already possess ISO 9000 registration, or choose to achieve ISO 14001 and ISO 9000 simultaneously as an integrated system.To prevent duplication, ISO 14001 Environmental Certification Step by Step includes cross-referencing of ISO 14001 requirements to the relevant procedures in the Quality System.
* A do-it-yourself manual, with steps to success and simple explanatory notes
* Revised and updated to cover developments in the interpretation of the standard, changes in related legislation, such as the EU's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), new standards and standards
* Supported by downloadable forms and procedures

Service industries have traditionally lagged manufacturing in adoption of quality management strategies and Six Sigma is no exception. While there are a growing number of books on applying the hot topics of Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing concepts in a manufacturing environment, there has not been a mainstream book that applies these techniques in a service environment, until now.

Transactional Six Sigma and Lean Servicing™: Leveraging Manufacturing Concepts to Achieve World Class Service is a ground breaking "how-to" book that serves as a practical guide for implementing Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing methods in a transactional service oriented environment. It uses real case studies and examples to show how Six Sigma and Lean Servicing™ techniques have been implemented and proven effective in achieving substantial documented results. Lean Servicing™ is the author's own term used to describe the application of Lean Manufacturing concepts to transactional and service processes.

Liberal use of examples, graphics, and tables will assist you in grasping the difficult concepts. Transactional Six Sigma and Lean Servicing™ covers both theory and practical application of Lean Servicing™, Six Sigma DMAIC and Six Sigma DFSS concepts and methods so you can implement them effectively in your service organization and achieve reduced costs and a new level of service excellence.

This book considers strategic aspects of quality management and self-assessment frameworks, and provides an in-depth examination of a number of the main quality improvement tools and techniques. Incorporating a critical orientation and drawing upon original case-studies, it also reviews the implementation of a variety of quality management programmes in a range of organisational contexts, including manufacturing, higher education, health care, policing and retailing.

Business Excellence and Total Quality Management (TQM) models provide a means of measuring the satisfaction of customers, employees and shareholders simultaneously. A number of such models currently exist, but, the author argues, none of these address all dimensions of TQM.
This book introduces the principles of TQM, and establishes their use in measuring Business Excellence in an organisational environment. It comparatively evaluates various TQM and Business Excellence models, and discusses the complexities of measuring success.
Presenting important, innovative work by one of the most eminent scholars in the field, this book is essential reading for both academics and professionals working in quality management.

This book considers strategic aspects of quality management and self-assessment frameworks, and provides an in-depth examination of a number of the main quality improvement tools and techniques. Incorporating a critical orientation and drawing upon original case-studies, it also reviews the implementation of a variety of quality management programmes in a range of organisational contexts, including manufacturing, higher education, health care, policing and retailing.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415222710

Total Organizational Excellence: Achieving world-class performance sets down an implementation framework to guide managers on how to improve business performance in all types of organization. Drawing on extensive research and case study work conducted within Oakland Consulting and its Research Division, the European Centre for Business Excellence, it shows how to set clear direction and fulfil desired goals through key business and people development processes and regular performance measurement. These are the secrets of successful strategy deployment and change management.

The quality and safety of the food we eat attracts a great deal of publicity and is high on the list of public concerns. This highly emotive issue is discussed in this timely book, which brings together a group of experts to present up-to-date and balanced overviews on a wide range of topics including GM crops; hazardous microorganisms such as E. coli; the BSE/CJD problem; and cancer-causing chemicals, both natural and synthetic. Thought-provoking and of interest to a wide readership, this authoritative review will be welcomed by food scientists, legislators, government officials and advisors. Students of food science or environmental science will also find it essential reading.

Globalization is a pervasive feature of recent industrial and commercial developments, not least in the airline business with concomitant effects on human resource management. This book focuses on the organization and human resource changes that have taken place in the international airline industry in recent years. It provides an extensive analysis of airline organization and external relations, airline organization and internal relations, changes in industrial relations and human resource management and also, the integration of human resource management and other management functions. The authoritative second edition of an already established work that covers both theory and practice, this book will be of great interest to managers in all areas of the airline industry, as well as to students of air transport and personnel/human resource management.