Page 124 - DMGT524_TOTAL_QUALITY_MANAGEMENT

Unit 8: Continuous Process Improvement

To conclude, kaizen and the Indian BPOs are a seamless match. In a bid to constantly Notes
outperform and perfect routine and mundane tasks, organizations must continuously try
to discipline and reinvent themselves in the process. Whether it is an auto manufacturer,
an imaging-product company or a BPO organization, the rationale is simple – improve,
innovate, reinvent – again, again and yet again.
Questions
1. Kaizen is useful in service organizations. Give justification for your answer if positive.
2. Explain the advantages of using Kaizen in knowledge intensive organizations.

3. Kaizen and Indian BPOs are a seamless match. How do you justify this statement?
Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9589_22-144700.html
Raju Venkatraman President and COO, ICICI OneSource

8.7 Summary

Organizations should strive to achieve perfection by continuously improving the business
and production processes.
Process refers to business and production activities of an organization.

Business processes such as purchasing, engineering, accounting, and marketing are areas
where nonconformance can present an opportunity for substantial improvement.
Juran Trilogy has three components: planning, control, and improvement.
Control is used by operating forces to help meet the product, process, and service
requirements. It uses the feedback loop.
Process improvements begin with the establishment of an effective infrastructure such as
quality council.
The PDCA model provides a framework for the improvement of a process or system.
Kaizen means continuous improvement involving everyone, managers and workmen
alike.

Maintenance refers to activities directed towards maintaining current technological,
managerial and operating standards and improvement refers to those directed towards
improving current standards.
Lasting improvement is achieved only when people work to higher standards.
Six Sigma uses a variety of statistics to determine the best practices for any given process.

Six Sigma stands for “Six Standard deviations from the arithmetic mean”.
The statistical representation of Six Sigma describes quantitatively how a process is
performing.
The fundamental objective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a
measurement-based strategy that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction
through the application of Six Sigma improvement projects.

The Six Sigma DMADV process (define, measure, analyze, design, verify) is an
improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality
levels.

Six Sigma experts (Green Belts and Black Belts) evaluate a business process and determine
ways to improve upon the existing process.

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