Baring some limited exceptions, all large non-manufacturing organisations want to improve quality together with reducing costs, and the deployment and implementation of continuous improvement methodologies is commonly viewed as a daunting and sometimes even an impossible undertaking. Many organisations and their leadership fail to properly structure or support continuous improvement initiatives incorporating customer centricity, which ultimately doom them to failure. Business performance excellence programmes enables firms to provide a mechanism to identify and eliminate operational waste; enhance customer experience; and systematically increase profits. Thus, performance excellence has become a key indicator of a firm’s ability to achieve sustained profitability and competitiveness. This study has led to the development of a theoretical framework for effectively implementing and deploying an appropriately adapted Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in large non-manufacturing companies. It also creates a better understanding of the impact that an adopted Lean Six Sigma can have on the success of large non-manufacturing companies, and establish how effectively such organisations can implement the revised methodology, as measured against the said theoretical framework, thus to be able to make recommendations on how they can reduce cost, optimise their performance and become customer centric. A literature survey was done on Lean, Six-sigma and Lean Six Sigma to evaluate the history, benefits, and challenges during implementation, applicability to services oriented industries and the defining of the critical success factors required for effective implementation.The conceptual background from the literature review identified the research gap on which a theoretical framework for non-manufacturing companies was developed. Field-based interviews were conducted with the relevant senior personnel of four large non-manufacturing companies in order to complete the structured questionnaires to provide the data for understanding the mechanisms by which Lean Six Sigma deployment is addressed in the organisations. Fieldwork consisted of interviews with directors, senior executives, line managers and other staff that have in-depth knowledge of their organisation’s Lean Six Sigma deployment activities. These personnel members were selected on the basis of their direct decision-making and long-term involvement in their organisations’ continuous improvement activities throughout the assessment, negotiation and implementation phases. Detailed research on each organisation’s Lean Six Sigma activities preceded every interview. The interviews themselves were highly structured, and focused on the specific organisation’s Lean Six Sigma challenges on implementation and deployment of the method. The questionnaire was designed around the key factors needed in order to successfully manage Lean Six Sigma deployment challenges, as identified by theory and case studies and to test the degree of conformance to these theories by the four non-manufacturing companies. The findings in this study proves that, South African non-manufacturing companies are not adopting Lean Six Sigma to the point where it is going to make any sort of significant difference to the bottom line over a significantly meaningful period of time, judging from the statistical analysis from the survey results presented. The proposed framework provides for clearly defining the project infrastructure and methodology before the Lean Six Sigma project begins. This clearly helps to gain funding to embark on the projects, and will be helpful in any non-manufacturing company that must justify, as most do, how they spend the capital budget. The detailed cost/benefit analysis created during the implementation phase provides for the ability to gain funding for the implementation activities. People used to think of customer-centricity programmes mostly in terms of Customer Relations Management systems. Therefore, this research proposed a framework for management, supported by technology to become customer centric in a holistic manner. Many projects need not begin with any major technical investments. What matters more is a sustained focus on the financial goal and the transformation effort required to achieve that goal. Profitable Lean Six Sigma companies focus not only on integrating customer centricity into the organisation, but on ensuring that the entire “ecosystem” of the business - stakeholders, along with organisational processes, and structures - are aligned in ways that support Lean Six Sigma and customer-centric growth strategy. / PhD (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Baring some limited exceptions, all large non-manufacturing organisations want to improve quality together with reducing costs, and the deployment and implementation of continuous improvement methodologies is commonly viewed as a daunting and sometimes even an impossible undertaking. Many organisations and their leadership fail to properly structure or support continuous improvement initiatives incorporating customer centricity, which ultimately doom them to failure. Business performance excellence programmes enables firms to provide a mechanism to identify and eliminate operational waste; enhance customer experience; and systematically increase profits. Thus, performance excellence has become a key indicator of a firm’s ability to achieve sustained profitability and competitiveness. This study has led to the development of a theoretical framework for effectively implementing and deploying an appropriately adapted Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in large non-manufacturing companies. It also creates a better understanding of the impact that an adopted Lean Six Sigma can have on the success of large non-manufacturing companies, and establish how effectively such organisations can implement the revised methodology, as measured against the said theoretical framework, thus to be able to make recommendations on how they can reduce cost, optimise their performance and become customer centric. A literature survey was done on Lean, Six-sigma and Lean Six Sigma to evaluate the history, benefits, and challenges during implementation, applicability to services oriented industries and the defining of the critical success factors required for effective implementation.The conceptual background from the literature review identified the research gap on which a theoretical framework for non-manufacturing companies was developed. Field-based interviews were conducted with the relevant senior personnel of four large non-manufacturing companies in order to complete the structured questionnaires to provide the data for understanding the mechanisms by which Lean Six Sigma deployment is addressed in the organisations. Fieldwork consisted of interviews with directors, senior executives, line managers and other staff that have in-depth knowledge of their organisation’s Lean Six Sigma deployment activities. These personnel members were selected on the basis of their direct decision-making and long-term involvement in their organisations’ continuous improvement activities throughout the assessment, negotiation and implementation phases. Detailed research on each organisation’s Lean Six Sigma activities preceded every interview. The interviews themselves were highly structured, and focused on the specific organisation’s Lean Six Sigma challenges on implementation and deployment of the method. The questionnaire was designed around the key factors needed in order to successfully manage Lean Six Sigma deployment challenges, as identified by theory and case studies and to test the degree of conformance to these theories by the four non-manufacturing companies. The findings in this study proves that, South African non-manufacturing companies are not adopting Lean Six Sigma to the point where it is going to make any sort of significant difference to the bottom line over a significantly meaningful period of time, judging from the statistical analysis from the survey results presented. The proposed framework provides for clearly defining the project infrastructure and methodology before the Lean Six Sigma project begins. This clearly helps to gain funding to embark on the projects, and will be helpful in any non-manufacturing company that must justify, as most do, how they spend the capital budget. The detailed cost/benefit analysis created during the implementation phase provides for the ability to gain funding for the implementation activities. People used to think of customer-centricity programmes mostly in terms of Customer Relations Management systems. Therefore, this research proposed a framework for management, supported by technology to become customer centric in a holistic manner. Many projects need not begin with any major technical investments. What matters more is a sustained focus on the financial goal and the transformation effort required to achieve that goal. Profitable Lean Six Sigma companies focus not only on integrating customer centricity into the organisation, but on ensuring that the entire “ecosystem” of the business - stakeholders, along with organisational processes, and structures - are aligned in ways that support Lean Six Sigma and customer-centric growth strategy. / PhD (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This thesis deals with the Six Sigma and LEAN project management methodology and its mutual linkage to Lean Six Sigma. In the first part it describes its basic theoretical principles explaining the background and the roots of both approaches. Furthermore, the adaptation to SAP Sigma is brought to light. In the practical part a case study of the application of Six Sigma on a project called FastClose is introduced and investigated. In addition, Lean Six Sigma methods are applied as well in order to explore further improvement potential within the project.

Extra-Cytoplasmic Function (ECF) σ factors are a subset of σ factors many organisms use to transcribe specific genes in response to environmental cues. In the absence of an inducing signal, ECF σ factors are inhibited by an anti-σ factor that prevents the ECF σ factor from interacting with RNA polymerase. The ECF σ factor σV from Bacillus subtilis is activated in response to lysozyme stress. Lysozyme damages bacterial peptidoglycan by cleaving at the 1,4-ß-linkage between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine. In the absence of lysozyme, the activity of σV is inhibited by the anti-σ factor RsiV, a single pass transmembrane protein. The two main components of this project have been to elucidate the mechanism of σV activation and examine how this system senses lysozyme stress. In chapter 2 we show that the activation of σV is specific to lysozyme, and the anti-σ factor RsiV is degraded by a step wise proteolytic cascade known as Regulated Intramembrane Proteolysis (RIP). In the presence of lysozyme, the extracellular domain of RsiV is removed by cleavage at site-1. Upon removal of the extracellular domain, the site-2 protease, RasP, cleaves RsiV within the membrane. The remainder of RsiV is degraded by cytosolic proteases allowing σV to interact with RNA polymerase. In response to lysozyme stress σV activates an O-actyltransferase, OatA, which modifies the peptidoglycan to prevent further lysozyme damage. Our studies in chapter 3 identifed the protease(s) responsible for site-1 cleavage of RsiV and revealed RsiV directly interacts with lysozyme. We determined the cleavage site of the site-1 protease using N-terminal sequencing, and demonstrate that disruption of site-1 cleavage blocks σV activation. Site-1 cleavage occurs at what appears to be a signal peptide cleavage site. We demonstrate that four out of the five signal peptidases from B. subtilis are able to cleave RsiV at site-1 in vitro only in the presence of lysozyme. Additionally, we show that the extracellular domain of RsiV directly binds the inducing substrate lysozyme. In chapter 4 we focus on determining if the interaction between RsiV and lysozyme is necessary for σV activation. Based on the co-crystal structure of RsiV and lysozyme we mutated sveral residues predicted to be involved in binding. One combination of RsiV mutations (S169W, P259A, Y261A) was unable to activate σV and subsequently was unable to bind lysozyme. We propose a RIP dependent mechanism of σV activation that is contingent upon the anti-σ factor (RsiV) directly binding the inducing signal (lysozyme) to present the site-1 cleavage site to signal peptidase. The co-crystal structure of RsiV and lysozyme also revealed that RsiV interacts with the active site of lysozyme. We demonstrate that purified RsiV inhibits lysozyme activity suggesting RsiV provides an additional lysozyme response mechanism. Thus, the anti-σ factor RsiV senses the presence of lysozyme, activates σV, and protects against further lysozyme damage.

Abstract Six Sigma is a kind of quality control system originated in Motorola. It did not receive great attention of the world until the successful experience of Six Sigma in General Electric Company was made public. From then on, the world-famous enterprises started to introduce Six Sigma into their companies. In view of the great contributions of the Six Sigma quality control system implemented in Europe and America toward financial performance as well as the demands of customers who have carried out the Six Sigma quality control system, numerous domestic enterprises considered to introduce the quality control system as an important tool for improving their competitive ability in recent years. Going alone with such a trend, now many management consultants in Taiwan are facing the challenge of transformation. It seems that Six Sigma is a combination of the tools and techniques we used before, in which nothing is new. However, its managing philosophy and methodology do create achievements that can¡¦t be found in other management system. From the viewpoint of an enterprise under guidance, the author drew a conclusion of this study based on the in-depth interviews of the enterprises that actually promote the Six Sigma activity, and submitted the results of the study on transformation of such management consultants to be Six Sigma consultants. The main contributions of this study are as the following: 1. To establish a Six Sigma consulting procedure and list the main tasks of each step for the reference of domestic management consultants who plan to devote themselves to the guidance and instruction of Six Sigma quality control system. 2. To make suggestions to interview of the enterprises which have adopted the Six Sigma quality control system on continuous promotion of the system and further improvement of their performance. 3. To submit the prerequisites for an excellent Six Sigma consultant for the reference of the consultants who intend to engage in or have been engage in the consulting service of Six Sigma.

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This report studies the generation of new solutions to Einstein's field equations in general relativity by the method of sigma models. If, when projected from four to three dimensions, the relativistic action decouples into a gravity term and a non-linear sigma model term, target space isometries of the sigma model can be found that correspond to generating new solutions. We give a self-contained description of the method and relate it to the early articles through which the method was introduced. We discuss the virtues of the method and how it is used today. We find that it is a powerful technique of finding new solutions and can also give insight to the general features of the theory. We also identify some possible further developments of the method.

The purpose of this chapter is to develop a form of a "free" Boolean algebra with Σ as a base, by imposing the usual Boolean operations on the set Σ and thus generating new elements freely within explicitly prescribed restrictions.

The geometry of non-conformal supersymmetric non-linear sigma models in one and two dimensions are reviewed. Transformations of the Osp(1|2) subgroup of the superconformal group are derived and then used in finding geometrical constraints on the target space of an N=(1,1) sigma model reduced to an N=1 sigma model.