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An approach to six sigma implementation in South African enterprises

Thesis (MTech (Quality))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / To succeed in the global market, South African enterprises need an overall operational excellence which is a key requirement for any business to sustain competiveness and growth. To effectively respond to the constant flexibility of customer demands, many quality initiatives have been developed to assist business organisations in the quest for excellence. Quality management has evolved over the years from a simple product inspection, to a modern management system that requires the involvement of the entire workforce and other stakeholders to work closely, toward customer satisfaction. Currently, the most used quality concepts by organisations throughout the world are ISO 9001(2008); Total Quality Management; Just in Time; and Six Sigma. Among these quality initiatives, Six Sigma has emerged as the most powerful quality improvement strategy.
In South Africa (SA), business organisations have adopted several quality initiatives to cope with the challenges of globalisation. Six Sigma is one of the latest quality initiatives that many businesses in SA are using or considering as a mechanism to strengthen their product or service quality. This study explores a Six Sigma model for implementation in the context of the South African business environment.
As less than ten percent of organisations worldwide have recognised the tremendous effects of Six Sigma in boosting their productivity and financial profit, it becomes extremely important to understand the complexity and critical aspects behind Six Sigma implementation, that organisations in SA must recognise when implementing Six Sigma.
This study can assist many industries in SA, as well as those in other developing nations, who have not yet experienced Six Sigma implementation, to become aware of the complexity and critical elements of this quality approach.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/1213
Date January 2010
CreatorsNguenang, Lionel Bell
PublisherCape Peninsula University of Technology
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Rightshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/

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