SPECIAL ISSUE
Human Sigma : A Holy Grail for Employee-Customer Engagement
-- N R Aravamudhan
Measuring and managing quality in all the remits of business has become a matter
of paramount importance to the companies. Companies are increasingly adopting
quality improvement tools like Six Sigma to ratchet up their quality of manufacturing. It is
not uncommon to see companies using Six Sigma to measure the quality of processes involved
in production. Seldom companies measure the quality of interaction employees have
with customers. Human sigma is a quality tool with difference. It measures the quality of
employee-customer encounters poignantly.
© 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
SPECIAL ISSUE
Employee Engagement : An Evident Contributor
to Human Sigma Metric
-- S C Poornima
It is essential that all organizations learn to measure and manage quality on a quantifiable
note. This is true for all sectors, be it manufacturing or service. Six Sigma is a formal method
to measure, analyze and control the product and service performance that has seen the light
of acceptance and implementation. In sales and service organizations as well as in
many professional service firms, value is seen to be created through the interaction of employee
with the customer. This encounter creates profit for the firm. The article explores the growth
and transition of Six Sigma into Human Sigma and reiterates the importance of
employee engagement in the process of creating engaged customers.
© 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
SPECIAL ISSUE
New Six Sigma : A Business Improvement Process for
Human Resource Management
-- Dr. Mohammed R Ahmed
In the changing business environment, companies constantly look for new ways to
improve their business processes, and satisfy the customers' wants and needs. In the 1990s,
several businesses deployed a process called Six Sigma, which was a way to reduce the error or
failure level in manufacturing. It was a better quantitative measure of performance compared to
the past in the manufacturing industry. The total business performance of the firm depends on
the five functions of the organization. New Six Sigma suggests that business
improvement processes should be deployed in all the five functions of business including human
resources management to improve the total business performance. Also, New Six Sigma should
be embedded as a corporate culture rather than as a functional culture.
© 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
SPECIAL ISSUE
Six Sigma : Road Map for Success
of Human Resource
-- Itishree Mohanty
Six Sigma is a journey for those who are truly committed to improving the quality and
meeting customer needs as well as driving human development to new levels. It is not an
opportunity but a responsibility of every human resource professional in implementing and sustaining
this strategy that will improve the culture in their organization. It is believed that once
employees understand the concept of Six Sigma and how it works, they will begin to see new ways to
buy success, as Six Sigma is something that can transform their organization into a
world-class organization. In a nutshell, it would be more of an appropriate strategy towards globalization
as it would lead to an overall improvement of an organization.
© 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
SPECIAL ISSUE
Enhancing the Effectiveness
of Six Sigma : The Role of HR Managers
-- Minakshi Chauhan Asopa
In the present scenario, because of liberalization, privatization and globalization,
customers are becoming knowledgeable and conscious of quality products or services. These
emerging demands have led to the initiation of the concept of `Quality Management'. Six Sigma is
a significant and revolutionary discovery in the history of quality management. It has led
various organizations towards success. Indian industries have realized the potential of Six Sigma,
thus harnessing it in improving the quality and productivity. This article explains the rationale of
Six Sigma, its advantages and the role of HR managers in increasing its effectiveness.
© 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
SPECIAL ISSUE
The Power
of Human Sigma : An Enunciation
-- Rupa Gunaseelan
It is extremely novel to think about implementing Six Sigma to Human Resource
Management. Though human resource is considered as an instrument to implement any quality movement
in an organization, but never had a thought been given to implement Six Sigma for its
own processes. In a human resource conference conducted at Chicago in 2009, it was stated
that the role of HR in implementation of Six Sigma has to be defined and designed. To attain
this reachable still-novel objective, the executives in the functional area of HR need to acquire
the right skills and knowledge so as to add value to its own domain. Since the HR
department interacts and influences every employee, it is the department that is best suited
for implementation of any major changes. It can function as an instrument in driving profit
and growth of business through the use of Six Sigma.
© 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
SPECIAL ISSUE
CASE STUDY
Fluor Corp.'s Business Ethics Practices: Creating Six
Sigma Standards in Staying Corruption-Free
-- Saradhi Kumar Gonela and Vivek M V
Fluor Corp., a US-based construction company is one such company having set out
elaborate ethical standards in its business dealings. Alan Boeckmann, a young engineer was
welcomed into the company where he got exposed to the fact that corrupt practices degrade the morals
of the employees and profits of the company in equal measure. He developed a deep-rooted
loath of unfair business practices. When he took over the reins of the company as CEO, he
declared to fight corruption out of company's operations. He developed Fluor's `Code of Ethics'
which went on to become one of the world's best codes of business conduct and ethics. He
was credited to have formalized a fight against corruption as part of normal operations of
the company by creating an exclusive department (Department of Corporate Compliance)
to ingrain ethical practices in employees. He also installed a 24-hour hotline service in
the company to record any aberrations in ethical practices. Alan Boeckmann also initiated
to partner industry heads in the fight against corruption by launching a wing called
Partnering Against Corruption Initiation (PACI) under the World Economic Forum.
© 2010 IBSCDC. All Rights Reserved.
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