Week 7 Case Study Questions

Six Sigma at 3M

The Sigma Approach was implemented by Chairman and chief executive officer McNerney at 3M, Inc. He initiated a training program for the managers. Senior executives at the company were responsible for developing six sigma projects.

History

3M was founded in 1902 as five businessmen agreed to mine a mineral deposit for abrasives. The company struggled to master quality production. Some of its innovations such as the waterproof sandpaper were, however, useful in driving early success of the company. 3M produced defense materials in the 1940s in response to the Second World War. This led to new ventures such as reflective sheeting. It produced various products in the following years. it expanded to every country during the 1970s. The creation of various products led to 3M’s sales record in 1990.

Six-sigma

This approach was applied to improve existing processes and develop new products. Six Sigma projects would achieve the goals of cost savings and customer satisfaction. products were also developed by initially identifying the customer’s needs. The 3M Initiatives implemented by McNerney were Six Sigma, E Productivity, supply and indirect costs. The approach to Six Sigma entailed selecting the right project, training the right people, developing plans, managing, sustaining gains and process outputs. The aim was to improve business processes. Some companies, however, failed to embrace Six Sigma citing its complexity, high training costs and inability to improve their processes as per the six sigma requirements.

The implementation of Six Sigma by McNerney led to an improvement in sales. When another chairman, Buckley over, he still continued Six Sigma in areas such as administrating and manufacturing. Although the use of Six Sigma increased 3M’s sales, some people had concerns that its blocked innovation and creativity. Due to its focus on reducing defects, some people have argued that 3M inhibits innovation.

CHALLENGES AT 3M

1. What will be the benefits, costs, and risks of the Six Sigma program, and how will they be tracked and reported?

The benefits of the program include achievement of customer satisfaction, management improvement and improvement in sales while the costs will be implementation of the program due to training requirements. The risks of the program include the possibility of facing difficulties in ascertaining the results needed due to ineffective analyses.

Quantifiable data can be used for measurement of reporting and tracking. The data includes the completed projects and training effectiveness. To track and report the data, the results of operating income and overall performance can be compared in terms of their variability.

2. How should the various functional areas in the organization be included in the Six Sigma initiative, and what role should senior and middle management play in this change initiative?

The senior management should initiate changes in the organization and guide and motivate workers. Different departments in the organization should work towards achieving the objectives of the organization. The finance department must record financial records well while sales department works towards customer satisfaction and maximizing profits.

3. What role should Six Sigma play in corporate strategy?

Six Sigma should contribute to the success of the organization by ensuring that techniques and procedures for improvement stated in the corporate strategy are implemented properly. Six Sigma should improve the level of motivation among the workers and help the company achieve its vision.

4. What are the human resource implications for deploying Six Sigma (e.g., employee selection, roles, organization structure, and the reward structure)?

The skills of workers must be matched with the job requirements while deploying Six Sigma. The management must ensure that it keeps the specifications and qualities of placement in a proper way. Workers must be recognized for their work through rewards to keep them motivated. Supervisors must ensure that they keep in mind the morale of workers and ensure that they reward them as they deserve.

0. How will Six Sigma affect the innovative culture at 3M, and is Six Sigma enough?

Six Sigma will enhance the innovative culture at 3M. This is because of the focus on customer satisfaction and development of new products through a process. Workers can also improve existing products by identifying possible errors in them or areas of improvement according to the requirements of customers. Six Sigma is therefore, enough because it has been proved to increase sales and functioning of various organizational departments.