Achieving operational excellence in service sector using lean six sigma

Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology that has been used in several industries and sectors for years. Even though Lean and Six Sigma come from distinct backgrounds, over a period of time, they have been used in conjunction with each other by companies to solve problems, increase efficiency and reduce waste in the processes. In the traditional schema of things, Lean Six Sigma methodology is more commonly used in a manufacturing setting. Further, the impact of organizational culture and leadership style is often ignored in the deployment of Lean Six Sigma methodologies. The objective of this dissertation is to study the impact of organizational culture and leadership styles on the deployment of Lean Six Sigma and its outcomes in a service sector. In particular, this research focuses on Healthcare sector. In Chapter 1, we provide an introduction to Lean and Six Sigma and provide an insight into the evolution of the methodology from Quality Management. We discuss one of the most common approaches, DMAIC, used in Lean Six Sigma to improve existing processes. We also introduce the various belts that individuals can earn in Lean Six Sigma Chapter 2 discusses the literature that was reviewed for this research and also introduces our hypothesis and propositions for the study. Chapter 3 describes the methodology we sued to conduct the research. We studied the deployment of Lean Six Sigma in 3 different companies; a healthcare company, a medical devices company, and a pharmaceutical company. For study 1, we reviewed the procurement process at Company A. For study 2, we reviewed the Facilities work order process at Company B and for study 3, we reviewed the mail distribution process for Company C. Chapter 3 provides backgrounds of all 3 studies, one at a time, and also provides details of data collection and analysis conducted on all 3 studies. In Chapter 4, we discuss the results from deploying Lean Six Sigma in 3 projects in 3 different companies. We also discuss the cultural implications and interaction effects of leadership and organizational culture on the results. Chapter 5 summarizes the overall conclusions of the research and we discuss the findings and also discuss the strengths and limitations of our research and areas for future research.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Gurpreet Singh Khuran