Employee and Customer Involvement: The Driving Force for Six-Sigma Implementation

The paper highlights the importance of employee/customer involvement in six-sigma implementation. For six-sigma a company not only needs a certain pool of resources, it also needs organizational competencies in terms of a motivated workforce and involved customers. Employee involvement leads to low worker role ambiguity, removal of cultural bottlenecks, worker empowerment, and worker motivation to innovate – an essential component of six-sigma. It brings the customers inside the company to determine the process requirements for resolving issues related to ‘Critical to Quality (CTQ).” The paper draws heavily from literature to justify the hypothesis, and confirms it through a case analysis. At the study company management played a leadership role from the very outset of launching its six-sigma program, used participatory management to involve its employees and customers, and provided a platform for everyone in its value chain to come together. The company was successful in creating a culture of participation by providing a compelling mission, a structure that emphasizes flexibility and independence, incentives for participation and a lack of punishment for risk taking, and customer involvement in implementing its projects.