The Relationship between the Six Sigma Approach and Knowledge Creation Processes - Research Proposal Example

Introduction The article is qualitative in nature exploring the relationship between the Six Sigma approach and knowledge creation processes. The authors of the article are academicians from universities in Taiwan, Chuni Wu from the Department of Information management, Hsing-Kuo University of Management, Tainan, Taiwan, and Chinho Lin from the Department of Industrial and Information Management, College of Management, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. The authors are professors with extreme theoretical knowledge on quality management and the six sigma approach. The authors have used theoretical framework to explain the six sigma implementation and have applied the SECI model for knowledge creation. The article is published in International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 26 No. 9, 2009, pp. 911-932 from Emerald Group Publishing Limited. The authors have explained that the six sigma implementation as a means of knowledge creation in organizations and given their conclusions based on the case studies carried out by them. I critic the article based on the content, literature review, research methodology, analysis and conclusion parts. Article Overview The theory part of the article consists of two major sections of six sigma approach and knowledge creation process. The article is organized as follows starting with identifying the critical ingredients involved in the effective implementation of Six Sigma followed by the socialization, externalization combination and internalization (SECI) modes. Then based on these theoretical discussions and the criteria identified two major case studies involving a glass substrates manufacturer and a TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display) panel manufacturer is carried out to identify the influence of the Six Sigma program on the knowledge creation process. Based on the findings of the case studies and their relation with the SECI modes, conclusions are made (Chuni Wu, Chinho Lin, 2009). The article is organized well and is well structured giving the reader a clear understanding of the article. Since this is a qualitative research, no hypothesis are framed but the authors have clearly defined the aim of the article is to explore the relationship between the Six Sigma approach and knowledge creation. The theory part discussed on SECI modes is applied with the case study and the results are summarized. The significance and scope of the project is not explicitly stated but one can very well understand that the article is significant in giving a clear understanding that Six Sigma is an effective tool for knowledge creation process to the corporate, top management, and other firms who are the intended audience of the article. The article was written keeping in mind that the new method proposed in the article would help firms improve their performance by establishing a relationship between six sigma and knowledge creation. This makes the research highly relevant in the field of quality management and brings in a new dimension of linking six sigma and knowledge creation with a new model providing scope for further research using empirical methods (Jack Longman, 2007). Literature review The literature review theory part in the article is the strength of the article. Literature review comprises of reviewing the secondary data published in the related field of specific interest to the researcher (John, 2001). The literature review on six sigma implementation and SECI modes of knowledge creation is adequate in the article. The authors have elaborated on the six sigma implementation using various approaches. There is no introduction to six sigma and the authors discuss only the implementation part pertaining to the study indicating that this article will be clearly understood by persons having knowledge of six sigma. Six Sigma quality program is very technical and requires special expertise in the form of black-belt specialists for improving cost and efficiency through quality efforts. Six sigma is used in designing new products and services with high performance as measured by customer-based critical-to-quality metrics, are customer-focused, encompassing the entire business-to-market process and pertain to both service and products (William turner, 2004). The literature review on six sigma implementation has redundancies in Kano’s model which is not applied else where. The authors suggest DMAIC-process to evaluate the six sigma implementation but have failed to evaluate in the study. The literature review is highly theoretical with no discussion on real life implementation practices and hence the criteria that have been developed out of the literature review are a result of theory and models and do not reflect practical exposure. The section on knowledge creation is adequate with the authors explaining the four types of ba in relation to knowledge creation. Jeffrey M.Cohn, Rakesh Khurana and Laura Reeves, 2005 discuss the various issues in six sigma implementation in a flexible manufacturing environment. Flexible manufacturing aims at reducing the costs of production and will contribute to the quality control system. Companies go for flexible manufacturing due to severe competition in the industry. Other major reasons include cost cutting and more saving. Most of the companies adopt flexible manufacturing for these reasons and deliver the finished goods to the customer at a rapid pace. Speed delivery and production of goods will result in poor quality and a lot of wastages as standards cannot be set in the manufacturing of products in the case of flexible manufacturing. This is often the case with the small companies. Big companies like Ford also adopt flexible manufacturing but their quality control will not be on the products but on the manufacturing process. Ford has established standards in the form of six sigma programs for each manufacturing process from their experience and establishes quality control in the manufacturing process and this ensures that the finished goods will be of high quality and zero defects leading to customer satisfaction. Hence, flexible manufacturing system contributes and acts as a support to the quality control system as the objectives of both the systems are the same – lowering costs and increasing profits. Indeed it can be argued that flexible manufacturing ensures more quality products than traditional manufacturing with six sigma implementation as a standard (Jeffrey M.Cohn, Rakesh Khurana and Laura Reeves, 2005). Flexible manufacturing has a lot of benefits to quality control like minimum or zero inventories. In Flexible manufacturing, companies produce the needed quantities as required by the customer at the specified time and prevents stocks from piling up in the company. The other major benefit of flexible manufacturing to quality control is that it reduces the idle time of the machines and ensures that all the equipments are effectively used and prevents wastage and scrap. Flexible manufacturing enhances relationships with the suppliers and customers of the company. Above all in flexible manufacturing more emphasis will be given to process based manufacturing ensuring quality at each step using six sigma. This article indicates the benefits of six sigma implementation in a flexible manufacturing environment but in the article written by Chuni Wu and Chinho Lin, the benefits are neglected. The literature review in the article serves its purpose well and is highly structured and organized. It is possible that some of the critical variables are never brought out in the interviews, either because the employees cannot articulate them or are unaware of their impact, or because the variables seem so obvious to the interviewees that they are not specifically stated. If there are variables that influence the experiment but it isn’t accounted for in the research, then the research has no value. In such a case the true reason for the problem will remain unidentified even at the end of the research (Francis Cherunilam, 2004). In the article, the literature review is used to identify the critical measures involved in the implementation of six sigma and the various modes of SECI theoretical framework which form the foundation of the entire research. Hence overall, the literature review is satisfactory with the above discussed improvements in each aspect. Research Methodology The research methodology is qualitative in nature using case study method of research design indicating the subjective nature of the results in the article. Case study method involves complete study of few cases (Cooper, Donald and Schindler, Pamela, 2003). It is generally used for collecting cases and carried out using interviews as the method of data collection as done in article. The authors have done in-depth interviews with 15 key resource persons including eight from case A and 7 from case B Company. The two companies chosen for case study include a glass substrates manufacturer and a TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display) panel manufacturer. The interviewees include project team leaders and Six Sigma champions with a work experience of three to eight years were selected and interviewed for about one-and-a-half hours. The contents are recorded and were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. The data collection also involved observations and informal conversations. The collected data is analyzed using content analysis and the authors have quantified the response based on the key words repeated in the interviews. Case data are usually gathered in the field through either observation or personal interview methods. Under this design it does not use the quantitative and statistical techniques but heavily rely on qualitative analysis of collected data (Creswell, J.W. 2003). The Merits of case study include that it studies the entire situation, it is a historical and a microscopic description of real event, and more accurate data are obtained. The Demerits of case study include the difficulty to develop the formal methods of observation and recording, results cannot be generalized and it is costly, complex and superficial (C.R. Kothari, 1997). This makes the results less credible with less justification empirically and can be treated as a theory part limiting the practical applicability of the study. In my personal opinion, I feel that studies with quantitative results and empirical evidence are preferable with suitable justifications involving surveys and questionnaire method. Conclusion I conclude my critique stating the pitfalls and benefits of the article as a whole from a reader and critic perspective. This will allow readers and researchers to understand the limitations and benefits of the research methodologies involved. Some of the pitfalls of the study are that it is limited in its research methodology, and the case studies are only two empirical illustrations of many other possible implementation processes (Miles, M.B. and Huberman, A.M., 1994). The new model framed based on six sigma processes and knowledge creation modes is not justified and evaluated by the authors which forms the major drawback of the study. The study pertains only to the two companies and cannot be generalized due to the limitation of the case study method. The study also is applicable only to companies who have Six Sigma implemented and can use the model to further improve the performance on knowledge creation which is a constraint. The attempt of the authors to quantify the results in a qualitative research is obscure. The benefits of the study cannot be ignored and the article is unique in integrating the knowledge creation SECI mode with the Six Sigma process. The findings reveal that there is a strong relationship between knowledge creation and Six Sigma but using a chi square analysis to prove the relationship would have been more appropriate. The study has revealed the role of six sigma implementation in creating knowledge by enabling cross functional teams, employees and other stakeholders to exchange each other’s skills and knowledge and will serve as a useful guide for Six Sigma certified firms in the knowledge creation process. The tables formulated as a result of the analysis provides the firms a check list on locating the knowledge possessed by them. The study also reveals the responsibility of the top management in bringing the organizational change and implementing Six Sigma. The article concludes stating that this model can be used as a competitive advantage by firms by matching the seven core themes of the knowledge creation SECI mode with the six major processes of the Six Sigma process model. Appendix Chuni Wu and Chinho Lin are quality specialists and have published a case study of knowledge creation contributed by ISO 9001:2000. This case study was published in the International Journal of Technology Management in the year 2007. The case study describes knowledge creation process through ISO 9001:2000. In the study, the authors propose a model integrating knowledge creation and ISO 9001:2000. Chuni Wu and Chinho Lin published quality research articles under the title Quality Assurance & Total Quality Management in Total Quality Management & Business Excellence Journal. The authors also have published articles on Total Quality Management and Six Sigma in the same journal. The authors have worked on research grants aided by the Taiwan government. Most of their research articles are published in the government publications. Chuni Wu has published the role of quality standards under the title Knowledge creation in a supply chain in Supply Chain Management: An International Journal in the year 2008. Chuni Wu has separately published articles in quality management in Expert Systems with Applications, An International Journal recently in the year 2009. Chinho Lin has published articles in Decision support systems in the year 2004. Read More