An empirical study on Six Sigma phase based implementation and the roles of top management and upper managers

摘要

It is widely accepted that top management leadership and involvement is one of Six Sigma critical success factors. However, the distinction of roles between top management and upper managers are still vague specifically on innovation, as emerging competitive advantages issues. Based on an empirical study, Six Sigma development can be divided into four phases namely installation phase for management buy in, promotion phase for strengthening internal organization through cost reduction, enhancement phase emphasizing on external focus for top line growth, and full implementation phase on cultural strengthening and total employee involvement for sustainable growth. Accordingly, this study has grasped and classified the role of CEO, corporate champions, project champions on decreasing innovation barriers on each phases.