Capture Issues Germane to the

¶ … capture issues germane to the organization at hand. Many are dependent upon the kind of information -- or the goal -- to which that information aspires. For instance, SWOT models (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), are rather generic universals; other methods, Balanced Scorecards, QFD, STAW, etc. might be more appropriate for competitive analysis, executive or strategic planning, or as ways to enter a new market more successfully.

The key to business analysis tools is the identification of needs and determination of appropriate measures to define and implement solutions to those needs -- whether conceptual, process improvement, organizational, strategic, policy, or a combination of the above The SWOT Approach The Balanced Scorecard Approach - a Balanced Scorecard approach is often seen as one of the key tools that translate strategy into performance. The balanced scorecard model is a clear direction outlining what the organization should measure to balance the financial output.

The scorecard retains financial measurement as a summary of their business performance. Moreover, the scorecard will highlight an integrated set of measurement that will link customers, processes, resources, and performance to long-term financial success. The balanced scorecard is a tool that provides the company the framework that translates vision and strategy into actionable tasks. The scorecard is a set of performance measures allowing management a dashboard view of their business. These performance measurements are used to aid the company in setting goals and manage the business's strategic plan.

The balanced scorecard model will support the strategic plan and implementation by uniting all actions of an organization into a common understanding of the goal; it will provide feedback for both internal processes and the external outcome to improve strategic performances and results continuously (Lanabeer and Napiewocki, 2000; Stevens, et.al., 2006). The Six Sigma Approach - the major strategy for Six Sigma is to improve the quality of all processes by identifying and removing the causes of errors (or defects if manufacturing) and maintaining a synthesis of streamlined, non-redundant efforts.

In effect, it is a set of quality management methods which include statistical analysis, to create a way of viewing whether the company's strategic plan is working. Six Sigma is a tool, it is not an edict. Like many tools, it is dependent upon two things: 1) How it is used, and 2) the quality of the data. Six-Sigma was originally designed for use by Motorola in the early 1980s. It was put in place in order to not only uncover, but to solve, certain manufacturing processes that were not working appropriately.

It improved the company by defining a clearly focus on measurable issues that could be quantified and linked to profitability. It also increased an emphasis on management's commitment to utilizing the strategic planning system to actually implement a cause-effect relationship within the manufacturing model. However, when all the bells and whistles come off, and all the statistical data and measurement are broken down, the model is really a quality improvement template.

It is not designed for any subjectivity and often fails to take into account that margin of error is different on divergent products and services (e.g. A surgical instrument or medical device should have a lower rate of error than a new hardback novel). Further, some of the standards are arbitrary and force management to plug in data. That being said, it is both possible to overanalyze certain ineffectual data; in other words, making certain Six Sigma data more.