Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Global Sourcing Potential Benefits and Problems
Six Sigma Article Review
Breyfogle, Forrest W., and David Enck. (May 2002) "Six Sigma Goes Corporate." Business Management. Issue 7. http://www.optimizemag.com/issue/007/management.htm
Six Sigma is a statistical term that measures how far any given process deviates from its ideal or perfect outcome. "We all dream of perfection -- of coming up with a flawless business plan and the optimal processes for executing it. But being perfect in these areas is a hard thing to define, let alone quantify. How precisely can you really measure success?" (Breyfogle & David Enck, 2002, 1) From the quantitative side of business theory, the Six Sigma strategy employs formerly purely numerical analytical procedures to the human and managerial side of the business equation.
The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if it can be determined how many defects are in a process, these defects can then be eliminated. It utilizes a systematic five-phase, problem-solving process called DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. The Six Sigma process begins by defining the problem, then measuring statistically the impact of the problem, analyzing the situation to find root causes of the problem, attempting to improve the situation once the causes are identified, and only then instituting long-term control or maintenance of the solution. (Breyfogle & Enck, 2002, 1)
According to the authors Breyfogle and Enck, Six Sigma is an appropriate strategy in most for-profit companies, where generating more "cash and customers" or addressing a lack thereof, is the primary concern of managers. This procedure can be valuable in changing company target policies and attempting to generate more revenue. For instance, the company may be lacking a clear understanding of the desires of the targeted customers. By finding out if the problem, as defined, if the wrong customers are being targeted, or the company is using the wrong advertising methodology, the company can then measures the impact of the problem, attempt to understand why the incorrect strategy was implemented by the corporate staff in charge of this department, and then put into a new solution to generate new target audience, making the new strategy or 'target audience' critical to a new company vision. (Breyfogle & Enck, 2002, 2)
Conclusion It seems that global sourcing is best way to go when expanding the business even though, domestic sourcing will provide familiar suppliers. "For example, Wal-Mart identifies common products used throughout the world and "determines whether there is an opportunity to improve quality, reduce costs and, by working with a best-in-class supplier, achieve better replenishment and new item introductions (1)." For instance, Wal-Mart has worked with its copy-paper sales supplier to
Problem Solving Case Study Merging Information Technology and Cultures at Compaq-Digital (B): Becoming a Single Firm The many challenges and opportunities evident for Compaq and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) illustrated in the case study Merging Information Technology and Cultures at Compaq-Digital (B): Becoming a Single Firm are analyzed and evaluated from a strategic perspective in this analysis. Both companies have drastically different cultures, which made the challenges, opportunities and threats of the merger
" The final force of collaboration, which Freidman (2006) calls "informing"-which are search engines like Yahoo, Google, MSN, etc., which has facilitated "Internetizer technologies" to work together with limitless information all by itself (Freidman, 2006). Therefore, the initial three flatteners formed the novel stage for cooperation, and the subsequent six have been the novel shapes of cooperation that flattened the world. The last flattener is referred to as "the steroids," and
Vaughan, J.L., Leming, M.L.M., Liu, M., & Jaselskis, E., 2013. Cost-Benefit Analysis of Construction Information Management System Implementation: Case Study. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. Managers working within construction projects encounter significant expenditure of resources in collecting project data, evaluating production rates, and exchanging information with project stakeholders. The paper focuses on the execution of project tasks through manual reduction of inefficiency as well as improved effective operations in
Future Global Corporate Strategy and International Management The emergence of strategic management has always been attached to military history (Tallman, 2007). Studies in this area reveal various examples where the strategic management of offensive and counter-offensive led to decisive victories. Within the corporate sphere, it emerged following the Second World War. The dramatic growth of world nations such as China, Japan, and the U.S.A. served a beneficial environment for large international
Crowd-Sourcing Service User Funding for Participation in Educational Conferences Reporting on the Joint World Social Work conference held in Melbourne, Australia, Peter Beresford wrote, "There are fears that policymakers have lost interest in ensuring the users of care services have their voices heard" (2014). Social workers established the involvement of service users and carers as a key priority in social service, pioneering efforts to forward user involvement on an international level