The challenges of six sigma in improving service quality

International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management

Volumn 26, Issue 7, 2009, Pages 663-684

  Nakhai, Behnam ^a   Neves, Joao S ^b  

^a MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b The College of New Jersey   (United States)

Author keywords

Consumer behaviour; Customer services quality; Quality management; Six sigma

Indexed keywords

EID: 70349626978     PISSN: 0265671X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/02656710910975741     Document Type: Article

References (83)

1. American Society of Safety Engineers (2005), A case study: Six sigma tool usage, Professional Safety, June, pp. 44-5.
2. Antony, J. (2006), Six sigma for service processes, Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 234-48.
3. Antony, J. and Banuelas, R. (2002), Key ingredients for the effective implementation of six sigma program, Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 20-7.
4. Antony, J., Kumar, M. and Madu, C.N. (2005), Six sigma in small- and medium-sized UK manufacturing enterprises. Some empirical observations, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 22, No. 8, pp. 860-74.
5. Antony, J., Antony, F.J., Kumar, M. and Cho, B.R. (2007), Six sigma in service organizations: Benefits, challenges and difficulties, common myths, empirical observations and success factors, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 294-311.
6. Bandyopadhyay, J.K. and Jenicke, L.O. (2007), Six sigma approach to quality assurance in global supply chains: A study of United States automakers, International Journal of Management, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 101-7.
7. Benedetto, A.R. (2003), Adapting manufacturing-based six sigma methodology to the service environment of a radiology film library, Journal of Healthcare Management, pp. 263-80.
8. Berry, L.L. and Parasuraman, A. (1997), Listening to the customer - the concept of a service-quality information system, Sloan Management Review, Spring, pp. 65-76.
9. Biolos, J. (2002), Six sigma meets the service economy, Harvard Management Update, pp. 3-5.
10. Byrne, G., Lubowe, D. and Blitz, A. (2007), Using a lean six sigma approach to drive innovation, Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 5-10.
11. Cain, D.L. (2005), Six sigma roadmap for noise exposure analysis, Occupational Hazards, October, pp. 45-8.
12. Carlivati, P. (2007), Six sigma: A new path to perfection, ABA Bank Marketing, pp. 24-9.
13. Caulcutt, R. (2001), Why is six sigma so successful?, Journal of Applied Statistics, Vol. 28, 3&4, pp. 301-6.
14. Chakrabarty, T. and Tan, K.C. (2007), The current state of six sigma application in services, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 194-208.
15. Chase, R.B. and Garvin, D.A. (1989), The service factory, Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp. 61-9.
16. Cottrill, K. (2002), Seeking perfection, Traffic World, 19 August, pp. 13-14.
17. D'Eredita, A. (2003), Using six sigma concepts to improve the client bottom line, Health Care Biller, p. 10, 12.
18. Darby, M.R. and Karni, E. (1973), Free competition and the optimal amount of fraud, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 67-88.
19. de Koning, H. and de Mast, J. (2006), A rational reconstruction of six-sigma's breakthrough cookbook, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 23, No. 7, pp. 766-87.
20. Drucker, P.F. (1964), Managing for Results, Harper & Row, New York, NY.
21. Eckes, G. (2000), The Six Sigma Revolution, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
22. Edgeman, R.L., Bigio, D. and Ferleman, T. (2005), Six sigma and business excellence: Strategic and tactical examination of IT service level management at the Office of the Chief Technology Officer of Washington, DC, Quality & Reliability Engineering International, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 1-20.
23. Evans, J.R. and Lindsay, W.M. (2005), An Introduction to Six Sigma and Process Improvement, Thomson South-Western, Mason, OH.
24. Fahmy, D. (2006), When one black belt is enough, Treasury and Risk Management, pp. 55-9.
25. Fleming, J.H., Coffman, C. and Harter, J.K. (2005), Manage your human sigma, Harvard Business Review, pp. 107-14.
26. Frei, F.X. (2008), The four things a service business must get right, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 86, No. 4, pp. 70-80.
27. Furterer, S. and Elshennawy, A.K. (2005), Implementation of TQM and lean six sigma tools in local government: A framework and a case study, Total Quality Management, Vol. 16, No. 10, pp. 1179-91.
28. Garvin, D.A. (1988), Managing Quality, The Free Press, New York, NY.
29. Ghobadian, A., Speller, S. and Jones, M. (1994), Service quality concepts and models, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 11, No. 9, pp. 43-66.
30. Gitlow, H.S. and Levine, D.M. (2005), Six Sigma for Green Belts and Champions: Foundations, DMAIC, Tools, Cases, & Certification, Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
31. Goh, T.N. (2002), A strategic assessment of six sigma, Quality Reliability Engineering International, Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 403-10.
32. Green, F.B. (2006), Six sigma and the revival of TQM, Total Quality Management, Vol. 17, No. 10, pp. 1281-6.
33. Grönroos, C. (1982), Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector, Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration, Helsingfors.
34. Grönroos, C. (1984), A service quality model and its marketing implications, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 36-44.
35. Haksever, C., Render, R., Russell, R. and Murdick, G. (2000), Service Management and Operations, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
36. Henderson, K.M. and Evans, J.R. (2000), Successful implementation of six sigma: Benchmarking General Electric Company, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 260-81.
37. Hensley, R.L. and Dobie, K. (2005), Assessing readiness for six sigma in a service setting, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 82-101.
38. Ho, L.-H. and Chuang, C.-C. (2006), A study of implementing six-sigma quality management system in government agencies for raising service quality, The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 167-73.
39. Hoerl, R. (2001), Six sigma Black Belts: What Do They Need to Know?, GE Research and Development Center, Technical Information Series.
40. Institute of Management and Administration (2007), Is six sigma the right fit for your payroll department?, Payroll Manager's Report, Vol. 1, pp. 9-12.
41. James, C. (2005), Manufacturing's prescription for improving health care quality, Hospital Topics, Vol. 83, No. 1, pp. 2-8.
42. Jenicke, L.O., Kumar, A. and Holmes, M.C. (2008), A framework for applying six sigma improvement methodology in an academic environment, The TQM Journal, Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 453-62.
43. Johnstone, P.A.S., Hendrickson, J.A.W., Dernbach, A.J., Secord, A.R., Parker, J.C., Favata, M.A. and Puckett, M.L. (2003), Ancillary services in the health care industry: Is six sigma reasonable?, Quality Management in Health Care, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 53-63.
44. Juras, P.H., Martin, D.R. and Aldhizer, G.R. (2007), Adapting six sigma to help tame the SOX 404 compliance beast, Strategic Finance, pp. 36-41.
45. Keim, E.M. (2006), Power surge, Electric Light & Power, pp. 14-15.
46. Kim, D. (2006), A study introducing six sigma theory in the library for service competiveness enhancement, Proceedings of the World Library and Information Congress: 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council, Seoul, Korea, pp. 1-16, available at: Www.ifla.org/IV/ifla72/index.htm.
47. Kumar, M., Antony, J., Madu, C.N., Montgomery, D.C. and Park, S.H. (2008), Common myths of six sigma demystified, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 25, No. 8, pp. 878-95.
48. Kumi, S. and Morrow, J. (2006), Improving self service the six sigma way at Newcastle University Library, Program: Electronic library and information systems, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 123-36.
49. LaMarsh, J. (2005), Approaching transformation: Identify and minimize resistance to change with six sigma, Industrial Engineer, February, pp. 36-40.
50. Lanyon, S. (2003), At Raytheon six sigma works, too, to improve HR management processes, Journal of Organizational Excellence, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 29-42.
51. Lazarus, I.R. and Novicoff, W.M. (2004), Six sigma enters the healthcare mainstream, Managed Healthcare Executive, January, pp. 26-32.
52. Lewis, R.C. and Booms, B.H. (1983) in Berry, L., Shostack, G. and Upah, G. (Eds.), Emerging Perspectives on Services Marketing, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL, pp. 99-107.
53. Martin, W.F. (2007), Quality models: Selecting the best model to deliver results, The Physician Executive, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 24-31.
54. Matchette, D.R. (2006), Six sigma for the DoD, Defense AT&L, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 19-21.
55. Metters, R., King-Metters, K., Pullman, M. and Walton, S. (2006), Service Operations Management, 2nd ed., Thomson South-Western, Mason, OH.
56. Nelson, P. (1974), Advertising as information, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 82, No. 4, pp. 729-54.
57. Pande, P.S., Neuman, R.P. and Cavanagh, R.R. (2000), The Six-Sigma Way - How GE, Motorola, and Other Top Companies Are Honing Their Performance, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
58. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1985), A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 41-50.
59. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1988), SERVQUAL: Multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 12-40.
60. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1991), Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 420-50.
61. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1994), Reassessment of expectations as a comparison standard in measuring service quality: Implications for further research, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 111-24.
62. Patton, F. (2005), Does six sigma work in service industries?, Quality Progress, Vol. 38, No. 9, pp. 55-60.
63. Pheng, L.S. and Hui, M.S. (2004), Implementing and applying six sigma in construction, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 130, No. 4, pp. 482-9.
64. Pine, B.J. II and Gilmore, J.H. (1999), The Experience Economy, Business School Press, Boston, MA.
65. Porter, A.W. (2005), Six sigma takes root at North Carolina Baptist hospital, Wake Forrest University Baptist Medical Center, available at: Www.wfubmc.edu/articles/six+sigma.
66. Pyzdek, T. (2001), The Six-Sigma Handbook - A Complete Guide for Greenbelts, Blackbelts, and Managers at All Levels, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
67. Reece, B. (2006), Lean six sigma eases fiscal constraint challenges, Defense AT&L, pp. 54-6.
68. Roberts, C.M. (2004), Six sigma signals, Credit Union Magazine, pp. 40-3.
69. Rust, R.T., Zahorik, A.J. and Keiningham, T.L. (1994), Return on Quality, Probus Publishing Company, Chicago, IL.
70. Ryan, K. (2005), Mastering six sigma, American Gas, August/September, pp. 13-18.
71. Rylander, D.H. and Provost, T. (2006), Improving the odds: Combining six sigma and online market research for better customer service, SAM Advanced Management Journal, Vol. 71, No. 1, pp. 13-19.
72. Schlegel, G. and Smith, R.C. (2005), The next stage of supply chain excellence, Supply Chain Management Review, pp. 16-22.
73. Senapati, N.R. (2004), Six sigma: Myths and realities, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 683-90.
74. Seth, N., Deshmukh, S.G. and Vrat, P. (2005), Service quality models: A review, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 22, No. 9, pp. 913-49.
75. Shewhart, W.A. (1931), Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Products, Van Nostrand, New York, NY.
76. Simmons-Trau, D., Cenek, P., Counterman, J., Hockenbury, D. and Litwiller, L. (2004), Reducing VAP with 6 sigma, Nursing Management, June, pp. 41-5.
77. Snee, R.D. (2000), Guest editorial: Impact of six sigma on quality engineering, Quality Engineering, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. ix-xiv.
78. Taghaboni-Dutta, F. and Moreland, K. (2004), Using six-sigma to improve loan portfolio performance, The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, pp. 15-20.
79. Thawani, S. (2004), Six sigma - strategy for organizational excellence, Total Quality Management, Vol. 15, Nos 5-6, pp. 655-64.
80. Wessel, G. and Burcher, P. (2004), Six sigma for small and medium-sized enterprises, The TQM Magazine, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 264-72.
81. Woodall, T. (2001), Six sigma and service quality: Christian Grönroos revisited, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 17, Nos 5/6, pp. 595-608.
82. Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. and Parasuraman, A. (1988), Communication and control processes in the delivery of service quality, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 35-48.
83. Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996), The behavioral consequences of service quality, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 31-46.