[ Title of Paper ]
[Submission Number]
[Full Name of Conference]
[Abstract]
This paper deals with the importance of implementing “Six Sigma” in education. In the age of quality, Six Sigma has to be effectively moved from industry to education. The education sector needs innovative ideas and students need to adapt to out of box thinking. The teacher is the integral part of the system: in fact he has to realize that the product is not the student but the lecture and motivation of the teacher. This paper discusses the ways Six Sigma can be used to teach efficiently. The quality control philosophy a Japanese philosophy of participative culture is discussed.
The future of students and educational institutions to a large degree is dependent upon the performance of teachers and the quality of education that they impart. Educational professionals are constantly exploring new methods and techniques for improvement of student performance and of the institution. These innovative ideas are implemented as teaching aids to help the student and the institution. The latest educational techniques that are improving the quality of education are known as “Six Sigma” which have been very useful in improving business performances all over the world.
Six Sigma is a technique that has been very successful in business for obtaining strategic business results because it is a customer based strategy which proves that not paying attention to business weaknesses can cost the company dearly in terms of customer losses. The need for Six Sigma was felt when American companies, who could not compete with their Japanese counterparts, developed a concept to respond to this situation. The result produced with the application of Six Sigma were so encouraging that it was felt that applying these concepts to education in the public school system would improve the performance of students, teachers and institutions (Al-Atiqi & . Deshpande, 2009)
A relevant case study pertains to Elsie Rogers, a student at Coastal Caroline Community College. She was struggling with her studies and usually received “Cs” in all her subjects. She had saved success stories about improvement with Six Sigma and decided to apply it to her situation. She applied “Six Sigma” in phases and her grades went from persistent “C” to permanent “As”. She applied Six Sigma in the following manner:
Understand the Problem:
Well the problem was obvious: She was doing badly in college and she wanted to do well. She analyzed why she was doing badly and took the following steps towards improvement: Her analysis showed that she was not paying sufficient attention in class during her lectures. That happens when the teacher goes on and on with something that the student does not find interested. She started paying rapt attention when information was being presented, started asking questions and taking notes. Taking notes might seem conservative, but it has been conclusively proved that notes improve grades. Taking notes does not mean writing down everything the teacher says, just the basics which will help in remembering. If she did not understand something, she wrote it down either to question the teacher or by studying herself and obtaining more information until she understood the problem.
Find a solution:
Besides the above, Elsie also started studying efficiently. Elsie knew that she studies better with pictures and visuals. She knew that this would help her and she began an online search for the best way to improve her studies with pictures and other visuals. This helped her to remember much better and she started using it and improving her grades. She made some charts which visually provided the information that she needed to learn and how to connect ideas.
Studying Notes periodically:
Elsie made it part of her study routine to consult her notes. This showed her some areas where she needed to study much harder and she concentrated on some things that she had difficulty in understanding. She had also organized her notes by topic and would study one topic at a time. Her teacher encouraged her by making a study guide for her. This covered all the information in a given topic and highlighted the important questions that would probably be useful during exam time. She also made study cards to cover material during the previous weeks and the information stayed fresh in her mind.
Memorizing techniques:
Elsie started using tried and tested memory techniques. She started her memorization program when she started Six Sigma and then started working on these techniques. This improved her memory of what she had learnt in class and what she was learning at home. The overall result for applying Six Sigma was that now Elsie was an “A” grade student. Her outlook about her life and future looked brighter and she was determined to obtain a Master’s Degree in her chosen field.
Analysis of Case Study
The above case study amply proved that using Six Sigma processes a solution was found to the problem because the schools asked the correct questions, which were
• Identification of the problem
• Acknowledging that a problem exists
• The basic causes of the problem
• What can be done to rectify the problem
These questions were analyzed before applying Six Sigma solutions to the problems. After these problems were appropriately addressed, the analysis carried out after the solution was implemented showed that: There was noticeable improvement in the grades of Elsie which gave Elsie more confidence and she continued to get better grades. Besides boosting her own confidence, she learnt to have confidence in her teachers and trusted that they could help her in her studies (Mitra, 2008)
Imparting quality education is essential in today’s fast moving globalized world.
Application of Six Sigma can transform the education sector to effectively meet all current challenges. Education today is accountable to students for providing the best education so that students can have excellent and prosperous careers. The University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies began the implementation of “A Six Sigma Management Culture and Process Improvement Strategy” in 2006. The process started with a Six Sigma Champions Training for team leaders and Six Sigma Belt Training for the College Staff. Since the inception of the Six Sigma program, the results have been much better for both students and teachers. This has resulted in more than 25 other staff members participating in the Six Sigma program because the results demonstrate improvement at all levels for both teachers and staff. The process has saved time and has made the teachers more aware of and in touch with student needs.
The quality control philosophy a Japanese philosophy
The above public School in Colorado envisaged the Japanese Philosophy of quality control and effective management using the Six Sigma applications. This emphasises that quality control must be at all levels of the company. With the advent of globalization, companies with adequate quality control and effective management will survive and companies that do not adhere to these philosophies will not be competitive. This process of quality control and participative culture has made Japanese companies like Toyota, Fuji and Sony achieve great successes in business (Mind Tools, 2014). The Philosophy of participative culture is essential from answering the phone to making the final product and eventually in serving the customer with effective after sales services. American and European companies realised that to compete with the Japanese companies, they would have to adopt a similar approach for doing business. The approach was first used by Motorola and seeing its success, other companies like General Electric and car manufacturers. Now Six Sigma has become a reference point for quality and productivity. (Wiklund & Wiklund, 2007)
Effectiveness of Six Sigma in Higher Education
The implementation of Six Sigma will meet several challenges for improving the standards of higher education. This will also improve graduation rates in colleges and also prepare students to effectively meet real life challenges. Learning Six Sigma process will also emphasis the importance of college education among students and parents, because it can be transformed to meet any challenges in real life and in improving educational standards. Six Sigma improves quality be reducing waste and is useful for making students nearly perfect in their high school and college studies and also helps them in their chosen careers for their future.
People who are familiar with and practice Six Sigma processes learn to use regimented approach for using data to monitor, manage and make better their operational performances by the prevention of defects in products and processes which include administration, delivery of services, designing, creation/the manufacturing process and eventually overall satisfaction. Six Sigma not only helps in the identification of defects and the elimination of different types of waste (Chakrabarty & Tan, 2007)
Future use of Six Sigma
Six Sigma can be effectively used for new and innovative projects with a web based system for assessing the extent of a student’s knowledge. Text books can also be easily ordered over the Internet which is cost effective. The distribution books can then be checked over the Internet as the books are delivered to different schools. It will also help in ascertaining the relevant functions that teachers are hired for, so that the teachers adhere to their approved duties and functions and do not end up doing something else. In essence, Six Sigma is very important for students, teachers and institutions if they want to succeed in their performances (Kwak & Anbarib, 2006)
References/Bibliography
Al-Atiqi, I. M. & . Deshpande, P. B., 2009. Transforming US Higher Education with Six Sigma. Abu Dhabi, International Network of Quality Assessment Agencies in Higher Education.
Bergquist, B. & Edgeman, R. L., 2003. Six Sigma and Total Quality Management: different day, same soup?. International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, 2(2), pp. 162-178.
Chakrabarty, A. & Tan, K. C., 2007. The current state of six sigma application in services. Managing Service Quality, 17(2), pp. 194 - 208.
Kwak, Y. H. & Anbarib, F. T., 2006. Benefits, obstacles, and future of six sigma approach. Technovation, 26(5-6), p. 708–715.
Mind Tools, 2014. A Recipe for Total Quality. [Online] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_75.htm[Accessed 25 May 2014].
Mitra, A., 2008. Six sigma education: a critical role for academia. The TQM Magazine, 16(4), pp. 293 - 302.
Stamatis, D., 2003. Six Sigma and Beyond: The Implementation Process,. 7th ed. Florida: CRC Press.
Wiklund, H. & Wiklund, P. S., 2007. Widening the Six Sigma concept: An approach to improve organizational learning. Total Quality Management, 13(2), pp. 233-239.
