Slide 1

Slide 2

John Laton Bowles Texas Tech University

Slide 3

While there is plenty of research on the end products (--and quality thereof) produced by the American production-based industry after implementing Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, or Lean, the full effects on the workers and overall innovation driven by these management concepts have not been thoroughly researched.

Slide 4

Research shows that: TQM, Lean, and Six Sigma are descended from the Toyota Way. The research agrees that all three of these theories have similar aims: to minimize resources used and wasted while improving customer satisfaction and the financial outcome. Some researchers point out that what is intended is not always what happens.

Slide 5

All three theories work best with production focused on small batch sizes. All three theories promote waste and inventory reduction. TQM is very nebulous and is ill defined. Six Sigma allows for an parallel organic organizational structure as well as a more mechanical one.

Slide 6

Andersson points out four major defects of most current management theories: They are incapable of self-criticism. Their terminology confuses rather than informs. They rarely rise above common sense. They are full of fads and contradictions. Mehri points out that unions view Lean as a sham and a threat.

Slide 7

There has been extensive research on what these theories are, with the exception of TQM. There has been extensive research on how these theories work. There has been extensive research on how to implement these theories. There has been little to no research on the effects of integrating these systems into the American production-based industry.

Slide 8

Andersson, Roy, et.al Similarities and differences between TQM, six sigma and lean. The TQM Magazine. 18.3 (2006): 282-296. Emerald Insight. Web. Accessed 11Jun2014. Mehri, Darius The Darker Side of Lean: An Insider's Perspective on the Realities of the Toyota Production System. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20.2 (2006): 21-42. JSTOR.