tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83752629411557002402024-03-13T12:29:41.115-07:00The Williard Group, LLCA Business and Lean Enterprise Consulting FirmThe Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-67784870664149979112015-06-15T11:54:00.000-07:002015-06-15T11:55:32.717-07:00Thinking Allowed: Is it good business to go beyond what is legal?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOC5zVCkKMY79AE_oLpVmC2sSXcarHiPsmDzhG5plu1oqwNh78KQTU5fwktC-1kBcHeNS1b2rSyx7eawq4387jp1qfMq9GFyOS740FL2SdUZ4munqMAXjgpMJ9cceRWgvaeXlKjTSBW8/s1600/dreamstime_l_51743631+Core+Values.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOC5zVCkKMY79AE_oLpVmC2sSXcarHiPsmDzhG5plu1oqwNh78KQTU5fwktC-1kBcHeNS1b2rSyx7eawq4387jp1qfMq9GFyOS740FL2SdUZ4munqMAXjgpMJ9cceRWgvaeXlKjTSBW8/s320/dreamstime_l_51743631+Core+Values.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK4"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK3"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK7"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK6"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK5"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All business
people would agree that marketers are accountable to the organization’s leaders
and are duty bound to ensure that promotional activities are within legal and
regulatory boundaries. But is it good business to set the bar higher and go
beyond what is legal when marketing to certain segments? <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One hotly contested area involves marketing to various
vulnerable populations. Palmer and Hedberg (2013) credited Brenkert (1998) with
offering the first substantive argument in support of the commonly accepted
practice of refraining from marketing to vulnerable populations in a manner so
as to exploit those vulnerabilities. In his groundbreaking thesis, Brenkert
(1998) identified groups such as children, retirees, and individual who
recently lost a family member as being vulnerable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, in a critique of Brenkert (1998), Palmer and Hedberg
(2013) suggested that organizations have the right and need to market to
vulnerable populations. Further, Palmer and Hedberg’s (2013) contended that
marketers should utilize approaches designed to exploit the vulnerability of
those populations. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A specific area that attracts a great deal of debate involves
producers of alcoholic beverages and adolescents. In a survey of 13 to 15 year
olds, Gordon and Harris (2011) found that the mean age for adolescents to have
their first alcoholic beverage was approximately 11 years, with 50% of 14 year
olds reporting to have tried alcohol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Furthermore, 51% of the participants owned clothes or other items that
featured the brand of an alcoholic beverage. Based on the findings in their
empirical study, Gordon and Harris (2011) suggested marketing practitioners have
a responsibility to consumers beyond what is legal and need to ensure that the
promotional activities include social responsibility strategies. The
researchers encouraged alcohol and food industry marketers to change from
solely encouraging consumption to putting social responsibility at core of the
strategy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In fact, many in the alcoholic beverage industry have already
begun implementing social responsibility in their marketing. In a recent study,
87% of alcohol advertisements contained a version of the drink responsibly
message (</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Smith, Cukier,
& Jernigan, 2014). </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diageo is a major
producer of alcoholic beverages whose brands include Johnnie Walker, Royal
Crown, Smirnoff, Guinness, Baileys, Don Julio, and others. Mosher (2012)
reported that the company spent 17% of its advertising marketing budget between
2001 and 2005 on social responsibility messages. Diageo is a good example of an
organization that takes a holistic approach to marketing by recognizing the
importance of going beyond what is legal so as to maintain a positive public
image.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So is it good business for marketers to go beyond what is legal?
In my opinion, the simple answer is yes. Diageo’s holistic approach to
marketing involved a sophisticated public relations campaign aimed at the
public, government agencies, elected officials, and public health associations.
This type of holistic approach is critical </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span class="MsoSubtleEmphasis"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">when</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
the<span style="color: #262626;"> company’s product has potentially negative
impacts on public wellbeing (Mosher, 2012). While the drink responsibly
messages were largely contained in promotional techniques designed to increase
consumption, the fact remains that U.S. law does not require the messaging (</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Smith et al., 2014). </span><span style="color: #262626;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
do <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i></b>
think?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Please
leave your comments or email me directly at </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="mailto:Royce.Williard@gmail.com"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Royce.Williard@gmail.com</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Learn
more about the author by checking my LinkedIn Profile at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">© </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2015.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Williard Group LLC <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">References:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK1"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brenkert,
G. G. (1998). Marketing and the vulnerable. <i>Business ethics quarterly</i>,
7-20. Retrieved from: http://philosophia.uncg.edu/media/phi361-metivier/readings/Brenkert-Marketing%20and%20the%20Vulnerable.pdf<o:p></o:p></span></span></a></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gordon,
R. & Harris, F. (2011). Assessing the cumulative impact of alcohol
marketing on young people's drinking: Cross-sectional data findings. <i>Addiction
Research & Theory</i>, <i>19</i>(1), 66-75. doi: /10.3109/16066351003597142<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mosher,
J. F. (2012). Joe Camel in a bottle: Diageo, the Smirnoff brand, and the
transformation of the youth alcohol market. <i>American Journal Of Public
Health</i>, <i>102</i>(1), 56-63. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300387 <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Palmer,
D., & Hedberg, T. (2013). The ethics of marketing to vulnerable
populations. <i>Journal Of Business Ethics</i>, <i>116</i>(2), 403-413.
doi:10.1007/s10551-012-1476-2<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sher,
S. (2011). A framework for assessing immorally manipulative marketing tactics.<i>
Journal of Business Ethics, 102</i>(1), 97-118.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0802-4<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Smith, K. C., Cukier, S., & Jernigan, D. H. (2014). Defining
strategies for promoting product through ‘drink responsibly’ messages in
magazine ads for beer, spirits and alcopops. <i>Drug and alcohol </i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">dependence</span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK5;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK4;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
<i>142</i>, 168-173. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.06.007<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br />The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-32444021797308100612015-06-08T15:50:00.000-07:002015-06-09T10:38:57.946-07:00Thinking Allowed: Which is more important? Service Quality or Price?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3WF2MYgIoMqMIkiBuiAejPUHg0VWed-to_2N1Wqv7vAfXCHFxeDzCrqB2u-VD2HO0AoGtScDSYvRQ-3a_bA2zOychgj6cN3o5WncmBj5vaWi6WCfwfCquL00mxr63FpsclruG2Rab3E/s1600/Price+Quality.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3WF2MYgIoMqMIkiBuiAejPUHg0VWed-to_2N1Wqv7vAfXCHFxeDzCrqB2u-VD2HO0AoGtScDSYvRQ-3a_bA2zOychgj6cN3o5WncmBj5vaWi6WCfwfCquL00mxr63FpsclruG2Rab3E/s320/Price+Quality.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK3"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8375262941155700240" name="OLE_LINK2"></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The discussion
in the service industry regarding the relative importance of price and service
quality has been raging for decades. As virtually any manager would agree, building
and sustaining customer loyalty is critical to business success. In fact, the
majority of business leaders participating in a recent strongly agreed that
creating a relationship with the consumer is strategically important (Aksoy,
2013). Be that as it may, is it really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The case for service quality is really quite simple. The
service sector is experiencing rapid growth as the world continues to transition
from a product-dominant logic (PDL) to a service-dominant logic (SDL). The
transition to SDL requires a different approach to marketing. While it is
possible to study PDL marketing by observing individual transactions, SDL
marketing relies on the study of customer relationships over time with customer
satisfaction being the key construct necessary to continue the relationship
(Grönroos, & Gummerus, 2014). Therefore, while earlier service-marketing
models frequently stressed pricing, the current environment is changing the
service-marketing paradigm requiring more attention on studying the customer
lifetime value (CLV; Rust & Tuck Siong, 2006). <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Support for the shift in focus to CLV can be found in
Palmatier’s, Jarvis’, Bechkoff’s, and Kardes’ (2009) argument that the
scholarly consensus based on empirical research has concluded that relationship
marketing has been demonstrated to increase customer trust and loyalty thus
influencing future purchasing decisions. However, in addition to trust and
loyalty, the researchers proposed future consumer purchasing decisions are also
influenced by another construct, gratitude. Gratitude was defined as the
consumer being appreciative of the benefits received and feeling a need to
reciprocate. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interestingly, Palmatier et al. (2014) suggest that feelings
of gratitude and a desire to reciprocate are influenced by the consumer’s perception
that the benefit was based on the seller’s free will and generosity. The
researchers’ contend the consumers’ feel more gratitude when employees are
empowered to resolve issues by bending the rules rather than through
well-documented consumer loyalty programs. Simply put, bending the rules to
help a consumer is perceived as free will, whereas the benefit derived from a loyalty
program is not perceived as free will. Similarly, consumers would not feel
gratitude to a salesperson providing exceptional support in the sales
transaction if they were aware that the salesperson received a commission. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yet, on the flip side, some companies have selected a price
leadership strategy and despite having low customer satisfaction, they may
still be the consumer’s first choice. Often times, companies selecting a price
leadership strategy are able to leverage its economies of scale and pure
purchasing power in order to keep the price to the consumer lower than the
competition while still maintaining healthy margins. In these cases, price
leadership can often trump perceived service quality. As an example, according
to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (2015), Wal-Mart has the lowest
consumer satisfaction levels when compared to others in the grocery industry,
yet a recent study found that many Americans surveyed name the company as their
first choice for groceries (Keiningham, Gupta, Aksoy, & Buoye, 2014). This
leaves many organizations without similar economies of scale in the position to
compete largely on service.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keiningham et al. (2014) argued that no business enterprise
could survive without loyal customers. However, improving service cannot be
allowed to undermine an organizations’ financial stability. While improving
customer loyalty may be strategically important, it does not eliminate the
business requirement for fiscal prudency and a well thought out strategy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So which is most important, pricing or service quality? The
short answer is it depends on the organizations’ strategy and positioning. Companies
with lower levels of customer satisfaction can survive by leveraging economies
of scale into a price leadership strategy. However, companies without the
economies of scale risk being caught in a “no man’s land” without a strong
service strategy to migrate those who operate with a price leadership strategy.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i></b> think?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Please leave your comments or email me directly at </span></span></span></span><a href="mailto:Royce.Williard@gmail.com"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Royce.Williard@gmail.com</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Learn more about the author by checking my LinkedIn Profile
at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">© </span></b></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2015.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Williard Group LLC <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">References:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Aksoy, L. (2013). How do you measure what you can’t define?
The current state of loyalty measurement and management. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Journal of Service Management 24</i>(4). 356-38. doi:
10.1108/JOSM-01-2013-0018 <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">American Customer Satisfaction Index (2015) ACSI: Retail customer satisfaction drops despite improvement for online shopping [Press
Release]. Retrieved from
https://www.theacsi.org/news-and-resources/press-releases/press-2015/press-release-retail-2014<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Grönroos, C., & Gummerus, J. (2014). The service
revolution and its marketing implications: service logic vs service-dominant
logic. <i>Managing service quality</i>, <i>24</i>(3), 206-229. doi:
10.1108/MSQ-03-2014-0042<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keiningham, T., Gupta, S., Aksoy, L., & Buoye. A.
(2014). The high price of customer satisfaction. <i>MIT Sloan Management Review</i>.
Retrieved from:
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-high-price-of-customer-satisfaction/<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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Kardes, F. R. (2009). The role of customer gratitude in relationship marketing.
<i>Journal Of Marketing</i>, <i>73</i>(5), 1-18. doi:10.1509/jmkg.73.5.1<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rust, R. T., & Tuck Siong, C. (2006). Marketing models
of service and relationships. <i>Marketing Science</i>, <i>25</i>(6), 560-580.
doi: 10.1287/mksc.1050.0139<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-61088987777001772362015-06-01T07:23:00.000-07:002015-06-01T07:23:40.494-07:00Thinking Allowed: The Internet and Marketing Ethics<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="" name="OLE_LINK12"></a><a href="" name="OLE_LINK11"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The rapid emergence of the Internet has created both
unparalleled access to global suppliers, vendors, and customers, while at the
same time it has created numerous opportunities for unethical behavior. So
while a growing number of consumers are embracing Internet commerce, many
remain concerned about protecting their privacy (Nardel & Sahin, 2011; </span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Smith, Dinev,
& Xu, 2011</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">). In fact, Consumers-Union (2008) reported that 72% of consumers
fear that their Internet activities are being tracked and profiled by companies
(as cited in </span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Smith, Dinev, & Xu, 2011). </span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Consumers’ privacy
concerns extend beyond simply protecting their own personal information to
items such as the use of cookies, which secretly gather information of the consumers’
movement on the site. In order to build a successful and sustainablstrategy, eRetailers
must take steps to build customer trust in online shopping while reducing fears
pertaining to security, privacy, and perceived risk (</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shukla, 2014)</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shukla (2014) concluded that the appearance of the web site had
a direct effect on the consumers’ perception of security and trust in the eCommerce
vendor. Simply put, a visually appealing and professional appearing web
presence mitigates the consumers’ perceived risk and enhances trust. More
importantly, the researcher demonstrated that a significant and positive
correlation exists between the consumers’ perceived risk and order placement. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, the number of errors encountered on the eCommerce site
can erode consumers’ trust and intention to purchase. Furthermore, the
consumers’ intention to purchase has a significant and positive relationship
with their satisfaction with the purchasing process. The lower the number of
errors experienced and the higher satisfaction with the purchasing process, the
higher the consumer trust and the intention to purchase (</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shukla, 2014)</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Therefore, eCommerce retailers should strive to develop
professional, visually appealing websites, which operate error free and provide
a high level of consumer satisfaction with the purchasing process. However,
even if the eCommerce retailer is successful in providing this type of
environment, the consumer will continue to experience some anxiety until the
product is delivered (</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shukla, 2014)</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
do <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i></b>
think?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Please
leave your comments or email me directly at </span></span></span><a href="mailto:Royce.Williard@gmail.com"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Royce.Williard@gmail.com</span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Learn
more about the author by checking my LinkedIn Profile at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">© </span></b></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2015.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Williard Group LLC <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">References:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nardal,
S., & Sahin, A. (2011). Ethical issues in E-commerce on the basis of online
retailing.<i> Journal of Social Sciences, 7</i>(2), 190-198. doi:
10.3844/jssp.2011.190.198<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shukla,
P. (2014). The impact of organizational efforts on consumer concerns in an
online context. <i>Information & Management</i>, <i>51</i>(1), 113-119. doi:
10.1016/j.im.2013.11.003<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK11;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK12;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Smith,
H. J., Dinev, T., & Xu, H. (2011). Information privacy research: An
interdisciplinary review. <i>MIS quarterly</i>, <i>35</i>(4), 989-1016.
Retrieved from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.403.4435&rep=rep1&type=pdf<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-91534247878111572122015-05-26T12:33:00.002-07:002015-05-27T05:11:35.981-07:00Thinking Allowed: Is Iacocca’s Iconic Quote Still Pertinent Today?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lee Iacocca is the former President of Ford and later served as the
Chairman of Chrysler. He spent over 40 years in the automotive industry and was
the quintessential leader. In 1988, the famous Iacocca quote appeared in
Forbes, “</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A company
with the best distribution system and the best service will win all the marbles
- because you can't keep an advantage in the other areas for long” (Iacocca,
Taylor, & Bellis, 1988, para. 1). Iacocca was referring to creating a
sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). Iacocca went on to explain that even
if an automaker created an innovative new model vehicle, the other
manufacturers would copy it. So to Iacocca’s point, a competitive advantage is
not sustainable if it is easily replicated. Companies that successfully create
a SCA will outperform the competition over time (Liu,
2013).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kumar, Jones, Venkatesan, and Leone (2011) argued that globalization,
furious competition, mergers, acquisitions, and constant product and
technological innovations characterize the current business environment. Not only
must firms change, but also they must change faster than their competition. The
history books are filled with examples of companies that were once household
names, such as Kmart, Circuit City, and Blockbuster whose leadership was unable
to sense and respond to the fast paced changes in market conditions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These firms failed because of an inability to
fulfill current and future customer needs. Simply put, these organizations did
not have a market orientation.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
their seminal work, Kohli and Jaworski (1990) formally defined market
orientation as involving a companywide effort to gather market intelligence on
current and future customer needs, disseminating the information throughout the
organization and acting upon the information. Earlier adopters of a market
orientation strategy were able to transform the knowledge gained and
disseminated throughout the organization into a SCA. However, since the advent
of the 21<sup>st</sup> century, more and more firms have adopted a market
orientation strategy. Consequently, in the current business environment having
a market orientation can be considered “table stakes” rather than a SCA. As the
world shifts from a product-dominant market to a service-dominant market, many
companies will need to shift their thinking and innovation efforts to involve service
related market oriented views (Kumar et al., 2011).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So is
Iacocca’s perspective from 1988 that the firm with the best
distribution and service would win all the marbles still accurate and
applicable today? The opinion was appropriate and understandable within the
context of the slow moving, capital-intensive 1988 automotive market in the
United States. However, while service and the distribution system remains
mission critical to a firm’s success, especially within a service-dominant
market, Iacocca’s view is too narrowly focused for the current highly
competitive global market that all businesses exist in, some three decades after
his iconic statement. Moon, Miller, and Kim, (2013)
argued that innovation is key to a firm’s ability to create a SCA. Consumer
needs are constantly changing and more sales are generated when consumers view
the product as cutting edge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i></b>
think?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Please
leave your comments or email me directly at <a href="mailto:Royce.williard@gmail.com"><span style="color: windowtext;">Royce.williard@gmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Learn
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<b>© </b>2015,<b> </b>The Williard Group LLC</div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">References:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Iacocca, L., Taylor, A, III, &amp; Bellis, W. (1988, August).
Iococca – In his own words, the Chrysler chairman talks candidly about Henery
Ford II and GM’s Roger Smith, reflects on his four decades as an automaker, and
speculates on what the 21<sup>st</sup> century holds for the business around
the world. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fortune</i>. Retrieved from
http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1988/08/29/70953/index.htm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kohli, A. K., &amp; Jaworski, B. J. (1990). Market Orientation:
The Construct, Research Propositions, and Managerial Implications. <i>Journal
Of Marketing</i>, <i>54</i>(2), 1-18. doi: </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10.2307/1251866<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kumar, V., Jones, E., Venkatesan, R., &amp; Leone, R. P. (2011).
Is market orientation a source of sustainable competitive advantage or simply
the cost of competing?. <i>Journal Of Marketing</i>, <i>75</i>(1), 16-30.
doi:10.1509/jmkg.75.1.16<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Liu, Y. (2013). Sustainable competitive advantage in turbulent
business environments. <i>International Journal Of Production Research</i>, <i>51</i>(10),
2821-2841. doi:10.1080/00207543.2012.720392<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-30536041930261066832009-11-03T15:02:00.001-08:002009-11-03T15:12:17.278-08:00Visual Controls Make "Cents"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrxoByTwJRM5wNY6ig25cpgKzWOC8Rf3dtsnz4QxMLzLNbRI-P47mNEhqHwhr09Pdf-8jB9FUcrlGE91aXklgJHyTwtv4HZj5HBhLtciY0OmdcYoiVw2_LycdeL-X2n3Rl2EyyO_807U/s1600-h/US-Dime-front.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 199px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrxoByTwJRM5wNY6ig25cpgKzWOC8Rf3dtsnz4QxMLzLNbRI-P47mNEhqHwhr09Pdf-8jB9FUcrlGE91aXklgJHyTwtv4HZj5HBhLtciY0OmdcYoiVw2_LycdeL-X2n3Rl2EyyO_807U/s200/US-Dime-front.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400018519375107154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxdJhAbGKmn-9TycfiTiwkMZRDwpBKFh0BHW53SAL2adrxZfSDqTMPYBAtf1L_R2_40YumxIeoy5WSmhou7JMAT9NZZEUKq80bsKlJ-KavV3d7tqfxgXaUv4dqeE_csb7LPEALb8eJVE/s1600-h/indian-rupee.jpg"></a><div>As many of you know, in addition to consulting, I am an adjunct professor at a college with a large number of international students. Normally I teach statistics, but recently I had the opportunity of familiarizing newly arrived international students with U.S. cultural and business communications. </div><div><br /></div><div>As part of the workshop for new international students, I engaged the class in a discussion about what they have found to be problematic since their arrival in the United States. Surprisingly the one reoccurring topic that challenged the students, was our coins.</div><div><br /></div><div>At first I was stunned. Of all the things in this country, the most challenging to newly arrived foreigners was our coins? After considering this for a moment, it made perfect sense. How?</div><div><br /></div><div>Think about it, the designed system lacks visual clues; it relies almost entirely on the tribal knowledge of the user. It is hardly intuitive; the smallest coin, the dime, is worth more than the larger penny and nickel! Now combine that with the fact that none of our coins have large, easy to read numbers denoting worth; we can “cents” and understand how this combination can pose problems for newly arrived foreigners.</div><div><br /></div><div>Given the lack of effective visual controls on the coins, it’s easy to comprehend why the newly arrived find this challenging and frustrating.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now ask yourself, what in your business is not visually intuitive and causes problems? Simply put, are problems going undetected because the visuals controls in your workplace are ineffective? Can you walk into a material storage location and see what needs to be reordered? Can the leaders tell the status of the business simply by walking through the facility and observing? </div><div><br /></div><div>Excellent examples of effective visual controls are the arrival and departure boards at an airport. First of all, these boards are easy to use, clearly labeled, and very intuitive. Even if you have never been in an airport before, you can look at the board and obtain the information about your flight. Not only does the board display the information, it will provide visual alerts by flashing when flights are changing status. </div><div><br /></div><div>This information is not closely held and limited to only the airport’s managers. The status of every flight into and out of the airport is readily available and viewable by all. Just as importantly, the board provides only the necessary information and doesn’t overwhelm the traveler with unnecessary details. The required information is freely placed into the hands of those who need it and problems are easy to see. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now expand on that concept and apply it your business. Does your staff know the status of inventories, deadlines, and other critical information? Are your visual controls improving information flow and process control?</div><div><br /></div><div>More importantly, what benefits can you experience from an effective visual workplace? </div><div><br /></div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Higher job satisfaction – Individuals experience less stress because they have the required information to perform their jobs</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Safer work environment – Walkways are clearly labeled keeping individuals at a safe distance from moving vehicles and machinery</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Higher quality – Fewer defects/errors as problems become easy to see</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Greater efficiencies - Required information/material is readily available resulting in less downtime</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Improved appearance – Workplace is neat and orderly </div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Improved Bottom Line – Reduced errors plus greater efficiency equals a better bottom line.</div><div><br /></div><div>A visual workplace, which is often times associated with a 5S program, should be self-ordering, self-explanatory, and self-regulating. </div><div><br /></div><div>If your business is experiencing problems because you can’t tell the status of the business simply by walking through and using tools deployed as part of a visual workplace, then I encourage you to consider launching a lean sigma program. It makes “cents.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Please leave your comments or email me directly at royce.williard@gmail.com </div><div><br /></div><div>Learn more about the author by checking my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard</div><div><br /></div><div> 2009, The Williard Group</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Photo Source:</div><div><br /></div><div>Figure 1: Public Domain Photo of U.S. dime. Source: Clipart Graphics</div><div><br /></div><div>http://www.freeclipartnow.com/money-business/coins/</div><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTBCTGAXKf5EOBuDaz96ikPiQVHUJ4S401vDXsH0IOJbTJW_JIB-CQ2xA_RBEdA4jE6NxrIqj04Fn-PjnCebwEbpNZvhateY1jVvaYgNd3gFb7SKxcw4YwUtTRjWS2-GH9vNiecla8qI/s1600-h/indian-rupee.jpg"></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTBCTGAXKf5EOBuDaz96ikPiQVHUJ4S401vDXsH0IOJbTJW_JIB-CQ2xA_RBEdA4jE6NxrIqj04Fn-PjnCebwEbpNZvhateY1jVvaYgNd3gFb7SKxcw4YwUtTRjWS2-GH9vNiecla8qI/s1600-h/indian-rupee.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></a></span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7H9GkRKZukeuF3P2JfFAjdwyPg1GUC-VDwq7dRJILMyUemCDfoCzgpCVidC_tpHe80Zog3A4Bs6uVVih2lsZlKAmsUugkBCH7kzkWUC2u7xSe2qjTBHKVmSf2ohbvLpX_sgtwQ_KhRL8/s1600-h/indian-rupee.jpg"><br /></a><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSFp5DO2wX4aH9ATJTRCVm9ylaI2gE8ONx6n9ErZ1OuzJIJpwF5X11Bidd8b3JhQQsghUQKuTsqcEURdmy-1AmhcEc2Dpqeos-0SEHLeSRjS15Uj9LRxp6P7uNWM-58LjIgZJ8YgGZyE/s1600-h/US-Dime-front.jpg"><br /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-81593322628699465402009-10-23T08:24:00.000-07:002009-10-27T08:48:22.403-07:00The Use Of Lean Visual Controls In Retail<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">OK, I confess. I’m one of “those” people. You know, one of “those” Apple people. If you didn’t know this before, know that I love my iMac, MacBook, and 2 iPhones. But this is not a blog about how pleased I am with Apple products and their customer service. Rather, it is a blog about Lean Sigma visual controls in the retail industry.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The other day my MacBook would not start up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was left standing there in front of my class of graduate students with the day’s entire lecture on my beloved MacBook, staring at a black screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After calling technical support and speaking to a real person almost immediately, I quickly learned that the issue was hardware related.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next day, I found myself walking into the local Apple Store so my computer could be physically tested. Moments after I walked in, I asked a store employee in a blue t-shirt if I needed to check in for my appointment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He said “Yes, see that guy in the orange t-shirt, check in with him.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No other description was necessary. Simple but effective, just as lean is supposed to be.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> I later asked and learned that the Apple Store uses the following color code for their employees, the sales people are in turquoise, the technical people are in blue, and the concierges are in orange.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Need to talk to a sales person, simply find someone in a turquoise t-shirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is elegant in its simplicity and effectiveness. Kudos to Apple for being a role model in the use of visual controls to identify different job functions in a retail environment.</o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKWWLOY01AdHU5mAPGWrnfVBuRYPH1WQs-BNyrlj1ZCjUoeg_wmTknDRKZ4GjDWfvh9JU91ZQR9nxSMVjx1wAIJnhYIU4TKI0fVClQQmAOsS1o-krCDOBWy5DcospApocc92iUb19DO4/s1600-h/IMG_0088.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKWWLOY01AdHU5mAPGWrnfVBuRYPH1WQs-BNyrlj1ZCjUoeg_wmTknDRKZ4GjDWfvh9JU91ZQR9nxSMVjx1wAIJnhYIU4TKI0fVClQQmAOsS1o-krCDOBWy5DcospApocc92iUb19DO4/s400/IMG_0088.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395817048074327474" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">A special thank you to the Apple Store employees for allowing me to take and use this photo as an example of visual controls. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">Please leave your comments or email me directly at </span><a href="mailto:royce.williard@gmail.com"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">royce.williard@gmail.com</span></a><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">Learn more about the author by checking my LinkedIn profile at </span><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard</span></a></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p>Post Author: Royce Williard</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p>Copyright 2009, The Williard Group</o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-11825504086295302132009-10-21T14:02:00.000-07:002009-10-21T14:49:32.487-07:00A Lean Six Sigma look at the Infant Mortality Rate in the U.S.<div><br /></div><div><div>In my last post, I analyzed the performance of the U.S. health care system based on a statistical review of the information contained in the World Health Organization’s database. Since that article was published, I have been asked numerous questions regarding health care within each state.<span> </span>In response to those questions, I recently completed a deeper statistical review of the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the U.S..<span> </span>The facts and conclusions are detailed below.</div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">The U.S. has the highest per capita spend on health care in the world and had an IMR of 6.86 per 1000 live births for period 2002 -2004.<span> </span>In 2006, based on World Health Organization data, the U.S. was tied for 39<sup>th</sup> for the lowest IMR with countries such as Lithuania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Thailand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">Even more shocking, the 2006 mean IMR for the 30 countries with the highest per capita health care spend, was 3.9 per 1,000 live births.<span> </span>Simply put, if the U.S. simply were to achieve the mean IMR for the 30 total spending countries, there would have been over 12,000 more live births!</span></p><!--StartFragment--> <table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="459" style="width:459.0pt;margin-left:4.75pt;border-collapse:collapse;mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-irow:0;mso-yfti-firstrow:yes;height:52.0pt"> <td width="84" style="width:84.0pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:52.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">Location <o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" style="width:75.0pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left: none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:52.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">Live Births 2004<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" style="width:75.0pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left: none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:52.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">U.S. IMR<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" style="width:75.0pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left: none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:52.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">Mean IMR of 40 highest spending countries<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" style="width:75.0pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left: none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:52.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">Delta<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" style="width:75.0pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left: none;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:52.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">Additional Live Births<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow:1;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes;height:13.0pt"> <td width="84" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:84.0pt;border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:13.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">United States<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;border-top:none; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:13.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">4,112,052<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;border-top:none; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:13.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">6.86<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;border-top:none; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:13.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">3.9<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;border-top:none; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:13.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">2.96<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> <td width="75" nowrap="" valign="bottom" style="width:75.0pt;border-top:none; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:13.0pt"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:";">12,172<o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!--EndFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Next came the question, does every state in the U.S. have approximately the same IMR? Or do some states actually have higher levels? If so, how high?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";">To answer these questions, I obtained the report detailing the IMR by state and the District of Columbia and conducted another analysis.<span> </span>The data is from 2002 – 2004.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">Armed with the IMR rates on all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, I constructed a histogram to graphically summarize and display all the data. <span></span>From the graph below, we can see that:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in; "></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">The largest number of states has an IMR of between 6.00 and 6.99 per 1000 live births.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">Four states produced exceptionally good IMR statistics of between 4.00 and 4.99.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">The poorest performing areas posted IMRs above 9.00 per 1000 live births.</span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">Additionally, the median IMR rate of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia was 6.94.<span> </span>As previous stated the U.S., as a whole, recorded an IMR of 6.86 for this period.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><br /></p></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuw9mLdsYisHbOBxrgFZpdalNXUtdhF9ugb5Gt-8J7WSoZmWl37na38b-0GZxEPkLUJRIoxmt7g8v68nT-IZnangR9ZGJdehOsSZ20G6ly0d10sOCjUipbKTegWd6bSF68PuIxgHsbHn4/s1600-h/Slide1.jpg" style="text-decoration: none; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuw9mLdsYisHbOBxrgFZpdalNXUtdhF9ugb5Gt-8J7WSoZmWl37na38b-0GZxEPkLUJRIoxmt7g8v68nT-IZnangR9ZGJdehOsSZ20G6ly0d10sOCjUipbKTegWd6bSF68PuIxgHsbHn4/s400/Slide1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395162752580984370" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">More specifically, the four states with the <b><i>highest</i></b> IMR are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-family:";"><span>1.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">District of Columbia 11.42<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-family:";"><span>2.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">Mississippi 10.32<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-family:";"><span>3.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">Louisiana 9.95<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-family:";"><span>4.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">Tennessee 9.05<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:";">This data was shocking. Imagine my surprise to learn that an infant born in Bulgaria, Malaysia, or Russia actually has a higher probability of survival than does an infant born in Washington DC!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";">The four states with the <b><i>lowest</i></b> IMR are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-family:";"><span>1.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">Vermont 4.68<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-family:";"><span>2.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">Massachusetts 4.80<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-family:";"><span>3.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">Minnesota 4.85<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; "><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-family:";"><span>4.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">New Hampshire 4.93<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";">For a complete look at all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, please refer to the following control chart.</span></p></div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmuoin0oyQX3Cea4NkO8-4bWDN2-3t-MJkbvBck_SBZdvIntuVbUf4qk7ybz6IJ7eopHBHVRX_wRkbiHww8lV8SariTh87nE72joOZt2BSHrQ8vBznFG6WZCyfi2mW5xLyZizshC7TlU/s1600-h/Slide2.jpg" style="text-decoration: none; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmuoin0oyQX3Cea4NkO8-4bWDN2-3t-MJkbvBck_SBZdvIntuVbUf4qk7ybz6IJ7eopHBHVRX_wRkbiHww8lV8SariTh87nE72joOZt2BSHrQ8vBznFG6WZCyfi2mW5xLyZizshC7TlU/s400/Slide2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395163213630464162" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">So now that we know which of the 50 states and the District of Columbia have the highest and lowest IMRs, the question yet to be answered is why?<span> </span>To explore that question, I obtained data from the U.S. Census Bureau on income.<span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">After reviewing that data and comparing it to the IMR information, I was able to determine that a high correlation exists between IMR and the percent of the population living at or below 125% of the poverty level.<span> </span>In fact, these two variables have a correlation coefficient of 0.645.<span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">Simply put, all this means is as the percent of individuals living at or below 125% of poverty increases, so does the IMR. This data may be viewed on the following scatter plot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><br /></p></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtAv_yDBSA8G4EVq1jnQkXBq1iRT3Mdw3uJgHeI9fjfPNlrDVoK6aXtNqrEBETuBVPovolkVD_PjY-zKXCButmQncDpduNq8K8rQs6pY7Piqr2d75rIe6XqbggG4KS1O69YmWvosw-b0/s1600-h/Slide3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtAv_yDBSA8G4EVq1jnQkXBq1iRT3Mdw3uJgHeI9fjfPNlrDVoK6aXtNqrEBETuBVPovolkVD_PjY-zKXCButmQncDpduNq8K8rQs6pY7Piqr2d75rIe6XqbggG4KS1O69YmWvosw-b0/s400/Slide3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395163732001124354" /></a><div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">So why are our government officials not outraged over the IMR in this country? Most likely because it doesn’t happen in their neighborhoods, but that fact may be changing.<span> </span>Based on U.S. Census Bureau data, the 46 million uninsured have an income distribution as follows:<span style=" ;font-family:Symbol;"><span>·<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul><li>14,561,000 (24.4%) of those making less than $25,000 annually are uninsured</li><li><span style="font-family:";">14,977,000 (20.6%) of those making between $25,000 and $49,999 annually are uninsured</span></li><li><span style="font-family:";"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-family:Symbol;"><span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">8,300,000 (14.1%) of the making between $50,000 and $74,999 annually are uninsured</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:";"><span style="font-family:";"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-family:Symbol;"><span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";">8,740.000 (8.5%) of those making $75,000 and more are uninsured.</span></span></span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";">The following histogram details the number of uninsured by income level based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s report “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005”.</span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnXLd9W8Spfs6hYpiMQt9blssktrVzlbJl8FUZ1gtts8UcdKfBMMR39J3qNO8X_tFwLcf-_I0G7SdnqpE3J3nQHgrKnd4li4Wj8D5ul11HOOazcWglc65wI6Hc8eOENJ5Fj_-9QPqKrw/s1600-h/Slide4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnXLd9W8Spfs6hYpiMQt9blssktrVzlbJl8FUZ1gtts8UcdKfBMMR39J3qNO8X_tFwLcf-_I0G7SdnqpE3J3nQHgrKnd4li4Wj8D5ul11HOOazcWglc65wI6Hc8eOENJ5Fj_-9QPqKrw/s400/Slide4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395162093687114674" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">Clearly some number of individuals opt out of health insurance. But, when considering the income distribution, I believe the high cost of insurance excludes some number of those who are self-employed or covered by employer plans.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">Furthermore, the U.S. has long been a champion of human rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact, in 1966, the U.S. signed the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This document contains the following provision:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-family:Times;">rticle 12</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Times;">1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Times;">2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Times;">(a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child;<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Times;">(b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Times;">(c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Times;">(d) The creation of conditions, which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Since that time, our health care system has evolved into the most expensive in the world, costing a staggering 15.3% of the GDP. Yet, this country is tied for 39<sup>th</sup> in the world on IMR and results in an estimated loss of 12,000 lives annually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">We can do better. As an expert in lean six sigma enterprise and a father of two children <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>who died shortly after birth, I assure you, we can achieve so much more in saving the lives of our future. Unless immediate, corrective action is taken, health care and the right to life will become a privilege reserved only for the wealthy.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">Learn more about the author by checking my LinkedIn profile at <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard">http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">Reference<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Martin, J. A., Kung, H. C., Mathews, T. J., Hoyert, D. L., Strobino, D. M., Guyer, B., & Sutton, S. R., (2008). Annual summary of vital statistics: 2006. Pediatrics, 121(4), Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/121/4/788 doi:10.1542/peds.2007-3753</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">Post Author: Royce Williard</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">Copyright 2009, The Williard Group</span></p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-79544692893909069322009-08-20T09:48:00.000-07:002009-08-20T10:13:45.587-07:00Continuous Improvement, Lean Sigma, and Health Care Reform<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">It seems you can’t pick up a newspaper or turn on your television these days without hearing something about the current health care situation within the United States.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Some claim the US has the best health care available in the world today.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Others claim the current US health care system costs an excessive amount while providing inferior care. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span>Some favor radical change, while others don’t want to change a thing.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Rarely are any of these claims accompanied by facts, as viewed recently at various town hall meetings.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">As a Lean Six Sigma champion and natural skeptic, I decided to let the numbers speak for themselves by conducting my own analysis using publicly available data.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This article simply presents a factual review of the current state of US health care.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The source for the data is the World Health Organization (WHO).</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">My analysis utilized the most recent data available from the WHO and was retrieved as of August 3, 2009.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">There are 193 countries contained in this report.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">To focus on “more bang for the health care buck”, I limited my analysis to the top 29 countries with the highest </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">per capita total expenditure on health care at the average exchange rate (US$).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The countries in the top 29 in order based on total per capita health spend are (1) United States, (2) Luxembourg, (3) Monaco, (4) Norway, (5) Switzerland, (6) Iceland, (7) Denmark, (8) France, (9) Canada, (10) Ireland, (11) Sweden, (12) Austria, (13) Netherlands, (14) Germany, (15) San Marino, (16) Belgium, (17) United Kingdom, (18) Australia, (19) Finland, (20) Italy, (21) Andorra, (22) Qatar, (23) Greece, (24) Japan, (25) New Zealand, (26) Spain, (27) Portugal, (28) Israel, and (29) Slovenia.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span>I focused on 25 variables over these 29 countries.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; "><b><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Executive Summary</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "></span></span></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">After extensive review of 25 key performance measures in the 29 countries with the highest per capita health expenditure, it is clear that US residents pay a premium rate for a health care system that produces less than premium results.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Residents in the US have the worlds most expensive per capita cost system.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The total health expenditure in this country represents a staggering 15.3% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">In spite of the huge expenditure, life expectancy in the US ranks 27</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">th</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> of the 29 countries in the study.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Additionally, only 1 country in this study has a higher infant mortality rate!</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">These are unquestionably dismal results.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Surprisingly, the US government ranks 3</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">rd</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> in the study for</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> general government expenditure on health as percentage of total government expenditure.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The current US government expenditure seems extremely high when compared to the countries with national systems.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This would seem to imply that enough </span></span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">waste </span></span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">might exist in the current system that health care reform could be accomplished </span></span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">without raising taxes</span></span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">While there is no single issue that would resolve all of the issues with the US health care system, there is a void in the current system where those without insurance are going without the basic care available to those with insurance.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This void is unquestionably resulting in loss of life as the US system ranks:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in; "></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-family:Symbol;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">2nd amongst countries in the study in infant mortality rate</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-family:Symbol;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">2nd amongst countries in the study in probability of dying by age 5</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-family:Symbol;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">1</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">st</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> amongst countries in the study in the probability of dying between ages 15 – 60</span></span></span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The current US health care system is fundamentally flawed and requires immediate and dramatic action to lower the current cost, reduce mortality rates and improve life expectancy. This will most likely mean providing access to health care insurance for the uninsured and under insured.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lean Six Sigma is based on a foundation of continuous process improvement. However, before we can improve upon health care reform, we must first define/implement our initial efforts.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">We simply need to implement a plan and begin the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span>Unfortunately, our government currently seems more interested in arguing over the Plan and never gets to the Do, Check, and Act.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; "><b><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Cost of Health Care</span></span></span></b></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwgyCQjYdKHry7fzZy7MkHTn8EywOddzOC587ZzOqBb7MVtaKLdsqY6lErQfIyjhyRaYUa0bLJA1IQfkq13VGuObiiQgc0E3RC-LxdN77ifm10jYfExYp7EEHX00Mig-KXi5h1aNJFmE/s1600-h/chart+1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwgyCQjYdKHry7fzZy7MkHTn8EywOddzOC587ZzOqBb7MVtaKLdsqY6lErQfIyjhyRaYUa0bLJA1IQfkq13VGuObiiQgc0E3RC-LxdN77ifm10jYfExYp7EEHX00Mig-KXi5h1aNJFmE/s400/chart+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372090588719636466" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Notes:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in; "></p><ol><li><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The mean is the average of all 29 countries included in the study.</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The median is the middle value of all 29 countries included in the study.</span></span></span></li></ol><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Based on the WHO data retrieved August 3, 2009, the US has the highest total health care spend per capita in the world!</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Additionally, the US has the world highest total spend as a percent of the GDP of any country in the Top 29 list reviewed.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The US spends 15.3% of the GDP on health care.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This expenditure is “out of statistical control” when compared to the Top 29 countries.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Of particular note, is the fact the US government currently ranks 3</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">rd</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> of the Top 29 countries by spending 19.1% of it’s total spend on health care.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Simply put, the current health expense incurred by the US government is surprisingly high when compared to other countries that offer a more nationalized system. All of this data supports the fact that the US health care system is extremely expensive.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; "><b><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Quality of Health Care</span></span></span></b></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtShtZmJ3MwuDYJ8tVXTa6U4hAjsjHKVQ5UQh_MxdWfYuaxdqSrGr1i_kmWy9v26Y55Lv_Op-n6ivQunMirivJIKgf8UMl3Dc938on0x0TdsQBH4tORjci1Q8EKwYbn4Zo8SImp3BL0Dw/s1600-h/chart+2.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 329px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtShtZmJ3MwuDYJ8tVXTa6U4hAjsjHKVQ5UQh_MxdWfYuaxdqSrGr1i_kmWy9v26Y55Lv_Op-n6ivQunMirivJIKgf8UMl3Dc938on0x0TdsQBH4tORjci1Q8EKwYbn4Zo8SImp3BL0Dw/s400/chart+2.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372090582411872546" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Assuming that a key measure of success of a nation’s health care system would be a long life expectancy and low mortality rates, the US system’s performance can best be described as dismal when compared to the other countries in this analysis.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in; "></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The mean life expectancy for the 29 countries studied is 80.28 years as compared to 78 years in the US.</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Of the 29 countries in this analysis, 26 of the countries rank ahead of the US in Life Expectancy at birth for both sexes.</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The US is tied with Slovenia with a life expectancy of 78 years and ahead of only Qatar (77 years).</span></span></span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Additionally, I reviewed the data from the </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth (years) both sexes.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in; "></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The mean Healthy life expectancy for the 29 countries is 71.41 years while US residents can expect 69 years.</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">25 of the 29 countries studied posted results higher than the US in this key measure.</span></span></span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">In terms of mortality rates, US residents had the highest probability of dying between ages 15 and 60 of any of the 29 countries included in the study.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Only 1 of the 29 countries (Qatar) studied had a higher infant and under 5 years old mortality rate.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; "><b><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Health Care Risk Factors</span></span></span></b></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFOSslICySu8l3l87ilqlgbsIWq7DU21D9MD3DrJ3g6UVRWYhmE7vpNFk6lQvoBGanmZ84hKdlO7khvtn3SfqUr-0y1jdGQRD3r462lSusgxw-KhwHrsGEO93RJN_2j0NcMou3E2RHIc/s1600-h/chart+3.png" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 388px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFOSslICySu8l3l87ilqlgbsIWq7DU21D9MD3DrJ3g6UVRWYhmE7vpNFk6lQvoBGanmZ84hKdlO7khvtn3SfqUr-0y1jdGQRD3r462lSusgxw-KhwHrsGEO93RJN_2j0NcMou3E2RHIc/s400/chart+3.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372090575484869538" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></a><div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></span></p></div></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">t is interesting to note that while the US has the highest percentage of obese adults of countries in the study, this fact had not dramatically impacted the mortality rate for cardiovascular disease in the country as the US ranks 10</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">th</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> in the study. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Conclusion</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The current system of health care in the US is expensive and life expectancies are low as compared to the countries in this study. Assuming that US medical personnel, technology, and infrastructure is at a minimum equal to the countries with higher performing systems, we are left with the question why is the life expectancy in the US less than top performing nations?</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The answer is simply that health care services are not available to the uninsured and under insured in a timely manner.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">As the result, in America, those without health insurance are more likely to not receive timely treatment and simply die sooner.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Additionally, many of those without health insurance often seek initial medical advice later, which results in higher costs in treating conditions, which worsened due to lack of timely intervention. We simply cannot allow life expectancy in this country to be dictated by an individual’s social economic status.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">In a great country such as ours, access to health care must be a right and not a privilege. In order to improve the performance of our health care system, we must provide for affordable health care insurance without disqualifying individuals due to pre-existing conditions.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">For whatever reason, the US government has failed to undertake dramatic reform measures prior to this date.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Our government has been paralyzed as our elected officials argue over one plan or another. They are failing to recognize a very basic principle in Lean Six Sigma, continuous process improvement.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Our representatives should select the best plan currently available and implement.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This plan should be improved upon in the upcoming years.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The time for action is now.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Doing nothing is simply not an option.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">According to information retrieved from the National Coalition on Health Care on August 11, 2009, (</span></span></span><a href="http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> ) approximately 46 million Americans (or 18% of the population below age 65) were without health care in 2007. This number issued by 2.2 million people between 2005 and 2006 and has grown by more than 8 million people since 2000.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">To reduce mortality rates and improve life expectancy in this country, steps must be taken to provide for access to health care for the uninsured and under insured.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Fact, many Americans today are a pink-slip away from losing their health insurance. Therefore, we can expect an increase in the number of uninsured and under insured, due in part, to the slow economy.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">So, how do we get “more bang for our health care buck?”</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">By implementing a meaningful reform package in conjunction with a continuous process improvement plan; this will ensure that the US health care system provides premier performance results for years to come.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Author’s note</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">In recent weeks, both sides of the health care debate have tossed around outlandish statements.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">In order to help separate the fact from the fiction, I would encourage reader’s to checkout the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning site </span></span></span><a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/subjects/health/?page=1"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/subjects/health/?page=1</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">for a honest fact check on statements made in the health care debate.</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><br /></div>The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-2785065233530238372009-05-22T09:36:00.001-07:002009-05-22T09:46:00.702-07:00Promoting the importance of “The Customer” in Lean Times<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">I saw a quote from Brian Buck (@BrianBuck) on Twitter the other day that really resonated with me.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">The quote was attributed to Gandhi and stated ….</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: bold;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">While most business people would say they agree with Gandi, how many truly promote the importance of “The Customer” within their business?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Is it engrained in their culture?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">What do they really know about their clients?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">With today’s technology, many businesses capture specific customer data on their clients, but fail to use it!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">It cannot be stressed enough that increased customer loyalty can make or break a company in slow economic times.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">During times of economic expansion, many companies view customer service as an expense that drains the bottom line.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">In lean times, companies cannot afford this type of “relationship arrogance.”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">In fact, companies need to maintain and enhance their business relationships. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">One way to maintain and grow these relationships is to invest in customer service by ensuring that your customer’s most critical needs/requirements are being fulfilled.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Can Lean Six Sigma tools help you gain an understanding about your customers?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Yes, histograms are a perfect tool to visually display your customer detail or any other data that can be easily ranged into groups.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Classically, a histogram would be defined as a graphic summation and display the frequency of data items in successive bins/classes.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">The most common histogram has the dependent variable (frequency) plotted on the vertical axis and the independent variable is plotted on the horizonal axis. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">The independent variable data is grouped into bins (data ranges).</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">The Lean Six Sigma graph below demonstrates a histogram being used to graphically display the grades of students in an Online Discussion Forum.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">In this example, the grade occurring with the highest frequency was B. The histogram also shows that the grades are skewed to the right (toward the lower end of the grading spectrum).</span></span></p></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTG8msD64YpbKBCdsXh1CfbIpY9DD85Iwg1LttMuwp8VSqG-zln-2nQZ8Ox2aielJzRu6Urq4ll3BI-c-NKYTidKd-Nzz4bbltZP2HU9tZV8MJz7qHBvdwmjaL9grquhdA_JL0yIea4Vg/s1600-h/Histogram.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTG8msD64YpbKBCdsXh1CfbIpY9DD85Iwg1LttMuwp8VSqG-zln-2nQZ8Ox2aielJzRu6Urq4ll3BI-c-NKYTidKd-Nzz4bbltZP2HU9tZV8MJz7qHBvdwmjaL9grquhdA_JL0yIea4Vg/s320/Histogram.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338688321043632178" /></a><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">As a histogram is being constructed, it is necessary to group the data into equal size bins/classes. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">In the case of the example, the bins are grades. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">While the bin groupings are arbitrary, care must be taken when they are established. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Too few or too many bins can distort the conclusions drawn from the data.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Histograms are the perfect tool for looking at frequency of occurrence within groups of data.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">When looking specifically at customer information, the applications are endless with potential independent variables such as age, gender, average sale, etc.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Collecting data and not using it is the ultimate waste.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Not recognizing the importance of “The Customer” is equivalent to not unlocking your doors at the start of the business day. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Remember, “The Customer” is a company’s most important asset. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Without customers, you have no business.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">To learn more about the Histograms, Lean Six Sigma and Statistical Process Control, please contact the author at royce_williard@williardgroup.com</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Learn more about the author by visiting my LinkedIn profile: </span><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Follow the author on Twitter at: </span><a href="http://twitter.com/rwilliard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">http://twitter.com/rwilliard</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Related Article: “It’s Never About the Number, It Is What the Number is Saying about the Business.” </span><a href="http://bit.ly/13PDem"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">http://bit.ly/13PDem</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">To visit Brian Buck’s blog and see more improvement quotes: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/cbkUg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">http://bit.ly/cbkUg</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Post Author: Royce Williard</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;">Copyright 2009 The Williard Group</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-bidi-;font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-44733676610673865012009-05-11T10:51:00.000-07:002009-10-27T09:43:18.020-07:00It’s Never About The Number, It’s What The Number Is Telling You<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">It’s Never About The Number, It’s <i style="">What</i> The Number Is Telling You<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Successful Control Charts For Every Business Environment<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">All successful leaders know how to see around corners. What is their secret? They use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) complete with early warning systems. Both are components of any successful Lean Six Sigma program.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">If it can be measured, it can be improved.<span style=""> </span>But how do you know if the process is stable, and producing predictable results?<span style=""> </span>The answer is simple, use control charts.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Many people often think the use of control charts as being limited to a manufacturing environment. This is an incorrect assumption. The application is much more widespread and successful, especially in today’s economic environment. These charts, commonly used in Lean Six Sigma, are appropriate for any process that can be measured. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">A control chart is useful for…<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol, serif;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, serif; ">determining the capability of the process (expected range).</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, serif; ">determining if the process is under statistical control (stable).</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, serif; ">identifying special cause variation in the process.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, serif; ">determining when and if corrective actions are required to the process.</span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">By definition, a control chart is a graphical depiction of variance about a centerline over time. <span style=""> </span>The mean (often referred to as an average) is commonly the centerline used in business applications.<span style=""> </span>When using a mean as the centerline, the control chart is referred to as an </span><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="">`</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">X (X bar) control chart.<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="">`</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">X is nothing more than a fancy way of referring to the mean. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">It is important to note that when a process is deemed to be out of statistical control, investigation is required.<span style=""> </span>The cause of the variation must be identified and correction measures implemented when necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">The use of control charts can be extremely valuable when managing processes.<span style=""> </span>However, to be of value these charts can’t sit in dusty binders in the manager’s office.<span style=""> </span>The charts belong at the work location and should be reviewed during the leader’s Gemba Walk.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Furthermore, control charts should not be viewed as the only tool necessary for continuous improvement. Control Charts are only <u>one</u> of many tools available in the lean enterprise’s arsenal in the war on waste.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">While statistics are crucial in the measurement of business processes, it is never about the number. It is about what the number is telling the leaders about their business and what is being done differently because of the number.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Constructing a Zone Control Chart<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">To assemble an </span><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="">`</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">X control chart, enough data must be collected to calculate the mean (average) and standard deviation (std dev).<span style=""> </span>After calculating the standard deviation, you determine the mean (average) <u>+</u> 1, 2, and 3 standard deviations (std dev).<span style=""> </span>Finally, plot the Excel line chart including the data points, mean, 1 std dev, 2 std dev, and 3 std dev.<span style=""> </span>Text labels are recommended for the right side of the graph to label the mean and <u>+</u> 3 std dev (upper and lower control limits).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Process control charts can be broken into three zones on each side of the mean (average) for ease of analysis.<span style=""> </span>Zone “C” is closest to the centerline and is bounded by the mean and <u>+</u> 1<sup> </sup>times the standard deviation. Zone “B” is the area bounded by <u>+</u> 1 and <u>+</u> 2 times the standard deviation. Zone “A” is the area bounded by <u>+ </u>2<sup> </sup>and <u>+</u> 3 times the standard deviation.<span style=""> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Having assembled the control chart, the next step involves understanding what the data is revealing about the business. More specifically, is the process data under statistical control? <span style=""> </span>A process only has two states, in control and out of control.<span style=""> </span>There is a series of rules that are used to detect abnormal conditions in which the process is said to be out of statistical control.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While there is some disagreement among experts over the rules for determining when a process is out of statistical control, these rules were defined by Dr. Douglas Montgomery in his 2005 book entitled Introduction to Statistical Quality Control. <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">1.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>One point or more points outside of the control limits <span style=""> </span>(i.e. beyond Zone A) </p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">2.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>Two out of three consecutive points three points > 2 std devs from the mean, on the same side of center, and within the control limits (i.e. in Zone A)</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">3.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>4 out of 5 points > 1 std dev from the mean and on the same side of the mean (i.e. in Zone B or beyond)</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">4.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>Eight consecutive points on the same side of the center line<span style=""> </span>(i.e. Zone C and beyond)</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">5.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>Six points in a row steadily increasing or decreasing</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">6.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>Fifteen points in a row on both sides of the centerline in Zone C.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">7.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>Fourteen points in a row alternating up and down.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">8.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>Eight points in a row on both sides of the centerline and beyond Zone C.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">9.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>An unusual or nonrandom pattern in the data.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="">10.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;"> </span></span></span>One or more points near a warning or control limit.</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Learn more about the author by checking my LinkedIn profile at <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard">http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center">Reference</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:13;">Montgomery, Douglas C. (2005). <i>Introduction to statistical quality control, Fifth edition</i>. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc..</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Symbol;">Copyright</span> 2009, The Williard Group LLC</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-32998494448786093362009-04-26T14:09:00.000-07:002009-04-26T14:11:20.883-07:00Searching for Your Organization’s Susan Boyle<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Before she sang, Susan Boyle, the 47 year old, unemployed, Scottish woman, and current Internet phenomenon, was asked why her dream of becoming a professional singer “had not worked before?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To which she replied, “I have never been given the chance before.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Moments later, she delivered an amazing rendition of “I Dreamed The Dream.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now ponder this, how many employees in organizations across the world could say they never had a chance to shine?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Here is one such story that I observed first hand.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Facing a significant financial and quality challenge, the leadership of an organization realized radical change was necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They understood, as Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” To avoid corporate insanity, their only option was to embark on a Lean Six Sigma journey. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Their first decision was to seek out the “informal” leaders in the organization. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Next they approached those key individuals with the ability to influence their peers; to make them aware of the issues and the plan to implement Lean Six Sigma.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of the key influencers in the informal network was a long time employee who had the reputation of being negative and critical of management.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Reaching out to him, the leadership outlined the reasons for the changes and the new course of direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He was told that his opinion mattered and that his input was required to make the organization successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He began to share his very insightful thoughts and ideas.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">After being recognized for a particularly thoughtful observation, the employee replied that he was now being praised for the same thing that would have landed him in trouble with previous management.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In retrospect, this employee was his organization’s Susan Boyle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He was an amazing talent who had never been given a chance.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The beauty of the Lean Six Sigma processes is it provides for involvement from all levels of the organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It allows employees to voice their opinions and experiment with new ideas in try-storming sessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It allows their voices to be heard and their input considered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It shouts you have value! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You are not simply a commodity!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You are a person with a brain!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When implemented correctly, it demonstrates to the employee that their input matters.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So what happened to that employee after he became engaged?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He went on to facilitate his plant’s Morning Market and was a leader in the deployment of 5S and Visual Controls. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I cannot emphasize enough that one of the key jobs of a Lean Six Sigma leader is to find and use the amazing talents of their employees who have been overlooked and/or underutilized by providing a vehicle for them to voice their ideas and shine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After all, every company’s got talent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">View Susan Boyle’s remarkable performance here: </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Learn more about the author by visiting my LinkedIn profile: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard">http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Follow the author on Twitter at: <a href="http://twitter.com/rwilliard">http://twitter.com/rwilliard</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p><p class="MsoNormal">Copyright 2009, The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-4627138362469469542009-04-21T11:19:00.000-07:002009-04-21T11:22:32.097-07:00Are You Leadership Material?<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">When many people hear I run a business consulting firm specializing in Lean Six Sigma, they will frequently indicate that they are familiar with these principles and have implemented them into their own organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Many will then go on to highlight their accomplishments using staff reductions as evidence. This attitude is a common misconception among individuals who have simply read a book or two on Lean Six Sigma and consider themselves an expert. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>My reply is always the same, “Actually, it is about respecting individuals and company resources while enabling them to participate more fully in value added activities.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Lean Six Sigma is not about the elimination of jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is about the reduction of waste and improving overall quality while respecting the individual. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A core principle of Lean Six Sigma is respect for the individual.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So what does respect for the individual really mean?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In cases of old processes no longer performing adequately because of planned or unplanned staff reductions, respect for the individual can be demonstrated by removing the non-value added activity so that the individuals do not feel overwhelmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Many companies today have already cut their labor costs to the bare minimum and beyond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Unfortunately, as the size of the staffs reduced, the amount of work requiring possessing may not have reduced proportionately. The goal in these organizations is not to eliminate more labor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The goal is to eliminate the non-value added activity so that the existing staff can perform the work consistently, efficiently, with quality, in a timely manner, and without being overwhelmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In this case, respect for the individual is demonstrated by making the jobs easier to perform. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another common misconception is that respect for the individual is synonymous with employment for life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Respect for the individual doesn’t mean employment for life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Respect for the individual refers to how you treat and respond to people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Treating people with respect basically means following the advice given by parents around the world, treat others, as you would like to be treated.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When you’re speaking with someone, you need to make eye contact and listen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When leaders conduct a Gemba Walk, don’t simply walk around observing and writing on a checklist. Engage people in conversation. Ask questions. Communicate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Don’t be afraid to ask for input.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The insight provided may surprise you. Communication is not simply taking turns talking and formulating a response while the other person is still speaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Communication involves sending and receiving information. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another way to respect the individual is to show interest in their development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However, this doesn’t mean sending people to every training program imaginable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This could be something as simple as taking the time on a Gemba Walk to explain why certain decisions were made or why certain things are important to the organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Educational moments present themselves all the time, a true leader has trained to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Developing people provides the individual with additional skills that can be marketed if they need or elect to search for another opportunity. Respect is not employing people forever; respect is providing people with enhanced skills that can be used in the marketplace should the need arise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have been fortunate enough in my career to work for several good mentors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were good mentors, in part, because they were excellent role models who took an interest in my professional development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Everyday a leader has the opportunity to be a role model of the Lean Six Sigma principles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Every leader can be an exceptional role model.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The choice however, belongs to them which type of role model they will be for their staffs. Will they be a positive or negative role model?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The choice is theirs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Lean Six Sigma principle of respect for the individual is simply treating others, as you would like to be treated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Learn more about the author by accessing my LinkedIn profile at <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard">http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p><p class="MsoNormal">Copyright 2009, The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-77994986450273929862009-04-14T20:29:00.000-07:002009-04-14T20:31:27.457-07:00Gemba, The Library, and Breakthrough Performance<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">I recently had an opportunity to visit a good friend at the library where she is currently a manager. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>10 years ago we worked closely together in continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence in a service environment. She is a regular reader of this blog and I was eager to see how she had applied the information. When I first arrived, she asked if I wanted to meet in the office or discuss the improvements in the backroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to go to gemba and see first hand how their new lean journey is progressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Like most organizations today, the library has found themselves unable to replace permanent staff that have resigned. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Furthermore, lacking the necessary capital to invest in state of the art automation, they had no choice except to pursue a lean enterprise solution. They immediately began to attack the visible waste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To learn how to swim, you must get in the water and they proceeded to jump in with both feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The eagerness they displayed for learning and adopting lean concepts serves as an example for all.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Their first project was analyzing their check-in process and focused on removing the lean waste of motion and transportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the pre-kaizen current state, the staff staged the material to be checked-in on one side of the workstation then, after check-in, moved the material to the other side of the workstation, before finally placing the material on a cart for re-shelving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Additionally, the process included re-shelving the material when only 1 of 3 shelves on the cart was full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The problems occurring in the pre-kaizen state included …</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>the checked-in material could not be located prior to being re-shelved</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>checked-in and material waiting to be checked-in was frequently comingled</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>the staff was making excess trips to reshelf the material due to underutilized carts</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the post-Kaizen process, the staff moves the checked-in material directly to the cart for re-shelving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Furthermore, the carts have been colored coded by library location and are moved only when 2 of 3 shelves on the cart are full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The new process has reduced the number of trips to re-shelve the material by 50%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The process has also enabled the staff to locate material waiting to be re-shelved and has greatly reduced the risk of comingling unchecked-in material with checked-in material.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">At this point some of you may be gasping because the re-shelving is a batch process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The beauty of lean is that it is adapted to each individual environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Lean is not about ensuring use of all the tools, lean is about breakthrough performance and doing what is right for the organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Are there still improvements required? Absolutely, but kudos to my friend and her staff for realizing and addressing the need to change. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">Copyright </span>2009 The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-52241041386663010812009-04-05T16:25:00.000-07:002009-04-05T16:28:38.488-07:00Economist hypothesizes the “deflationary meltdown has past.”<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">The Governor’s 3<sup>rd</sup> Annual Utah Economic Summit was held in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 30, 2009. The Summit featured some amazing speakers including Governor John Huntsman, Wells Fargo Executive Vice President/Economist Dr. Kelly Matthews, and Pixar/Disney Animation Studios President Dr. Ed Catmull. While all had great speeches, Matthews’ message was particularly impressive and it was reassuring hearing good news about the economy as he put forth his hypothesis that the “deflationary meltdown has past.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Matthews went on to make a compelling argument to support his hypothesis. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Matthews proceeded to ask what has changed in the economy that would account for the approximate 20% growth in the S&P in recent weeks?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He then answered his own question by stating that the growth in the S&P could be explained with three events. <br /> <br /> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The first significant difference he offered was the fact several major financial institutions (i.e. Citigroup and Bank of America) operated at a profit during the first two months of 2009 (4 & 7).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This dramatic turnaround came after both institutions had received an infusion of federal bailout money in late 2008. Citigroup received $25 billion in October and $20 billion in November (3). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While Bank of America was the recipient of $15 billion (6).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Matthews contends the positive news of profits posted by Citigroup and Bank of America is creating some expectation among investors and the public in general; that the worst has past. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Please note, Matthews was not implying that the bailout funds were responsible for the institutions posting a profit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He was simply stating the fact that by generating a profit for the first two months of 2009, the positive impact on the morale of investors has been significant.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The second point Matthews offered in support of his hypothesis is that consumer spending has leveled off in the first two months in 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Matthews was careful to say that consumer spending had not increased; rather he indicated that it was no longer continuing to decrease (2 & 8).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While Matthews said that he expects more job losses in coming months, he also stated he expected the job losses would end as soon as consumer demand and the existing supply reaches equilibrium. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The third significant event Matthews offered was the action of the Federal Reserve on March 18, 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By purchasing $1 Trillion dollars in Treasure Bonds and Mortgage Securities, the Fed’s action reduced the cost of long-term debt (1).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>According to Matthews, these actions had directly aided in the edging down of long-term interest rates as evidenced by drops in the 30-Year mortgage rate to 4.85% and 10-Year Treasury note yield to 2.72% (as of March 27, 2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The 30–Year mortgage rate is now at the lowest rate in approximately 50 years (5).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Many in attendance commented that Matthews’ message was both uplifting and well thought out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After returning to the office after the Summit, this author and Lean Sigma Champion set out on a mission to independently verify the items Matthews put forward as fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The references and citations included in this post are the sources located which collaborate facts set forth in Matthews’ hypothesis.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So is Matthews’ hypothesis correct when he proclaims the “deflationary meltdown has past”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Only time will tell, but after researching the facts offered in support of his hypothesis I agree with him and believe that the “deflationary meltdown has past.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">References</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Andrews, Edmund L. (2009, March 18). Fed plans to inject another $1 trillion to aid the economy. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from The New York Times Web site: </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/business/economy/19fed.html?_r=2&hp"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/business/economy/19fed.html?_r=2&hp</span></a><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Jake (2009, March 27). Personal consumption holding steady. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from Economopicdata Web site: </span><a href="http://econompicdata.blogspot.com/2009/03/personal-consumption-holding-steady.html"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">http://econompicdata.blogspot.com/2009/03/personal-consumption-holding-steady.html</span></a><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Lagorio, Juan (2008, November 26). Citigroup bailout slammed by New Yorkers. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from Reuters Web site: </span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2636427520081126?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2636427520081126?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0</span></a><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Lepro, Sara (2009, March 10). Dow ends up nearly 380 on Citigroup profit news. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from The Huffington Post Web site: </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/stocks-shoot-higher-on-ci_n_173459.html"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/stocks-shoot-higher-on-ci_n_173459.html</span></a><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space: auto"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">5.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Lewis, Holden (2009, March 26). Mortgage rates drop to lowest since the '50s. Retrieved April 4, 2009, from Bankrate.com Web site: </span><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/mortgage-rates-drop-to-lowest-since-the-50s.aspx"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/mortgage-rates-drop-to-lowest-since-the-50s.aspx</span></a><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">6.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Snow, Mary (2008, December 23). Where's the bank bailout money. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from CNN.Com US Web site: </span><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/12/22/bailout.accountability/"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/12/22/bailout.accountability/</span></a><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">7.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Unknown, (2009, March 13). Bank of America expects 2009 profit - Lewis. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from Ub News Web site: </span><a href="http://ub-news.com/news/bank-of-america-expects-2009-profit-lewis/1338.html"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">http://ub-news.com/news/bank-of-america-expects-2009-profit-lewis/1338.html</span></a><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.25in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-list:Ignore">8.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Unknown, (2009, March 27). Savings rate continues to be high. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from The Wall Street Journal Web site: </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123815632294556303.html"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123815632294556303.html</span></a><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Post Author: Royce Williard</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">copyright 2009, The Williard Group</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-60015880755578489972009-04-01T11:01:00.000-07:002009-04-01T11:02:46.808-07:004-Year Old Lean Practitioner Identifies Waste!<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">The beauty of lean enterprise is it’s simplistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Most waste is clearly visible if you will only take the time to see it. It has been said that the most dangerous waste that can exist in your business is one you can’t see. The good news is that some wastes are visible enough even a 4-year old can see it and counsel adults not to repeat the non-value added activity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of the lean wastes is transportation. This waste is defined as any movement that doesn’t add value to the product or service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In lean manufacturing, this is characterized by unnecessary movement of finished goods or component inventory. In lean enterprise (a non-manufacturing environment), this waste can take the form of unnecessary movement of paper, information, or personnel.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Recently, my wife, grandson, and I were driving to a 5K Walk/Run and Easter egg hunt, when I inadvertently had to drive around searching for an open ramp to the highway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>During this drive and prior to discovering that my preferred ramp was closed, my wife and grandson saw a large building with a rounded dome on top. My wife explained to our 4-year old grandson that this structure was the Utah State Capitol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">After driving a short distance further, I discovered that the ramp to the highway that I intended to take was closed due to construction. We had to circle back around and found ourselves driving back toward the Capitol from the opposite direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As we neared the highway ramp, our grandson pointed out the window and exclaimed, “Look, the Capitol!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He then went on to lecture me on my excess transportation by blurting out, “Papa don’t drive in a circle!”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In this case, the transportation waste was so visible that even a 4-year old could see it and counsel me not to repeat the non-value added activity. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As a Lean Sigma Practitioner (LSP) dedicated to continuous improvement, you have to learn how to see waste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once you have seen the waste, you must be willing to raise and discuss the issue. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>An organization will not achieve the next level of performance unless everyone communicates his or her thoughts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In many respects, LSPs must take some of their behavioral cues from an inquisitive 4-year old. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>LSPs should question everything and express any concerns over what they observe.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Most waste is visible and correctable, assuming we train ourselves to see it and not accept the non-value added activity as the norm. Just because the task has been accomplished by following a particular process for years doesn’t make it the right process for today’s environment. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p><p class="MsoNormal">Copyright 2009, The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-34218788278243149772009-03-26T14:16:00.000-07:002009-03-26T14:18:01.767-07:00When are you done with Continuous Improvement?<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Recently an individual who just witnessed several lean sigma project reviews asked, “When are you done with continuous improvement”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The discussion that followed is worth summarizing to reinforce the idea that continuous improvement is just that, continuous.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">My initial response was that not only must a company change; it must change faster than its competition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Most everyone would all agree that companies are competitive and all want to be number one in their field. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Assuming that as a fact, the non-field leading companies are striving to improve to over-take the leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Should the up and coming companies change and improve faster than the leaders, they will eventually over-take them. Without change, even companies that are number one in their field will eventually be surpassed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One person in the discussion likened this to a scene in the 1990 movie “Days of Thunder”, starring Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The individual described one scene in which the pit crew chief (Duvall) was talking via radio to the racecar driver (Cruise).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The pit crew chief was complaining to the driver that he was going too fast and abusing the equipment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The driver responded that he had not sped up, but everyone else had slowed down. By simply going a little faster than the competition, he finally passed all of those in front of him to become number one; winning the race.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Continuous improvement is a marathon and this marathon has no end, simply minor course adjustments as you continue in the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We are in a changing and challenging time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Many companies will be tempted to retrench and cut expenses by blindly cutting costs including eliminating their continuous improvement activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is not the time to be timid, this is the time to aggressively attack waste by pursuing continuous improvement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Less non-value added waste equals more profit.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For a company to be successful, they must have a strong culture that promotes continuous improvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They must strive to be better than they were six months ago while realizing that they are not as good as they will be six months from now. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’ll close this post as I closed the discussion, with one of my favorite business quotes. “When the pace of change outside the organization is greater than the pace of change inside the organization, the end is near.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>John R. Walker</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p><p class="MsoNormal">Copyright 2009, The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-1254378203847849552009-03-22T18:59:00.000-07:002009-03-22T19:01:37.624-07:00Standard Work, Education, and Lean Enterprise<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Recently, the Dean of the college where I teach as an adjunct professor assigned the faculty the task of updating the syllabi and lesson plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As I worked on updating the documentation for my current class, it became clear to me how this activity is really nothing more than developing Standard Work for college classes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Standard Work is a core foundational component of Lean Enterprise. If done properly, Standard Work will document the best practices while providing structure, reducing variability, and improving quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Simply put, Standard Work is a specific set of work instructions that enable processes to be accomplished in a timely, repeatable, and uniform fashion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It defines the sequence in which the process activities are performed. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Standard Work syllabus as defined by the Dean, identifies the course length, description, perquisites and objectives. It also defines the grading scale and criteria. More importantly, items such as grading scale, attendance, dress code, professionalism, academic integrity, student services, and IT help desk information become standard across the college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While the details such as grading and evaluation criteria are unique to each course, the syllabus format is standard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Even though the course specific detail is unique, all the syllabi for the courses in the institution have the same look and feel. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Standard Work lesson plan as defined by the Dean, identities the course objectives for the week, the specific teaching objectives, and the activities that will be utilized to accomplish the teaching objectives. The Standard Work lesson plan lists each task (process step) in the sequence in which it should be performed and provides a detailed set of instructions for each activity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So why is Standard Work important in education?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The answer is simple, it is important for the same reason it is important in business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Standard Work establishes the expectations for the activity while ensuring consistency and removing variability. The course material and expectations are independent of the instructor as the class carries the same syllabus and lesson plans regardless of who is teaching the course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Employees and students (in the education world) know what to expect and what is expected of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some may try to argue that the use of Standard Work syllabi and lesson plans remove freedom and creativity from the educator. I would argue that this is false.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Properly implemented Standard Work is a foundational component for continuous improvement and as such, should be accompanied by an update process that allows for newly identified best practices to be incorporated into the documents. Therefore, all educators have the ability to introduce their thoughts by submitting revisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once approved, the revised documents are then distributed and all educators and students receive the benefit of the newly identified course best practice.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Implementing Standard Work into an educational environment is innovative and challenging, but the results are invaluable.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Symbol;">Copyright </span>2009, The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-6087130167431920552009-02-20T18:18:00.000-08:002009-02-20T19:29:59.184-08:00Mobile Marketing and Lean Enterprise<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">While reading Morgan & Liker (2006), I was reminded that most individuals and companies view lean as being focused on removing waste (<i>Muda</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">). It is really much more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What many individuals don’t realize there are two other M’s that lean focuses on eliminating. The second M is <i>Muri</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> (overburden).<i> Muri </i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">is simply problems that develop and are unique to the process when demand exceeds about 80% of the available capacity. The third M, and the focus of this article, is <i>Mura</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> (unevenness). <i>Mura</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> refers to process issues that arise when the demand is uneven and not consistent. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">The other day I had the opportunity to sit with Doug Moss, CEO of Txtwire Communications, to learn more about his business of mobile marketing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For anyone who may not know, mobile marketing is the distribution of coupons and exclusive specials via text messages sent to cellular devices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A user texts a key word or phase to a specific number to receive the coupon(s) and is immediately enrolled in a marketing list for future offers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">At this point, you may be wondering why a lean sigma blog is discussing mobile marketing; well now the lean application and focus on elimination of <i>Mura </i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">begins.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Moss indicated that one of their clients, an ice cream store, uses the service to distribute exclusive, time sensitive offers to increase the customer flow (demand) into their establishment during the specific “slow times”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In this case, the business objective is not to eliminate <i>Muda</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">; rather they are focusing on controlling <i>Mura</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">. Simply put, when the establishment has staffed to a higher demand than they are experiencing, Moss’s client takes immediate and direct steps to increase (even out) customer flow into their place of business.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">The point of highlighting Moss’s example is that many lean practitioners focus solely on removing the waste (<i>Muda</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">) and often forget about the other side of the equation that <i>Mura</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> leads to <i>Muda</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Therefore, the potential to increase (or even out) demand and realize additional revenue is overlooked.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">At the end of the day, the goal of lean is to increase the profitability of the business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>One way to increase the profitability of the business is to eliminate the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Mura</span> before it leads to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Muda</span> by taking action to level the demand.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Reference<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Morgan, J. M. & Liker, J. K. (2006). <i>The Toyota product development system: Integrating people, <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>process and technology.</i></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> New York: Productivity Press.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Post Author: Royce Williard</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;">Copyright 2009, The Williard Group </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><br /></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-9231964983537863082009-02-16T10:53:00.000-08:002009-02-16T10:56:08.149-08:00A Case For Lean In Sony’s Front Office & Fulfillment Operation<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Recently, I had a Sony Bravia LCD digital color TV fail a short period of time after the manufacturer’s warranty had expired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The failure was catastrophic in that the repair would cost over 50% of the original purchase price. I called Sony to express my dissatisfaction with the now discontinued unit and Sony agreed to replace the unit with a new model for a deeply discounted price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Had the replacement gone smoothly, that would have been the end of the story. Unfortunately, what transpired over the replacement transaction serves to highlight a lean continuous improvement opportunity in Sony’s front office and fulfillment operation. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In order to verify the authenticity of my claim, the Sony representative asked that I remove and submit the serial number label from the defective unit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Information retrieved from <a href="http://www.usps.com">www.usps.com</a> on February 14, 2009 at 9:12 AM MST indicates that my package arrived and was signed for by a Sony employee at their Fort Myers, Florida location on February 4 at 11:00 AM EST.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now the frustration begins.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">According to a Sony call center agent, the replacement order was not placed into their system until approximately 11:30 AM EST on February 10, 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Assuming a generous 30 minutes for order placement, the order request sat incurring the lean waste of “waiting” for 4 business days!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While waiting for input into the Sony systems, the letters may pile up and occupy unnecessary space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The letters are also at risk of being lost or being input out of their arrival sequence. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">After being entered into their system, the order waited again until February 12, 2009 before actually being shipped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The order had now waited another 2 plus business days prior to shipping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The entire process from receipt of the information until the replacement unit was shipped was over 6 business days! By my estimate, the only value added activities during this time were receiving the information, entering the order, and the pick/pack/ship of the replacement unit. Assuming 1 hour for the value added activity and 8 hours per business day, the value added activity comprises 2% of the cycle time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The other 98% is viewed as waste!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Applying various lean tools would help identify the root cause, eliminate the waste, and install management systems to have the changes become engrained in their culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Consider the following ……</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Included in Morning Market is a review of the previous day’s performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>With the proper customer centric measures, the cycle time would be visible to the leadership.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Value Stream Mapping would provide a visual representation of the process including queue time.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">A 5 Whys exercise would enable the organization to identify a root cause of the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">A kaizen would provide for identification of an improved process.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Standard work would document the new and improved process.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Gemba walks would enable leadership to reinforce the new process and adherence to standards by visiting the workplace on a regular basis.</li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Does every case at Sony take this long? I don’t know, that is for Sony leadership to determine. The purpose of this post is simply to provide a real world example of waste and how lean can be used for continuous improvement purposes in non-manufacturing processes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In these turbulent economic times, companies must maintain a high level of customer service. Compressing cycle times on orders is just one of the ways to improve customer service. Satisfied customers are repeat customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Should someone from Sony view this post and want to verify the detail presented, they can refer to case number E39586838.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p><p class="MsoNormal">Copyright 2009, The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-37058596685895430032009-02-13T14:14:00.000-08:002009-02-13T14:16:53.018-08:00Begin Each Day By Going To The Morning Market<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">These turbulent financial times require decisive and bold action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Earlier this week, Brad Heitmann reminded me of the quote “Fortes Fortuna Adiuvat” which is Latin for “Fortunes Favor The Bold”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I urge you to be bold and not accept the status quo. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of my first experiences with lean involved a concept known as Morning Market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This concept challenged my existing notions of what occurs in and how daily meetings operate. Many departments in different companies around the world begin their day with a review of the current day’s schedule and the prior day’s performance, but Morning Market takes that daily ritual and improves upon it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Morning Market is a daily process that makes the defects visible and creates a sense of urgency to resolve the issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A defect in this case, is anything that disrupts the flow of material, information, or product into the customer’s hands. A properly executed Morning Market will enable the organization to start every day by focusing on the business objectives, customer complaints, and in-process quality issues. This increased focus will enable immediate resolution to begin via corrective action tasks.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Morning Market improves the daily planning process by moving out of an office or conference room and to the operational area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The meeting takes the cross functional team that represents all areas of the process and moves them to the location where the work is performed and where the truth is found. Additionally, because the meeting is no longer in a conference room, it has become a meeting where the participates stand throughout the discussion. Thus, the participants never become too comfortable and the meeting remains focused. This concept can be applied in all areas including factories, call centers, accounting areas, schools, hospitals, construction sites, etc…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Typically, the Morning Market meeting will take approximately 15 minutes after the concept matures in the organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The short meeting covers safety issues, metrics from the previous day, quality, current day schedule/forecast, action register review, and announcements. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Meeting attendees should be encouraged to bring examples of quality issues to the meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The quality issues are separated into the following three classifications:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Customer complaints</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">In-process defects and abnormal conditions to flow</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">In-process defects related to waste </li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Keys to a successful Morning Market meeting must include a strong facilitator, full engagement from all areas, preparation, and follow through on assigned tasks. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have personally seen Morning Market transform organizations from passive and tolerant of defects, to an organization that aggressively attacks and eliminates quality problems.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Be bold and decisive. If you don’t have a lean enterprise program, start one. If you currently have a lean enterprise program, push it to the next level. Remember, “Fortes Fortuna Adiuvat”.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Symbol;">Copyright, </span>The Williard Group, 2009</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-24821169526336154082009-02-08T15:03:00.000-08:002009-02-08T15:05:44.546-08:00Go To Gemba!<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">In the past few posts I have discussed several continuous improvement methodologies. However, it is human nature to return to the original, less productive process unless the new behavior is reinforced and becomes engrained in their business culture. One management system that is required to maintain the improvements that you have worked so diligently to implement is a gemba walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Gemba is a Japanese term that means loosely, where the work is taking place. I was once told by my Sensei that the Japanese police refer to the scene of the crime as gemba.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A gemba walk is a management technique that has the leader walk a prescribed pattern that follows the flow through their area of responsibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It requires the leader to actually go where the work is accomplished to see and understand first hand the current state of their business. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The gemba route should be documented with a map on a standard work document including a listing of the items within each area that are checked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Documenting the gemba walk is a critical component that is often over looked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Documentation ensures consistency and allows for a transfer of knowledge when the responsible leader is not available to complete their routine. In the ideal situation the gemba walk will occur at the same time(s) every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As the leader walks the prescribed route, they look for and make note of safety issues, compliance with standards, and disruptions to flow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In addition, the leader should use the gemba walk as an opportunity to reinforce to the staff what is important to the business. When the leader notes an issue, they should ask questions to the staff, which, in turn helps them, discover for themselves why the issue needs to be addressed. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">How often should a leader perform their gemba walk?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The answer is simple and varies by situation. It could be once a day, it could be twice a day, and it could be more. Leaders need to complete their gemba walk as often as is necessary to understand the current state of their business.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A gemba walk is the formalized equivalent of MBWA<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Management By Walking Around).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Many leaders walk the workplace daily as a matter of practice. A gemba walk simply formalizes and documents their daily walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is irrelevant if you call the gemba walk by the Japanese term or some term you have created locally. The important issue is that the practice is formalized, documented, and occurs at the prescribed frequency.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Symbol;">Copyright</span> 2009, The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-43484379789957501112009-02-06T14:02:00.000-08:002009-02-06T14:03:52.348-08:00Root Cause Analysis Using 5 Whys<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">My 4-year-old grandson was visiting recently and almost every sentence he spoke contained the word why. Why this and why that, he asked nonstop as only an inquisitive 4 year old can do.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As I patiently answered his questions, I was struck by how his constant questioning resembled the 5 Whys technique used in lean enterprise problem solving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The 5 Whys is an extremely effective method used to getting to the root cause of the issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The premise of the 5 Whys is very simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As the name implies, when conducting a root cause analysis you ask yourself and your team a series of 5 questions all beginning with the word why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Each successive question builds on the previous answer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Sounds simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In practice it is harder than you may think.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To illustrate, suppose there was an issue involving tape on a packing carton coming loose.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Why did the tape come loose on the packing carton?</li> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="a"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.0in">The tape was not applied with the necessary tension</li> </ol> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Why did the tape lack the necessary tension?</li> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="a"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.0in">The spring that applies the tension on the taper was loose.</li> </ol> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Why was the spring loose?</li> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="a"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.0in">The spring had been on the machine too long and had loosened due to wear.</li> </ol> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Why had the spring been on the machine to long?</li> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="a"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.0in">The spring had been on the machine to long because it was not replaced during preventive maintenance.</li> </ol> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">Why was the spring not replaced as part of the preventive maintenance schedule?</li> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="a"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.0in">The preventative maintenance schedule only addressed the new model taping machines, which do not require use of a spring.</li> </ol> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Solution: Update the preventative maintenance schedule and ensure that all items requiring preventative maintenance are scheduled.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While this sounds easy, it isn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Your first several attempts will prove difficult and the tendency will be to stop before reaching the 5<sup>th</sup> Why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I would urge you to press forward in an attempt to reach that 5<sup>th</sup> why and get to the true root cause of the issue.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p><p class="MsoNormal">copyright 2009, The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-86492169399293917622009-02-01T12:16:00.001-08:002009-02-01T12:17:01.939-08:00Lean Sigma In A Service Environment<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Over the past few months I have been able to observe first hand how a solid Lean Sigma program could benefit companies in the service industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Following are two examples.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the first case, during a kitchen remodel in our home, the cabinet shop incorrectly measured the opening for the beverage cooler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Unfortunately, this was not discovered until after the granite countertops had been installed. The beverage cooler was too large for the opening. The vendor was faced with several options. They could remove the granite countertop to increase the size of the opening or they could replace the beverage cooler with a unit that would fit the existing opening. They decided that replacing the beverage cooler with a new unit was the least risky and costly option available to them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They also ordered the wrong size pantry pull out drawers on 3 separate occasions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This vendor eroded their entire profit margin in repeated installation trips to our home and replacing the beverage cooler at their cost, not to mention creating a dissatisfied client, due to their lack of quality and efficiency.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When the service manager was confronted with this reality, he simply dismissed the concerns by saying “some jobs go this way.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However, according to the installer, the issue is not limited to “some” jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Rather this is the norm and the majority go this way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Conducting a simple 5 Whys exercise involving the sales, installation, and warehouse teams would identify the root cause of many of these breakdowns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They could then follow up with Kaizen(s) including the same sales, installation, and warehouse teams to identify the optimal process and transform this process into a standard work document.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the second situation, I had the misfortune of cracking my windshield to the point it needed to be replaced.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After entering my policy number into my insurance company’s phone system “in order to service me better”, I had the privilege of repeating this number and many other bits of information every time the agent changed screens in their computer system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I provided my home address, contact numbers, etc….<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>at least twice and in some cases 3 times during the course of a single call. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The waste the company incurred was nothing short of incredible. By my estimate no more than 40% of the call was value added, the remaining 60% was non-valued waste.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Both of these companies could remove untold amounts of non-value add waste by simply implementing a lean enterprise program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Lean is not <u>only</u> for manufacturing anymore.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post Author: Royce Williard</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Symbol;">Copyright </span>2009 The Williard Group</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-48204860023189956722009-01-26T18:48:00.000-08:002009-05-14T12:20:58.174-07:005S, Not Just a Cleaning Program<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">When I first heard of 5S many years ago, the company leadership positioned this as a cleaning project and keeping the building “tour ready”.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Unfortunately, this misconception is not all that unusual. Many times when a 5S program is launched, business leaders and the implementation team focus exclusively on the first three S’s (Sort, Set in order, and Shine).</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Often times the implementation teams tend to overlook Standardize and Sustain, only to see the implementation become a short-lived housekeeping program, rather than laying the foundation for a much broader lean implementation.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">One thing is certain, by overlooking the final two S’s the company “cleaning” program will quickly fall by the wayside and they will be right back where they started within 3 – 6 months.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">To maintain the culture change necessary to make the improvements “stick”, it is necessary to develop and document the new standards for the area. For example, take a photo of the area when in compliance, then post the photo. The more visual controls the better, employees need to be able to quickly and easily see if areas are not in compliance.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">In addition, some companies have met with success by not only posting photos of the area while in compliance, but they go so far as to post the photo of the employee responsible to ensure that the area is in compliance.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">This practice quickly creates individual ownership and pride for the area.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">In larger companies there is a side benefit, enabling employees to “match the faces to the names” of everyone in the organization.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Shadow boards are great simplistic examples of a visual control.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">For instance, when using a shadow board for tools, simply paint an outline of the tool(s) on the pegboard and hang the tool back in its location when the task is complete.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Doing so will keep employees from wasting time searching for something that should be readily available. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Once you have established, documented, and posted the new standards, you will need to create a management system and culture to sustain these improvements.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">The leadership should do daily (or more frequent) Gemba walks.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Take the opportunity to educate the staff on what is important to you and why it is important.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">For lean to be successful, a company will need a “teach down” approach.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Install measures as and where appropriate.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">If an area is out of compliance with the standard, emphasize the importance and obtain a commitment on when the area will be back in compliance.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Lead by example, demonstrate that the standard is important, and follow up to ensure adherence. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">5S programs can either build a solid foundation for the remainder of your lean implementation or they can be a “flavor of the month” cleaning program, the choice is yours.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Choose wisely.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; "></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">Learn more about the author by accessing my LinkedIn profile at <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard">http://www.linkedin.com/in/roycewilliard</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; "> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Post author: Royce Williard</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Copyright 2009 The Williard Group</span></p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375262941155700240.post-81930375674550527932009-01-24T11:49:00.000-08:002009-01-24T11:50:40.834-08:00Book Review: Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Recommended Reading: <o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u> <o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Book:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Never Eat Alone And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Author: Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Copyright: 2005</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Publisher: Currency - Doubleday </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mr. Ferrazzi’s book “Never Eat Alone” is a must read for job seekers and entrepreneurs alike. His book contains useful tips on building and maintaining meaningful relationships regardless of the stage of your career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>His premise is that business is about relationships and reaching out to other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He offers some compelling evidence to support his position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A study by Thomas Harrell from Stanford University is referenced.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The purpose of Harrell’s study was to identify common traits of the school’s most successful MBA alumni.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While reviewing a group of selected MBAs a decade after graduation, Harrell found that the trait among the most successful alumni was “verbal fluency”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Those with the most success where those who could confidently communicate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ferrazzi goes on to draw the correlation that those who are adept at communicating have the ability to build relationships by starting and maintaining conversations and thereby creating the foundation for a relationship with the other person. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He also cites a study by Ron Burt from the University of Chicago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>According to Ferrazzi, Burt’s study found that diversity in personal networks creates an advantage in today’s society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The point being that network diversity enables individuals to bridge the gap between groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I found the book to be filled with useful tips and ideas for building and maintaining meaningful relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One of the most useful pieces of advice Ferrazzi offers is “build it before you need it”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He makes the point that many individuals don’t begin to focus on their relationships until they are needed to locate/assist with their next opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I highly recommend this book and found it well worth the $24.95 list price.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Post author: Royce Williard</p> <!--EndFragment-->The Williard Group, LLChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946345344248846611noreply@blogger.com0