Title: Manage Your Human Sigma

Authors: John H. Fleming, Curt Coffman, and

James K. Harter

Publisher: Harvard Business Review

Date of publication: August 2005

Number of pages:11

Reviewed By:
IntroductionProblem of the study was mainly attached on the gap of the study done by previous
researchers and their failure to point out theoretical and empirical presentation on the impact of
adopting Six Sigma on corporate performance, this means the authors did not raise a direct
socially significant problem. Authors of the study did a great job in presenting the gap which
they presumed to be apparent giving a well-directed theoretical and conceptual framework.
 1.

2. One of the shortcomings of the research is the chaos present in the

introductory part of the study. Regarding the objectives it was
better for the researcher to pin point the general and specific
objectives of the study. But content wise the authors did a great job
in showing the consistency of the objective with the previous
introductory part.

3. Originality
According to the article Six Sigma has been one of the most widely used quality improvement
methodologies in both manufacturing and service organizations for over two decades. Going
through its contents, the study has devoted considerable attention to researching the various
facets of effects of Six Sigma on corporate performance. The study mainly focused on

a) Evolution of Six Sigma

b) Six Sigma Theory
c) Six Sigma Methodology
d) Empirical observations
e) Impact of Six Sigma
f) Six Sigma in service organizations
g) Critical success factors and
h) Critical failure factors

Criticism in any field is an important component for the growth of knowledge, because, it
challenges the basic assumption of the domain of knowledge. The article in this domain is
important because it will help in further developing the theory & understanding on effects of Six
Sigma on corporate performance which will help the researchers & practitioners in developing
practical facets of Six Sigma. There is yet to be a systematic review carried out on the literature
of Six Sigma. Application of six sigma and its effect on other unlisted industries needs to be
analyzed through the systematic literature review methodology to analyze the pattern in the
application of Six Sigma.

4. Scientific Quality
The authors argued that many companies have successfully implemented Six Sigma. However,
the research abstained from mentioning the fact that a significant number of companies have
failed to gain any benefits from Six Sigma. In some researches Six Sigma is argued to be prone
to failure in organizations and ten major reasons for the failure of Six Sigma were elucidated. In
a study on Six Sigma, it was reported that Six Sigma was expensive and failed to yield any
benefits to the organization. Companies like 3M and Home Depot though initially were
advocates of Six Sigma, however, later abandoned Six Sigma initiatives due to the negative
impact on customer and employee satisfaction. Studies have also reported that benefits from Six
Sigma programs are marginal and the cost of implementing Six Sigma is more than its benefits
Nearly 60% of all corporate initiatives on Six Sigma have failed. These criticisms of Six Sigma
in literature warrant a systematic literature review analysis so that further understanding of the
criticisms can be understood in a broad thematic sense. Besides, the thematic analysis will also
lead to attempt in reducing the failure rate of Six Sigma initiatives and exploring future research
areas. These future research directions will thus help to clarify the criticism on Six Sigma in a
broader perspective.

5. Research title and reporting format

According to the article reviewed, the main aim of the study was to investigate the impact of
adopting Six Sigma on corporate performance which the authors showed in their research. It is in
the belief of the reviewer that the article and content of the article coincide demonstrably. But the
research report lacked acceptable research reporting style. Which the researcher should elaborate
more on the topics and sub topics of the research. But the referencing style and consistency is
satisfactory.

6. Quality of Abstract
Regarding the abstract of the research, the abstract failed in readying the viewers of the study by
leaping on the gaps of previous researchers which makes it look like an introduction to a critique
review on research made by previous researchers. Objective wise the abstract does clearly state
the objectives of the study and shows the flow to the findings of the study by showing the
intentions of the research. Furthermore, the authors stated the methodology of the study in the
abstract. But the abstract failed to show Population, sample size, data collection procedure etc.…
which are pillars in the study are left out. Regarding finding the abstract sufficiently showed the
finding and contribution of the study. In fact, more of the abstract was talking about these two
parts of the study. On the subject of indication for further research, the abstract again failed in
pointing out this section. The abstract also put key words for the research in a good manner but
they should be below the abstract not above.

7. Review of Related literature

As for the theoretical background the authors mentioned some researches to be included but the
researches presented was repeated throughout the section but a strong presence of the researchers
made somewhat convincing to the reading even though it looked like an opinion reference.
Regarding the empirical review, it was in nowhere to be found in a separate section. It was
somewhat mentioned in the theoretical background and the section after that but not separately
which loses another point for the research.

On the subject of logicality of the organization of the literature, only specific logical division was
present which makes the research to crawl under smaller assumptions and present as if no
broader assumptions were to it at all. But the conceptual and theoretical frameworks proved to be
adherent to guide the study in match being with previous researches.

8. Research Methodology
This section of the study is one of the poorest parts of the research as there is no sufficient
description of the basis of for the justification of the research design used by the research. No
mentioning of the population size and determination of sampling technique are present in this
section. This will affect the research no to be reliable for the reader.

In this research the authors mentioned that measuring instrument was adapted from previous
researchers and some adjustments were made. But other than this there is no mentioning of
instruments used in the research. This again raises a question on reliability of the research. The
researchers didn’t also give a reliability and validity procedures to be followed in the research.
Ethical considerations were also left out from this section.

Generally speaking, this section of the study did not give a persuading use or method of doing
research. The reader does not know how the research was conducted, on what basis did the
research was done.

9. Data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation

Aim of the study was to add effects of o investigate the impact of adopting Six Sigma on
corporate performance. Statistical methods and analyzing procedures conducted by the research
are appropriate to answer research questions and to test the hypothesis. But all the analyzed
results were presented and interpreted by the authors. The authors of the study put descriptions
and interpretations that concur with previous researchers which provides an objective wise
statement.

10. Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusions noted by the researchers are short yet descriptive but for research that started by
showing the gap in other researches the conclusion should be more explanatory and fulfilling.
The authors mentioned that their results were unforeseen as previous research that they cited,
mentioning this was important as it enables future researches to be not biased and much more
digging is needed in this regard.

Regarding recommendations, this section too is mixed with the conclusion part, it would be more
appealing if it was separated in a different subtopic. Additionally, recommendations are short but
one can get the intentions of this part. Further investigations were advised throughout the
research which is a good part of the research but it also shows poor research was conducted on
behalf of the researchers.

11. Referencing
The authors used necessary books and researches as an input for the research but concerning
reference mix the authors were not so much exploratory as there are small reference mixes were
used.
 12. General Comments
The study showed how adopting Six Sigma affects corporate performance. However, there
doesn’t appear to be any concrete guidelines for carrying this out. In other words, this sounds
great on paper but it doesn’t translate as easily to everyday life. There isn’t research in the
traditional sense for this article, but the author does include many examples of work written by
those who have written on this subject in the past.

Generally, this article isn’t very straightforward in the beginning and it’s not until the second
page that you realize where the article is headed. In order to have more people be engaged and
read the whole article it needs a new, more concise introduction. Once the reader gets to the
really good examples that are relevant to the everyday life of a social moderator, a good portion
of the article has already passed. Overall, it is a good, well-written article with an important
message for organizational leaders. The piece, when taken as a whole, is relevant and very
convincing in theory but starts slow and never lays out a concrete way of approaching this
complex problem.