Application of the Six Sigma Methodology in Adopting the Business Excellence Model for a Service Company - A Case Study

The purpose of this study is to empirically assess the six-sigma (6 ) project presently used in organizations and to examine their impact on the business excellence model, known as European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). Six sigma affects on the five constructs of the EFQM model; namely leadership, strategy, people, partners and suppliers and processes. In this paper, a real case study is considered to implement the 6 methodology and the EFQM model. The analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaire for 30 mangers out of 42 managers confirms the significant contribution of implementing 6 projects to the successful EFQM model. Improvements in effectiveness and efficiency in ownership, empowerment with accountability, partnership within the inter-functional peer group, communicating the strategy, people’s knowledge and capabilities and business, including the design of products and services. In addition, improvements are observed in the decision-making process. Six sigma directly affects on the business excellence, as it contributes to improve the human resource and process as well as fulfill the system specifications.