Critical success factors of Six Sigma implementation and the impact on operations performance

Six Sigma has been implemented in US for many years. This quality initiative did help a lot of the United States' largest companies, including General Electric (GE), Honeywell, Dupont, Citibank and Starwood to save money from operation costs and quality improvement. Although the industry has an increased interest in Six Sigma implementation and many companies have gained the profits and advantages from this disciplined approach, the literature is limited and the research of the impact of Six Sigma implementation and the factors contributed to Six sigma success remain unclear.; There are two objectives in this research. The first objective is to develop a successful model of Six Sigma implementation; the second objective is to explore the impact after Six Sigma implementation.; In the first part, the main purpose is to identify what are the major success factors critical to Six Sigma implementation. Based on the result of this part, we will develop a successful model of Six Sigma implementation. This research will provide the useful information for firms, which are willing to implement Six Sigma and help firms avoid the risks during the process of Six Sigma.; In the second part, we will explore the impact on operational cost and quality culture change after Six Sigma implementation. The information of this research will provide what are the significant elements on operational cost and understand how Six Sigma helps firms change the quality culture.