Title: Essential characteristics of Six Sigma Black Belt candidates: a study of US companies

Authors: Ken Black, Robert McGlashan

Addresses: School of Business, University of Houston – Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX 77058, USA. ' School of Business, University of Houston – Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX 77058, USA

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a survey designed to help identify the desired personal characteristics of potential Black Belt candidates in organisations. In addition, an attempt was made to find out if there were differences in these desired Black Belt candidate characteristics according to industry, gender, and number of Black Belts already in each organisation. The authors surveyed companies in a wide variety of industries in the USA that claimed to have implemented a Six Sigma programme. The results of the study showed that several characteristics were more essential than others in considering potential Black Belt candidates.

Keywords: six sigma; black belt; candidate characteristics; USA; United States; training; selection; quality improvement.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSCA.2006.011120

International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, 2006 Vol.2 No.3, pp.301 - 312

Published online: 16 Oct 2006 *

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