Title: Green Belt Six Sigma at a small company

Authors: Forrest B. Green, John Barbee, Shannon Cox, Carol Rowlett

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Radford University, Radford, P.O. Box 6954, 111 Whitt Hall, VA 24141, USA. ' Department of Management and Marketing, Radford University, Radford, P.O. Box 6954, 111 Whitt Hall, VA 24141, USA. ' Department of Management and Marketing, Radford University, Radford, P.O. Box 6954, 111 Whitt Hall, VA 24141, USA. ' Department of Management and Marketing, Radford University, Radford, P.O. Box 6954, 111 Whitt Hall, VA 24141, USA

Abstract: Six Sigma has been adopted primarily by large companies that can afford the expense, time, and extensive reliance on the use of trained Black Belts. However, with some experimentation and modification, Six Sigma is also suitable for smaller companies. This paper presents a case study of how a small company has implemented an effective quality improvement program with widespread training at a lesser Green Belt level, an approach that may have big payoffs for small to mid-size companies.

Keywords: six sigma; quality improvement; green belt; small firms; SMEs; small business.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSCA.2006.010108

International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, 2006 Vol.2 No.2, pp.179 - 189

Published online: 19 Jun 2006 *

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