Implementing Six Sigma at Genesis, Inc., Healthcare Provider

Improving the operating efficiency has also been a cornerstone of the initiatives to enhance Genesis, Inc.s standing as a quality healthcare provider. The company has, among other things, invested in information systems, and reengineered operating processes, which has helped in cost reduction and organic growth of cash flow. My role in the administrative section contributes towards helping the healthcare facilities ease the burden of administrative duties, helping them focus on healthcare operations and deliver quality care for the patients. The teachings of Christianity serve as a moral framework that guides the operations of Genesis, Inc. As a for-profit healthcare provider, Genesis, Inc. faces the moral challenge of delivering good returns to the shareholders while ensuring quality care for, and well-being of, the patients. The need to maximize shareholder wealth in the firm may lead the managers to make decisions that are detrimental to the patients interests, and Christianity helps to forestall such incidences.

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Integration of Chapter Concepts to the Organizational Setting

Operations Management

Total Quality Management

Total quality management (TQM) is an organization-wide emphasis on quality that spans all points of the production process, beginning with the supplier and ending with the customer. Six Sigma is an integral element of an effective TQM program. In TQM, Six Sigma implies an operations process, service, or product with extraordinarily high capability, which could be as much as accuracy levels of 99.9997% (Klefsjo, Wiklund and Edgeman, 2001). For instance, if one million passengers transit through an airport each month, and their baggage goes through checks while they are at the airport, managing the baggage handling using a Six Sigma program would result in only 3.33 passengers having issues with baggage misplacement. Another perspective considers Six Sigma as a program that seeks to minimize defects that increase product costs, increase production time, and undermine customer satisfaction (Pfeifer, Reissiger and Canales, 2004). Thus, Six Sigma helps a business to achieve and sustain success by providing a comprehensive framework for strategy, discipline, and other management tools.

The formal Six Sigma Improvement Model encompasses five steps. In the first step, a project manager has to define what a projects objectives, its scope, and the expected outputs, after which he/she identifies the requisite project information. When identifying process information, it is important to consider a customers perception of quality. The second step entails process measurement and data collection. After data collection, the project manager should analyze the data to check if it is possible to duplicate the results or if others can replicate the process and get the same results. The last step is process controls, a mechanism that helps to maintain performance levels. Successful implementation of Six Sigma programs requires TQM tools, which include check sheets, scatter diagrams, flowcharts and Pareto Charts (Zu, Fredendall & Douglas, 2008). Scatter diagrams depict how two measurements relate to each other, such as a workers productivity and his/her absenteeism.

Pareto charts are useful when a process manager wants to focus problem-solving efforts because they help one to organize errors, problems and defects, and Pareto analysis can provide insight on the operation problems that have the highest payoff. Flowcharts use annotated boxes and interconnected lines to build a graphical presentation of operation processes or systems; they are helpful in making sense of a process and figuring areas that might require improvement. Check sheets are forms that process managers can use to record data. Recording data on a check sheet can reveal useful patterns that reflect important insights about a production process, and these insights can help in formulating an appropriate strategy for enhancing operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Implementing Six Sigma at Genesis, Inc. will go a long way in sustaining high levels of healthcare quality, which, in turn, will cement the companys reputation as a leader in the provision of post-acuity care. To implement Six Sigma, Genesis, Inc. will probably have to adopt a project organization in managing its major operating processes. With a project organization, it will be easy to identify the scope of, and requirements for, the main operating processes, which will help map out elements of the operating process that require reengineering in order to enhance service quality. Six Sigma calls for innovation, which is the key message in Romans 12:2 thus: avoid conforming to this worlds pattern, and seek transformation through mental renewal, which will enable you to test and approve Gods will. Therefore, Six Sigma magnifies how God has planned for me to drive innovation at Genesis, Inc. and help the firm attain competitive advantage. By implementing Six Sigma, the organization will abandon the old, established patterns of thought and seek improvements that will enhance its clients experience.

Service Design

The unique features of services make service design a challenge. Several design techniques can help lower the operating cost and enhance the service quality. One approach is to design a service process such that there is as much delay of customization as possible. Another way of designing services to minimize costs is to modularize the service process, which implies that a service firm will structure customization as dynamic modules. With a modularized service process, modules take the design of fixed, standard elements. Still, service firms can break up a service process into multiple parts and find out which parts they can automate or reduce customer interaction. Considering the high levels of customer interaction in service operations, organizations can design the service process on the moment of truth- a term that describes contexts where the relationship between a service provider and their customer is crucial (Bitner, Ostrom & Morgan, 2008).

During the moment of truth, a customers satisfaction with a service becomes apparent. The operation managers challenge is identifying moments of truth and designing service processes that meet or exceed customer expectations. Effective service design will go a long way in helping Genesis...