Lean Sigma Methods and Tools for Service Organizations: The Story of a Cruise Line Transformation

Jaideep Motwani

Oct 2012 · Business Expert Press

About this ebook

Every business aspires to be competitive and profitable in its market. To do this, an organization needs to offer customers value propositions, which may be manifest in the product it produces or the service it provides. This in turn will create customer loyalty and growth. There are a number of organizational philosophies and strategies used by businesses to help accomplish this goal, among which are the concepts of Six Sigma and Lean. This book proposes to integrate the best practices from each of these philosophies and apply them to a customer-focused organization—a cruise ship—whose overriding mission is to deliver superior service to its customers. The authors demonstrate in this book how key components of both Six Sigma and Lean—such as identifying and removing defects, elimination of waste, metrics, speed of delivery, and the seamless integration of these concepts and practices throughout the operation—serve to enhance the kind of value propositions that customers recognize and that allow an organization to be successful.

About the author

Dr. Jaideep Motwani is Chair and Professor of Management at the Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University since 2000. He also served as the E. Seidman Endowed Chair of Management from 2000 to 2002. He received his PhD in operations management from University of North Texas, and has co-authored more than 15 books and more than 175 articles on Lean, quality management, customer service, and much more. He has taught and conducted research seminars in major universities in Canada, China, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, India, France, Germany, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.