Course: Reinventing Processes: Reengineering and Six Sigma
Instructor: Professor William C. Parr
Term Dates: From 11 August, 2003 to 30 August, 2003
Course Objective: The student will learn about recent trends and methods for making major improvement in business process performance to achieve business outcomes – improved customer value, enhanced profits, etc. A first major topic covered will be the “Reengineering movement” – its historical roots and current practice, as well as issues involved in implementing the ideas of reengineering. A second major topic will be “Six Sigma” – the origins of Six Sigma, its development at Motorola and the current practice and likely future of Six Sigma. Specific cases involving implementation of reengineering and Six Sigma will be analyzed. We will continually look at what ideas and methods are likely to continue in management practice in the future.
Pedagogical techniques: Roughly one third of class time (including a high fraction of the first two class days) will be used in more or less formal lectures. The balance of the time will be spent in group discussion, case analysis and brief class presentations of case analysis as well as actually practicing some of the methods in class.
Literature: Michael Hammer (1997).
Beyond Reengineering: How the Process-Centered Organization is Changing Our Work
and Our Lives.
Ronald D. Snee and Roger W. Hoerl (2003) Leading Six Sigma. Prentice-Hall, Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey.
Cases: To be distributed
Assessment: Grades will be based on an
average of:
Final exam – 30% (individual work)
Group case analyses
(written and presentations)
– 50%
Individual assignments – 20%
Details and a schedule
for assignments will be provided during the first
week of class.
Prerequisites: No prerequisites other than successful completion of required courses in the MBA program in Statistics, Marketing Management and Operations.
Proposed coverage: Areas covered in the
course will include:
Reengineering of business processes
Principles for process reengineering
Characteristics of successful and unsuccessful reengineering efforts
Social and political problems and strategies in reengineering
Case studies in reengineering
The principles of Six Sigma
Basic tools of Six Sigma
Management principles and Strategies for Six Sigma
Case studies in Six Sigma