Chapter 9 Flashcards
What is improvement in a business context?
Improvement refers to the process of making systems, processes, and outcomes better over time by identifying inefficiencies and implementing changes.
Why is continuous improvement important for businesses?
Continuous improvement ensures that businesses remain competitive, adapt to changes, and achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness.
What are the main approaches to improvement?
- Incremental Improvement: Small, ongoing changes.
- Breakthrough Improvement: Significant, innovative changes.
- Process Re-engineering: Redesigning processes from the ground up.
What are the steps in the improvement process?
- Identify areas for improvement.
- Set clear goals.
- Analyze current processes.
- Develop and implement solutions.
- Monitor results and adjust as needed.
How can businesses identify areas for improvement?
Collect feedback from customers and employees, Analyze performance metrics, Conduct regular audits and reviews.
Why is goal-setting essential in the improvement process?
Clear goals provide direction and measurable outcomes, ensuring that improvement efforts align with business objectives.
What tools can businesses use to drive improvement?
SWOT Analysis: Identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Pareto Analysis: Focuses on the most impactful areas.
Fishbone Diagram: Analyzes root causes of problems.
PDCA Cycle: Plan-Do-Check-Act for continuous improvement.
What is the Kaizen approach to improvement?
Kaizen emphasizes small, incremental changes that involve everyone in the organization, fostering a culture of ongoing improvement.
How does Six Sigma contribute to improvement?
Six Sigma uses data-driven methodologies to reduce defects, improve quality, and optimize processes.
What are common challenges in the improvement process?
Resistance to change, Lack of resources, Poor communication, Inadequate monitoring and follow-up.
How can businesses overcome resistance to change?
Communicate the benefits clearly, Involve employees in the improvement process, Provide training and support.
Why is monitoring important in improvement efforts?
Monitoring ensures that implemented changes achieve the desired results and identifies areas for further refinement.
What metrics can be used to measure improvement?
- Process Efficiency: Reduction in time, cost, or waste.
- Quality Metrics: Defect rates, customer complaints.
- Productivity Metrics: Output per employee or process.
- Customer Satisfaction Scores.
How can businesses ensure sustained improvement?
Embed improvement into company culture, Regularly review performance metrics, Continuously seek feedback and refine processes.
Activity: Conduct a SWOT Analysis
Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your team, department, or business.
Activity: Use the PDCA Cycle
Select a process to improve and apply the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle to refine it.
Activity: Create a Pareto Chart
Identify the most frequent problems in a process and create a chart to prioritize them based on impact.
Activity: Design a Kaizen Plan
Propose small, incremental changes for a specific area and involve team members in implementation.
Activity: Track Improvement Metrics
Choose a process and measure its performance before and after implementing changes.
