In its broadest sense Six Sigma is a methodology that firms can use to improve the output quality of a process. Six Sigma has its roots in the repetitive processes of manufacturing; however, the same tools can be used in any business process from hiring new people to effective product design and marketing plans.

The foundation of the Six Sigma program is statistics; sigma stands for standard deviations from the mean of a data set in other words a measure of variation, while Six Sigma stands for six standard deviations from the mean. When a process reaches the six sigma level that process will be running close to perfection, producing a mere 3.4 defects per million. By using statistical and analytical tools firms can reduce the amount of variation in a process by removing the causes of variation therefore increasing the output quality of the process.


Jim Collins€™ advice to start with the right people is definitely applicable here. Implementing Six Sigma requires having the €œright people in the right seats€ to be successful.[2] Six Sigma is no different. Studying some of the companies listed above will prove that having the right people with the right skills and a shared vision is the foundation for success. The key players of the Six Sigma team are the:

1. Champion: (Usually upper management/ executive officers) The Champion is the person responsible for instilling the vision of Six Sigma and communicating it across the firm. The Champion should receive Six Sigma training in order to be an effective leader. While most likely not as knowledgeable in the use of specific tools in Six Sigma, a Champion must have an understanding of what the Black and Green Belts are doing in order to relay updates and accomplishments to upper management and throughout the company. The champion also assists the Black Belts by dedicating resources, assists in choosing projects, and is the advocate for the Black and Green Belts.

*Some programs distinguish between Champion and Executive leadership, it€™s up to you.

2. Master Black Belt: A master Black Belt is a Black Belt that has had extensive experience with the Six Sigma methodology. When a firm first tries to implement a Six Sigma program it may be necessary to hire the services of a master Black Belt to help facilitate correct implementation and initial success. The Master Black Belt can act as a coach to the Black and Green Belts by drawing on extensive experience relating past problems and how they were solved.

The Master Black Belt can also evaluate project results and give feedback to Black and Green Belts on performance and implementation.

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TQM is a new paradigm of management! TQM is both a philosophy and methodology
for managing organizations. TQM includes a set of principles, tools, and
procedures that provide guidance in the practical affairs of running an
organization. TQM involves all members of the organization in controlling
and continuously improving how work is done. Government agencies that use
TQM agree that it is fundamentally different from traditional management.

II. History of TQM!

TQM Japanese Management?

Yes and No!

The American Walter A. Shewhart of Bell Laboratories developed a system
of measuring variance in production systems known as statistical process
control (SPC).

Statistical process control is one of the major tools that
TQM uses to monitor consistency, as well as to diagnose problems in work
processes.

His student W. Edwards Deming, a mathematical physicist and U.S Department
of Agriculture and Census Bureau research scientist, was hired to teach
SPC and quality control to the U.S. Defense industry. These methods were
considered so important to the war effort that they were classified as
military secrets known as Z1. Ironically, after WWII most U.S. companies
stopped using SPC and TQM type quality control procedures.

After WWII U.S. occupation forces in conjunction with the Japanese Union
of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) invited W. Edwards Deming to lecture
throughout Japan on SPC and quality control methodology.

The Japanese were
quick to adapt and modify Deming’s techniques. However, even today the
highest award in Japan for quality is named after W. Edwards Deming. And
one of the highest honors in Japan is to have him present at the ceremony.
Deming received one of Japan’s highest awards, the Emperor’s medal for
his contribution to the economic reconstruction of Japan.

Other American’s, for example, Joseph M. Juran also stressed to the
Japanese the importance of involving all departments in the pursuit of
quality and the importance of customer satisfaction, rather simple adherence
to technical specifications. Kaoru Ishikawa enlarged the ideas of Juran
and Feigenbaum to include as customers, internal customers, those in an
organization who depend upon the work output of others. Also, basing his
own work in part on the American Behavioral scientists Herbert Maslow (Hierarchy
of needs) and Douglas McGregor (Theory Y) he developed the concept of quality
circles. TQM today, as practiced in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, is a holistic
management philosophy that has evolved over time, and not simply a set
of specific techniques like SPC, Quality Circles, and continuous improvement
procedures. TQM, if implemented correctly, is a fundamental organizational
change.

III. Total Quality Management Today

In the private sector in the U.S. TQM began to have significant impact
in about 1985 when major U.S. companies (e.g. Proctor and Gamble and Ford
Motor Company, for example) began to work directly with TQM experts like
W. Edwards Deming. Government at all levels (Federal, State, and Local)
has only recently become involved. Currently, some aspects of TQM are in
practice at both the State and Local Level. David K. Carr and Ian D. Littman,
Excellence In Government Coopers and Lybrand (1991) report that TQM has
been applied in a variety of functional levels at various levels of government
in the U.S by 1991.

IV. Philosophy of TQM. The Major Differences Between TQM and Traditional
Management (Government and Private Sector). TQM has been characterized
as emphasizing the three C�s Customers, Culture and Counting.

. TQM is customer not specialist driven.

Users of products or services define what they want rather than have
their needs defined by specialists. In TQM, customer needs and expectations,
not agency established standards, define quality. No matter how good your
products and services are by some “objective” standard, they cannot have
total quality unless they meet your customers needs. A customer is anyone
who receives or uses what you produce or whose service satisfaction depends
upon your actions. There are two general types of customers in TQM internal
and external. An internal customer is someone in your organization whose
part in the work process comes after yours. An external customer is the
ultimate recipient of your product or service. TQM cannot be implemented
unless it is a top down organization. TQM reflects a different paradigm
of management. e.g. The chain on the automobile line in Japan versus U.S.

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Herb White, states in Library Journal, “… it should be fairly clear that librarians do not market and that they never have marketed.” He concludes, “What we need to tell people is not how wonderful our public libraries are but rather how wonderful they could be. The awakening of these dreams is the purpose of marketing” (Besant & Sharp, 2000). Since the 1960′s, the most widely taught marketing concept was the marketing mix theory: the 4Ps (product, price, place and promotion)–so clean, so neat, so inappropriate for libraries. Marketing theory cannot always be so succinctly described since relationships are by their nature complex. Marketing and Total Quality Management (TQM) are closely and clearly interlinked. Marketing focuses on capturing and analysing customers’ needs; TQM involves the question of whether products and services do correspond to customers’ expectations and needs and whether both are congruent with each other. TQM has been defined as “a systematic process which focuses on understanding customer needs and improving customer services” (Donald, 2003).

The implementation of TQM in the Library is a useful way to evaluate the quality of library services and provide goals for improvement. One especially beneficial aspect of TQM is its emphasis on continuous improvement.



Libraries are both a creation and a servant of society. A library operates routinely with a known set of customers. A library also operates on trust. When a client walks into the library, he trusts that he will get the material or information that he needs. The library, in turn, trusts that the client will return the items within the specified borrowing period. The specific structure of a library with its strict requirements as to efficiency demands a focus on the quality of value-adding processes. If a library is to be managed according to quality criteria, quality needs to be defined and made measurable. The indicators found must be captured in a measuring system for the sectors “cost and performance”, “customer satisfaction”, and “staff satisfaction” that facilitates quality controlling and provides staff with controlling parameters for everyday work.

The most important condition of effective library services is to support continuous enriching dialog between the library and society by agreeing upon quality targets, which relate to the maintenance or improvement of quality standards. The library staff carries the responsibility for the results of their work and for reaching the agreed targets.

Concept of Marketing Library Services

The history of marketing library services began long before the concept was born. Samuel Swett Green in his often quoted speech at the ALA Conference in 1876 advocated “improved personal relations between librarians and readers.”
It could be said that today’s marketing of library services has its roots in parts of the USA and Northern Europe, in countries with few illiterates and more money, libraries, and library schools than the rest of the world. This certainly does not mean that the idea of libraries reaching out to “the common man” has not occupied librarians in other parts of the world. For instance, there is the example of the “library movement” in India at the beginning of the 20th century (Renborg, 1997).

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