Abstract:
The study investigated the application of six sigma strategy in selected manufacturing and service firms in Nigeria. As the global economy continues to face significant challenges, there is an increasing pressure on organizations to cut cost and reduce operational defects, while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. The six sigma strategy, now a popular deployment tool in many organizations world wide was developed as a concept by Motorola in 1980’s. The study examined the challenges of the application of six sigma strategy in Nigeria. The survey method was adopted. Three hundred and eighty randomly selected staff of the organizations from a population of four thousand and sixty one participated in the study. The instrument for data collection was built on a likert-scale system. It was a 24 items questionnaire which has a reliability coefficient (r) value tested with Cronbach’s alpha statistics. Based on the findings of the study, it is discovered that six sigma adds significant value to the organization that adopt the strategy. The study also revealed that the successful application of six sigma largely depends on the infrastructural level of the organizations. Consequently, the impacts of the process on quality of product and services have been felt. The study recommends that Government should create a conducive business environment in relations to infrastructure development and guided monetary and fiscal policy. This will enable managers in the sectors to prepare and faced the global challenges facing them. The study concludes that the application of six sigma is highly beneficial to organizations that adopt it.
