ABSTRACT
Six Sigma was developed and named by Dr. Mikel Harry a Senior Engineer from the Motorola Corporation, in 1975. He designed the approach after his search for ways to reduce defects and improve
1 INTRODUCTION
Tourism is an important industry that contributes at least 9 percent of the world’s GDP, employs over 255 million people worldwide and represents 8 percent of the global workforce (World Travel & Tourism, 2012). The industry makes a significant contribution to the economic development of many countries, with some countries reliant on tourism as a catalyst for growth and development. This is the case in Malaysia where the tourism industry has been hosting large numbers of tourists arriving for business or vacation purposes as well as transient passengers’ en-route to other destinations. In 2013, the hospitality and tourism sector contributed MYR 65.44 billion (US$ 20 billion) towards Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it was ranked second, after the manufacturing sector, in terms of overall economic contribution (Tourism Malaysia, 2012). Intense competition has been a feature of the tourism industry for some time and this has led to the development of sophisticated business operation strategies. However, the hotel sector has traditionally been slow to adopt these innovations (Fyall & Spyriadis, 2003; Renaghan, 1993). O’Mahony (2006) notes, for example, that instead of improving service and developing distinctive products that satisfy the needs of their
production (Pearlman & Chacko, 2012). The purpose of the methodology is to improve employee performance, work processes, productivity and the quality of the product and, at the same time, reduce the cost of production (Bhote & Bhote, 1991). The main reason for the development of the Six Sigma framework was the continuous improvement in the manufacturing of complex devices involving large numbers of parts with a high probability of defects (Gutiérrez, et al., 2009). Linderman Schroeder, Zaheer and Choo (2003, p. 195) offered the following definition of Six Sigma:
“Six Sigma is an organized and systematic method for strategic process improvement and new product and service development that relies on statistical methods and the scientific method to make dramatic reductions in customer defined defects rates”
In Six Sigma, 6σ symbolizes a specific number, which is 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO), where opportunity is understood as any possible source of error in product, process, or service (Breyfogle III, 2003). This philosophy proposed continuous improvement in the firm as a means of increasing the efficiency of job processes (free from defects) (Pande, Cavanagh & Neuman, 2002). Therefore, by implementing Six Sigma, firms are able to decrease their defect rates in work processes, improve the quality of products, satisfy customers, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and increase productivity (Breyfogle III, 2003; Pande, et al., 2002).
