How an organization structures the people working on Six Sigma is a function of two things: first, by how the Group decides to focus its deployment (e.g., geographical considerations, degree of design, and engineering focus); second, by how the Group wants to integrate Six Sigma into its organization versus how it intends to ensure Six Sigma resources don't get lost in concerns of "business as usual" and fighting the latest fire.
Best practices dictate that the senior manager or managers responsible for leading Six Sigma (depending on the size of the business) report to the President of a Group (this role is called a "Quality Leader" at GE and a "Champion" at the Six Sigma Academy). This is to ensure that Six Sigma is linked to the top-level issues of the business and that the entire effort is seen to have the full support of senior management. This reporting relationship also gives the Six Sigma effort the ability to rise above functional issues.
Master Black Belts report to senior management, either to the Six Sigma leadership or to the VP or General Manager level and they must be managed as a strategic group-level resource. To achieve proper leverage from these resources, and to use them to help coordinate across functional boundaries, the Master Black Belts must work at a level high enough that issues can be addressed quickly and to give them a wide "field of vision" to see critical issues in advance.
Black Belts can report to either the Master Black Belts or to line management. If they are to report to line management, it becomes even more important that management is properly trained on Six Sigma prior to launching Black Belt selection and training so that Black Belts are properly utilized. Six Sigma Green Belts and Project team members usually report to line management.
To become a Six Sigma organization, it takes more than technology, knowledge, and organization. This quantum leap in quality needs people to make it happen. Here is a brief overview of some of the key roles in our Six Sigma journey:
The Management Committee
Business unit leader and direct reports provide leadership and are actively involved with Six Sigma as they receive monthly updates on the progress of our journey towards a Six Sigma organization.
Champions
Nominated from the Line Management, Champions select Six Sigma projects in order to meet their business objectives, select and support the Black Belts to complete them, and remove the barriers obstructing the path to Six Sigma.
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