Most people are aware that 91% of Six Sigma companies have failed. By now, most people are aware that Six Sigma is a destructive scam, created by a self confessed con man. Many people are aware that every aspect is as worthless as its laughable foundations, based on a stack of discs.
Fads, farce and fraud like Six Sigma raise many ethical dilemmas.
1. For example, suppose you are working for GE. Your CEO, Neutron Jack, has bought the snake oil and the hype. Jack has been promised that you and the thousands of other belted folk like you, will each return cost savings of $1,000,000+ pa. You know this is ridiculous. You also know that Jack will sack 10% of staff each year who fail to achieve their cost savings target.
What do you do? You have a mortgage, wife and kids to support. Do you work hard and hope for the best? You know full well that as Professor Deming said: "It is not enough to do your best". What do you do? Do you fake it? Do you resign?
2. You are a senior manager at Ford. All your processes are exhibiting the 1.5 sigma shift in the mean, as predicted by salesman Harry. However, over hundreds of projects you are experiencing an average of 220,000 dpmo, after improvement. You turned your back on Deming in the 80's. What do you do now? Do you keep persisting for another decade? Do you lose face and admit you have made a massive mistake and return to Deming?
3. You are looking for a job. You have a degree in Engineering and did statistics at uni. Six Sigma is as blatant a scam as you have ever seen. There is no way you would ever pay someone less knowledgeable than you, for a Six Sigma certificate. However, every job for which you write, wants that certificate. What do you do? Do you swallow your pride, or do you stick to your ethics? Do you look for a job for a Japanese company that is smart enough to appreciate Professor Deming?
4. You are a global quality director. You have employed dozens of folk based on their worthless Six Sigma certificates. Your empire, your salary and the salaries of your staff are based on Six Sigma. You have been reading Dr Wheeler's books and papers as well as mine. You are starting to realise that Six Sigma is a sham. What do you do? Do you cut salaries and cut the jobs of those gullible enough to buy into the trash? Do you keep up the pretence? Do you move on to the next fad?
5. You are a consultant. You know Six Sigma is a scam and you understand Professor Deming, Professor Lewis, Dr Shewhart and Dr Wheeler. You have a degree in statistics and you are an expert on control charts. You know Montgomery and the Six Sigma probability approach is nonsense. What do you do? Do you tell the truth and starve, or do you call yourself a "Six Sigma expert" and parrot trash?
These examples are not hypotheticals. They all represent actual situations. What would you do?
by Dr Tony Burns BE (Hon 1) PhD (Chem Eng)