Shri Ashok Sarkar, Arup Ranjan Mukhopadhyay and Sadhan Kumar Ghosh
In the service sector, reduction of cycle time is one of the key issues. Among various approaches, Lean Six Sigma became very popular as it provides the organisation the desired…
Abstract
Purpose
In the service sector, reduction of cycle time is one of the key issues. Among various approaches, Lean Six Sigma became very popular as it provides the organisation the desired speed with quality. The purpose of this paper is to present a Lean Six Sigma case study for reducing cycle time in the claim settlement process in insurance or financial services.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents an application of Lean Six Sigma methodology for claim settlement cycle time reduction in the insurance sector.
Findings
Lean Six Sigma is found to work very well in the insurance sector for reducing process cycle time by carrying out process changes. Mixing statistical and analytical techniques helps to improve the process speed and is very well demonstrated by Lean Six Sigma approach for service organizations.
Originality/value
This paper utilizes Lean and Six Sigma approaches in process improvement and presents an application. The main idea behind this paper is to demonstrate how combining Lean concepts/techniques with Six‐Sigma methodology can speed up problem‐solving approaches. Apart from the paper's value for managers, it can also help researchers to extend this for other areas of business processes.
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Shri Ashok Sarkar, Arup Ranjan Mukhopadhyay and Sadhan Kumar Ghosh
In implementing Six Sigma and/or Lean Six Sigma, a practitioner often faces a dilemma of how to select the subset of root causes from a superset of all possible potential causes…
Abstract
Purpose
In implementing Six Sigma and/or Lean Six Sigma, a practitioner often faces a dilemma of how to select the subset of root causes from a superset of all possible potential causes, popularly known as root cause analysis (RCA). Generally one resorts to the cause and effect diagram for this purpose. However, the practice adopted for identification of root causes is in many situations quite arbitrary and lacks a systematic, structured approach based on the rigorous data driven statistical analysis. This paper aims at developing a methodology for validation of potential causes to root causes to aid practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
Discussion has been made on various methods for identification and validation of potential causes to root causes with the help of a few real life examples for effective Lean Six Sigma implementation.
Findings
The cause and effect diagram is the frequently adopted method for identifying potential causes out of a host of methods available for such identification. The method of validation depends on the practitioners’ knowledge on the relationship between cause and effect and controllability of the causes.
Originality/value
The roadmap thus evolved for the validation of root causes will be of great value to the practitioners as it is expected to help them understand the ground reality in an unambiguous manner resulting in a superior strategy for cause validation and corrective actions.
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Ashok Sarkar, Arup Ranjan Mukhopadhyay and Sadhan Kumar Ghosh
Practitioners often face challenges in model development when establishing a relationship between the input and output variables and their optimization and control. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Practitioners often face challenges in model development when establishing a relationship between the input and output variables and their optimization and control. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, with the help of a real life case example, the procedure for model development between a key process output variable, called the multi-stage flash evaporator efficiency, and the associated input process variables and their optimization using appropriate statistical and analytical techniques.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a case study approach showing how multiple regression methodology has been put into practice. The case study was executed in a leading Indian viscose fiber plant.
Findings
The desired settings of the relevant process parameters for achieving improved efficiency have been established by appropriately using the tools and techniques from the Lean Six Sigma tool kit. The process efficiency, as measured by M3 of water evaporated per ton of steam, has improved from 3.28 to 3.48 resulting in satisfactory performance.
Originality/value
This paper will be valuable to many practitioners of Six Sigma/Lean Six Sigma and researchers in terms of understanding the systematic application of quality and optimization tools in a real world situation.
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Pankaj Kumar Bahety, Souren Sarkar, Tanmoy De, Vimal Kumar and Ankesh Mittal
This study aims to identify the major factors influencing the consumers to prefer milk products and also to analyze the awareness level of the Indian consumers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the major factors influencing the consumers to prefer milk products and also to analyze the awareness level of the Indian consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the data is obtained through a structured questionnaire from Indian consumers considering convenience sampling under the nonprobability sampling technique. The consumer preference is explained using a multiple-regression model followed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), which shed insight on the significant differences between the variables that influence consumer preference for dairy products.
Findings
Investigation is done to analyze the factors influencing the consumers' buying behavior toward milk and its products. The results showed that quality, health consciousness, price and availability are the most influencing factors to buy milk products. Quantity of milk showed a significant relationship between age, monthly income and family size.
Research limitations/implications
This study helps marketing managers to frame the marketing strategies based on consumer preference, quality, health consciousness, price and availability. The research outcome will not only be advantageous for the entrepreneurial perspective but also takes care of consumer likeliness. Though the research reveals the opinion of Indian consumers, it limits the likeliness of the western world. Because of the scarcity of resources, several dairy products are unexplored, which could pave the future scope of research.
Originality/value
The novelty of this study is to identify the quality, health consciousness, price and availability are the most influencing factors to buy milk products considering ANOVA and the multiple regression model.
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Based on Indian conceptualisation of workplace spirituality, this study aims to examine the linkage between four dimensions of workplace spirituality (swadharma, authenticity…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on Indian conceptualisation of workplace spirituality, this study aims to examine the linkage between four dimensions of workplace spirituality (swadharma, authenticity, lokasangraha and sense of community) and work-to-family (WTF) enrichment. It also explored the mediating effect of psychological and social capital and the moderating effect of gratitude.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 387 women employees of Indian hospitality industry was collected in three waves. The collected data were analysed in three stages. Firstly, reliability, validity and multicollinearity were assessed using appropriate statistical measures like Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability and average variance explained. Secondly, the relationship between four dimensions of workplace spirituality and WTF enrichment were examined using correlation and hierarchical regression. Several demographic variables like marital status, age, experience and income level were controlled. Thirdly, the moderating effect of gratitude and mediating effects of psychological and social capital were analysed using PROCESS macro.
Findings
The results showed adequate reliability and validity estimates. Also, four dimensions of Indian workplace spirituality were significantly related to WTF enrichment with these dimensions of workplace spirituality collectively explaining 46.8% variations in WTF enrichment. The results also concluded significant meditating effect of psychological and social capital. It also asserted significant moderating effect of gratitude.
Originality/value
The study is based on longitudinal data collected to test seven hypotheses of the study.