Lean six sigma and corporate culture: Path forward is empowering IBM organizations to create and sustain meaningful change

Abstract

Research has shown that over three quarters of all business re-engineering efforts do not sustain themselves long term. The most commonly sited reason for this failing is the lack of focus on the organization's culture. To remain competitive, businesses are trying new change programs to help achieve their strategic goals. Are these programs really effective or do they focus too narrowly on the change program itself and not on the organizational culture? Lean Six Sigma can be a very effective process transformation methodology, but its techniques alone are insufficient. A strong emphasis on organizational culture transformation is just as important as the process improvement tools and techniques that are chosen to enable business transformation. IBM Learning's Path Forward Initiative delivers crucial skills to organizations that help them create and sustain meaningful change by developing skills around process change and cultural transformation. A case study is presented to demonstrate one example of how Path Forward clients are experiencing measurable improvements in all aspects of their business performance. Copyright © (2008) by the American Society for Engineering Management.